Tag Archives: kiting

New Toys part 2: The Fury

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2 Weeks ago, I received the Fury range from Peter Lynn Kiteboarding. 11m, 9m and 6m are to be my companions for the next few months. On top of that I received a 15m and 17m Fury “Lite” to get me going in the light winds.

My first outing was with the 11m in very trying conditions: Onshore underpowered and very messy water conditions with short interval waves making going upwind really difficult. In the Water with me was a few other kites all around 11 m – 13 m . I guess it was a good sign that the Fury was the only kite staying upwind.

My next two outings were with the Fury “Lite” in unfortunate conditions where the wind dropped after 15 minutes in the water.

A trip to Talamone in Tuscany last week-end gave me a chance to try things in some decent winds.

Saturday

I arrived in Talamone to be greeted by a gusty 20 knots cross offshore (gusting to above 25) and a tricky launch situation. Practically there is no beach. So you need to know what you are doing.  I put up the 9m fury without problems, and set out to sea.

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The wind was gusty, but the Fury handled beautifully. It jumped, it looped it did everything I asked from it. Smooth turns, depowered, responded. Even in the gusty conditions, I had a lot of fun. I stayed away from unhooking and also took it easy with the mega loops. Got a lot of kiting to do in the next few weeks.
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Sunday:
Sunday the wind started on the soft side. I decided to put up the 15 Fury Lite. But quickly the wind picked up to around 15 knots. At 70kg I was well powered. Again smooth flying. This was the first time I was out with such a big kite. Normally I find an 11m huge. So a 15m felt like a giant. However it still turns surprisingly fast. I even managed to loop the kite coming out of a dark slide.
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I then decided to put up the 11m as the wind had increased by a knot or two,
What a pleasure. That 11m was turning like a 9m. Bar pressure was just right, and in the gusts, I was getting plenty glide to try some Old school tricks:
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I also tried some Raileys ( been a while) and the kite has good pop. I’ll be unhooking some more in the next few weeks…
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I think I will be heading back to Talamone in the next few months. If you see me in the water there or anywhere around Italy, come try this kite, I think you gonna love it! And it deserves to be tried.
Thanks to Tania Romagnoli for the pics.
Next week, Sardinia!
Ced
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New Toys part1

IMG_7851 - Version 2A few days ago, I received a new toy. My 2013 Underground Styx 132. Last year, I really had a blast on the 132 and I look forward to more of the same.

With haste, I unpacked this new board and started assembling it. Components look top class once more, to be expect from Underground.

The design is stylish and construction looks solid.

IMG_7849 - Version 2 IMG_7863 - Version 2 IMG_7874 - Version 2 IMG_7877 - Version 2I will be putting the board to the test in the next few weeks and taking some pics… but so far, I’m already in love …

Ced

 

 

Dealing with Harnesses and Rib injury

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A year and a half ago, I suffered a trauma to my lower rib cage due to a megaloop gone wrong. The Harness was violently pulled up while I was being pulled down by water drag.
The result is a permanent inclination of the rib resulting in cartilage scar tissue protruding on the lower part of my rib cage. It took 6 weeks before I was comfortable on the water again with a seat harness.

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I have since discovered that this is a fairly common injury amongst kiters wearing waist harnesses. But not always caused by the harness. (bar, water impact, Beach…)

Avoiding the injury:

It is likely that wearing a proper Impact vest would have avoided the injury even though the forces involved were substantial. With regards to impact vests, one needs to find a product that covers that lower rib area. Not all impact vests do. It will protect from water and bar impact too.

You could argue that in general one should rather wear a seat harness, but that in itself does not absolve you from potential injuries, and for some things a waist harness is more enjoyable. In my experience they both have their advantages.

For me, A seat harness is more comfortable for:

Long sessions

Super powered sessions

Kiteloops

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Pics courtesy of Melissa Smith

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Waist harness on the other hand I prefer

Waveriding

Freestyle

Board offs

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Pics courtesy of Andrew Miller

So my dilemma was how was I going to wear a Waist harness again with this permanent fixture on my chest.
The answer was to try different model waist harnesses until I found one that didn’t apply pressure directly on that area.
The one that worked for me was a Dakine Renegade waist, so I’m back to hitting the waves with that free feeling the waist harness gives you. I was really happy to find an option that worked for me as I was staring at “No more waist harnesses”

However for long sessions, or when planning to ride super powered I slip into my Dakine Nitrous seat harness.

Hope you find your solution…

Ced

Thanks for the pics Melissa Smith and Andrew Miller