Reminder to self, if you're getting launched over the board, it's because you're an idiot and pulling on the bar rather than the harness. There should be no 'surprise' power yanking you out of the water.
Gentle with the bar and it will be gentle back.
Thanks Boardgirl... these are great tips.
Went out last night in disappointingly gusty yet light winds and concentrated on getting the power through the harness which really helped.... even managed to ride switch.
yay for kiteboarding.
The wind didnt play to my rules to be able to try a board. So did a body drag with the board till i got over that and then did a self rescue. It least the board floats.
The wind was only just strong enough to get the kite up.
Wrapped the lines around the bar just around one end and not Fig 8 ouch. Took two hours when i got home to untangle it.
A lesson in being patient.
Hey Peter, that sucks. There's nothing worse than going out when there is only just enough wind... makes for a hairy time out on the water...
Still, you're getting good experience at self rescuing and rest assured, water relaunch is a LOT easier when there is actually decent wind.
Going out when there's too much wind makes for a pretty damn hairy time too!
I decided to pump up my 12m in 22 - 25kts - gusting up to 30kts the other day as it was the only kite I had. Went out and was battling HARD to keep the thing under control. It was just picking up too much speed, every time I dug my back heels in the board just skidded. Nearly got lofted a couple of times, came off and stacked hard. Got back to shore, could barely pull it up wind. Landed it as soon as another someone else came by and promptly deflated.
Wont be doing that again in a hurry
Yeah, that's keen! I went out in similar conditions on a 9m and got lifted vertically up off my board! That was in winter wind... lovely.
Did my first jump today. And it was totally meant. And I landed and continued on my merry way. Probably not the prettiest jump, but it counts.
Thank you Progression Kiteboarding Disk 1!
Another tip - if your self landing, depower the kite and know what your doing before trying it in a crowded beach or small stretch of beach.
I had just packed up and was driving off along meville beach road when I see a kite sitting on the middle of the road. Car In front of me had to swerve on the other side while he relaunched and then landed in shrubs. Pulled over an told him to next time get someone to land him as this is a popular spot an there were alot of kiters around. But he spoke hardly any English coming from France. 
Ouch, you know you've had a bad day when you're in the road or in the shrubs...
Yeah, good tip, practice your self landings with a mate who is perhaps down wind of the kite and can help you if things go astray.
FYI, I did my first jump last night. Did I mention that?
Thanks BoardGirl, yeah, damn happy. I managed to hold back going 'whooooooooo' (in an Archer kind of way) long enough to recall I needed to land and what to do.
It was a great, great feeling!
Not quite as good as a first jump, but this afternoon I did my first transition slide from going left to going right. Also the first time I got some nice long runs in (more than 10 seconds ). Even got to run down the face of a waist-high wave on my way back in. Felt glorious! Bring on tomorrow.
). Even got to run down the face of a waist-high wave on my way back in. Felt glorious! Bring on tomorrow.
). Even got to run down the face of a waist-high wave on my way back in. Felt glorious! Bring on tomorrow.
Okay, I appreciate like I'm showing off here... but I'd just like to announce I can finally (if not gracefully) slide turn, both directions and most of the time, consecutively!
I'd like to thank the academy...
It's certainly not perfect, but I can keep myself on the board and sometimes I find I shoot down wind and take the tension out of the lines. These symptoms I suffered when first starting to water start, so know what I need to do to fix it.
Next milestones:
1. Carving turn
2. Small jumps
3. Riding up wind toeside.
wait untill you get the timing of the kite right and really dig the back heel in on a powered carve that is up the top of best feelings . but the best is jump or tracking so far upwind that you have to do a down wind to get back home . All jokes aside i found riding down wind bloody hard your board is flat and you catch up to your kite real fast lines go slack you drop into water then lines go tight and whop you are going so fast you pass the kite ends up real bad so a heads up when flying down wind straight at kite fly kite like trainer tight figure eights or right and left or up down what ever but kite must be flowen or go a little side ways .riding upwind toeside is not easy you feel like a prestel all twisted up but good to learn for the surf boards as for switch ya feet on the sb i havnt got it yet and i been trying for 2 seasons .
Cheers S2A.
I'm keen as mustard to try a surfboard, but want to be able to carve turn before I add another dimension of a different boar into the mix.
Good luck with the progress...
I tried a carve turn the other day... I completely overshot my kite and it stalled. Do I need to bring it over to the other side of the window faster?
Zarb, I think so, yes, but its a balancing act. Too quick and you'll launch yourself over the board. On low wind days, I've been playing with shifting my weight around and going from a light edge to direct down wind, then back to the same edge. This has helped my (otherwise board illiterate body) learn the effects of weight and direction.
Assuming you are doing toeside to heelside?
1/ As you move your weight off your toes and start the turn, pull with your back hand
2/At the midpoint of your turn, your board should be facing downwind and your kite should be around 12.
3/ As you exit the turn your weight will be starting to transfer over your heels and you dive the kite to generate power and exit the turn
I hope that explains it in theory but it is all about timing and getting everything to work together.
Have fun & let us know how you go.
Stoked to see the newby enthusiasm shining thru.
For me it was the most exciting period of kiting I have ever had.
Frustrating, tiresome, annoying, dangerous, embarrassing.... all that and more.
BUT
Trust me - you will remember your time spent stumbling along the climb up the curve long after memories of the cranking sessions ahead of you start to fade away.
And be sure to celebrate - bigtime - that day you land back at your launch spot for the first time. YEAH - UPWIND. Im a kiter!!!
Took longer in the early days but I still throw a party of some sort every year on the anniversary of the 12th of Dec 2004. One of the best days of my entire life.
Stay Safe & remember "those who enjoy most WIN"
I lurv learning anything new... it seems to move ahead in leaps and bounds. Yesterday was another breakthrough for me.
I am getting up on both sides now 99% of my attempts, Can almost keep a bearing upwind on my natural side and can actually make some ground upwind on my goofy side! I think I may be able to end up in the same place I launched if I went out to sea far enough
Also can almost land basic jumps, and carve transitions from heelside to toeside. And the best feeling was yesterday afternoon chasing the swell back in, carved upwind to face the wave, and managed a cutback back downwind.
Just need to work on perfecting upwind, and basic sliding transitions.
