OK - so lets try not to have major barnies if not i agreeance..[}:)]
but just to kick off here's a little thing I have been doing for some time.
At the end of every sesh I set my trim strap to approx the middle setting.
Next time I go to launch I know I am not at the extreme end of power either side. Obviously launching too powered is not good,
but too underpowered can also cause dramas, as the kite falls out of the sky and back into the hot launch/full ower zone
.
You'd be amazed how many peeps just go with the least settings in the rush to get out there. BTW - I'm not sayin not to adjust to suit conditions before launch, but you will be likely to only need a slight tweak either side.
Also when retreiving your board in high winds, try to keep it on the downwind side of you (on land or in water). Found this out the hard way in 25kts.
As I flipped the board over (upwind of me) the breeze caught it and - despite only travelling a a foot or so - the rail hit me with enough impact to end my sesh in a pool of free flowing claret and just about cracked my cheekbone! Massive bruising/swelling. Kn OUCH!
Next tip?
Nice idea GetFunky
Untangling lines on the beach
Tie the ends of your lines to your board handle or a footstrap.
Start at the bar end.
Pull the lines tight and apart.
The 'tangle' should move up and be easier to deal with.
(Only works if your lines aren't too tangled!)
yeah wicked idea
upwind body drag
When changing directions when you body drag, move the kite gently to 12 o'clock.
Too quick and you'll get lofted and dragged back downwind, losing all the ground you just made and getting too knackered to get your board back
Re: Lines
On my 4 line kites I subscribe to disconnecting one line at a time, and working that back through the whole mess (pulling from bar end through each major tangle/junction). 1st is tricky, 2nd easier 3rd a doddle 4th.. ur done stoopid.
Put all five fingers (with both hands if poss)into the messy bits and work them outwards giving more space to the middle of the tangle - this helps heaps.
Re:Upwind body dragging - agree with gentle swing over.
Always been curious - do most peeps sit the kite low - just off the water (and as far forward in the window as poss) of at 45 degrees?
GF I usually sit my kite about a kite about a kite length above the water and have the bar sheeted in. Found it pulls me downwind less and as i am going faster it is over sooner.
One of the best tips with body dragging i ever got was to count whilst tacking ie 10 seconds out 10 seconds back and you always end close to where your board.
One thing i remember from first getting up on my board for the first time is when you sign your kite, twist your hips in the direction its heading. Got me up and progressing straight away.
Body Dragging
Arch your back and straighten your legs so you are creating a rudder to go up wind.
Make your first body drag tack a good lenght (great idea to count) 10-15 seconds seems to get you to your board quicker.
If your fins are dark, find some flouro paint (finding boards at sunset is a treat)
Nice Thread "getfunky" 
Noice tips folks. 
Had forgotten about the counting during body dragging tip (hey I hardly ever come off LOL). That really is gold if your are in chunky swell and losing sight of ya board.
LET GO OF THE BAR!!!
When it all goes t!ts up the grip of death will not save you!
Practice with a trainer kite.
Untangling lines
Don't detach the kite, even if you have had the self rescue from hell, they are just loops, trapped in loops, NOT knots.
1. Put the kite on the beach.
2. Run the lines DOWNWIND, until you get tension.
3. Shake and loosen the knot.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the lines are clear (or mostly clear before you detach the kite), a 3 hour, 9 beer nightmare at home can be a 15 minute, no beer, second session at the beach!!
We have untangled a 2 kite, twistedas hell, self rescue nightmare in just 15 minutes.
), kiters when they have to repeatedly answer the same questions many times.
Good tip sbray.
As well as finding your answer straight away, it also means you can chuckle at some poor Noob sod that copped an absolute flaming from some of the forgetful (we were all dopey noobs once) SB regulars.[}:)]
Er..
The SB search function can be a bit ordinary (even by Legend Laurie's admission) so try a Google "Seabreeze [insert topic] " search also.
Untangling leads continued:
(for my 2c) For some basic loop/tangles - agreed, yes keep all lines attached and tension on the lines and most will pull through with bit of tickling
After a total kitelooping/washed up on the shore type disaster where the whole bar and lines look like all that is missing is ya mum's best pasta sauce - go the detach one line at a time and work back through the spaghetti.
kite practice drill #2868
best tip i eva got as a noob was to sit on the uncrowded and large wide open beach and work the kite over head, getting it to pull me up to my feet.
This made board starts way easier because the kite part was in my muscle sinew memory and i just had to focus on the board.
It also pleased the locals as i wasn't crowding their launch area for as long.
I have 2. Both before you even think about trying to waterstart.
1. Practice body dragging upwind to an object (eg tennis ball), makes losing your board a much less scary option
2. Practice flying your kite (or trainer kite) 1 handed, in water you can't stand in and in the break zone. Also try this on your back - as in floating on your back trying to get your feet in the straps whilst holding onto a board with one hand whilst wave after wave crashes over you - when you can keep your kite at 12 o'clock like this you'll have a much easier time of your first few sessions.
Relaunching a kite:
Can be hard in light winds. When you crash your kite and its on its leading edge directly in the wind window (red will be on the right, blue on left), let go of the bar making sure its fully sheeted out, grab a blue line and pull that pretty hard, then instantly get on the red line and pull that. You should have drifted far enough from the wind window after pulling the blue to launch the red side. If that doesnt' work do the step above but pulling the red line first then then blue.
Tips for relaunching:
Get a lanyard or some kind of loop with a clip and tie it to your board handle, when you come off, grab your board and attach its leash to yourself so you don't have to worry about losing it after a long time relaunching the kite.
Assisted Lauching:
Do not walk back and power up the kite until the person holding the kite is in the correct position across the wind. If there is a decent breeze and you do this when they are downwind then it makes the kite hard to handle. Also, once at 90 degrees to the wind gently power up the kite while the launcher is holding it - if it is not very windy you may need to walk a few steps UPwind to get more power - this will prevent the drift back on launch. As the kite holder, always wait for the OK to release the kite.
Assisted Landing:
Once the helper has grabbed your kite immediately walk towards the kite to take the tension off the lines - this allows them to manage the kite and flip it.
I know it sounds a little old school, but if you have not done it already, grab a water proof marker and write your name and mobile phone number on your board.. in fact write it on all of your gear.. Last weekend I was kiting down at the Murray Mouth in SA (on the fresh water side) when I lost my board.. after spending an hour or so of fruitless searching I gave up, as I was told by a local it would have been washed out to sea... grabbed my mates spare board and kited for couple of hours until the wind dropped, and returned to our car, checked the mobile phone, and bingo, a message from a local fisherman who found it.. got it back the same day..
I learnt this one first hand today:
When kiting, wear boardies with a draw string.
Today I stacked it and the buttons popped open and my boardies came off. Luckily I found them as I was body dragging back to my board and I even managed to get them back on. Not quite enough though, as the girls on the beach were giggling at me when I came in to land the kite.
after the last few sessions at my local:
*If you are upwind of another kiter keep your kite high
*If you are downwind of another kiter keep your kite low
*look behind, downwind and upwind before turning or jumping
*If the spot you are in has lots of kites in a small area, maybe move down the beach a little to get some space - often the guys kiting in a certain spot are trying to get a patch of flat water for tricks
*when someone is passing you do not panic and put your kite to 12
*when riding into the beach behind another kiter do not box them in so they have nowhere to go
*do decent length runs so we all space out. Do not turn back into the beach after 50m cutting off people who are trying to create some space
*be nice
Take responsibility of your own actions......If you bugger up while trying to self launch, don't start blaming other people.
Gawsh.. that doesn't happen often.. only every full moon or so.).
That board advice is bad, whats wrong with putting it on your feet instead then getting the kite up. If your self rescuing keep the board on your feet until you reach your kite, then use your safety leash to tie board off once you reach your kite.
Put a form of contact on your board.
If you lose it, Easily returned.
Saves you $1000.
