[Paddlewise] Kites

I have had some very exhilarating experiences kayaking with kites and have
come to value the parafoil as a delightful (but rarely useful) tool for
covering distance.  I've used a 15 sq ft parafoil with a single line to pull
tandem and single kayaks.  As a quick release mechanism I'd rigged a Velcro
strap to connect the kite line to the bunched together foredeck bungies.  The
point of tug being close to the cockpit allowed me to even head off the wind a
few degrees. 


  To be pulled in a tandem (Aleut Sea 2) was a wonderful experience.  Arthur
Hebert and I effortlessly covered over 65 miles one short winter day along the
Louisiana coast.  While he ruddered with his paddle (we'd broken the kayak's
wooden rudder in a surf landing the night before) I scanned the marsh for
birds, read, fixed lunch and kicked back enjoying the ride.


In Summer, '87 I'd launched the kite from a Nimbus Puffin to hasten a 13 mile
crossing from Chandeleur Island north to Ship Island one evening at dusk.  I'd
heard from NOAA that there was a 20 25 knot north wind expected in my area
that night and for the next few days against which I didn't expect to be able
to make the crossing.  Because I had to get back to work soon and because
there was a 20 -25 knot  south wind blowing at the time I decided to take
advantage of it and make the crossing that night. All went well with the kite
pulling me quite briskly north until a few miles out I could see by the
failing light that I was being pulled straight into a rainstorm.  There was no
obvious lightning, the water temp was in the 90's, VHF and EPIRB were on
board, a paddling knife was at hand and I decided to see what would happen.
Just as the first scattered drops began to fall the wind shifted 180 degrees
in an instant and I found myself being pulled backwards bearing due south at
great speed toward the island I'd just left.  Rather that release the kite I
decided to try to turn the boat 180 and permit the wind to pull me back to the
Chandeleurs where I could regroup my thoughts and figure out what to do next.
What I found to my great relief was that the kayak was perfectly stable
broached to the wind and waves, pulled sideways  and upwards by the kite line
which attached at the midline of the foredeck. 


Further experimentation with that big kite has convinced me that it is not
easy to flip with the kite so rigged even when broached because the kite's
upward pull strongly resists a flip.  Even in an Arluck 1 which has almost no
initial stability ( and which flies like the wind behind such a kite) I've
felt amazingly stable.


I don't deny that there are potential dangers such as separation from the boat
and  unexpected downwind obstructions but the fear of flipping and
entanglement are not as great (in my limited experience with a single kite and
attachment device) as one might expect. You do have a tiger by the tail but as
long as the wind is steady it seems to be a stable predictable tiger that can
give a thrilling and stabilizing free ride.


Larry Koenig





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