James has a new toy

[cglazier]

Not content to wait for stronger winds, James is pushing the limits with his new Flysurfer Speed 19m foil. Here he is in maybe 6 or 7 knots of wind at Jericho this afternoon. His board was a Spleene door 164. He didn't stay upwind, but he would have with one or two more knots. And the kite is pretty impressive for a big foil, it kite loops quite easily and it relaunches quickly. I was there and I am sure that no inflatable kite could have even stayed in the air.


CG

IMG_0203medium.jpg (58.16 KiB) Viewed 14952 times

[James]

The kite does what it's supposed to. It's the lightweight version of the Speed, called the Silver Arrow, and it's only available as a 19m. The weight and packed size are deceptive; comparable to my CB 7m. Set up was a snap. I took a while to figure out what I was doing the first time, but in a hurry I think I could get the kite and lines layed out and airborne in about two minutes.

While I was on the water the Jericho graph indicated 4-14 mph (about 3.5-12 knots), which is about what I experienced on the water. In lulls of about 3-4 knots the kite stayed in the air but couldn't keep me upwind. I was able to hold my own in about 6-8 knots and make crazy upwind progress in the gusts, but unfortunately there was a lot more lull than gust happening, so the net result was downwind. Thanks for the ride, Chris.

The kite stayed airborne in wind strength that was probably half of that necessary to fly any LEI kite that I've ever seen. And the power is what I'd expect, considering that it's a 19m, super high aspect, high L/D, nearly flat (fully projected) kite. 12 knots of wind is more than enough to go anywhere, and fast. I don't know how much depower range is available because I didn't need to use it. The kite only crashed when it flew into a severe header which effectively put the kite slightly upwind of me. Water relaunches were easy, even in wind that an LEI wouldn't even consider staying airborne, let alone relaunching. A lot of seaweed in the bridle might change that, though. We'll see.

I got the kite because I want to get on the water on those typical Vancouver not-enough-wind days, instead of just hoping and checking wind reports all day long. Most days this summer I'll be too busy to get to Squamish. It's too early to know how the kite will work out for me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find, coming from Cabrinha CB's, that control and turning speed were intuitive, as were jumps and loops. That was the best revelation of the day because it means I don't have to learn how to kite all over again.

See you tomorrow on the water,
James

PS: That photo was taken during a gust. I was probably tracking 15-20 degrees upwind, or maybe more.

[Mark_C]

With this new kite how many days between May 1 and Sept 1 do you think you could get in the Vancouver area(i.e. Jericho, Boundary Bay)? How does that compare to a regular kite set-up? Just curious how many actual kiteable days you think we get in Vancouver in that time period. I did not keep track last year but it seems that there were limited days last year and going to squamish was the only option.

If you can stay up upwind in 8 knots then that is pretty good.

Mark

[James]

With this new kite how many days between May 1 and Sept 1 do you think you could get in the Vancouver area(i.e. Jericho, Boundary Bay)? How does that compare to a regular kite set-up?

With a typical set-up, I'd say about 30% of days are rideable, and only if you're flexible enough to hit the beach at the right time. The Silver Arrow 2 will fly on most of the other days in the other 70%, and with the right board, most of those days should be rideable. There are so many Vancouver days with wind readings hovering in the 7-12 range. Rather than putting plans on hold and hoping that will turn into 12-20, I'd rather just go to the beach and get on with it.

Just curious how many actual kiteable days you think we get in Vancouver in that time period.

With the right equipment, 300-350 days per year are rideable in Vancouver. If you disagree, I respectfully suggest that you're tainted by the status quo.

Cheers,
James

[Dan]

I bet that thing is a hang-time machine.

[Mark_C]

It sounds like this will open a lot of doors for you then. You should have had it out at Boundary Bay today. You could have shown us its performance while the rest of us poor bast*rds stood on the beach from noon to 4:30pm waiting for the wind. It never delivered.

I saw a guy flying a flysurfer foil in SPI last fall and it was pretty cool. It was a guy from Calgary and he was a big believer in them.

Have fun

Mark

[James]

You should have had it out at Boundary Bay today...

Went to Jericho again; didn't feel like going all the way to BB.

[JM]

isn't kiteboarding at Jericho ban for 5 months of the year?

[James]

isn't kiteboarding at Jericho ban for 5 months of the year?

Sort of. The lifeguards, when on duty, don't allow kiteboarding at any of the guarded swimming beaches. That includes everything from RVYC up to Acadia Beach.

When the lifeguards are around, you gotta launch beyond the most western guarded beach (the dog beach) and get out onto the water fast. And only if you are really competent, otherwise you'll drift into the guarded area and create a big problem for yourself and others. If things go wrong, you have to be prepared to ride or drift several km's downwind and land near RVYC.

Best regards,
James

[mauidragon]

Hey James My Speed 10 with Session Board is my light wind combo ,The Speed 10 for me get me going in 8 knots and up cause i am light weight ,I don't know what it is ,this kite got lots of power ,If i am on your Speed 19 ,I 'll be afraid to jump cause i may end up at Grouse Mountain ,I 've been thinking about a Speed2 15 //jojo

[James]

Hey James My Speed 10 with Session Board is my light wind combo ,The Speed 10 for me get me going in 8 knots and up cause i am light weight ,I don't know what it is ,this kite got lots of power ,If i am on your Speed 19 ,I 'll be afraid to jump cause i may end up at Grouse Mountain ,I 've been thinking about a Speed2 15 //jojo

An obvious benefit of the lightweight Silver Arrow is it's ability to fly in a light breeze.

But there's another big advantage: Because the kite is so light, it maintains good power on an upstroke during sining, while other kites tend to bog down and stall, struggling to overcome their own weight.

[James]

I've had the kite for two weekends now and it's got me on the water on 3 of the 4 days. (The other day, yesterday, the kite flew in 2-5 knot wind, but I didn't attempt to get on the water.)

I bought the kite from Philippe in an effort to make typical Vancouver summer days rideable. It's not summer yet but today was a perfect test because it was typical of Jericho summer wind - enough to get a bunch of optimistic kiters to put their other plans on hold, but disappointingly not enough to have success on the water with typical equipment.

As of today, I highly recommend this kite. Once I finally got the technique figured out, the upwind ability of the kite with my big board was extraordinary. I could ride upwind at will even in wind I'd estimate at about 6-9 knots (7-10 mph). And the kite is so powerful that it was also quite a rush to bear off and load it up, even in wind of 10 knots or less. I know that may not sound like fun, but I had a great couple of hours on the water. I weigh 200 lbs with my wetsuit and stuff, but even if I weighed 120, I don't believe I could have performed with any LEI kite I've seen.

The trick to getting upwind in really light air is to ride really slowly, so that the apparent wind direction doesn't make upwind progress impossible. The Silver Arrow has enough power, and the Spleene board has enough lift, that this is possible. I've never been able to ride like this before. I flew the kite high, and rode almost upright to avoid overloading the board. The result was that I could consistently ride upwind while other kites were clearly unwilling to even get airborne. I found that the best performance involved bending my knees and getting my weight way forward and above the board. I suspect it looked strange to some that I was going upwind while almost upright on a board that wasn't even making any spray. And by getting upwind readily, there was wind energy to spare for fast, very powered reaches with some wake-style jumps, loops and stuff.

I'll be surprised if there aren't a few more of these kites around this summer. It's kinda like adding 50% to the wind strength.

Cheers,
James

[Mark_C]

sounds like you had fun James. I sat at my desk all day and kept checking the wind graph every so often.

what size would you recommend for a 150 lbs rider on a day like today?

What is the general price of these kites?

Thanks

Mark

[xx-nero-xx]

for anyone trying to get in the game, here is a Psycho 2 Flysurfer on ebay, 17m, complete, if you want to give it a try.
Click here

[VrT]

Sounds like so much fun riding back and forth like that.