Yay,
SWAT and I took the plunge, took a couple of days off, and spent 2 days at Poole Harbour with the new Kitewing Wave Warriors (WW75). The idea was to get to grips with the kit in the water and Poole Harbour is one of the best spots in the UK for learning as when the tide is in, there is about 2 foot of water in a space about half a mile square.
Day 1, we set the wings up in less than perfect conditions (variable 10mph winds), and really only managed to achieve very short runs before sinking. I also managed to break two of the board fins by riding down (into the sand) rather than along!
The Kitewing is brilliant, quality wise if feels really good, The quality of components is great, and the wing material is the best yet.
Day 2 the wind was up to 18mph and more SW, so this allowed us better practice. With the tide going out we only had about 3 hours of riding, and after gluing a fin back together again the night before, I was riding on 2 fins (not 3) for a while before I broke one of those, and had to start using my Windsurfer board instead.
Lessons learned :
1. You need 15mph+ wind
2. You need to be fit!
3. Dont start in water that is too shallow.
4. the wing feels very stable, so hooking in to the harness feels very natural and not at all unstable.
5. I was even starting hooked in
6. You need to perfect the "step-on-and go" technique. You cannot step on and then get the wing trimmed, you will simply sink.
7. Once a wingtip touches the water surface, forget it you cannot fight it, just let go and start again.
8. I need to perfect water starts as I was only riding in 18" of water and essentially doing "beach starts" each time.
9. Managed to get "on the plane" a couple of times on the larger windsurfer, but not on the kitewing board.
10. No attempts at turning yet, lets get starting and straight lines sorted first.
11. Hook in as soon as possible if you are not when you start.
12. if the wing is upside down, flipping it by lifting the nose and letting the wind turn it over needs to be done with care, as it can result in broken battens. - I know, I broke one.
13. Wingtips (mast extensions) are very vunerable, and if you try to fight the wing/water combination you will break them - I broke 2!
Summary
This is a great piece of kit and I know I'm going to love it. I also know its harder to master than land based wingsurfing, even if you have windsurfed before, it takes a while to get the hang of it. Oh and I realise I need to be fitter!
