K2 Test – Nov 29
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Due to stormy conditions, we started late today and brought only a 25 sqm kite, but we were lucky and missed the rain. The wind was strong, and for the first time we successfully executed multiple foiling uploop jibes. An uploop jibe facilitates foiling through the turn by pulling up on the boat when it’s most likely to drop off the foils and then powering up just after the turn, when the boat needs an extra boost of speed to keep going. However, uploop jibes are difficult because they require fast maneuvering of the kite and lots of wind in order to keep the kite from stalling above the boat and falling behind the boat. If the boat passes in front of the kite, the kite will begin to fall out of the sky. Foiling through a downloop jibe is scarier, because it requires a big boost of of power and a decisive turn at the right moment, but it’s more effective than an uploop jibe across varied conditions. The strong wind and the smaller kite, which is more easily controlled and which turns faster than a big kite, made it possible to repeatedly foil through uploop jibes today. We also, for the first time, changed the angle of attack of the T-foil in the middle of the turn, using the tiller button to make the T-foil higher during the turn and lower again just out of the turn. This procedure seemed to help the boat stay on the foils, despite our relatively moderate speed. Top speed today was 25 knots. Dudu and Luke Danziger joined us on this test.
Kai View Data:
20121129-k2-25m.kai.bz2
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