Safety When Launching and Landing - The Kiteboarder Magazine

Jesse Richman proves you can unhook from
a bow kite. Lens: Kim Kern
Sometimes kiteboarders remind me of a bunch of high school kids; everyone’s
afraid to be the first one in the group to try something new, for fear of
being made fun of by the rest of the group. It’s easy to get set in your ways
and avoid trying new things. I hear a lot of talk on the beach about what
works and what is fun, but I rarely actually see people step outside of their
comfort zone and genuinely try something new.
We want riders to always be trying new things and pushing themselves,
whatever their level of riding. With that in mind we bring you the first installment
of a new department here at The Kiteboarder. “Try This” kicks off with
two topics, looping the kite and unhooking, and we will bring you something
new to try each issue. We hope that riders of all levels will open their
minds to new ways of riding enough to go out there and Try This!
In my opinion, every rider should be comfortable with unhooking. Not only does it
allow you to take your riding to another level, but it also allows you to easily deal
with situations when you come unhooked on accident (every rider WILL come
unhooked at some point, even if they never want to). Before you unhook, make
sure your leash will still be functional and check that your kite is trimmed properly.
You may want to add a stopper ball below the bar or simply depower the kite with
your sheeting strap before unhooking.
Try This:
1. Move your hands to the center of the bar and pull the bar towards
you and down in a smooth motion to unhook. Keeping your
hands centered will keep you from over steering the kite.
2. While unhooked, keep the bar low and your elbows in close
to your body. Keep your back straight and your shoulders back.
Don’t let the kite pull you over (don’t bend at the waist).
3. To hook back in, pull the bar in and down, then push it up and
away to get the harness loop into your hook. Practice doing this
motion before you launch your kite until you can do it without
looking down.
Work Towards:
Being able to do simple tricks unhooked. Start with raleys and
backrolls. Remember to keep your hands centered and use your
board to pop off the water.
Grabbing unhooked gets more style points than grabbing while
hooked in. Center one hand on the bar, with the chicken loop
between your index and middle fingers.
Unhook in the surf to allow your body more freedom to move.
Again, keep your hands centered on the bar.
The Kiteboarder 48 The Kiteboarder 49