I'm struggling with body dragging up wind to retrieve the board. Find I'm losing ground vv the board regardless of my best attempts.
Must be doing something wrong...any eureka moments for anyone out there that might help me?
I'm a raw recruit with a 2006 slingshot turbo diesel (10m) and have been using it in relatively light winds (15 kts + gusts).
Thanks vm.
Try looking here mate should get the info you need.
Practice and more practice 
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=43411&SearchTerms=body+dragging
you need to rotate your body right around in to the wind and use your front arm almost like a fin or padddle if need be,depending if there is current sometimes you will be able to head upwind quicker on one tack than the other,that tack maybe the opposite way to where your board is, but you will get to it quicker.
Just takes practice. Holding the bar with one hand, not powered up, other arm stretched out pointing where you want to go, make sure your legs are also stretched out so your body is in a straight line parrallel to the water`s suface, on your side, not facing down (or up). and just relax and take your time. Might have to make a couple of passes before you get to the board. You`ll get the hang of it eventually. Good luck.
Another Great tip in conditions that you can barely see the board - is to count 10-20 seconds in each direction, restarting of course from when you cross the board line... this will help you avoid dragging your self off into the sunset 
& it happens alot, just check out lost n found 
Remember Name Mb no. reward 
Cheers
Hi Gumby esq,
When learning to bodydrag upwind as a newbie, the single biggest problem is seat harnesses. The hook position on a seat harness is too far aft in the body drag position which creates more water pressure forward and back of the towing point and creates a curve in your body like excessive rocker in a board. Result is poor upwind erformance.
You can still upwind drag with a seat with correct technique, but it is much harder than with a waist. The tip to correct this issue is to lean forwards towards your bar with the upper half of your body ie, bend at the centre of your abs, this corrects the excessive backward curve of your body and gets you moving upwind immediately.
All other point made ^^^^ above are also relevant. Keep your legs straight, lay on your side, keep the kite sheeted in for power as your kite sits further downwind when you sheet out. And most importantly, keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow 1/2 the Indian Ocean.
Cheers and good luck. If you are in Perth, come and see us and we will gladly teach you this for free when we have a spare ten minutes.
KH
The first tack is the most important put in a good one, immediately after coming off and you should only need one more to get to your board.
I do not agree with keeping you kite as low as possible, not on a fuel or switchblade or any other kite I have ever used.
AS with all upwind kiting or body dragging ..... you are best to think of it like this :
you need the kite to fly into the wind.... to pull you into the wind,
in order to do this you need to strike a good balance between POWER, and HOW FAR FORWARD INTO THE WINDOW YOUR KITE WILL FLY but with enough power to pull you forward.
The best method is to get this balance right....almost all the time this means you sacrifice speed for point.... so you will go slower but point much higher.
To do this I fly my kites as far forward into the wind as possible ( smaller kites are best for this as they can really truck up wind ) with the bar eased out, i stand up straighter on my board one hand off, shoulders turned kite high to help hold my weight ( so the pull is up (as in vertical...not down wind ). Once you balance these things getting upwind is super easy......... I use the same method re: the kite position when body dragging.
In my experience those who master this technique when on the board easily point 15deg+ higher than the rest.
I quite like upwinders as you can probably tell
Yeah I had similar probs then tried what harry potter said - if you ease off on the bar pressure, the kite will fly further upwind.
Definitely keep the number of tacks to a minimum, each turn loses you heaps of ground.
In chop though I do find I swallow alot of water, and spotting the board can be really tough, especially if its straps down. Don;t have a solution for that - although the counting suggestion above is quite a good one....
Following on from what KITEHARD says ref the seat harness. Gumby do you use seat or waist?
I struggle with body dragging, can cruise upwind on the board so easy, jump, turn, etc. But can't bodydrag too good, works 50% of the time. I think the point about the seat harness may be valid, I'm gonna try a waist see if it makes a difference.
Actually the last time i used a waist harness i found i couldn't go upwind on the board as well, as i could with the seat.
I changed from a seat harness to a waist harness and found dragging heaps easier.
hey gum
At the risk of igniting the same old argument have you ever considered a board reel? l started using one when l started jumping, against the strong advice of most of the people l kite with, but have never had the board come close to me even when l've come off fully powered after messing a jump up. Normally l have to reel the board in as the spring is really only strong enough to keep the leash under tension so it doesn't end up in a mess. For those considering excommunicating me from the kite boardng community for even suggesting using one l do wear a helmet when l use the leash.
And to answer the obvious question l was never good at draging upwind and am more interested in kiting than practising draging upwind not to mention being really lazy.
Hey Gumby
As everybody says, just practise. You'll get better.
All the technique tips given are correct but in the end you will work out how to do it for yourself. Once you can do it you will find it easy and you won't have to do any of the tricky stuff.
At first you will find you are better in one direction or the other so if you have trouble getting upwind then go in the other direction.
Be very careful with the long drags. If you lose sight of your board you may not find it again. You must keep an eye on your board at all tmes. Painting your fins in dayglo orange spray paint is not a bad idea (I've seen it but never actually done it myself).
Make sure you put your name and phone number on your board. A waterproof marking pen is ok. Waterproof stick-on labels are better.
& it happens alot, just check out lost n found
practice just gliding through the water with the kite to one side holding the kite with one hand and the other out in front of you. Don't worry about if your going upwind or not just try and glide and you will probably find going up wind will come naturally. In the end the body drag back to you board is a chance to relax rather than a struggle.
Just had to add my thanks to the guys who contributed to this one. I've been working on bigger jumps and an inevitable part of this is more crashes and so losing board more frequently. The advice on where to hold the kite, how to steer with front hand and ride in a seat harness has made a huge difference in helping me to body drag to board quickly. I think I'll cancel my leash order - if you can drag properly - a leash just looks like an unnecessary risk that you don't need. Thanks again fellas - learnt a lot.
kitehard.... oh so thats why i suddenly got so good back in the day, (swapped from seat to waist). I'm lazy as now, dont strighten my legs or my arm half the time.... Tho think the seat harness did a way better job on keeping my abs trim...
hahaha
Roughly 45 deg.or little lower for kite and when you change tacks lean right back in the water as you fly kite through the window so your kite doesnt pull you forward and lose ground.
I had a 2006 TD1 14m when they were new and it was equivalent to a newer 12 or 13m. So definately a bit underpowered for a 10m TD which is probably equivalent to an 8m REV.
Went for my first sesh for the season yesterday, and tried the counting trick. My board is exactly the same colour as the swan river, so I often struggle to spot it - however using the counting trick, I found it everytime. An awesome suggestion, def recommended for those struggling to find their board.
SaveTheWhales - cheers!
yeah, slew the dragon today with the counting trick. 2 big tacks and was struggling to find the board cause i was scanning upwind when it was 40m the other way. was swallowing the chop so knew i was on a winner. the advice about needing to be moving to tack helped too. (fancy! who would've thought?) thanks for all the advice, super useful.
Just affix an inflated goon bag to the board handle! At least you get to have fun emptying the goon bag first I reckon.
That doesn't look gay in the slightest!
What happens when you come off with one of those when it is cranking 25 knots with wind and tide in the same direction - can you drag downwind fast enough to catch up?
