Hi eabmoto, yes it is realistic, but you would want the right board. I kite strapless usually from 12 to 35kn of wind, with zero swell, only wind built chop and break (Mediterranean).
A good board for chop + high wind is rather thin (low volume), especially in the front, and rather gunny (not wide). Sharp rails are better than round rails, and single concave works well.
Chop:
-even a wide board like a skim works well in chop when it's thin enough and has sharp rails. Some rocker required though, not a flat water skim, otherwise it keeps pearling.
-High volume is always bad, because the board bounces like a cork and is hard to control.
-deep single concave makes the board fly like a carpet over the chop. Very comfortable
High wind:
-high wind kiting is about controlling your speed. If you're able to keep the speed low and controlled, it's all good. Why? wind force grows with the square of apparent wind. As you're going faster, the driving force grows bigger, until the point of equilibrium (or wipe out
)
-little width is king. You want to be able to kill speed by putting in a rail and using the tail brake (stepping on the tail of the board). With a wide or high volume board, you can't dig in that rail or tail. with a thin board you can.
-Sharp rails and concave help controlling that board.
Rule of thumb: How wide is wide? From my experience, anything over 18.5" is too wide for high wind, at 85kg. If you weigh less, go smaller. So for an allround board, I'd go 18 to 18.5, depending on your weight. If you use a special high wind board, go 17.5 to 18.
Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:14 pm