Utah Windriders Association

Ripping day at strawbs! I have been kitying with a GPS and trying to haul some arse. Today was the best day so far with a top speed of 62.3 on my 200cm board! I also had a few 55+ plus passes before catching the magic gust to break the 60 mark!!! so sick!!!! Thanks to Ryan for loaning me a kite to get it done on!!!

Just imagine how much faster you can go with skis.

Well done!

Ha, Ha, I didnt recognize Bills face at first and thought to myself BS. Then looking at the posters name
Who else would do it .

Fun day! I went up to the river when the squll hit and it was gusty. The river was awesome, great snow and wind was good, but I kited by myself , Mike Hill was with me for a while then left. I have been using my Garmin 76GCSX, a really nice handheld. I got 32 miles in two hours and I was screaming all over the place. Top speed on skis 39 MPH. I have been using it for a few years now and I think this has been my top speed. Billy I would like you to take my GPS out and see what you get on it?? 62 on a snowboard is cooking!!!

I put that in perspective by call it Freeway Speed. Impressive without a combustion engine.

-Craig

Todd Jacques wrote:62 on a snowboard is cooking!!!

On snow not water and unofficial?

Whatever...
I still say fastest kite boarder in the world 54.14 knots!!!

Way to get it Billy!

Shawn Henderson wrote:On snow not water and unofficial?

Whatever...
I still say fastest kite boarder in the world 54.14 knots!!!

Way to get it Billy!

Shawn, the fastest speed on ice belongs to someone with a sail, mast and boom. The speed is close to 80 mph.

Hells Yes Billy. What are the details? You on flat of the lake? Kite size? Wax? This is huge. We need to get the guys from Genius on this speed thing. You are my spiritual leader. lol "Billy the Bodhizafa"!
Capt. D

Clearly it helps to have a background as a snowboard racer; Chris Klug recently did 67.5: http://www.stormboarding.com/speedranking0910.html But on skis. Billy appears to have the record on a snowboard.

And then there's the new kite buggy record: 82.9 mph with a 2.7m kite! Yikes!! http://vimeo.com/10801965

I found a few good links to ice sailing speed records. Check them out here

http://www.windjet.co.uk/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=50

http://www.windjet.co.uk/index.php?opti ... iew&id=182

My personal best - 59.5 mph, gps verified, skis, Ozone Manta II, 12M, at Strawberry. That was two winters ago, I keep trying, but thats still my best.
Nice work Billy!

Tommy, Great read, The british boat is the one I saw the TV show about, they were running it on a airport runway super sick!

I think I can go faster with a true "course" and a well prepped shape spacific board. I also think I could have held down more kite on that day, but Ryan had a kit pumped up and I just borrowed it. I am very thankful, seems like so many of my kiting career highs have been on others gear, Thanks everyone, Sal kite for beating the skiiers in the winduro at the masters, Jason for loaning me his quiver at a ton of events, Ryan for his Best nemisis 10 for my top speed.

Leo, who is faster again is it a windsurfer or a kiter??? makes me wonder why a guy on a kite can't break the current ice record I would be willing to try for sure. I have a pair of down hill skiis they are coming out for sure next year.

Billy, on water, I think kiter is a bit faster than windsurfer. On ice, no doubt it is a man (woman) and his (her) sail.

http://forums.windsurfingmag.com/showthread.php?t=737

I think 2 problems will limit the speed of kiting on ice.
1. The foil holds a lot of air and moving across wind with that much air is going to create a lot of resistance forces.
2. The inflable kite has such a fat front that is also creating a large surface for resistance forces.

The obvious question is, why would anyone in their right mind wants to go 80+ mph without a metal frame protection.

Leo, A kite is more then a bit faster then a windsurfer, on water. Now the vessel "greenbird" is in no way shape or form a windsurfer it has a person inside a cockpit not standing on a board (or even skiis for the sake of argument). Lets face the true realality that a person on a kite is faster then a person on a windsurfer.....place your ego, and or your internet poise aside and be real on your local forum. We are all friends here taling about sailing. In this thread I was sharing how fast I went this winter with my local crew Not argueing what is faster. Your sail mast and boom statement is bunk. no one is rigging cloth on these speed machines.

Now if you truley believe you can't make a kite that is not inflatable but a single piece of materal , I would make a composite wing on a set of strong strings, and pair it with a suitable sliding device that you can hual ass, that you may be faster then a non movible sail that can not be stroked to create more power then you are really pigeon holing your self with in the box bordem and not real foward thinking.

A moveable sail that stokes through the window can and will generate more aperant wind , these are not my rules. but the rules of physics. As soon as some one (like Richard Bransom) bank rolls a true kite top speed project no current kite has the chance to compete with a composite winged cockpit vessal on land.

Don't you find it amazing that the first sailor (on water) to break the 50k mark was a kiter on a inflatable almostk stock kite, So one dude on less then 3000 dollars worth of gear crushed the threshold multimillion dollar vessals have felt was the Grail. If you can't give a kite credit for that then It will blow my gord.

The idea of going 80 plus with out a metal frame is old school, On skiis, on a snowboard, aboard a cycle, etc. many off us on this forum go out and do it daily, I think 80 is very slow and a conservitive number for high end speed with a kite on a low friction surface. It just happened on a wheeled buggy with a little kite, with proof in this thread.

Lets give some credit where credit is due. I have sailed lots of stuff and respect them all. I see the kite as a exciting chance to go faster, thats who I am and how I sail. Get me and my friends a budjet and I bet we can turn some heads There is still so much room for kite improvement and research.

Billy, the battle between kiting and sailing top speed will never end.

Seriously though, I think our local crews are doing amazing things. You guys are making things look so easy, and breaking records like it is just another day at the field. I have no doubt you will be the king of speed on snowboard.

The fixed wing idea is not a bad one though. The problem is when you crash, the wing is instantly toasted. Not to mention how bulky and uncool it will look. I think I will stick to kiting in the winter.