The Kite - The Safety System
A kite contains three safety mechanisms. Follow these steps when it goes wrong. Step 1 can be done all the time, step 2 costs a lot of time if it wasn't necessary and by pulling step 3 you lose the entire kite, "bye bye thousand dollars".
- let go of the bar and the kite will go to 12 o'clock or will crash in the water
- The first safety pull: the general kites after 2008 have this safery mechanism, after this safety leach is pulled the bar will shoot away from you and all the power of the kite is gone. Usually it's safe now. May there still be trouble then you've got to pull the third safety leach, this will release the entire kite.
- After this safety line is pulled the kite is gone and all the trouble are gone.
The Kite - The Low Power Zone
The power of the kite depends on the position of the kite in compared to your position. If the kite is at 3 and 9 o'clock there is not so much power. Also 12 o'clock is a good rest position, but if there will be a heavy gust you will be lifted. This wont happen if the kite is on 3 and 9 o'clock, so i prefer these positions. If these times of the clock seem confusing, 3 o'clock is on the left and 9 o'clock on the right. So now we know there is a difference between power if the kite is vertically on an other position, we also need to know that the distance between the water and the kite also matters. If the kite is 1 meter above the water (probably vertically at 11:00/13:00 o'clock), he catches a lot of wind, more then when he is 5 meter above the water. The most important things to know are:
- If the kite is on 3 and 9 (and 12) o'clock, it has the least power.
- The closer the kite to the water the more power it has
- If the kite is at 10:00/14:00 o'clock and about 2/10m above the water, then the kite is in the power zone, simply the zone where the kite has the most power.
The Kite - The Power Zone
The powerzone is the zone where the kite hast the most power. The power zone is just around 1 to 4 meter above the water and around 10:00/14:00 o'clock. The powe zone can be scary with a lot of wind, so its good to realize what zone excactly the power zone is. Never go in the powerzone with your kite on the land, cause that may end badly.
The Kite - The Bar
The bar works just like an bicycle, dont steer like a car wheel but again like a bicycle. This means that twisting the bar vertically does not work. It only works when you twist it horizontally. Controlling the kite is an important part of kitesurfing, in the end you have to feel where the kite is and how it moves without looking to it. The best way to can feel this is through the bar. Just excercise a lot with the steering.