Kitesurf foiling at St Kilda, staying upwind with some great runs

Session 506. Staying upwind on the foil, definitely a moment! 

Better wind at around 20 knots so I had good power from my 8m kite.  Nice sunny afternoon, there were few people about. No beginners on the edge, about 15 kiters to the West and around 10 in the Kiddie Pool.  There were also a couple of windsurfer foils and one guy with a wind wing.

I was able to get going with the board down and keep good control. Putting the rear foot forward definitely helps keeping the board down. No rear foot strap makes this easier too.

Shifting the rear foot back and transferring some weight and the board rises to give a "magic carpet ride".  I continued on past the breakwater into some swell and was able to maintain control.

The board touched down on some of the bigger swells without incident.  I noticed the foil wanting to turn with the bigger swells and start surfing!

I was using my waist harness - Ivan said they are fine for free style foiling.  Seat harnesses are now used by racers. The foil broached a couple of times without me crashing - I was able to keep cruising.

I found I was still going faster a couple of times (on both tacks) and couldn't slow down, even with the kite high, then crashed. Turning the board around is a hassle, getting it flat on the water then pivoting around its tail is probably the easiest and safest method.

I tried one turn on the water and got the board around but then fell off, its quite different to pivoting a surfboard.

I practicised body dragging with my arm braced on the board deck and the foil at 45 degrees - this is a good solid position, and its useful for positioning the board for a water start.

I broke the "don't kick near the board" rule and got a superficial cut above my reef booties.  Next time I will wear full booties and NOT kick near the board or foil.

It was very pleasing to get up and going on the foil on both tacks. The speed and smooth ride is amazing.  Going back to a "basic beginner" is an interesting experience too and I'm very happy with the progress I am making.

Not sure how much more solo kiting will be possible now with the coronavirus (COVID-19) advice to "stay at home". It was great to get out today.

What I learnt this session:

• Body dragging with one hand bracing the board works well
• DON'T kick around near the foil (under the board)
• Getting the balance right comes with practice, my confidence is increasing
• Larger swell is manageable
• Controlling speed and stopping is still challenging when you get going really fast.
• Wear full length booties for extra protection.

Next session I intend to:

• Focus on keeping the kite high
• Riding toeside in both directions (swapping feet while on a tack)
• Heelside to toeside turn (board on the water)
• Toeside to heelside turn (board on the water)

More tips and information on kite foiling see Kitesurfing a foil board - Kitesurfing Handbook 

Kitesurf foiling at St Kilda, making progress

Session 505. More good afternoon wind so I headed to St Kilda again, keen to backup foiling sessions. I decided to try my old Dakine seat harness this time too.

The wind was close to 20 knots so I took my 8m kite down, rigged up and headed out.  By the time I was on the water the wind dropped and I was under powered. 

It was difficult to get going.  After the power dive the kite needed to go backwards to keep powered so I was sinking back into the water.  I eventually got going with some good board speed and the apparent wind works to give you more speed.  Coming back there was less wind behind the seawall so I came into the beach and walked back for another run.

Low wind makes it hard when learning to foil as you need to focus too much on flying the kite and not enough on controlling the board and your forward balance.

On the second run I crashed, the spreader bar unhooked and I got yanked downwind.  I reconnected it but the wind wasn't strong enough to body drag upwind. I gave up and body dragged to shore.   Another kiter helped by getting the board flat on the water so it could sail in.  I swam out and got it without much hassle.  That was enough for the day.

What I learnt this session:

• Wind speed 15 knots was not enough for my 8m kite
• The seat harness was not a big success
• No rear foot strap works well and doesn't impede water starts.

Next session I intend to:

• Keep practicing micro flights to get comfortable with rising and slowing
• Focus on keeping the kite high
• Get the right kite size to match the wind (14.5m for 10 knots, 10m for 15 knots, 8m for 20 knots).

Kitesurfing St Kilda - up and going on the Moses foil

Session 504. Up and foiling at last!  There was a lot less people at St Kilda and the water was flatter. I was able to water start and get going on the foil first tack. I was amazed away by the speed.

I was able to get foiling on both tacks - a magic carpet ride!

Ivan tips were:

• Keep the kite high
• Get some speed to stabilise the foil

I noticed I had the kite too low which made the speed was difficult to control - this is a habit from kitesurfing waves where a low kite keeps pressure on your feet.

The mast climbed high on some occasions - 90cm is a long way above the water - and it wasn't always easy to get it back down. The foil broached a couple of times then the board came down fast, dug in and and I came off.

Getting the balance right is difficult - this requires significant practice.

What I learnt this session:

• Wind speed 15 knots with my 10m kite was good, the water was fairly flat.
• Foils are FAST.  Keep the kite high to slow the speed down.
• My waist harness was riding up a lot.

Next session I intend to:

• Practice micro flights to get comfortable with rising and slowing
• Focus on keeping the kite high
• Put my free hand forward to help shift weight forward
• Possibly use my old seat harness
• Possible remove the rear footstrap to make it easier to shift my rear foot forward
• Turn (gybe) with the board on the water then ride toeside to get going in the opposite direction
• Turn heelside with board on the water

More tips and information on kite foiling see Kitesurfing a foil board - Kitesurfing Handbook 

First outing on new Moses foil board at St Kilda

Session 503. My first session on my new Moses foil board I bought from Ivan and Paul at The Zu Boardsports.

The wind was stronger than I wanted - over 20 knots. I was able to get out past the lineup of learners at St Kilda.

Getting up on the board was fairly easy. I was able to get going and keep the board on the water with no major dramas. I rose on the foil a few times, it felt stable and predictable.

The increase in speed is incredible, I wasn't able to slow it down and feel stable. The forward balance to control the height is incredibly sensitive.

Out past the shelter of the breakwater the swell was more difficult to manage. I wasn't able to get going on the right tack.  The board was very hard to get in position with the wind pushing me towards shore. I gave up trying and body dragged back to shore with the board flat on the water upwind of my body which was easy.

Then the walk of shame back to me gear, a rank beginner again but feeling happy to make some progress without incident or injury!

What I learnt this session:

• Strong wind and swell make learning to foil difficult - I think 15 knots would be better due to less swell.
• Practising body dragging with the board is good
• Small progressions are good

Next session I hope to:

• Get more stable when on the foil out of the water
• Turn (gybe) and ride toeside to get going in the opposite direction
• Hopefully hold ground and go upwind to flat water behind the breakwater, then its game on!

Moses foil board details:

• Board: T38 carbon, red, 3.3kg - hole mount
• Front wing: 633 kite / surf - good stability and support at slower speeds but still goes fast
• Rear stabiliser: 483 - used wave wing s giving a bit more "loose" feeling and shortening turn radius.
• Mast: M91 - good height for bigger bay waves and swell.

After some online research including this video and discussion with Ivan, I decided the freestyle surf 633 foil combined with the 483 rear stabiliser and the T30 carbon board would be best for continuing my learning and then for enjoyable freestyle kite foiling.  While a shorter 70cm mast would be easier for learning the 91cm mast will be better for handling bay swells in stronger winds.

More tips and information on kite foiling see Kitesurfing a foil board - Kitesurfing Handbook 

Foiling at St Kilda, getting better but still learning

Session 498. Another go at kitesurf foiling, still very much learning. I got going on the port tack and was able to keep the board either on the water or up on the foil with any major problems. I was focusing on controlling the board and not going too fast. 

It was more difficult on the starboard tack, as I recall this was the case fourteen years ago when learning to kitesurf. 

I edging the board which caused it to keep carving in, eventually my feet came out and my shins hit the defined edge of the Double Agent board (similar to a twin tip edge).  Ouch!  Some bruising was evident later. I headed back to the beach and walked back.

Once again I conclude that learning to use a foil board is not easy but I am making progress.

Modern freestyle boards are much easier to use and learn on, but I intend to persist with the Double Agent until I can cruise around and stay upwind. 

Breakthrough - up and going kitesurfing on a foil board!

Session 456. Breakthrough!  Enough wind on Friday for foil boarding on Lake Weyba. Adam and I met George from Adventure Sports Noosa at 1pm and pumped up our kites.  To launch we dragged our rigged kites out 100m from the shore to where the wind was.

Adam, George and Peter

The drift launch technique was to splash some water onto the wingtip into the wind and let the kite float off downwind until the lines tightened then launch the kite.

The key tips were:

• Use the same kite size you would for a normal session for the wind speed - don't go for a smaller size (when you are more experienced you would use a smaller kite)
• Dive the kite hard downwind and do a water start 
• Keep the board oriented in direction of travel (not downwind)
• Get on the board, keep it flat with your weight forward on the front foot, keep your forward knee bent
• Place your rear foot close to the front foot 
• Twist (rotate) the board upwind, keeping it flat with the nose on the water (avoid going downwind which depowers the kite which may then crash)
• Get used to the forward motion with the board flat on the water - the drag of the water has a braking effect that keeps your speed down 

It was much easier using a "beginner foil" and a short mast - George had 35cm masts on both the foil boards. One was a Cabrinha Double Agent board an foil, the other was a Nobile board with a Naish surf foil.

During my previous attempts at foiling, I had not got comfortable moving with the board flat on the water - the long foil amplifies errors and seems to make the board to weird things such as tripping and pulling you over your toes or porpoising out of the water.

The short mast avoids these problems - it was easy to get the board going flat on the water and if it popped up it was only 35cm.

I was able to get going forwards quite easily, it was a great relief to achieve this without any major crashes and boosted my confidence a lot.

George was using Bluetooth helmet comms but the range was limited to 300 m.  I did some tacks to get further tips.

To get the board riding on its foil the steps were:

• Increase board speed by powering the kite and steering upwind
• Shift your rear foot towards the rear of the board 
• Gradually transfer some weight to the rear foot until the board starts to rise on the foil
• Fine tune your kite power  - too much power will increase your speed rapid, too little power and your board will drop back to the water surface
• Keep steering upwind - you can go much further upwind than you think you can!

To slow down:

• Transfer weight back onto the front foot to get the board board back on the water
• Push your bar out to reduce power from the kite

This was  breakthrough moment similar to the first time I was able to hold ground upwind out an back!

Rising onto the foil the ride becomes incredibly smooth - like a magic carpet ride.

The speed increases on the foil but I didn't need to cut much power from the kite.

The board occassionaly slapped back down onto the water without causing too much concern.

George got me to swap boards with Adam and give him the radio helmet.  The Naish surf foil was faster and easier to get board up out of the water but I found it more difficult to moderate my speed.

The foil wanted to accelerate. I catapulted forwards off it a few times, but it was really nice to cruise on.

I did numerous tacks right across Lake Weyba - its much wider than it looks - over 2km across.  I was feeling confident on the foil, able to get up and going, stay upwind and also slowdown and stop.  I tried toeside riding and some gybes but decided to keep focusing on just riding the foil.

The wind speed eventually increased so I came in. 2 hours on the water and 28km

Really stoked to achieve some distance on the foil board and get up onto the foil.  The lesson and the beginner foil setup were well worth the money.

George said the Cabrinha board and foil are good for learning with a short mast - he has a second has medium size mast that I bought to use for my future efforts - but on checking my board once home I have the old model Double Agent with the mast welded to the fuselage.

After we finished we headed to Castaways to see if a downwinder was on.