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this tutorial looks at advanced
relaunching techniques with a focus on
light wind relaunching these techniques
are for experienced kiters a reverse
launch is where you make the kite fly
backwards the kite launches directly
into the air from the leading edge down
position
to make the kite fly backwards you put
in both steering lines this pulls the
trailing edge so close to you
it becomes the leading edge to help the
kite launch move upwind and pull on both
steering lines once the kite is clear
let go of one steering line to rotate
the kite
once the leading edge is aiming upwards
let go of the other steering line the
kite is now sheeted out so should fly
forwards quickly this technique works
well in light wind as you can lift the
leading edge before it becomes
waterlogged it is not safe in strong
wind
this technique is particularly useful
for c-shaped
and hybrid kites c-shaped kites have
squared off wingtips rather than swept
back rounded wingtips they do not rotate
onto their corners as easily in light
wind you must be careful with your lines
during this technique it's easy to get
entangled around yourself or your bar
which could lead to a death loop unless
you know how to stop it
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one challenge in light wind is that once
the leading edge has made contact with
the water it can be difficult to lift
the large surface of the leading edge
becomes stuck to the water you can see
here that the wind is too light to lift
the leading edge the trip and turn
method overcomes this problem by making
the kite fall back which levers the
leading edge from the water
the first step is to trip the kite by
moving towards it move towards the kite
until the trailing edge falls away very
little at the leading edge is now in
contact with the water at this exact
moment it is easier to turn the kite
pull firmly on a steering line to turn
the kite on to its corner trip and turn
can work in very light winds but it's
difficult to get the timing right now
we'll look at some general principles
for relaunching in light wind first you
need to be aware of your kites angle in
the wind window the more down when the
kite is positioned the more wind it can
catch you can easily change your kites
angle by pulling on one steering line
lightly or by moving yourself
so in extremely light wind you can send
the kite directly downwind and aim to
complete the entire relaunch in this
area at first it can help to pull much
more firmly on the steering line in
order to get the kite onto its corner
while still directly downwind but be
careful as soon as the leading edge is
aiming upwards you must switch to
pulling gently on that steering line
otherwise the kite will collapse when
the wind is light your own movement
plays a significant effect on the
apparent wind hitting your kite for
example if the wind is only 6 knots and
you start drifting downwind at three
knots your kite has lost half the wind
speed at the moment you launch the kite
will tend to pull you and if you allow
the kite to drag you it's apparent wind
will drop and the lines will go slack
so in light wind you must try to hold
your ground or even move upwind
in deep water this is more difficult you
may need to swim upwind while completing
your relaunch another option is to place
the board on your feet
downwind of yourself this provides some
resistance and reduces downwind drift
you can even crunch up on the board then
push off the board to temporarily move
yourself upwind if you do this at the
moment of relaunch it can greatly
improve your chances to finish this
tutorial we will look at what to do when
your kite lands in an abnormal position
from time to time your kite may end up
on the water in its storage position the
leading edges down and you can see the
top of the kites canopy instead of the
underside
the kite is orientated in the same way
that you would store it during setup to
fix this we rotate the kites until the
underneath of the canopy is visible reel
in one steering line keep the excess
steering line away from you as you don't
want it to tangle around the bar once
you pull in the line far enough you
should start to see the underside of the
canopy the wind should catch the
underside lifting the far wingtip at
this moment ease out the steering line
that's holding the closed wingtip you
could also pull the steering line
holding the far wing tip to help turn
the kite
you can now relaunch as normal but it's
important to assess the kite and lines
any tangled lines or bridles will make
the kite behave strangely be prepared to
use your safety systems
another scenario is for the trailing
edge to fold inside the center lines the
struts fold in front of the leading edge
this is known as an inverted kite to fix
an inverted kite you need it to have
stopped moving and not be pulling you
you then draw in the center lines
this makes the quite flag outs and the
invert should disappear
when the invert is removed you can carry
on with the relaunch in this example the
kite has now moved to storage position
so you turn the kite by putting one
steering line until the underside of the
canopy catches the wind
then we place the kite on its corner by
pulling firmly on one steering line we
then launch the kite with minimal
tension in that steering line there are
some other even more complex ways that
your kite can land you might have lines
or bridles wrapped around the downwind
side of the kite you might have a kite
that's half inverted known as a bow tie
if you see problems like these use your
chicken loop quick-release to flag out
the kites otherwise there is a chance
the kite can get damaged or behave
unpredictably
I hope this tutorial deepens your
understanding of kite relaunch subscribe
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