The New Kiter's Guide to Happiness.
2009 Edit.

One fact that you learn early in Kiteboarding is that the weather is sure to change and mess up your perfect day.

We have all experienced the scenario... you plan a beautiful day out on your brand spanking new kitesurfing rig and just as you step onto the beach the wind starts nuking in at 25 knots.
As your kite is trying to thrash itself free from your sweaty grip and flapps furiously under your arm like a wild bird seeking its freedom. One of life's little reality checks kicks you in the guts. ...this one kite can not bring you the perfect happiness it promised.
Like so many newbies before you, you resign yourself to the position of ‘Kite Perv’, sheltering behind bushes on the wind whipped beach. Oh the pain of it all, being forced to sit and watch the action spreading across the bay as the seasoned riders arrive and select the perfect kite for the strengthening conditions.


Why limit yourself to a single kite for so long?
Each kite size has a limited wind range and with just the one kite you will find your kiting days numbered to just the days with winds ideal for that kite.
Lets be brutally honest, your unlikely to progress to become an advanced kite boarder if your stuck with just that one kite. But realistically it often takes novice riders up to two years to convince their 'other half' that the first kite wasn’t a waste of money and gain approval to revisit their favourite kiteboarding shop.
Yes, eventually they will buckle and understand that your kiting happiness makes for a happy home. So lets look at the possibilities of what you could experience if you were to increase your Kiteboarding rig to include a few well planned sizes of kites.

The First Kite, a nice big powerful size for learning on those light summer days.
An 85 kg novice rider should be well powered on a 13m Waroo (SLE/Bow style kite) in 12 knots and be easily able to sail and tack into the wind. An advanced rider will be able to hold this same kite down in winds just touching on 25 knots or more.
So as a novice, at 10 knots your grovelling and at 25 knots your pretty terrified. But we have the average sea breeze covered 10-22 knots on a 13m with plenty of extra wind range up our sleeve. Plus you're on the water getting the basics all sorted and feeling 100% in control.

The Two kite quiver. This will double the time you get on the water, so lets look at this new scenario and see how this really does work.

The wind is hitting 25 knots and your 13m kite is just starting to spook you in the gusts. You know the feeling the kite tugs you hard a couple of times and you unconsciously crouch forward on the board and “oh crap” start to accelerate faster and faster off down wind at what feels like a World speed record. (often endings in tears, sand drags, long panicky board less flights off the water and into the sand dunes etc. Or of course if your more controlled a high intensity, spray filled, arse braking emergency stopping procedure). To be fair anyone with a couple of days riding under their belt has learned to push the control bar out, slow down and stop. But for sure there are riders who panic and pull the bar in at the wrong time and accelerate away towards the beach.

It is at this point in your day, you consider the possibility that its getting a bit windy for your skill level. But now... with your new 9m kite, instead of joining the ‘Kite Pervs’ hiding behind the bushes or in their cars you can just change down a gear and head right back out.
There is a large overlap in the wind ranges of the new (SLE/Bow) style kites like the Waroo kites from BEST. So you don't need to ride to the maximum wind range on a kite before changing down a size. In fact I highly recommend you always ride a small kite in NZ conditions if it is possible to do so.

The 9m will feel nicely powered in 18 knots and you hardly need sweep the kite for power at all. Your skill level will rapidly increase as the hours clock by and even more importantly your confidence level is stepping up to a whole new level. Any phobia of that 18 -30 knot gust has all but disappeared. You have truly discovered a whole new freedom and you fall in love with 9m weather.

The 9m kite for our novice 85 kg rider will offer enough power to be riding upwind in 18 knots or more and when the wind hits that magic 20 knot mark its perfect. The top end for our novice rider kicks in at around 28-30 knots. For an advanced rider of the same weight it could be up to 35 knots!
You now have a good overlap between your 13m and 9m sizes. This allows the luxury of being able to ride the 13m or the 9m in that nice 18-22 knot range. So depending on how shifty the weather is looking or how confident you are feeling, you can decide to ride well lit on the 13m without much room to move if the wind strength increases. Or ride conservatively on the 9m and still remain confident that you can handle the conditions if they strengthen.

Mental note here: A 4sqm (flat surface area) size shift allows for a nice overlap in wind range in the 13 to 9m kite size step.

The Three kite quiver. This fills in all the gaps and puts you on the water almost every day there is wind. Owning three well selected kite sizes allows you select the one you feel most comfortable with in the given conditions.

Continuing on with our 85 kg rider scenario. But now let us assume your a quickly progressing rider and have a solid appreciation of wild angry NZ weather and moderate your risk taking.
So...your out there on your 9m kite and the horizon darkens up quickly behind you. When you send your 9m sizzling up and ramp off one of the nice waves that have just started rolling in you jump very high. You can feel the kite entering stronger wind above you and it lifts you unexpectedly higher still, your held there for longer than you really feel comfortable with and just to really rattle you, just as the hard packed sand of the beach enters your peripheral vision your loving 9m kite wrenches you up another couple of meters. You land it hot, fast and shallow and don’t hesitate to take a breather on the beach for a moment of understandable self assessment. Recognising the scenario of an imminent increase in wind about to descend across the entire bay, you are forced to decide, call it a day. Or crack open that gleaming new 7m Kite.

The 7m is a bit of a wild card kite size, everyone needs one in their quiver. With spare time for Kiteboarding at a premium you want to have all the tools for the job in the wagon. Let’s just say were maximising the potential of our kite days. And that is where the 8m really sells itself.
The 8m kite will allow our 85 kg rider to be sailing up wind in 25 knots and quite comfortable in storm force winds of 30 knots & more. So if your feeling conditions are getting a bit hairy for the 9m it really is time for a step down to the 7m. Of course self launching and landing an 7m kite in 30 knots is something only for the experienced riders so really ease your self slowly into the 7m kite and weather experience.

Mental note here: The 2sqm step down in size from the 9m to the 7m is perfect.


The shifting scale. As with most things you can tweak these scenarios to suit your preferred riding conditions. Be very aware that the wind ranges an 85 kg rider will get out of a 13m kite will be much better than someone who weighs in at only 55 kg. Check that your buying the right sizes for you and not just what the shop is pushing on you. Also be sure about how you mix a quiver of differing brands of kites as they are not all sized or designed the same. Finally local conditions will play a major part in your quiver, what suits Auckland is unlikely to be ideal for Wanaka, use your local knowledge.

Summary:
The single kite quiver is a great way to get into the sport especially if your on a tight budget.
A two kite quiver is going to cover 80-90% of all the wind conditions you will encounter and will provide enormous benefit to the developing rider and really boost your confidence.
The three kite quiver offers you the maximum kiteboarding bang for your buck, if its windy you are out there. You will be confident in all conditions because you have the right kite for every available day.

For the purposes of keeping things simple I have based all kite (flat area) sizes as being the correct size for a 85 kg rider for the wind ranges I mention. Please check this data against manufactures recommendations for your weight at the time of purchase and with your Kiteboarding store owner before you make any purchases.

If you get a spanking on your new kite, don’t come complaining to me I am not your Mother!


Written by Lee McClelland - Owner of Anabatic Kiteboarding.
Importers and distributors of the finest Kiteboarding equipment.
http://www.anabatickiteboarding.com