Tips going downwind

[KillaHz]

G - you coming? You got a downwind machine for me?

[cedralpass]

thanks for all the tips. helps alot. I will practice close to shore this time arround!

[Loscocco]

the fstest way to go downwind i find is to pork the kite and go downwind at an angle on a tick rather than do kiteloops or sine the kite.
If you loop the kite you tend to end up going faster than the kite and the lines go to slack.
doing a downwind tack keeps a steady fast power

[baypirate]

I dug up this old thread because I have the same question, although not for racing purposes, just home-coming. I still consider myself a beginner but I can really rip (and loving it!) upwind. However, that makes for a boring (and in fluffy winds - less controllable) ride back to the beach. I kind of stumbled on my own into most downwind techniques I now found on this thread, but I still only manage riding WAY slower, basically flat board edging S-s and/or moving the kite around to tension the back lines. I'd really like to get a grasp on how you can go faster and maintain an edge.

I'm asking mostly for a place like Crissy, where you have a long way downwind to get back to the beach, with the wind shifty as it is, I don't feel very safe riding a flat board with the kite high. I could, of course, tack back and forth to edge at narrow angle, but it's still a lot of downwind real-estate from the bridge to the beach. I'm pretty sure I must be missing something here.

[jbirdmarin]

getting downwind boring?? Sure, maybe if you are going straight downwind, but plan to take a little time with deep carves downwind going from tack to tack. You'll generate huge speed and can work on toeside and normal 180 degree turns. whip the kite back and forth thru the window while doing this - boredom won't be a problem.

[baypirate]

Thanks for setting me straight Clearly I'm not at the point of whipping the kite through the window while riding toeside - so boredom is gone for a while! Seriously, though, thanks - that makes sense, had a feeling riding toeside would play into this.

[cedralpass]

I finally am getting better at this, and honestly its like everything. commitment. Once you get hand of the kite control, and making sure it stays powered and tight, i have found it really fun at chrissy to snap back on some swell, depower kite, and ride a bit. Definately making kiting more fun, understanding Upwind and Downwind. I am also loving toeside turn one way, powered heelside the other chasing a ferry boat. Flattest water in the bayarea!

[baypirate]

The big downwinders are coming, I figure there will be a lot of newbies to this particular type of... engagement. Found this old thread, a season later I for one can finally use most of the tips in there, with personal favorite being powered deep carves w/ the kite moving from side to side. I also manage to go downwind reasonably fast by tacking back and forth at a small angle. But I still can't go straight (or very close to) downwind , at least not unless I ride toeside with the kite on the side of the window, which can't be very efficient. Gabe mentioned this tuning tip last year:

If you wind up having to move your kite, you need to use the side of the window as LMG said. Your kite should be trimmed so that you can get about an inch of oversheeting when you pull the bar all the way in. This will cause the kite to fall back into the window a bit as your racing towards it.

This intuitively makes sense. I assume the trade-off is that you lose some depower at the other end of the bar throw. This should be an easy adjustment, you just lengthen the center lines about an inch, right?

Anyway, sorry to rehash this old stuff, but as always any insights are appreciated.