Hi all,

I have been kiting for coming on two years now. I have been progressing at a pretty good rate for me, I think. Starting to ride strapless in waves, can boost quite will, back rolls, front rolls, starting (albeit pretty unsuccessfully) unhooked jumping etc.

But I am still lacking in one of the most basic of things that most people master pretty quickly - going upwind. I always have to do the walk of shame at least a couple of times in a session, and can only really hold my position if I'm not doing many jumps at all :(

What is the right technique? Any pointers?

I ride a 2007 12m switchblade and a 2007 Cabrinha Custom 132 if that makes a difference....

Cheers,
Tom

Pick a spot (a tree maybe ) upwind on the beach where you want to go and aim for it with your eyes. Maybe you are looking at your kite too much which will take you downwind.

I sometimes end up by going too far up wind so that each time I arrive further and further up the beach which annoys me. I have to twist my board to force myself downwind. I haven't worked why I do it yet and feel pretty silly.

Kathy

try going out when wind blows over 15 knots

It does sound a bit like he's making a joke doesn't it. Two years and you can't go upwind? you should have concentrated on that before learning to jump...

I agree with the object upwind technique, you should be looking upwind over you shoulder as this will help to get your body in the right position. Also, how about your legs? Try pushing out with the back leg and having a slightly bent front leg, this will point the board in the right direction and in decent wind it should be impossible for you to go anywhere but upwind.

Firstly, a search of previous "upwind" threads will be helpful.

Secondly, my two cents on upwind technique (from an old thread with edits just for you!):

any modern board that's the right size and not absolutely wake-dedicated is fine (the custom is not helping due to lots of rocker and 132 is small for that style of board, but you should be able to get it unless you're 100kg). upwind, as with light wind, is all about technique. of course dedicated boards will go better in the right hands/feet, but my experience is that a small gain in technique will yield more satisfying results than dropping a grand on a new toy. here are some tips. (i raced boats and sailboards for many years before kiting so there's some sailing lingo in here.)

a really light touch on the bar and a delicate balance between front and rear foot pressure will let you respond quickly to slight changes in wind speed and direction.

if you hit a lift (wind shifts so you can point higher) let the bar out a fraction and edge just a little harder to steer upwind further.

if you hit a knock/header (wind shifts so you can't point as high) flatten out your board to maintain speed as you bear just as far downwind as you need to keep the kite powered up.

in a gust let the bar out a bit to let the kite fly further forwards and load up your back heel a bit more to point a little higher.

in a lull shift some load to your front foot and flatten the board a bit to maintain speed. if you need to pull the bar in briefly to keep the kite powered as you adjust course, be prepared to let it out again quickly to prevent stalling.

look upwind. your head leads a twist through your torso and this helps keep things loaded up automatically to point high.

again, a delicate and responsive sensitivity to shifts in wind speed and direction and water conditions (bend knees over chop to keep up your speed and edge and not bounce downwind) lets you take full advantage of the conditions to find the sweet balance of speed and angle.

Thirdly, pull your head in dutchy. It wasn't so long ago you were posting a noob question every five minutes.

use your trim strap by pulling it in a couple of inches which will sheet the kite out, making it fly further around to the edge of the wind window; thus increasing the angle of attack upwind.

keep ya kite low, which will help you hold a solid edge to drive upwind.

fly with one hand once ya got your speed up, this will rotate ya hips around, pointing the nose of the board upwind more.

The majority of the power should be coming through ya front lines into ya harness. There should be barely any tension in ya steering lines once youve got your speed up. If there is alot of tension in ya steering lines, its means ya got the bar to close to you, which is choking the kite and resulting in you going downwind..

djdojo said...

.......

Thirdly, pull your head in dutchy. It wasn't so long ago you were posting a noob question every five minutes.

This is true. haha. (But he should have figured it out after two years IMHO)

One thing which I was told that REALLY helped was don't try too hard to go upwind, if you try to lean too much/point too high, you will just slide out and go downwind.

Also, perhaps you don't really understand the wind, its hard to go huge angles upwind unless you have ridiculous amounts of power and huge fins. Don't try and point yourself on the same angle as the guys with 16m crossbows and zephyrs, because its never going to happen, look for someone who is chubby with a twelve sqm and you should be able to stick on the same angle as them.

If you still struggle, go to a kiteshop and get the biggest fins they have.

Brighton Le Sands in Sydney.

It's not that bad. Only about 250 on weekdays :)

Make sure you are pushing your weight through your heel in your back foot while pulling up (towards your head) with the toes of your front foot. It was stated earlier that you should straighten your front leg, it should be pretty much straight, but NEVER lock your knee, that's how I torn my Medial Miniscus Not fun. Keep your front leg only slightly bent and squat more onto your back leg ensuring that you are leaning back against the pull of the kite and slightly twist your body upwind.

Getting the right angle of lean and remembering the feet at the same time is the key

D

Seems to me that for the last 2 years you have been focused on tricks rather than your upwind ability... thats fine
suggestion.. work hard to get upwind then do your tricks
avoid the walk of shame

tmiddled said...

Brighton Le Sands in Sydney.

It's not that bad. Only about 250 on weekdays :)

Going out today? Look for me on the Black/Orange/Purple Cabrinha 14 - I should be walking right behind you if the arrows aren't green.....