Re: [Paddlewise] Kites

....my dear Lawrence.   The problem with riding a tiger is that you may go fast
and far but you dare not dismount.

Larry Koenig wrote:

> 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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