so I know I need another lesson, but whilst waiting in the meantime until the lesson I'm curious to ask the question:

What's happening:
* on a 12m switchblade in about 12-14knot wind (I think)
* can get going and stand up on the board ok using a power stroke down
* turn up wind (to go across the wind, not down wind) but then lose power and sink into the water still standing up on the board
* can't use the "not enough wind" excuse cause there were a couple of others out who were doing it ok unfortunately
* was pulling the bar right towards me for full power when it was occurring too...

Just wondering if there are any well know gottcha's/advice for this situation? Is it going to be like sailing a sailboat close to the wind where it requires quite fine control perhaps to maximize your forward movement?

cheers

Agree with Cauncy.

You might also find you're pulling yourself up using the bar, as opposed to letting the power of the ktie pull you out of the water. If you're doing this, then you end up choking the kite and you probably end up diving the kite shallower in the wind window (i.e. higher off the water) as a result of pulling on the bar (which gets 100% power out of the kite).

Also, if you find the lines are going slack just after you stand up, you could be pointing too far down wind, resulting in your out accellorating the board, which in turn means you have to wait for the wind to blow your kite away and the lines taught.

Have a look at the below thread I created as I wen tthrough something similar/identical.


www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Newbies-Tips-Tricks/Newbie-Lessons-learned-so-far/

What are you doing wrong? Everything. You're a newbie. That's what newbies do. Don't worry, you will get better with practice.

You may or may not need another lesson. It has more to do with developing the muscle memory for working a board, a kite, the water and the wind, all at the same time.

Wrongness in no particular order.

- You dive the kite down to the bottom of the window. Half stall it at the bottom. Pivot turn, probably go straight up and have it stick at the top of the window. No power from a stalled kite. No power at the top edge of the window. Practice doing relatively gentle smooth turns in the window, not pausing at any point and not going too far up or down. It's known as letting the kite breathe. It needs air speed to make power, not too much and not too little, just the right amount.

- You will be hauling on the bar trying to get up. The bar is a control mechanism, not a handle. You rarely put your body weight on the bar. The chicken loop is what transfers the power to your body and down through your legs to the board. Keep the bar out about 20-30cm. Only pull it in momentarily and only when you can feel the power through the harness.

- Turning the board upwind stalls the board and drives the kite to the edge of the window. Your board won't plane and the kite won't fly. Once there you will be hauling onto the bar so the kite will be stalled and depowered at the same time.

Think in your mind of this beautiful, fast swoosh as the board glides along and the kite slices through the air. That's the right way.

Now think of the board stuck in the mud and the kite with a heap of bags full of garbage tied to it. That's how you're doing it now. (Another metaphor would be, jump in your car, let the air out of the tyres, rev the guts out of the engine then dump the clutch and expect the car to efficiently roll off along the road.)

thanks for the advice guys