The water start is the moment everyone is waiting for: the kite pulls, the board comes under your feet, and suddenly you are gliding across the water. Getting there is no black magic, just a question of technique and a bit of patience. We go through step by step how it works.
The body drag comes first
Before the board comes into play, you learn the body drag. With it you pull yourself through the water using only the kite, completely without the board. Sounds unspectacular, but it is worth its weight in gold: you learn to steer the kite with feeling and to move in the water. Whoever masters the body drag can later also collect a board that has drifted off. You do not skip this exercise.
How the water start succeeds
Now the board. You lie in the water, feet in the straps, the kite sitting calmly above you. Then you steer it with a gentle movement down into the power zone, it picks up speed and pulls you up. The trick is not to fight against the pull but to follow it: you let the kite raise you up, slowly stretch your legs and turn the board into the direction of travel. A small impulse, no yanking, that is the whole magic.
The typical beginner mistakes
The most common mistakes are quickly named. Yanking the kite too frantically, and it shoots you forward over the front. Wanting to stand up too early, before there is enough pull. Or holding the board sideways, so it brakes instead of glides. Take your time, make small movements, and be glad about every metre. The first time it might be just three, the next time already ten.
The water start is the point where practising turns into riding. Be patient with yourself; flat, standing-depth water helps enormously, because after every attempt you can simply stand up again. In the course your instructor shows you the sequence of movements, and most of the time it works faster than you think.