Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where you should be forced to kitesurfing on light wind to reach the shore when the wind starts to fail.
Usually, this happens gradually and the wind sends you some warning signals, by starting losing intensity slightly a bit, with some wind gaps, but that can also happen dramatically and all at once, though that don’t use to occur often.
It can also happen that due to an incoming wind shift you will notice some ups and downs in the wind intensity and on the wind direction which then, yes, it may give way to a complete wind drop.
In any case, and except for the last of these scenarios, you can try different techniques to try to get back to shore.
If the wind drops and that only seems temporary, which sometimes can happen, the only way to predict this is the experience, because you have noticed this situation on previous occasions, you should try to keep your kite on the air by all means, perhaps steering it form side to side of the wind window though this would provoque at the same time that you will be gradually drifting towards the shore.
To avoid getting downwinded at the same time that you steer the kite gently, you need to drop your body backwards into the water, and edge the windward rail of the board, this way your body and board will create some resistance, so you should minimize your drift.
If it seems the wind will not return, your first priority should reach the shore ASAP, therefore try to downwind by steering the kite from left to right to try to find some traction if that’s the only way to get back to the shore.
Bend your knees and move your body closer to the center of the board and by moving your kite, in the direction left and right you should pull down enough to reach the beach and secure ground.
By using the steering of the kite to produce more power at the same time you will avoid your kite to fall in the water.
If the kite can not keep flying and fall from the sky, roll your lines on your kite-bar and use both tips of your kite by grabbing them with both hands, use it as a sail and self-rescue yourself back to shore.
In the worst case, deflate completely your kite and roll it, put it over your kiteboard and try to swim back to beach.
Someone should watch you when kitesurfing.
