amlerner wrote:zgur wrote:...yes, you have a directional, your kite game has improved...and the coast is going and you need to kite....now take a deep breath....
Haha...that's me.
This whole conversation freaks me out about hitting the waves. It feels like a big step moving into the surf without worrying about locals and pros running me off a wave or slashing my tires. I thought surfers and kiters were chill?
Wave etiquette is a hot topic that comes up pretty regularly and many posters have a lot of valid points, but I have kited Waddell on a TT for years and have never had a problem with anyone, and I don't stay downwind, or way upwind, I stay in the rotation and just have fun. But to have fun and do this on a TT, you need to:
1. Be able to pay close attention to what's going on, the others riders and where they are.
2. Whether you're on a TT or surf, it helps in general to be able to tack out, clear waves without trouble and charge upwind.
3. About coming back in on a tack - I've noticed many guys coming out on the opposing tack who are going upwind can sometimes be a bit rigid and may ignore the upwind kite high, downwind kite low rule and will try to pinch you off. This is normal, I've seen it tons of times, sometimes I'll hold my line and force them down, but it's usually easier (and nicer) to let them have it.
4. Know that if you're on the coast riding a TT and have the skills to be in the rotation, go out, and come in on the sets, where you are on the wave is much less important. On a TT, the riding will be about using waves as ramps on the way out and coming in, freestyling over them and if things go well, landing on the face of them on your way in.
5. Again, keep an eye on the rotation and give people the room they need. Anyone on a surfboard will be mostly following the rotation formula, which is predictable. On a TT, if you're adept, you can have a blast and get away with all kinds of mayhem without really getting in anyone's way, and you will, at most, only be slightly irritating to them, but if done right, nobody will call you on it because you were killing it.
6. Your mileage may vary.