Kiteboarding in lightwinds, under 10 mph, is no easy task. When the winds get light in the summer, we get hungry for any type of wind. There’s always a chance for a seabreeze, some are stronger than others. On this particular day I took the jetski out for a cruise around St Petersburg. I found a sandbar island and a puff of wind.
The Gear
With me I had a Cabrinha Contra 19m, Quickloop Overdrive 48-56cm bar with recoil trim adjustments and 22m lines, and a Cabrinha XCaliber 138cm board.
The Conditions
The wind was blowing out of the west at 7-10 mph. It was also an outgoing tide, which worked against me. The ideal scenario to have is to have the tide going into the wind, therefor you get an extra little push. I didn’t get the push I was looking for on this particular day.
If I had the foilboard or a lightwind board I could have been cruising, even with the tide going out. If I had the foilboard, I could have gotten away with using a 12m kite rather than the 19m. I was hoping for either the tide to be pushing into the wind or the wind to fill in a few more mph. If I had 9 – 13 mph of wind then I could have created enough power with the 19m to do some fun tricks. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you’re just mowing the lawn. The only way to know for sure is to take the trip out. Either way, it’s nice to get a salt water fix.
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