STEP 13 - Underpowered Situation

The longer you go Kite Surfing, the more there will be chances that you will find yourself in an underpowered situation. It is where the wind suddenly dies down for an indefinite period of time. Because of that, your kite loses power and then you get stranded until the wind comes back or when you choose to swim to shore. However, this situation can be very dangerous when you are out in the open water and far from shore. Immediate help can be hard to come by in this case.

Kite Surfing Techniques - Underpowered Situation What should you do then? First of all, you should remember to keep your composure and not to panic. Panicking can only result to stress which will then drain you of the energy you could instead use for swimming to shore or finding a way to get out of your current situation.

After calming yourself down, start unhooking your chicken loop and use your fixed loop. By doing this, your kite can generate more power. Also, keep in mind to go downwind. This is the only way you can get enough wind for your kite. To get more lift for your kite, keep on moving it. Making figure eights with your kite can help you generate more power while making a pattern of waves will give you less drift.

While much of the underpowered situation is caused by nature, you can take several measures to at least lessen its impact when that happens. For one, you can choose to use a kite large enough to generate power in the current wind condition. Also, you can use a longer line for your kite since they help generate more power than shorter ones. Finally, it helps to check out the wind conditions before you even go Kite Surfing. Too little wind can lead to an underpowered situation, while strong winds can lead to an overpowered one. Learn more about the latter topic in our article on Kite Surfing in Overpowered Situation. Have a great time surfing and do it safely!