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luke
Ben Wilson //Bali, Indonesia // Photo: Stuart Allen
Here are Kiteboarding magazine’s top 20 wave-riding tips after four days of sage-like guidance from wave master Ben Wilson.
1. If you are rolled by a wave, let the bar out; don’t steer the kite while disoriented.
2. When body dragging in for your board, point your kite away from shore when waves roll through.
3. Always turn your kite before you turn your board.
4. If you want to stay on a wave, keep the kite low.
5. If you lose tension in your lines, grab the front lines above the bar and pull.
6. In light side-on wind conditions, double your wave count by riding waves upwind.
7. Move your back foot up on the board and over the rail to maximize upwind efficiency and the volume of your board.
8. Pick a wave early so you can feel it out as it shapes up.
9. It’s better to be too far upwind on a wave than too far downwind.
10. Visualize what you think the wave is going to do before you ride it.
11. When riding unhooked, grab the bar with your front hand with the chickenloop in between your index and middle fingers.
12. Make sure your lines are tuned so you cannot over-sheet when pulling the bar all the way in.
13. Lower your center of gravity for better balance, especially when dropping into a wave.
14. Suck up and be light on the board when going over whitewash.
15. To enhance upwind performance, turn your torso so it is over the chickenloop.
16. Only wear a seat harness in the waves if you have back problems.
17. If overpowered when unhooked, grab the chickenloop with both hands and hook back in.
18. When learning to ride strapless, start by taking just the back strap off of the board.
19. When riding unhooked in sideshore to side-on conditions, once the kite is parked, make subtle adjustments to the kite.
20. If the whitewash is too big to get over, consider chicken jibing — decide early, rather than too late.
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We had some big waves late Jan Here @ Cocoa Beach Fl and this info is right on target ,Listen.
Nice advice. I'm going to print it and read it 100x on the way to Puerto Rico.
Target tiki? Sounds fun-nice ride.
Good advise! It is possible to rip with a seat harness on.espicially for those of us who have broken ribs over the years.