Marine Products Experts Introduce You to the Kite Sailing World
Your Marine Products Specialists Announce That Kite Sailing Is Here to Stay
Raritan Engineering your marine products analysts would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding an introduction to the kite sailing world.
Your marine products experts say, wind junkies beware, there is a new sailing discipline out there that might just force your wallet open, rearrange your life's priorities, and produce a little friction on the home front. But don't worry, those few nights you might have to spend on the couch will be worth it, I can assure you. Kite-sailing (or kite-surfing) has arrived on the scene and is causing quite a disturbance in the households of windsurfers, wake boarders, and small-boat sailors alike.
Your marine products distributors professionals know that because they use a large kite to harness the wind, kite-surfers can enjoy the rush of speed sailing, the freedom of wake boarding without a boat, and the ability to fly higher than any wind-surfer has dreamed of jumping.
In its infancy, this sub-sect of the sport had plenty of problems that hindered the average waterspouts enthusiast from joining in the fun. First, the main issue was how to make the kites safe for beginners.
The second issue was designing a kite and board combination that would allow a person to travel upwind so that a user could take off from a spot and not have to have a shuttle car or boat set up five miles downwind.
The third and final issue was figuring out how to make the kites re-launchable from the water. In 1984, Bruno and Dominique Legaignoux invented an inflatable, elliptical kite that if allowed to crash into the water, would stay on the surface and could be relaunched into the air with little effort.
So how does a conventional sailor get started? We'll if you remember how difficult it was to get that first ride aboard a windsurfer, you'll realize that knowing a few important aspects about this new discipline can truly help accelerate your rate of learning. Your marine products pro shop analysts say that the first thing to do is find an instructional video. Most kite dealers will have a few to choose from, but one video recommended across the board is Boost.
No matter where you're located or what water sports background you have, kite sailing is fun, but unusual enough to present a steep challenge for the beginner. The good news is that the learning curve is nearly vertical, so it won't take too long before you are up and riding.
Your Marine Products Professionals Discuss How Kite Sailing Doesn't Always Put a Dent In Your Wallet
We encourage you to browse our marine products selection at Raritan Engineering and see how we can take care of all your marine supply needs.
Your marine parts depot specialists know that ram-air kites are basically rectangular kites that allow air to flow into chambers and inflate, thus giving the kite its shape and rigidity, allowing it to perform. The advantages of ram-air kites are that they're extremely maneuverable, and due to their flat design, have more power per square meter than their inflatable siblings.
Your marine products international experts feel that the biggest advantage to an inflatable kite is the fact that air bladders make this kind of kite easier to water launch. Another plus is that if the pilot crashes the kite, and for some reason cannot get the kite back in the air, the bladders also provides flotation in case the user has to paddle the rig to shore for whatever reason. Inflatable kites are launched close to the neutral zone, (almost perpendicular to the wind direction), thus making them more controllable when self-launching.
Inflatable kites are by far the more popular of the two. But should you choose to purchase an inflatable there is more information you'll need to know. There are different types of inflatable kites on the market. The first type is called two-line. Yep, you guessed it, the kite is controlled by two lines. These kites are remarkably simple to set up, very easy to water-launch, but when flown are fixed in a fully powered angle to the wind. So if the wind gusts, you are going to feel it and have to compensate.
If you decide to follow the trend and get into kite sailing, another thing you'll want to know about is the idea of aspect ratio. In a vast oversimplification, aspect ratio refers to the shape of the kite and specifically the curve from end to end and width.
Somewhere east of Winnemucca, Nevada at 3 in the morning, Johnny Heineken‘s car broke down so we packed everything into 1 SUV with 5 sets of wind and snow gear, dog and riders for the remaining voyage east.
Snow kiting is just as it sounds. You choose either skies or snowboard and get pulled around on your kite- up, down, around and over what ever terrain you choose.
I rigged my 13m foil kite, launching with ease and immediately got pulled across the meadow on my snowboard.
Snow kiting has all the benefits of kiting on the water without the consequences of water itself. I dropped and tangled my kite quite a few times in the 8-12k breeze and easily unhooked and walked up the line and bridle to unsort it all out.
For day 3 and 4, we switched venues to a location called Electric Lake along the Huntington Canyon Scenic Drive as the Skyline Peak was in white out conditions. It was more rolling hills and room to explore as the newbies including myself were still mastering the basics.
I really can’t emphasize how fun and accessible snow kiting is whether you’re a newbie or a pro. The hardest step was committing and just getting there, after that the fun was nonstop.
So choose your marine supplies here at Raritan Engineering, where we always take care of your marine supply needs.
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