Exceptionally nice video!
Showing newest posts with label skimbat. Show older posts
Showing newest posts with label skimbat. Show older posts
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Good news - Bad news
by William Tuthill
The BAD news is that YOU NEED ONE! and that will cost you (but it is worth it). The GOOD news is that it is one of Kitewing's finest creations - more about that later.
The BAD news is for racers.
This past weekend proved what I had always suspected - that the all new 7.5 square meter "Wave Warrior" from Kitewing is more than just a water wing - it is a powerhouse for winter sailing also! Imagine the difference that an extra 2 square meters of sail area makes when the winds are light or the snow is deep. I knew that it would be good, but I never realized that it would replace almost everything else!
Obviously, the 4.8 and 5.5 will always be great in fast conditions, and I still say that the 4.8 on black ice is the ultimate, but WOW! The 7.5 meter Wave Warrior has way more range than I ever expected.
To quote NASA [North American Skimbat Association] web master Rick Hobbs, "the guys at Kitewing are geniuses". I agree.
The 7.5 meter wing is more advanced than ever. It has a way of absorbing gusts, keeping power, and flying steady in almost any amount of wind. The conditions on Sunday were so gusty that the snow was flying around in small tornadoes that resembled the "dust devils" of the great Australian Outback. Violent surges of power came from all angles yet the wing steered into the flow and kept steady. Quite a feat.
The Wave Warrior 7.5 meter wing will be on display, AND on the racecourse at WISSA-2008.
Come check it out, along with several other excellent winter sailing products, at the "Trade Mission" portion of WISSA 2008.
-- Will
Other winter sailing products on display:
- ConceptAir Kites from Quebec
- ParaskiFlex kites from Montreal, QC
- Kitewing from Finland
- Hibernia Iceboards from Latvia
- Snowfer from Canada
- Windski from U.S.A.
plus several other related products from various manufacturers
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Saturday & Easter
What a weekend!
Lake Sunapee ROCKS! The nearly 1100 foot elevation makes for a different climactic designation for this unusual body of water. Everything south and down has melted, but Sunapee still has 12-14 inches of ice! Better still, the forecast is for more cold and a 10 inch dump on Thursday! This means that NEXT weekend is apt to be epic as well!
Almost Night: Shot by Charles Meding while flying the red kite in the foreground. We sailed all day on loose granular, and into the dark.
Last Year: Flying over the St. Lawrence River. By Michael Eudenbach
By way of reference, the sun angle and length of day is that of Labor Day weekend. Yep, that's right- count your days towards summer from the equinox and Easter is like Labor Day and next weekend is crowding AUGUST for sun angles! :)
Before I jinx the jet stream into a more seasonal pattern, I'll just give a quick weekend rundown and crash.
SATURDAY: Forecast- no wind. Reality- 10- 15 mph. Rick Hobbs had to skate with a 5,5 meter wing. He got some rides but he also skated and waited. It looked good some of the time, but I hate skating on skis so I changed teams and "took the kite".
With George Baskette and Charlie Meding as company, it is easy to see the potential of kites.
The surface was loose granular, and with a 4 line foil kite on handles it was fun to chuck the power of the kite around like a rock on the end of a string. Whip it up and down for speed, and send it back for a POWER jibe! Now TTHAT is fun- even if it does rip your arms and abs. BTW George with the 8 meter CA leader? Poetry in motion. And Charlie? How the hell can you fly a kite AND shoot photos?
EASTER SUNDAY: Arose and went to heaven. The overnight temperature was in the teens and the wind was a robust 15-25mph.
Bright sun, thin crispy snow atop hard ice with the new Kitewing Rage 5.5+.
Arose and went to heaven.
That docile powerhouse together with Volkl P30 Race Carver skis on such a surface IS heaven on earth!
The distance between Sunapee Harbor Lighthouse and Herrick Cove Lighthouse is just under 2 miles. I was making the run in under 5 minutes before I realized that I should start keeping track.
After about an hour I started blazing on a broad reach between the 2 points- [an approx. 4 mile round trip]-over and over while counting.
Long story short, I made 25 trips in about 5 hours. That SHOULD be about 100 miles, but without a GPS and a witness, it is quite unofficial. WHO CARES? I did it for me - not for the record books. That said, I plan to get a GPS this week. With luck, I'll have a dog in the hunt for the "Century Club" Award from the Chickawaukee Ice Sailing Club in Maine U.S.A.. before the season ends.
Happy Easter and god bless.
Winter RULES!!!!!!!!
Will
Lake Sunapee ROCKS! The nearly 1100 foot elevation makes for a different climactic designation for this unusual body of water. Everything south and down has melted, but Sunapee still has 12-14 inches of ice! Better still, the forecast is for more cold and a 10 inch dump on Thursday! This means that NEXT weekend is apt to be epic as well!
Almost Night: Shot by Charles Meding while flying the red kite in the foreground. We sailed all day on loose granular, and into the dark.
Last Year: Flying over the St. Lawrence River. By Michael Eudenbach
By way of reference, the sun angle and length of day is that of Labor Day weekend. Yep, that's right- count your days towards summer from the equinox and Easter is like Labor Day and next weekend is crowding AUGUST for sun angles! :)
Before I jinx the jet stream into a more seasonal pattern, I'll just give a quick weekend rundown and crash.
SATURDAY: Forecast- no wind. Reality- 10- 15 mph. Rick Hobbs had to skate with a 5,5 meter wing. He got some rides but he also skated and waited. It looked good some of the time, but I hate skating on skis so I changed teams and "took the kite".
With George Baskette and Charlie Meding as company, it is easy to see the potential of kites.
The surface was loose granular, and with a 4 line foil kite on handles it was fun to chuck the power of the kite around like a rock on the end of a string. Whip it up and down for speed, and send it back for a POWER jibe! Now TTHAT is fun- even if it does rip your arms and abs. BTW George with the 8 meter CA leader? Poetry in motion. And Charlie? How the hell can you fly a kite AND shoot photos?
EASTER SUNDAY: Arose and went to heaven. The overnight temperature was in the teens and the wind was a robust 15-25mph.
Bright sun, thin crispy snow atop hard ice with the new Kitewing Rage 5.5+.
Arose and went to heaven.
That docile powerhouse together with Volkl P30 Race Carver skis on such a surface IS heaven on earth!
The distance between Sunapee Harbor Lighthouse and Herrick Cove Lighthouse is just under 2 miles. I was making the run in under 5 minutes before I realized that I should start keeping track.
After about an hour I started blazing on a broad reach between the 2 points- [an approx. 4 mile round trip]-over and over while counting.
Long story short, I made 25 trips in about 5 hours. That SHOULD be about 100 miles, but without a GPS and a witness, it is quite unofficial. WHO CARES? I did it for me - not for the record books. That said, I plan to get a GPS this week. With luck, I'll have a dog in the hunt for the "Century Club" Award from the Chickawaukee Ice Sailing Club in Maine U.S.A.. before the season ends.
Happy Easter and god bless.
Winter RULES!!!!!!!!
Will
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