Kite sailing

Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I watched a guy kite surfing (sailing) today. He was mostly reaching back and forth all day... (looked very fun) and...

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... I got a chance to talk with the guy. I asked him if he is able to point and he looked at me confused... (my bad) so I rephrased and asked if he can sail into the wind. He said... "oh yeah! on this board just a little but you can buy boards with foils and with the right kite you can sail way into the wind".

I don't know what he meant by a foil. He might have meant a keel or a fin.... or maybe a true foil.

The other encouraging thing is that this guy was about my age and he told me he is just now learning... Oh yeah! I'm going to have to get into this.:thumbup:
 
Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
Because for people in the know, there is the "Sails Call Lounge" for non-sailing , non- political topics.
 
Jan 19, 2010
12,362
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Because for people in the know, there is the "Sails Call Lounge" for non-sailing , non- political topics.
but it has a lot in common with sailing...and I’d like to hear from anyone who has done it. I saw this guys rig up close.... it looked like a sail to me
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
got a vessel, propelled by a foil made by fabric, looks like sailing to me.


getting a sailing vessel to sail to windward, now thats's always been the trick. takes great skill to sail to windward. it's called 'beating' for a reason. anyone can sail down wind. my four barrel raft will go down wind.
 

dLj

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Mar 23, 2017
3,370
Belliure 41 Sailing back to the Chesapeake
Last summer I was watching several people kite sailing and a couple had foiling boards (or whatever you call them). Those are really fast! Looks like massive fun!

dj
 
May 17, 2004
5,025
Beneteau Oceanis 37 Havre de Grace
I’ve seen it being done in windy areas and thought it looked like a lot of fun. I’d like to try it sometime but haven't had a chance yet.

World Sailing does recognize it as a form of sailing, and even has a section of the Racing Rules of Sailing dedicated to it.
 
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Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
The other encouraging thing is that this guy was about my age and he told me he is just now learning... Oh yeah! I'm going to have to get into this.:thumbup:
Go for it!!!! :)

Like most things there is a learning curve but the sport has evolved to the point where you can get qualified instruction and the equipment has evolved to be much safer. For example the control bar now have the ability to depower/power the kite.

I would suggest you could start by taking a land based lesson or if you tend towards self starting buy - rent a small ‘Trainer” kite, go to an open area and have some fun. IMHO it’s critical to understand how to fly the kite in the “window” before you go near the water.

392EC74F-90CB-4177-906E-55D214FAD161.jpeg




Kitesailing and Kitesurfing are the same thing, Kitefoiling uses the same kite but the “board” has a hydrofoil.
 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
takes great skill to sail to windward. it's called 'beating' for a reason.
It's called "beating" because in the ancient times of the rowing galley, they had to beat the oarsmen to get them to sail into the wind :liar:.


There is a company that makes kites for vessel propulsion. They deploy from a short mast on the foredeck.
I've been thinking about this for a small ocean cruiser. I was thinking it could be a hybrid rig between a kite sail and bringing it into the mast to become a crab claw sail.

The advantages would be in the mast deployment. Rgranger had a post about a crab claw sail set on the top of a short mast that tipped or rocked from one tack to the other. This would allow for the sail to tilt with the higher peak into the wind and the lower clew outboard to leeward. The sail could then rotate to an orientation similar to a kite flying into the wind. It could thus reduce its profile to the wind when the wind came up.

The real advantage is in the righting moment its upward lift would help create. The boat would sail lighter and stay more upright, giving the bottom a better symmetry and possibly a planing surface.

Other times, you let the sail out to fly high with the improved wind up there and sit and let it pull you along. Just think how fast an under 30 foot ocean cruiser could go and improve its saftey margin.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Aug 7, 2018
179
Catalina 350 Great Sodus Bay, Lake Ontario
I first saw kite sailing while anchored in the north sound of BVI. it was great entertainment watching people who knew what they were doing having fun and “showing off” with aerial manoeuvres and mind-blowing speed. I rented one on our way back home in Florida. I provided my own brand of entertainment for others with my lack of skills. " It ain't as easy as it looks"
 

capta

.
Jun 4, 2009
4,766
Pearson 530 Admiralty Bay, Bequia SVG
It's called "beating" because in the ancient times of the rowing galley, they had to beat the oarsmen to get them to sail into the wind :liar:.



I've been thinking about this for a small ocean cruiser. I was thinking it could be a hybrid rig between a kite sail and bringing it into the mast to become a crab claw sail.

The advantages would be in the mast deployment. Rgranger had a post about a crab claw sail set on the top of a short mast that tipped or rocked from one tack to the other. This would allow for the sail to tilt with the higher peak into the wind and the lower clew outboard to leeward. The sail could then rotate to an orientation similar to a kite flying into the wind. It could thus reduce its profile to the wind when the wind came up.

The real advantage is in the righting moment its upward lift would help create. The boat would sail lighter and stay more upright, giving the bottom a better symmetry and possibly a planing surface.

Other times, you let the sail out to fly high with the improved wind up there and sit and let it pull you along. Just think how fast an under 30 foot ocean cruiser could go and improve its saftey margin.

-Will (Dragonfly)
Perhaps it is called beating because that's what you get when you are doing it?
I think you'd get a lot more efficiency and use from a spinnaker on a sailboat than a kite. The boat would be so heavy you'd need a kite as big as a spinnaker anyway. If you've ever flown a chute several feet or more forward of the mast, you'd have experienced how it can begin to oscillate and quickly become unmanageable.
But, this is something I wish they had invented enough years back that I'd feel comfortable doing it. It looks like so much fun. The pros jump right over the Happy Island bar in Clifton, when the wind is right. See youtube.
 
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Jul 23, 2019
100
Hunter 18.5 Revelstoke
I took lessons at 60 yrs old, expected it was going to be easier than it was but that board is small and it doesn’t take much to upset it. There’s plenty of guys over 65 enjoying the sport.... go fo it
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,732
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
This is kind of what I was talking about, only on top of a mast
Also done on surf boards called foiling wings

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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