Author: betsy

K2 Test – July 2

7/2/12

A nice test today with the 40 sqm kite and some weird wind. The wind was starting and stopping a lot, but we had some help from an ebb tide and were able to get the boat foiling at top speed of 27 knots with four people on board. The larger kite worked well, but the loads pulled it into a pretty pronounced U-shape. We were joined on this test by Jos Cocquyt.

K2 Test – Jun 28

6/28/12

We took K2 out again today to test chair adjustments and observe kite deformation during turns.

Don and Kiteboat Project on CNN’s Mainsail

6/14/12

Don and the Kiteboat Project were featured on the sailing program “Mainsail” on CNN International that aired today. Host Shirley Robertson and crew visited San Francisco for a week in May, and they joined us for two kiteboat tests. They also filmed Don kitesurfing with Johnny Heineken, who is featured in this episode as well. The episode appears in three parts on the Mainsail site: “Kiteboarding: Birth of a New Sport,” “Kiteboarding’s Healthy Rivalry,” and “Fastest Man on the Water.” We’re primarily in the third segment.

K2 Test – Jun 1

6/1/12

Test today with the winch and chair modifications. Sailed through the gap successfully.

K2 Tow Test – May 30

5/30/12

We took K2 out today to tow around the protected area off Alameda Point, using the new T-foil. We are in the process of constructing a mold to make a new T-foil from scratch, and we modified an old foil to test out some ideas and help us refine the design. This modified foil is much narrower overall–it is not tapered like our current T-foil, and it has a different airfoil shape. It is intended to optimize lift at lower speeds, but it will have more drag at higher speeds.
After the tow test, we replaced the foil with our standby foil and went out for a kite test of the repaired chair and new winch setup.

Kitesurfing CNN shoot – May 9

5/9/12

Today we towed K2 to the St. Francis Yacht Club in case the wind was favorable for a boat test with the CNN crew. The eventual wind proved to be very gusty, and we left the boat at the dock, but Don kitesurfed with Johnny and Erika Heineken and Chip Wasson, and some of Johnny’s other friends. The CNN crew filmed from a RIB off Crissy Field. (Don has a red kite with a pink stripe; Johnny and Erika have yellow kites; Chip has a blue kite.)

K2 Test – May 8

5/8/12

Yesterday three journalists from the CNN International program  Mainsail arrived to film us and others in the Bay Area for their segment on kite power. Don and Dudu and Johnny Heineken met up with them last night, and this afternoon they arrived in the shop to interview Don. We took them out on the water with K2, so Shirley Robertson, the show presenter and a two-time Olympic gold-medalist in sailing, could helm the kiteboat. The wind was unusually strong and very gusty by Treasure Island, so after a few attempts there with smaller kites, we packed up and moved to the center of the bay, between Hunters Point and Alameda. The wind there was much more manageable, but not quite […more]