What to write on your board

[downwind]

Your Name
Your Phone Number
And "Return For Reward"

Your board won't look as cool, but it will find you after you loose it. It's not always easy to fetch a board after you loose it upwind:

If you're a newbie like me it's hard to body drag up wind and watch the board at the same time.

If it's choppy the waves can make it impossible to keep track of the board as you drag.

If the wind is too light or too heavy for your kite it can become impossible to make upwind progress.

The current can play tricks on you taking the board in one direction while the wind is taking you in another.

Finally the industry has yet to learn what the ski industry learned when people went leashless, which is that white red, yellow and other colors not common in water are the best colors for the bottom of a board. You'll note that there aren't too many skis that come in white anymore.

[Big Al]

First off, you have two misconceptions about body dragging. If the wind is light, it's actually much easier to drag to your board. If it's too light to fly the kite, the kite will drop in the water, and you can roll up your lines and swim to your board.

The current is a non factor when it comes to dragging to your board. You're on the same conveyer belt as your board, so it doesn't get away from you any faster than in still water. However, if you're in open ocean, there can be exceptions to this (rip currents, etc).

Here are a few tips: After you wipe out and loose your board, spot your board. If it's choppy and hard to see, swing your kite overhead, so it pops you out of the water for a "bird's eye view". Then make your way towards your board.

If you're really overpowered, it can be tricky, but in most cases, still possible to retrieve your board. Make sure your kite is as depowered as it can be. Then, keep the kite low as you drag, making your body long and straight. Sometimes it helps to kick with you legs. When you change directions, bring your kite over very slowly so it doesn't pull you down wind as much. I've been massively overpowered before and always been able to drag back to my board.

Practice, practice, practice and you'll realize how easy it is.

Al

[Greg]

Good information!!
Thanks,
Lim