Rigging and Control 4line LEI

I know your area and Bush and buds are making a killing, it’s not rocket science.

I meant import tax, cool….

I would stick with those 10 to 15 knot days for at least 6 months, if not forever, if you guys basically have nothing in between that and BIG wind.
The step up to big wind is very dangerous, alone.
Get a buddy out there hooked, that’s the best bet of all to being safe out there. Ride together.

The launching becomes more hairy and everything else does too in 25 plus knots. The riding can be safe with practice, but it’s the getting the kite up and down that is real sketchy. The power of the wind at 25 is pretty unreal, mistakes are punished much more quickly and with much more authority. Basically, it’s exponentially more dangerous and things go wrong ten times more quickly in 25 compared to 15. 30 is really serious wind.

For the 10 to 15, which is great learning stuff and just plain fun, anyway, I would get a new 17m Waroo or a used 16m waroo and I would get a large board. Something like the crazy fly 145 by 44. Don’t get anything smaller than the 152 UG. Trust me on that one. Width is more important than length (plane-able surface). I think you should stick with the light winds and have a friggin’ blast in the safer stuff until you hook a buddy up.

http://oceanextremesports.com/catalo...roducts_id=378

or Underground 152
http://www.watersportswest.com/shopc...ng&user3=board

At 185, in 10 to 15, you need a bigger kite. You could make a 15m Waroo work, but as long as you have the discipline to not go out when it's a sand storm, I would get the 17m.

Those boards I mentioned won't do so hot in the bigger winds either. You are going to be limited to 20 knots and under, and I really think you should promise yourself to stay in less than 20.
The gear I mentioned will be a blast in 15 knots, not schlogging barely having fun, but a blast. The gear I mentioned will start to become unmanageable at 20 knots. That's good, imo. Built in safety mechanism forcing you off of the water.

Extreme kites will more than likely ship to you. They have shipped to Qatar, Kuwait, you name it. I remember shipping to some places I had never heard of before.
Watersports West might as well, I am not sure. Call and ask both places.

Ebay is reasonable. Ikitesurf.com has more selection.

The kite shipping fee won’t be that bad, but the board fee will be bad (possibly not even “legal” by USPS size standards).
But, maybe a pilot buddy can fly it in for you?

To your smallest kite question and using it down the road. I am against going out in the heavy stuff alone and want to make that clear. But, a 7m Waroo is the answer.
It would be a good kite to get the feel of LEI kites with, before just hopping on a big 17m kite.

In 12 knots, with reasonable kite control (I think you have it), you aren't gonna get whacked too bad, even on the 17. Don't get me wrong, treat it with respect, you can get hurt! But in 20.... dude... it'd be close to suicide to put that 17 up on your virgin flight.

Oh, quick release on your kite and kite leash. Dream about them at night. They are your friends.

If you decide to do business with Extreme kites, tell them Scott sent you.
I don't get anything from it, just a warm feeling knowing Rob and Daryl's faces would turn sour.
(they have had some bad situations come out of Qatar and places where you think ---- "sand")

To cover my own butt here. I have a made a judgement call on giving you advice. It is based on you seeking info and you appear to have a good attitude, approach etc. Not giving info would be dumb.
You don't have access to lessons. AND, you can't get other kiters banned, so ..... this could be fun hearing of your exploits.
Buy some good instructional vids, a wind meter, and shoot for days where it is blowing 13 to 15 knots and get ready to have a blast, Patrick.

If you were here, I would be leaning on lessons and cold shouldering you if you didn't.
But, you aren't.

Black balling etc. Nah... we help each other out, by recommending lessons and keeping it safe.

You are about to experience the most excitement possible in sports. I am jealous.
It's the learning that was the EXTREME fun in this sport. I still love to kite and do all the time. Nothing is better. But, the first 2 years are by far, the best. Let us know what happens. I know I am interested. You will get a lot of advice on here, hopefully from others too, in the future.

Bleighty and Invisible and Toby and all others on here are great.
The instructors can't just hop on and give info for liability reasons. I can. Patrick, I really want to hear these stories. Keep us posted.

[Purple Hayes]

Actually, it sounds like you and I are on the same page. When I surfed the North Shore, I had a buddy that liked to go out on the biggest days possible. I went out on a few times and it felt, to me, like being towed behind a ski-boat at 60mph (just skipping across the face of the wave).

I was assuming kite size and wind speed were inversely proportional (stronger wind+smaller kite=same speed). I suppose that idea probably stands true to some degree but I think I see your point. Just like with surfing; I'd rather be out carving on a small to medium day than getting flung across the water, out of control, on a big day.

As far as a buddy, as luck would have it, I just found out that one of my new copilots decided he wants to try it also. He just picked up a 16m kite. He can't remember the manufacturer (we're on the road right now), and he's Danish, so he'd have a tough time explaining it anyway. jk

I appreciate your vote of confidence. I have three young children, trust me, my days of going out blindly into the abyss are over (they were fun while they lasted).

My buddy has a Boost II DVD, so I'm going to check that out. He's also taking a very safe approach. He told me that he's watched the video twenty times already and plans to watch it "a hundred more." Also, I found a pretty good site with free downloads of instructional tips and tricks.

http://kitefilm.com/eng/weeklytrick.asp

Thanks again for the help. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cool. You should share his kite for awhile.
You are "clear for take-off". Keep us in touch.
Maybe a photo of you next to a camel or sumtin.

[ricki]

I think that there may actually be shops in Kuwait and still others in some of the Gulf States. If you google "Kuwait kiteboard" you'll see some prospects.

If you can do a weekend trip to a good facility over there from some quality instruction I think you will move well along the learning curve. If not, your progress may be slower and risks greater but nothing new there. Not all instruction is the same in terms of quality. You would do well to ask them some questions, some ideas appear at:

http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=656

Next, I would recommend spending some time looking over the guidelines that appear at the link below. Virtually all of these guidelines have been derived from past accident analysis. Just as it can hard (impossible) to summarize safe flight procedures on an index card for powered aircraft, the same might be said about kiteboarding. Details.

http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=29

While your at it, look over some of the case studies. It is always good to try to learn from the mistakes of others rather than volunteering for first person experience. There are still more case studies in other parts of the site.

You might do well to hook up with a "flat" kite around 12 m. If you are targeting winds that are 10 to 15 mph you may want to go a bit larger. For appropriate winds you should find your learning progress will be faster. You don't want to go out overpowered particularly while you are learning.

Keep us posted Patrick.

Rick offered great advice. I think in 10 to 15 you will be walking back a bit on a 12, but probably better safe than sorry. Don't go out in sandstorms.

[jimb]

Purple Hayes, you may want to check out totalvid.com, they have several instructional videos you can download and either "rent" for a week for $4-5 or join for unlimited downloads for $10 per month. I think it's well worth it either way. Good luck!

[Purple Hayes]

Thanks guys.

There is a shop in Kuwait City (about 45 miles from me) but I've been told that they sell gear only (and at 1.5-2 times the regular price). I don't have much faith in "all things Kuwaiti", so I may have to plan a trip to Doha or Dubai.

.....Just as it can be hard (impossible) to summarize safe flight procedures on an index card for powered aircraft, the same might be said about kiteboarding. Details..... It is always good to try to learn from the mistakes of others rather than volunteering for first person experience....

I agree, I've made a safe living in airplanes by adhering to that philosophy. I fully understand why you guys would be apprehensive about offering pointers. As you say, if the tables we're turned, I wouldn't want to encourage someone to go fly an airplane after only having read a book about it.

I'm going to look into a trip to Dubai or Doha.

Thanks again....

[ricki]

sounds good Patrick. there should be some good operations somewhere in the Gulf.

just had a thought about kiting in sand storms, electrostatic shock. we sometimes have shocks over water. it can be more intense in snow. I imagine sand/dust might generate some strong discharges. do you have issues with that off airframes in dust storms?

[Purple Hayes]

Originally Posted by RickI

sounds good Patrick. there should be some good operations somewhere in the Gulf.

just had a thought about kiting in sand storms, electrostatic shock. we sometimes have shocks over water. it can be more intense in snow. I imagine sand/dust might generate some strong discharges. do you have issues with that off airframes in dust storms?

That's pretty interesting! I've worked around helicopters a lot, so I have some pretty good (and painful) experience with static discharge and "flying things."

Actually, the static (with regard to aircraft) isn't really an issue during sandstorms.

I'm originally from south FL. By that distinction, as I'm sure you can appreciate, I've flown through quite a few thunderstorms. Flying through heavy rain (even w/o lightning) is much worse! In heavy rain, the static being "wicked" off of the airframe makes the radios completely unusable at times.

We do experience static shocks around here a lot but I'm pretty sure that it has more to do with the dry air (the jolts don't appear to be any more intense when there are heavy visible particles in the air). I think it's more akin to what you experience up north during the winter.