I have been riding a SUP with a kite for about 2 months now. I orginally purchased a SUP, 11' 6", for surfing on light wind days. I got interested in trying the SUP with a kite when I saw a picture of Naish on a SUP with a kite.
At first everyone I talked to said that it was a waste of my time and that it could not be ridden upwind. That, of course, just became a challenge.
My first time out it took me about 30 minutes to get the hang of getting up on the board and finding the right balance point for riding upwind but I did it and I was going upwind on my first day. Since then I have gone out with the SUP and my kite whenever the winds are light and there are no waves to ride.
Here are some tips that I found the hard way:
1. A small kite is better than a big kite. I normally use a 12m kite in 10 knots. A smaller kite is easier to keep in the air and a 12m has enough pull in 10 knots to get me upwind.
2. Be ready to move around a lot. I find that as the wind and the ocean conditions change you have to move you feet around a lot to keep an optimal strim on the board to go upwind. I find that when I have good power the best position is my back foot close to the fin and my front foot toward the edge of the board and as far up on the board as I can confortably move it.
3. To jibe the board I move back toward the tail to start the board turning and keep the kite in the same position. AS the board gets about 1/4 of the way through the turn I start slowly turing the kite so that the kite is traveling across zeinth as the board cross the point that it is pointing straight downwind. I switch my stance and continue to edge and move the kite to the other side of the window. Timing is everything. Move the kite to fast and the board will not be able to catch up and you will be pulled off the side of the board. Move the kite to slowly and the kite will stall.
4. I gave up on water starting. It is much easier to start sitting down with one leg dragging in the water on the downwind site of the board. This causes the board to turn upwind. Then I move to my knees then I stand up.
mattv
http://www.kitesurfinfo.com