Hi guys,

Just a few queries about going upwind.

I'm currently struggling to go upwind.

Whenever i gain too much speed my instincts are to bring the kite high. This results in me losing my edge and jumping along (i guess on my fins), then i sit on my bum and start again.(losing a lot of ground.)

When i get a lot of speed, (Too much for my skill level) should i bring the kite lower, thus allowing me to hold my edge and then attempt to edge upwind? (slowing me down and gaining ground)

Once you have the kite parked and the apparant wind is coming into effect, is the power of the kite the same whether i have the kite high or low? Thus when i am going too fast, i won't pick up even more speed if i bring the kite low and start edging hard. (harder than i could with my kite high).

Cheers
Thanks for your time
James

P.S i've searched for specific answers but can't find them, if you know a link that will answer my queries could you please post it?

Cheers Corey, that definitely answers my question.

Understand fully Darren,

Thanks again.

The tip about dropping the leading shoulder and looking upwind along with keeping the kite low sounds like a great solution to my problem.

can't wait to give it a go.

Cheers
James

2 issues, get these sorted then you’re off-

1. Smaller board, good 50mm fins, easier to control as it will be lighter than the boats you start learning on.
2. try out a 2005 5th line kites (good make not crap and cheap) and you will see how the new systems bring the kite to the edge low very quickly helping you edge hard, a new kite will also help you Dee power quickly, the new ranges are huge compared to the 2004 kites with more drag. Look at the F one web site this will explain a bit, look at the M5 kite. I bought one and within 2 minutes I was so far upwind I had to flat glide all the way back, no edging required, it was amazing and my 2004 kites are still regarded as the best (2004 fuels)

The point about the board size is the most important, try an underground flx 132, that will sort you out.

mc

Hey Ellery,

The board you are riding is a fine board for you to learn and improve on. It will provide you with more performance than you can handle for at least 6 months to a year. Once you get your riding technique dialled, maybe then look for a new board, till then, love the one your with.

Keep smilin' and good winds.

Darren

I found the hardest part about going upwind is edging properly - i thought I was edging hard, but I still gained speed.

The real trick is to get your weight back over your back foot. Straighten your front leg completely (obviously you shouldn't lock the knee or you will hurt it) and you will find you automatically bend your back leg and sit over it. This will get your board pointing higher into the wind and hold your speed better.

If you keep your front leg bent, your weight will be more even (ie too far forward) and you will stay square to the kite, rather than pointing upwind, then you gain speed and it's all over.

Also, kie Coreyb said, make sure you lean back once the power comes on. Think about the point at which you are connected to the kite (ie harness hook) and makes sure you get it close to the water. This will give your body maximum leverage against the force of the kite and stop you being pulled off your edge (at which point you immediately shoot downwind and gain speed again).

Cheers

Andrew

Cheers Guys!

Awesome advice.

Yeah, i've heard about that 'hand break' thing before, havn't tried it though. I totally agree about letting go of the forward hand. i've tried that a couple of times going slow and it felt comfortable and seemed to work well too. Havn't tried it at a reasonable speed though.

James

One thing that I found helped me get upwind was to imagine my front foot "pulling" the board upwind.

Kind of hard to explain, but I was struggling for a long time to make it any distance upwind and couldn't work out why. One day I straightened the front leg, almost all weight on my back leg, and imagined I was lifting the board out of the water with my front leg. Obviously this wasn't really the case, but the difference was instant and huge. Something to try perhaps...hope it helps.

A

I can sympathise, when I was learning it took me ages to go upwind. It took ages to work out what I was doing wrong which I eventually did from watching vids and watching others closely. I even changed boards trying to get it, at great expense, but later learnt it was just me. Since then I've had mates going up wind in a few sessions.

I have found that quickly getting up to planing speed and leaning back to be the keys to going up wind.

So to summarise and repeat some good points from above;

- Get up to planing speed asap.
Keeping the board flat point the nose of your board at your kite on your first power stroke, you will give up some ground but you will make it back before you know it. I see a lot of beginners trying to go from zero to pointing directly upwind and just end up pushing water around and not even getting up. If its really windy you will only need to go downwind for a second or two and don't bring your kite back up but park it low straight away.

- lean back into the wind, start turning your board upwind using your rail to manage your speed and direction.
Remember lean right back, past your own natural balance point, as much as you can without falling into the water. Coming from a surfing background this felt really unnatural and it took a while to get used to but use the kite to hold you up out of the water. At the beginning I even thought and felt I was leaning back, as I was cruising downwind for another long walk of shame, but I really wasn't leaning back much at all.

To turn upwind you will need to maintain a comfortable speed for yourself by working the kite in light winds or by leaning back and digging your rail in harder in high winds with the kite low. You will start to find your right lean/balance point where the kite holds your weight and you get your desired speed. In high winds you will be almost leaning flat on the water with your kite low and your board at 90o to the water and getting huge upwind but in light winds you will have to stand up straight with your kite high and your board flat just to get going and aint no one going upwind then. That's when you get a bigger kite!

- keep your weight over your back foot, this will help keep the rail in the water and to not lose your edge.
- keep your body straight, your hips pushed forward and your front leg straight.
- look in the direction you want to go, twist your hips a bit in that direction and then drop your leading arm if you feel confident.

Keep at it, you will get it and trucking upwind will be like second nature. Hope some of this helps you get there.