A
AIR TIME: the amount of time spent in the air while
jumping. This can be remarkably long; the current
record is probably Erik Eck's 39-second kitemare. Five
to ten seconds is not unusual.
APPARENT WIND: the kite's speed relative to the
surrounding air. When kitesurfing in a straight line,
the kite's apparent wind is a combination of the wind
speed and the speed of the kite and rider over the
surface, but since the kite is highly steerable
apparent wind can vary widely depending on how the
kite is being flown. Most ways of increasing power
from the kite involve giving it a higher apparent wind
somehow, i.e. diving the kite, riding faster, or
riding at a greater angle into the wind. Any of these
raises the kite's apparent wind speed.
B
BODY DRAGGING: being pulled through the water without
standing on your board. This is an early step in the
learning process, and is recommended before trying the
board after flying a trainer kite.
BOOST: to suddenly become airborne
C
CHICKEN-LOOP: a hard rubber loop attached to the
middle line which has been fed through the control
bar. It is used to attach the control bar to the
harness so the kitesurfer can produce tension in the
lines using their entire bodyweight instead of using
purely arm strength.
CHICKEN-BONE: a hard rubber "tongue" attached to the
chicken loop which the rider feeds through the
spreader bar hook to prevent the rider from becoming"unhooked".
D
DE-POWER: to reduce the kite's power (pull), generally
by adjusting the angle of attack of the kite. Most
kites and control bars now allow you to rig a kite for
a number of different power levels before launching,
in addition to powering the kite up and down "on the
fly" by moving the bar up and down. Depowerability
makes a kite safer and easier to handle. Some new kite
models, especially "bow" kites, can be de-powered to
practically zero power, giving them an enormous wind
range.
DP: Dawn patrol; a very early morning session.
DONKEY DICK: same as "chicken bone".
DOWNWIND: the direction the wind is blowing towards;
to leeward. When you are facing downwind the wind is
at your back.
DOWNWINDER: a kitesurfing "trip" (could actually be as
short as a few minutes) where the rider starts at one
point and ends up at another point downwind of their
original position. This is a good way to learn; park a
vehicle a mile downwind and you can concentrate on
tricks or learning or waveriding or just jumping and
not have to worry about walking back or tacking
upwind.
E
EPIC: really great!!!
EDGE: tilting the board with its edge into the water.
Used to control the direction of travel. Learning to
edge properly is critical for learning to tack upwind.
Edging is one of the fundamental skills of kitesurfing
and is one of the ways kitesurfing is different from
windsurfing or wakeboarding. While windsurf boards
have daggerboards and/or skegs to steer the board
upwind while lift and planing is provided by the board
itself, generally kiteboards actually combine both
functions and the bottom of the board lifts the rider
and steers simultaneously. Kiteboard fins are
generally much smaller and are for keeping the board
in the water (see "tea-bagging"), but are not
essential. Because kite boards have a small rocker, a
deep edge can allow the board to act as a large low
drag fin. Edging in wakeboarding is used for steering
the board; whereas in kite boarding not only does
edging steer the kite board, it is essential for kite
control and controlling board speed. Riding downwind
towards the kite subtracts massively from the kite's
power and helps control board speed as well.
F
FACEPLANT: to land on your face
FLOAT: making BIG air
H
HEELSIDE: the side of a board on the edge where your
heels are (opposite of toeside). "Riding heelside" is
riding with your heels down. Heelside is the normal
and most comfortable riding position.
HINDENBURG: A reference to the Hindenburg Airship
disaster of 1937, which in kitesurfing terminology
refers to the kite stalling and falling out of the
sky. Hindenburging can be caused either by lack of
wind or by the kite advancing to a position upwind of
the kitesurfer in the wind window.
HANDLEPASS: while unhooked, passing the control bar
behind your back while in the air
K
KITELOOP: is a group of tricks that you loop the kite
while spinning through the air
KITEMARE: a kiteboardsurfing accident or dangerous
mishap. Kitemares can be deadly.
KOOKS: jerks who kite or begginers who think they are
pro's
L
LOFTED: to get lifted vertically into the air by the
kite by a strong gust of wind. A very dangerous
occurrence that has resulted in several fatalities
when kiters on or near land have been dragged into
obstacles. Can be avoided my minimizing time on land
with the kite flying directly overhead, and by not
kiting in overpowered situations.
LUFF: when the air flow stalls around the kite. It may
then stall and fall out of the sky. Like sails, a
luffing kite has rippling and flapping panels. When
launching the kite, if the kite is luffing, the rider
should move farther upwind, or the person holding the
kite should move downwind.
M
MOBE: A back loop with a handlepass in the middle,
while keeping the kite below 45 degrees.
N
NUKING: wind blowing at great speeds(30-40kts). These
conditions are very extreme and dangerous for most
riders.
Newbie: new to the sport
O
OFFSHORE: wind blowing at the water from the shore.
Never ride in offshore winds without some means of
recovery, i.e. a chase boat. This is somewhat less
important in smaller bodies of water, of course.
ONSHORE: wind blowing perpendicular to and directly at
the shore from the water. A challenging condition for
beginners, especially if waves are present.
O-SHIT LOOPS: Two loops on either ends of the bar that
are attached to the kite lines and run through rings
attached to the bar. A standard leash attachment
point.
OVERHEAD WAVES: waves two or more meters (6 feet) from
trough to crest;
OVERPOWERED: the condition of having too much power
from the kite. Can be a result of an increase in wind,
incorrect kite choice (too large for the conditions),
incorrect adjustment, simply going too fast, etc.
Interestingly, experienced riders who are overpowered
can switch to a smaller board to compensate, to a
degree, although it's common to have just one board.
P
PHAT: really big, hight, great, awsome...or a super
hot female kiter
POSER: pretend kiter
POWER UP: when the kite's power increases (suddenly),
because of wind gusts or the kite's movement.
POWER ZONE: is the area in the sky where the kite
generates the most lift (pull), this is generally
between 0 to 60 degrees arc from the center of the
downwind direction.
R
RIDING BLIND: riding backwards
S
SEND IT: To move the kite aggressively up through the
power zone.
SCHLOGGING: This is riding extremely underpowered. You
have no power to plane and definitely not enough to
jump. You and your board bounce from planing on the
surface to being dragged in the water.
S#*T HOT: The art of stylish smooth moves.
STIFFY: with both legs straight
SIDE SHORE: winds blowing parallel to the shore.
Usually the most desirable direction for kitesurfing.
SIDE ONSHORE: wind blowing between sideshore and at a
45 degree angle towards the shore.
SHRINKAGE: cold water riding, self explanatory...
SPREADER BAR: A stainless steel bar that attaches to
the rider's harness. It has a hook that holds the"chicken loop" when riding hooked in.
T
TAILGRABS: grab the back of the board
TOTALLY-AGGRO: fearless
TACK: The direction which is being sailed, normally
either starboard tack or port tack. In a starboard
tack the wind is coming in from the rider's starboard
(right-hand) side, similar to sailing a boat. In
normal riding, the kitesurfer takes a heading which is
as close to into the wind as possible, and in any
event leads at some angle slightly upwind, sometimes
as much as 45 degrees; jumping or wave riding usually
results in traveling downwind, so the net result is to
maintain relative position. Alternately, see "downwinder".
TEA-BAGGING: popping out of and falling back into the
water intermittently due to light or gusty wind, poor
flying skills, twisted lines etc.
TOE SIDE: the side of a board on the edge where your
toes are (opposite of heel side). "Riding toe side" is
riding with your toes down.
U
UNDERPOWERED: the condition of having insufficient
power from the kite. Can be a result of insufficient
wind, choosing a kite that is too small for the
current wind, rigging incorrectly, board too small,
water current in the same direction as the wind, not
riding fast enough, etc. A rider who is continuously
diving the kite and sending it back up in a sine-wave
pattern is usually underpowered.
UNHOOKED: is a term used to describe when a kitesurfer
is riding while the chicken loop is not attached to
the rider's harness.
UPWIND: the direction from which the wind is blowing;
windward; into the wind.
UNCOOL: bad
V
VAS CONDITIONS: Victory at Sea; very rough sea
conditions, generally with overhead wind waves causing
severe shore break.
W
WIND WINDOW: is the 120-180 degree arc of the sky
downwind of the rider in which the kite can be flown.
Roughly one fourth of a sphere's surface. If the rider
is facing downwind on a flat surface, like the ocean,
the wind window consists of roughly all the area the
rider can see, from the rider's peripheral vision on
one side, along the horizon to the other side, and
then directly overhead back to the first side. If the
rider somehow puts the kite out of the window -- for
example, by riding downwind very quickly and sending
the kite directly overhead and behind -- the kite will
stall and frequently fall out of the sky.
Z
ZENITH: the location in the wind window directly over
the kiter's head. This is the neutral position where
kitesurfers can place the kite to stop moving or prior
to movement. |
