Performing a Windsurfing Body Drag

The body drag is a windsurfing move where the surfer drags his or her body along the surface of the water while still hanging onto the board's boom. Do not try the body drag maneuver unless you are an experienced windsurfer. This move requires a lot of speed in order to keep the board going straight while dragging the surfer's body over the water.

Performing a windsurfing body drag: Practice before dropping into the water

Start off slow with a few practice moves before going all the way and trying a full windsurfing body drag. Take your front foot out of its strap and drag it along the board, digging your heel into the water's surface. This gives you a feel for how the water and the board will behave when your body is creating drag in the water. It also gives you some good practice in controlling the direction of the surfboard with only your rear foot.

Performing a windsurfing body drag: How to drop your body

If you feel comfortable with this step and think you are ready to attempt a body drag, the next step is to let your legs drop into the water while still hanging onto the boom. You will need a great deal of core and upper body strength in order to hold on and to pull yourself back onto your windsurfing board at the end of the body drag maneuver. To perform a body drag, angle your board onto a broad reach and remove your front foot from the strap, dragging it with the heel facing up this time until you feel in balance again. At this point, you are ready to step off the board with your rear foot and drop the top of your legs onto the surface of the water. Be sure to keep the board angled away and aligned with the broad reach. The momentum created when you step off the board to perform the body drag will naturally make the board head into the wind.

Performing a windsurfing body drag: Getting back up

Getting back on the windsurfing board is the most challenging part of executing the body drag maneuver. While your board is still on the broad reach, start pulling yourself up on the boom. As you are pulling, get your rear foot up in position to step back on the board. Once you get the rear leg back on the board and in control, it should be relatively easy to place your front foot back in the strap and finish off your daring body drag move.