Anyway, as I might have expected for a kite 5 msq larger than my regular 12 msq, the Contra turned slowly but pulled HARD, even in the mild 10 knot wind conditions. It required some adjustments to how I rode the board, too, like to turn the kite power into upwind drive I had to really pressure hard on the back section of the board. My pal Marc tried the kite for about 30 seconds but hardly got off the beach. He said he couldn't deal with how much bar pressure it took to turn the kite, since he is used to kites with 1:1 bar systems (no pulleys on the bar). The 2:1 "pulley bar" system I have on my kites makes it so you can steer and sheet the kite with smaller motions but with more resistance. I like it because it's more like windsurfing- you really feel the power you're dealing with and are less likely to accidentally stall or overpower the kite. Anyway, here's the video.
17 msq Kite Session, King Crimson from James Douglass on Vimeo.
Sunday there was about 15 knots from the Southeast, so everybody went to Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, in the lee of the inlet's North Jetty. The waves were up and there were tons of surfers, which made launching tense. I probably could have gone windsurfing with my 6.6 sail and 106 liter board, but I have to admit I haven't been doing that much lately because its so easy to ride my 12 msq kite and 137 cm board in those conditions. Riding the big waves on the outside would have been more fun on a windsurf, but I might have been pounded by the inside break on the way there. Tough call. Anyway, I went with the kite and had plenty of fun. Here's the video.
Kiteboarding in Waves at Fort Pierce Inlet State Park from James Douglass on Vimeo.
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