Zen- The board you were on is a Skywalker Riders Series (RS)138, its a little narrower than the Dimitri Pro and almost a pound lighter. Its about 100 bux cheaper and also available in a 144. (Its a great all around board for the money, ask Toby for a current price.) This is my "high wind" board and I usually dont break it out unless its windy (over 20)
For going upwind, I prefer the SS Glide, and yes, I sleep with it every night....(not kidding)
I have used and abused this board for 3 seasons and will be looking for another one if anything ever happens to it.
The board is important as Scott says, but I think proper technique plays a big role in upwind ability also, especially when its really light. Hard to explain, but here ya go:
Building board speed is step 1, so dive the kite hard and point slightly downwind when water starting. Think of your front foot as the gas pedal and back foot as the brake. The downstroke is where you want to get power and upstroke is speed. On the UPSTROKE come off your edge a little to build speed by pressing on your front foot, and ease back into your edge before the downstroke.(*always maintain tension in your lines, and if you're going to give up ground, do it on the upstroke.) Dont kill your speed by turning too far upwind, make sure to ease into your edge.
Stance:
Shoulders/hips pointed slightly upwind. Find a point to focus on thats slightly more upwind of where you want to go.
Keep front leg straight with toes pointing up and 70% of your weight on back foot. Once you are cruising,(kite parked on edge of window) you can shift your front hip forward and down to turn more upwind. Pressing straight downwards on the bar(towards the board) seems to give more upwind ability by lowering the center of gravity and giving more edge pressure. If you start "schlogging" press on front foot a little(steer downwind) until you get back up to speed.
Kite:
Kite position should be at 45 degrees or less, and keep in mind that a kite sitting more forward in the window will give better upwind performance. Some kites are better at this than others, so try different kites and experiment with the trim systems on each to find what works best.
Like I said, this is hard to explain on paper, but I would be happy to show you on the water and let you try some different kites/boards.
Smack Talk:
I am still wanting to have an informal "light wind challenge" if anyone's interested.(my current W.M.D.=15m Vicious/Glide/180lbs.)If you are heavier than me, I will wear a backpack full of slim fast to make it fair! bring it, beeotchezzz-
(Just kidding everyone, just trying to bring back a little fun to the forum!)
Steve Sadler
(813)389-3683
www.freakdogkites.com