bigjohn
Since 13 Mar 2012
663 Posts
Addicted
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 Thu May 25, 23 7:16 pm |
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Been a long time since we had self rescue threads on nwkite 
Lots of good threads in the search bar with a variety of opinions.
My thoughts on the video... It's a pretty good video, but it overlooks a few key points.
1) If you are going to save your board you need to do so before you start winding lines. After you have pulled your safety, make a decision whether you are going to chase your board. If so, swim to your board with your kite fully released.
2) If you do get your board you need to secure it. For me, the best technique is to lay your chest on it with the nose forward. try to balance such that the nose is always pointing up. Alternatively you might connect it to a backup leash, but this is could be problematic if lines get crossed across your leash. In higher winds I would prefer not to be attached to my board.
3) In high winds (40 mph) your kite will be whipping all around. It will be pulling you like a truck. It will not be sitting down in the water as the video reflects. Be prepared for this.
4) If your kite is really pulling you, you can use a pulling action to temporarily release the tension. Pull yourself towards the kite (like a pullup). This will release the pressure of the kite as you are going faster towards your kite. You can then make a loop on your bar with your lines. You can repeat this technique to get to your kite even if your kite is pulling you very hard.
5) Try to keep your lines evenly tensioned. Meaning 1 line has complete tension to the kite and the other 3(or 4) lines are loose (have no tension), but not so loose you are going to get tangled in them. You can singularly wrap/dewrap a single line circularly around your bar to balance it out with the other lines to find that clean balanced setup.
6) Once you get to your kite, don't over wrap your lines into your bridals. You want your bridals loose for the self rescue home.
7) Once you get to your kite, clean up the lines so that all the lines are even. Tie them off with half hitches on the bar. Then use your quick release (or a knot if required) to connect your bar to your kite. You can hook your quick release to your bridal. The key is to secure everything up so that you can now focus solely on the self rescue home. You don't want your lines or bar flopping all around, getting caught on you, seaweed, or anything else that might be around to catch on.
8.) The video discussed an option to deflate your kite. If you deflate your leading edge be sure to cap it off afterwards so that water does not enter your leading edge. Failure to do this will make your kite very heavy and create issues.
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