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AKA HB Tips and Tricks of the Trade
 
 Riding upwind...avoid that walk of shame!
Taking lessons is the best thing to do, you'll learn more for a minimal fee than you would getting frustrated teaching yourself, watching some video, or watching from the shore. But....to ride upwind, the best thing is to have a 4 line kite which can be sheeted out at the edge of the window. The kite will produce lift more in your direction of travel, making it easier to point upwind. Try depowering a bit and lowering the kite, then when you get it low enough pull in again with your arms and lean back.If you have your kite and board skills down, you'll figure out what that means.

 Most of it is technique. Try pushing your back heel down into the board, forcing the board to edge more into the water, and then forcing against the kite. This will not only force the kite to the edge of the window, but will also slow you down and turn you more sharply upwind. At first this might stall you out to the point where you lose speed and fall over on your back. You just have to learn the balance point of edging upwind and maintaining board speed. Its an art! Also, look into the wind, not at the kite, and your head being turned will automatically turn your hips toward the wind. Turning your hips is an important piece of the equation to ride upwind. This will straighten your forward leg and bend your rear leg like the stance you see expert riders holdiing while riding. Also, your weight will shift more toward the rear of the board which is what you want, but again balance of kitepower and board speed come into play so you don't fall on your butt. Riding upwind will create more drag at the board and eventually slow your boardspeed and kitespeed, so you will need to work the kite if you're not well-powered up. You'll know you're going upwind when the sound of the wind is much louder in your ears....and you get back to the beach the same spot you started, or better yet upwind of where you launched!

Does current affect the kite's apparent wind speed?
Yes. Apparent wind is the difference between the wind speed and your board speed. With a 10 knot wind and a 5 knot current that flows the opposite way, it is effectively like sailing in 15 knots. Current can also affect your ability to stay upwind. Usually the current is working against you, so keep this in mind when kitesurfing in rivers, or other narrow water channels.
 How Do I Prevent From Screaming Downwind at Super-Speeds?
For a while, concentrate on kiting as slow as possible. Also practice edging so hard that you actually stop and sink. Then get going again and do it again. Once you learn to control the board's edging, you will be able to control speed much more easily. Also focus on minimal kite inputs. The kite always wants to fly to the edge of the window until the angle of attack is such that it can't fly any further. At the edge is when the kite is depowered. Pulling yourself upwind by edging forces the kite to the edge faster, and therefore depower more. Any inputs to turn the kite away from it's path to the edge of the window will also generate power.

As soon as you start moving downwind the kite drifts back into the power-zone. This is due to the fact that you move toward the kite which reduces line tension and the kite drifts back. In strong wind, even a slight bear-away down wind can start a chain reaction where you go more and more downwind, and the kite gets more and more powered. It can easily get to the point where it is simply impossible to get it back again. Only by sharply kiting straight downwind toward the kite to depower the kite or jumping can you regain control. The best thing to do is just point the board downwind and kill the kite's power then re-edge and go on about your day.

If you just learned to go upwind and don't want to lose precious distance by steering downwind, when super powered, drag your butt, arm and even front leg in the water to add resistance and slow down. Stomp that back foot! It will slow you down and force the kite to fly to the edge. When you are stationary on land the kite has no where to go but the edge of the window. If you walk upwind against the kite, you force it to go there quicker. If you have your kite low and walk slowly downwind the kite will drift back into the power.

When you know what you're doing, you can control your speed by edging so far upwind you will stop, or bearing off a bit to pick up speed (but not too much or you kill the kite). With practice, this will be a subconscious act you won't have to think about. It will just happen.


 Lose your board while riding?
Many riders, when they get better and rarely lose their board, opt out of having a board leash. The reason for this is once you start pulling larger airs and more complex tricks, if you lose your board, it becomes a large projectile that can seriously injure you out on the water. If you lose your board, regardless of whether you were wearing a leash, or not, you can "body drag upwind" to regain it.

You can use your body to drag upwind. You should have done this when you were learning, and if you're an experienced kiteboarder, you should already know how. There are some equipment conditions to accomplish this. You should have an inflatable or foil/hybrid with a 4 line setup. You can only do it with kites which AOA can be changed. You must be powered up, it is impossible to body drag upwind when underpowered. You need to dive the kite to one side of the wind window's edge and sheet out as far as possible with the bar. There needs to be enough wind so that when the kite is at the edge of the window, you should still be moving at a decent speed in the water. Keep your body straight as possible, steering the kite with one arm on the bar, and extending the other in the water, forcing your body upwind. This should be practiced of you're not already familiar with the technique.

Although I don't ever know if I'm going "upwind" or not (I doubt it), the point is that when its windy and you lose your board, the wind will blow the board further downwind, than you, if you're doing the bodydrag, extend that hand out and use it to force your direction into the wind as much as possible. Keep an idea of how far you're dragging each way from your board, so you don't freak out when you think you've lost it (its there, it won't sink). You can use the kite to jump up a few feet off the water if the rollers are big to help you re-locate its position. Usually, one back-and-forth run of a hundred feet will get you back to your board - if you didn't lose it too far upwind of you. Once reached, you can resume riding. Far better than waiting on the beach for your board to drift back in!
 Some Kitesurfing Tidbits
Always pump up your inflatable kite with it laid out completely. This will prevent the bladder from twisting inside the sheathing.

When winding up your lines on your controlbar, it is better to use a "figure 8" pattern rather than just looping them around the bar in a circle like on a spool. The figure 8 pattern helps prevent them from tangling when you unwind the lines before your next session.

Check your line lengths periodically. The kite lines tend to stretch over time, and new lines you buy on a spool will need to be pre-stretched. You can adjust the leader line knots to adjust for any changes.

Make sure your harness has a spreader bar that only detaches on one side. If you need rescue on the water, you can unhook your bar so its not in the way if you need to lie on your board and paddle into shore.

Its a good idea to kitesurf with a hook knife, or some other knife made of stainless steel so it won't rust. You may need to cut a flying line one day.

To make your board easier to reach while in the water, you can attach your board leash onto your harness or spreader bar. This way you don't have to reach down to your ankle to grab the leash. Also, if launching and walking out in the water, the board isn't tugging on one leg, making it harder to walk. Thirdly, after a big wipeout, there's less potential to sprain your ankle. Fourth, when getting ready to go out, its easier to attach the leash to the harness spreader bar, rather than reach down and get it on your ankle.

When landing your kite alone, depower the kite with your leash safety system, then attach the leash to your board to hold the leash deployed when you walk to the kite. Hold the line if you need to, as well. Additionally, pile some sand on the board and leash to ensure it will stay put. You don't want your kite blowing down the beach alone with lines flying all over the place.

The best way to find a bladder leak is to remove the bladder and pump it up well, then spread some soapy water solution over the bladder to find where it bubbles. Mark it at this spot and proceed to repair the leak.

Don't roll the kite up the same way every time. The material can stretch over time and change the flight characteristics of the kite (it may fly always to one side, etc.)

Fold up your inflatable from one end to the middle, then do the other end. This prevents the valve from being covered making the air difficult to push out. Folding also prevents leading edge bladder twists.

Fold up your ARC with the zipper on the outside of the kite. This prevents the air from being trapped inside by the zippered area being inside the roll. When folding the ARC in windy situations, bring the downwind tip UNDER the kite to the other tip to prevent the kite from catching wind and flying away...

After deflating your inflatable, close the valves, so sand doesn't blow in for your next session. You can also use your pump to deflate your bladders since most pumps work in reverse, too.