I had my first day in the water today flying a 15m charger in about 7-12 knots. I practiced body dragging and jumping some; it was a good day. I had all the trim set loose and played around with sheeting in and out.

So now I'm itching to borrow a friends wake board or maybe go to a kite shop and rent whatever they recommend.

Any tips on the first progressions?

How do you get your board if it's upwind? Body dragging worked well in both directions, but with a downwind drift. Do you just park it at the zenith and swim?

Glad you have the Charger figured out !

Learn to body drag upwind before going to a board. Check out www.kitesurfingschool.com. I think it is explained there. The BIG TRICK in getting upwind is getting your free arm way up over your head ( like superman ) and use that hand as a rudder. Use your whole body as a rudder to edge upwind.

If you can rent , beg or borrow a real kiteboard it will be much better than using a wakeboard. The edges / rocker are not the same. Get a very big board . 7 - 12 kts is the very bottom end for the 15m Charger.

P.S. LEARN SELF RESCUE BEFORE GOING TO THE BOARD !!!!

Good for you!

Basically, what BR said :D

Body dragging upwind is an essential skill not only for recovering your board, but if the wind drops it can be handy to get back to your starting position or avoid obstacles downwind ... like a giant rock wall at the mouth of a slipway, such as on our beach :o I'd say not to get on a board until you can body drag upwind!

Just like riding a board ... start out going slightly downwind, get some speed then lean back and push yourself upwind - stretch out & stiffen your body and make yourself a giant edge. You can also do this with the board - hold the strap or grab handle in your hand and kinda lean on it ...

Keep the kite NO LOWER than 45 degrees - if it gets too low then a. it'll fall into the water if the wind lulls and b. it'll drag you more downwind than upwind.

Get the biggest 'door' type board that you can.

First progressions ... getting the board on your feet and steering the kite with one hand (don't rely on auto-zenith!), water starts, riding upwind. If you can already landboard then sliding transitions heel-to-heel.

Also when body dragging concentrate on keeping your submerged shoulder pointed straight down to the bottom of the ocean/lake/river. It was pointed out to me that while sure, my arm was nice and extended I was unknowingly allowing my body to turn flatter in the water (rolling a bit over onto my stomach as if I were trying to body drag and swim at the same time. You want your entire torso cutting through the water. Made a HUGE difference for me. The instructor told me you barely need your arm out front as long as your body is perfectly sideways in the water.

keep playing IN THE WATER, down wind drag is more like mini jumps , make quick passes thru the top of the window , kite should pop you up a bit . stay in control of the kite while its happen, bar in. smoother dragging down wind is like plowing a wake letting it drag you but NEED to keep the kite active so everything stays hooked up(lines tight)