Hello Seabreeze community,

I am a beginner rider, just getting out of the water but struggling to get speed to maintain the board and myself going. My friends told me that I am too shy in my initial strokes and also keep the kite to close to 12 o'clock too often.
With that feedback + the great forum topic on "I cant ride upwind", I am going to try to correct myself as quickly as possible.

Comes my question (as this bit still does not make full sense to me): Is there a way to remember when to sheet in / out when making strokes?
I am still confused when to pull / release the control bar depending on if I dive or pull up the kite.

I am really looking forward to your opinions and advice as I know this community is highly competent.

Cheers everyone !!!
Fred

Hey Fred, I too am learning and have just recently managed to hold an upwind tack and now learning turns. I sometimes found that I was not comfortably powered and riding in the wrong conditions.
If you can time it so you can ride in the wind strength for your kite and at low tide you will be riding in less chop making it easier to control the board.
You need to be able to park the kite at 45° or lower and pull in the bar then you can focus more on your body position and the board control.
It's just a matter of getting out there as much as possible.
As Koma said you have to get comfortable with holding a bit of speed before you turn up wind, and that was the biggest thing for me.
Keep at it, your only a couple of sessions away from staying upwind and you'll be laughing.

Hi fbaud, koma and supersonic,

You guys just solved my exact problems as well. I am also getting comfortable body dragging, so next step is the board, and I was actually afraid to go out on the stronger winds, so would have had exactly the same problems. My problem is the more I go out, the more I realise of things that can go wrong, so I hold back, especially because once I am on the board I will be like the dog chasing the tyre, I will not know what to do or how to get back

I am in Edithvale so luckily there are shallow waters and no rocks at all!

So I guess this is pretty useless information, but just thought I'd say thank you :)

Enjoy the kiting!

I find knowing what trimming actually does to the kite helps.

IF you dont know how an aerofoil generates life go learn, I'll wait.


Done? Ok.
Using the trim strap, clam-cleat or power/depower toggles what you are doing is shortening the inside lines of the kite. These lines attach to the Leading edge (for all intents and purposes), whilst the back lines stay the same length. Tightening the lines (that is pulling the trim lines closer to you) changes the aerodynamic profile of the kite. It is essentially stalling the wing a little bit, the camber (line along which air flows smoothly) changes it's AoA (Angle of Attack) to the apparent wind, less air is passing over the wing therefore generating less lift (in kitesurfing's case this is where power is derived mostly). This is called Sheeting in.
Sheeting out is the opposite, you are releasing the inside lines to full length, allowing maximum airflow over the wing, generating the most lift capable. You'll find it changes with wind speed, direction, directional heading and board speed (which directly affects apparent wind speed.)