Source Supkite Journeys

The journey concept came to me almost immediately that F-one told me about their source supkite source.f-onekites.com 'Have inflatable kite and inflatable board will travel'. The concept being to actually cross the different spots from where its good to paddle to where its good to kite and so on. It's the combination and fallback options that excite. The possibilities are endless.

Overnighters, inter island, epic crossings, inland adventure, incorporating transport by bus, boat, plane and donkey'or just around the local headland on a Sunday afternoon with some good mates and a cold beer in the backpack. 'Have inflatable Source kite and inflatable RED board will travel'.

You may be thinking why not a normal kite ? Well the 13m in backpack is tiny. The source is tuned for sup speeds and works way better than normal kites in light winds with sup boards. 2 lines with + easy to ' length means setup and packdown on the water / in tight spots is realistic. We have been kiting longer and been through more progressions than anyone in Australia and we reckon Source is the go for these reasons and more.

So after proving the incredibly easy and stable flight characteristics of the Source kite from F-one, and its perfect function with Red Air inflatable paddleboards. We just chose a typical day of light wind (90% of the time) and assembled at the park with boards and kite. Mat, Ryan, John and Jules, 3 boards and 1 source kite in backpack.

1400 Leaving the park water was smooth like a mirror, the hustle and bustle quickly fading as we paddle west past the spit nature reserve. John and Jules joined just for the first hour as they had other commitments.
1500 Mat and Ryan arrive at a sandbar midriver and set up the 13m Source supkite then session for an hour. Successful trial of towing under kitepower. Stop for a chat with all the sorry 'sourceless' kiters sitting on their bums.
1600 Astonishingly quick to tack upwind out of the river into the bay but then the wind dropped which was perfect to really test the journey concept. Roll up kite, resort to paddle, theres no stopping us.
1630 Arrive at main beach next to the bar, happy and smiling after a great little adventure. Map below, Already talking about where to go next.



View Journey 26.9.10 in a larger map

Notes ' Riding with kite is much faster than paddling, and effortless in comparison. A long paddle distance can be a short sail. The kite helps balance so hanging off kite is way less strenuous than paddling and balancing. For towing a long legrope is great as it's a little stretchy, and easy to both stand in flat water. Tacking easy when towee lets go legrope, kiter turns and goes past again. Use the 2 velcro strips on your RED air to strap the paddle down when kiting. We look forward to try train a whole line of boards behind one Sourcekite. If you need extra leash attachments to strap down drysacks etc contact email@m8kite.com


                     

26-Sep-10 10:34AM