I got up on the board after about 6 attempts behind the boat today, went around the lake until my arms where a couple of inches longer. task#1 complete!

Task #2 add kite to the mess, did not go so well!

My launch site was messed up by a loon that laid eggs right where I was going to launch so I had to find another beach with out sharp rocks.

The second beach the wind was on shore, I set up and had my husband launch the kite for me and headed into the water.

I wanted to practice the art of body dragging but I could not get away from the shore line, after getting a good gulp of water I lost site if the kite and got it right in the power zone where I did not want it. I ended up having to pull the release to kill the kite before it ended up on the sharp rocks and in the trees.

All is well I got to body drag a little bit but never got the board under my feet. I will need to wait for a different wind direction or for the loons chicks to hatch.

I think I will take everyone's advice and find a school, that would speed up the learning process a lot. I need to learn to self launch like I do in the winter time so my husband can fish or jet ski while I am out kitesurfing. Trying to have my husband help me with out any kite knowledge is more of a hindrance that a help!

I Lived in Duluth almost 40 years ago. Were you in Lake Superior? Pretty cold I would think. Getting lessons is the way to go.

it is harder than it looks. I've mastered the boat portion as well. kinda stuck at getting out there.

most kiteboards are a bit soft/flat compared to wakeboard esp.with slick bottom . most rigid style boards like Jimmy Lewis with ample concave are cool to run on tow.

the flat rocker on most is way too shallow and tedious to ride for tow.

you might want to consider this, if you don't know how to sail, it is a fundamental element, and perhaps some catamaran time on the lake would prove deeply valuable.

lesson will be far more productive, conidtions selection alone will be enlightening and really let you know what you're up against.

Randy, I am out on Island lake north of Duluth. The water temp is about 55 degrees, I have on a 4/3 wet suit, boots hood and gloves and am toasty warm.

Randy are you still in Duluth?

Mike, tell me a little more about launching from a boat, do you jump in the lake and have the boat hold on to your kite? I would think it would be a lot like a water relaunch which I found to be a little difficult, adding deep water to the whole launch thing is a little tough. No matter what I did I ended up relaunching dead down wind, I breafly got taken for a ride until the kite got to 12:00. It seem impossible to re launch 45 or 90 degrees to the wind like you do on land, the kite automatically pulls you for a dead down wind launch.

Phreerider, I agree with you, the kite board most likely does not work as well behind a boat as a wake board. I just wanted to try it because I wanted to feel the board under my feet, I have never wake boarded or snowboarded before. It was kind of weird at first trying to get out of the water and on plane, I have water skied before it was unnatural not facing the boat. So is getting on plane similar when being pulled by the kite? I am guessing because the tow point of the kite is a lot higher you would pop out of the water a little easyer.

The board I got is a 155cm the boat had to pull me at 17mph to keep me on plane, I am wondering if I should have a bigger board? How fast does the kite pull you?

I have had several Hobie sail boat's over the years, you do gain a lot of wind knowledge by sailing and reading the wind on the water.

thats a huge board! its plenty, maybe a bit much. forget about the speed its not important. forget about the tow.

more about becoming a pilot in the wind.

the wind conidtions you will need to be in will make learning challenging, sailing the kite will be a giant hurdle. highly advised lessons.

board skill is pretty low on the elemental part of the sport, kite skills far exceed this component, you need more kite fly time not board stuff.

the board will literally disappear once kite is powered and firing.

harness time with kite is what will make the difference. how much harness time do you have ? if you don't hve harness time then you need a trainer kite, about 3m and 20 hours of practice in a variety of conidtions.

sailing is far more the direction of ancillary practice skill you need rather than wakeboarding , wakeboarding with soft kite board is only gonna injure you.

focus on the wind and sailing and getting harness time

Chrisz z- lived there a long time ago but only for a year. I did enjoy it though.

Pheerider, I have 2 years of kite skiing under my belt, all of my winter kites are foils with a low AR, a little different set up and launch than the LEI. I did fly an LEI, HQ Inigition this past winter at the Mille Lacs Kite crossing, I am hooked on the LEI kites with their speed and turn radius, they are incredibly fast!

My biggest chalange is a suitable launch site and adding water into the mix, everything is a little bit harder in the water.

I still want to take lessons from someone that knows what they are doing, lessons will put me in contact with other kiters and launch sites.

if thats the case, then a kiteboarding vacation for a couple weeks and you'll have it. an instructor on the water ,<4 hours ...off you go.

practice a drift launch and ur set!

That's what I'm looking at now. Have a kiteboard at home and an LEI on the way. Planning to get a few hours of lessons to learn to stay safe in the water and I should be good to go.