Re: [Paddlewise] Kite Sailing

Take a look to http://www.peterlynnkites.co.nz/kitesail/part1.htm is a
very interesting article by Peter Lynn on Kite Sailing.
I have tried a 5sqm Wipika with control bar to tow my Helios 380
inflatable K2 (very stable) and it works fine downwind, upwind you need
a leeboard like any kayak with upwind sailing rig (like klepper).
Cheers, 
                                   Giuseppe
PJ Rattenbury wrote:
> 
>         Larry et al,
> 
>         Your words about your parafoil encourage me.  I use mine with my single
> Klepper, and agree that nothing can compare with kite sailing downwind if
> you want to log up the miles.
> 
>         I think it is on 'expeditions' that parafoils come into play.  Because you
> can really cover the ground in a breeze I find it takes a good deal of
> discipline to pull the thing down if you are really flying downwind!
> Before you know it you are several miles 'downhill' from your put-in,
> facing a long slog back into a headwind!  This can be a trap for the unwary.
>         I have made for myself a 'three to one' rule, which roughly states that it
> will take at least three times as long to cover the ground upwind after
> that wonderful exhilarating ride downhill.   I believe this is critical if
> you are heading out into a freshening breeze and lifting sea-state and you
> are not [intentionally!]  on a one way trip.
> 
>         Some questions for kite sailors:
> 
>         I believe a skeg or fin, or centreboard at a point just aft of the kite
> line would assist in control at speed and in a sea.   Anyone experimented
> with this?
> 
>         How do you control your line[s] on retrieval?  I find that when I want
> that parafoil down, I usually want it down in a hurry which results in a
> most unseamanlike tangle of line in the bottom of the cockpit.  I have one
> of those fishing line handreels about 10 inches in diameter which is great
> on launch, but not so good for a speedy retrieval.
> 
>         Do you use a tail on your parafoil for control in the higher wind speeds?
> Supposedly a tail stabilises the kite, but I find it is just something else
> to get wrapped around your gear.
> 
>         Has anyone come up with different ways to keep hold of that line. Has
> anyone experimented with using your bow tether to take the line forward to
> the bow?  I thought of some fast release clip system attached to my mast
> step to take most of the strain,  but retaining hand control.  I think this
> is basically Larry's system.
> 
>         Has anyone tried seakayaking with the Wipika type of kites, seemingly very
> powerful, but very expensive?
> 
> Regards,
> Peter Rattenbury
> Wollongong
> Australia
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