So, I've been doing pretty fine in lessons, but having a problem practicing on my own. I've been kiting on a beach with offshore winds so it's pretty important to be able to body drag upwind. I have absolutely no problems doing this on my own, but I'm struggling with the board I have.

The school's board is easy to body drag with because it's so big and floats well. However, I brought a cheap board which is smaller and heavier. It also lacks a nice handle. It seems every time I try and body drag with it flat on the water it ends up turning over to one side or the other.

Are there any tricks to body drag with a board?
Is it possible to do it with the board sideways? It feels like that could be easier if I found the right way to hold the board, but so far I haven't had any luck.
Can I just thread my leash through the board and then body drag upwind while tailing it behind me?

This seems to be really hard to Google for becauuse everything is about body dragging to retrieve your board and there's very little about body dragging with the board.

You have board , ride it .

Can u body drag without board upwind?

I'm very comfortable body dragging without the board.
My problem is with the offshore winds I'll likely end up in Venezuela before I can comfortably go upwind.

Get comfortable body dragging one handed with (intentionally the non-submerged shoulder/hand on the bar) without your board...
Then, add the board holding with "submerged" hand...I usually lead the my hand on grab handle while resting my forearm wedged by footstrap for control and hold it close to your body as possible.
Almost like your laying on it...sometimes I'll just grab the front foot strap instead.
https://vimeo.com/60941514

if float plan for solo fails, you don't go.

first thing the lesson should have taught, NOT to be in offshore situation (ONLY with dedicated BOAT SUPPORT)

you'll actually have to hug it , fly with other hand. legover back end to help balance ....hey why not use your feet! logic is very poor to begin with.

leash would be ok to drag but more so for self rescue reel in and NOT what you want in Offshore situation.

the reason you don't see "How to" offshore situation is NOT the learning environment to be in. (without boat support) recommending for solo is not going to happen it...it is written on the kite as well.

Having the board ----->put on feet , getting off the board to drag for very difficult launch area or people or hazards to be avoided and again NOT for the beginner.

the school is offshore setup for dependency, thats the situation you are in . do not attempt with out support in offshore!

Agree with Phree...Off-Shore, I don't even go out...leave that to the surfers to catch the pretty wind-induced curls on the waves.

Side or Side-on conditions for me...call me picky. But I don't like to worry while I play.

: )

Quote: Originally posted by PHREERIDER

if float plan for solo fails, you don't go. first thing the lesson should have taught, NOT to be in offshore situation (ONLY with dedicated BOAT SUPPORT) you'll actually have to hug it , fly with other hand. legover back end to help balance ....hey why not use your feet! logic is very poor to begin with. leash would be ok to drag but more so for self rescue reel in and NOT what you want in Offshore situation. the reason you don't see "How to" offshore situation is NOT the learning environment to be in. (without boat support) recommending for solo is not going to happen it...it is written on the kite as well. Having the board ----->put on feet , getting off the board to drag for very difficult launch area or people or hazards to be avoided and again NOT for the beginner. the school is offshore setup for dependency, thats the situation you are in . do not attempt with out support in offshore!

This video makes it look easy. I like his technique:

Maybe I should have mentioned some things.

I'm not (too) crazy and I'm not stupid. I've seen everything said about offshore conditions and I wouldn't be in them without boat support. There are at least three support boats from various schools and I always make sure at least one place is specifically looking out for me.

I'm also very comfortable body dragging without the board. I could easily get back that way if I didn't care to keep the board with me. I am also pretty comfortable body dragging with the wide school boards. However, my board is a $200 Naish Momentum which was converted into a split board by sawing it in half. It's held together by heavy looking piece of wood and several screws (I'll get a picture once I'm back at my computer). It's missing a grab handle and is fast more liable to fall onto its side when I try and body drag with it.

Tomorrow I'm getting a lesson on the beach with onshore winds where this won't be a problem, but I still feel like I should know how to body drag with this board.

With respect to why schools teach here: I'm pretty sure it's because the water is amazingly shallow. In most places on the beach your can easily go 50+ feet out and still easily walk back. However, there are some deeper spots and I don't want to be reliant on the support boat once my feet can't touch the ground.

Finally, I absolutely would ride back if I could stay upwind consistently, but that's what I'm working on right now. Even if I could though this seems like a worthwhile skill.

Edit: Here it is


Also, that video does look good. I was taught to practically lie on the board, but I imagine if I kept it more in between myself and my kite it won't tip over. I'll have to give that a try next time I'm out.

i like to hold the handle or foot strap, tuck the back tip into my hip, lean my elbow on the foot pad and sprawl on the board. Don't forget to stretch your legs out straight and roll back to point upwind...

Rofer,

I'm fairly new to water myself. I'm not too proud to admit I've attached a 2nd leash to my handle pass loop and connected it to the board when needing to bodydrag in offshore conditions back to the beach with the board. This was more to save me a long walk around a cove / practice the skill with the board, and still have a way to "reset".

I generally grab the handle you don't have on my board (a board a size smaller than the door I'd ideally have)

Ah, I think I see the problem, rofer. Sounds like you and I are at about the same level just starting out. I was constantly fighting the board and it was constantly diving underwater and getting pulled out of my hands and such. Was super frustrating (here, see this video where I curse a lot for that exact reason)



My board is incredibly flat. Not a lot of rocker and pretty square. It looks like yours is similar. Unfortunately, that translates to the board constantly catching an edge and getting hung up on water going by. I can't imagine trying to manage that crap without a handle.

Anyway, the way I've solved the problem is to lift it completely out of the water (you'll have to use the bindings) and get it oriented before I start to drag. Then I grab a binding, jam my elbow into the board and lay the lines over the top of the board. Only when I have everything sorted do I actually bring the kite down in the window -- and then it's still wobbly on that board -- the other one is totally stable.

I'm obviously pretty much a noob, but once I started getting everything sorted before bringing the kite down, as well as using hat elbow, it did get a lot easier. HTH.