Wind Power Windsurfing & Kiting Center Blog » Snow Kiting http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog Windsurfing, Kitesurfing, Open Bic, Stand Up Paddle Surfing on Lake Winnebago, Fond du Lac, WI Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:49:56 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Winter Kiting to Soft Water Kiting http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog/2010/02/winter-kiting-to-soft-water-kiting/ http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog/2010/02/winter-kiting-to-soft-water-kiting/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:41:36 +0000 Kevin Gratton http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog/?p=272 Below is a video of JohnO after his initial 2-3 hour beginner kite lesson.  He has great speed and form for only kiting about 10 minutes in his life.

Now that JohnO has completed his beginner lesson, he needs more time on the kite to get comfortable handling more power.  John also needs to improve his light [...]]]> Below is a video of JohnO after his initial 2-3 hour beginner kite lesson.  He has great speed and form for only kiting about 10 minutes in his life.

Now that JohnO has completed his beginner lesson, he needs more time on the kite to get comfortable handling more power.  John also needs to improve his light wind kite flying.  In light winds, technique plays a big factor in keeping the kite up.  John was flying a 5 meter Naish Helix (4 line SLE Kite with 100% depower).  Don Altmeyer, an excellent kiter was kiting with a 12 meter Naish Helix at the same time.  On soft water John would not have enough power to get up and go, but Don with the 12 meter would have had enough power to get up and even jump.

After the beginner lesson one needs to put another 15 – 20 hours on the kite to build on their skills so they can handle the power required to get up on soft water.  One can shorten that time with another lesson or two.

The Winter is more than half over so don’t procrastinate if you want to kite this summer.  GET OUT and RIDE!

]]> http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog/2010/02/winter-kiting-to-soft-water-kiting/feed/ 0 Winter Sailing & Kiting on Lake Winnebago: Freeskate, Snowfer, Snowboard and more http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog/2009/12/winter-sailing-kiting-on-lake-winnebago-freeskate-snowfer-snowboard-and-more/ http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog/2009/12/winter-sailing-kiting-on-lake-winnebago-freeskate-snowfer-snowboard-and-more/#comments Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:16:06 +0000 Kevin Gratton http://www.windpowerwindsurfing.com/blog/?p=237 Wintertime at Wind Power Windsurfing & Kiting Center is a busy time once Lake Winnebago freezes and the Ice is safe.  Windsurfing & Kiteboarding in the winter can be better than the summer for a lot of sailors & kiters. 

The Winter ice has many advantages:

you can get more sailing/kiting days as winds tend to be [...]]]> Wintertime at Wind Power Windsurfing & Kiting Center is a busy time once Lake Winnebago freezes and the Ice is safe.  Windsurfing & Kiteboarding in the winter can be better than the summer for a lot of sailors & kiters. 

The Winter ice has many advantages:

  • you can get more sailing/kiting days as winds tend to be stronger in the winter and the wind requirements on the ice are much less.
  • you can use your smaller kits (sails or kites) since less wind is required. This is a great time to get more use of your smaller sizes that don’t get used much in the water season.
  • Wind Direction is not as critical with sailing/launch spot. You can sail in front of Wind Power all winter long on all wind directions.
  • Learning to sail or kite in the winter is easier and the preferred method. See this post by Kevin – Learn to Kitesurf in the Winter at Wind Power (this is especially true for kiting, but applies to windsurfing too!)
  • No dealing with cold water. Yes, the temperature is lower, but dressed appropiately (Ski or Snowboard clothing) with proper protective gear (helment and pads) you stay toasty warm.
  • You probably have most of the gear if you windsurf or kitesurf. You may get a different board or use your snowboard for snow kiting.
  • See the 09/10 Winter Flyer for pictures of the freeskate, snowfer, winterboard and iceboard.

Here is a Video of Kevin on the Freeskate with a windsurfing rig. The freeskate is similar to a large skateboard with blades instead of wheels. It has larger trucks, and the board is very manuverable. You need pretty clean ice for the freeskate. The snowfer offers a more ‘all-terrain’ board and it works good on ice and snow. And the kiters use mostly skis or a snowboard.


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Snow Kiting Jumping sequence on Lake Winnebago
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