The 313 is an unhooked raley that runs straight on into a frontside 360 in the air and is finished off with a handle pass.
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
Kite position genuinely splits our sources: Kiteboarding St. Petersburg parks the kite near vertical (12:30 riding right, 11:30 riding left) and flicks it down at the apex for slack, while Universkite builds speed with the kite at 45 degrees, dips it slightly, then lofts it sharply while unhooking. Rotation cues also differ in framing (look over the front shoulder vs. a hard backward shoulder throw with eyes dropping to the water), though both describe the same frontside spin.
How to do it
1. Setup and takeoff
- Park the kite at 12:30 riding right, or 11:30 riding left.
- Come in with speed and unhook as the kite starts to lift you.
- Let your body relax as you leave the water instead of bracing against the pull.
- Keep your eyes forward on the horizon, not down at the water.
2. Pop and raley
- Kick your back leg backwards the moment you leave the water; that swing stores the momentum you will spend on the pass.
- Before the apex, group your legs back under you and pull the bar in to hip level, close to your body.
- Just before the apex, kick the back leg forwards and up towards the bar and drive your back hip hard at the bar.
- As you approach the apex, flick the kite down towards the water to throw slack into the lines for the pass.
3. Rotation and pass
- Let go of your front hand and look hard over your front shoulder.
- Snap the freed shoulder backwards as you release; that shoulder throw drives the frontside 360.
- Drop your eyes towards the water and keep the bar pinned at your hip through the spin.
- Commit to the head rotation until the pass is done; half a look gets you half a rotation.
4. Landing
- Catch the bar with your free hand, and get your new front hand back onto it as soon as you can.
- The moment the bar is back in hand, lock your eyes on the landing and do not let them leave it.
- Stay tight through the core and bend your legs deeply, almost sitting on the water, to absorb the touchdown and ride away.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Giving up on the head rotation halfway through the trick
Fix
Commit to looking over your front shoulder until the rotation completes; the head drives the spin.
Mistake
Leaving the kite parked high through the apex so the lines stay tight and the bar will not come round
Fix
Flick the kite down towards the water as you near the apex to create slack for the handle pass.
Mistake
Staring down at the water on takeoff
Fix
Keep your gaze forward off the water and let your body stay relaxed as you leave it.
Mistake
Letting the bar drift out to arm's length before the pass
Fix
Hold the bar at hip level and close to your body from before the apex all the way through the pass.
Mistake
Riding in with the handle-pass leash routed on the wrong side
Fix
Check the leash sits on the correct side before you unhook for the attempt.
If it goes wrong
- Put the leash on the correct side before you unhook for the attempt. Universkite's 313 tutorial has it in the basic description of the trick, right next to the unhooked raley and the bar pass.
- For handle passes in general, IKSURFMAG has a way out of the pass you keep missing: stop redirecting the kite as you take off, so it gives you no lift. You slap the water for it, and the bar drops to you instead of you climbing up to the bar.
- When you release the second hand and the water arrives behind you, IKSURFMAG's handle pass article says to let go at that point and go again.
- If you come out of the rotation with no idea which way is up, let go of the bar and brace for the impact. Mystic gives this for kitesurfing crashes broadly, not for the 313 specifically.
Learn this with a coach, not from a page
This is a high-consequence move. The sources it is built from describe riders getting hurt on it, and every one of them teaches it as a step you earn rather than attempt. Get coaching, build up in stages, ride with people who can help you, and give yourself deep water and clear space downwind.
Find a certified schoolEducational reference, not instruction. Kitesurfing is a risk sport: the steps here describe what named schools, instructors and technique libraries teach, and the page lists exactly which ones, but real conditions involve wind, gusts, water state, traffic and equipment behaviour that no written guide accounts for. Schools also teach justified variations — where our sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking one. Judge your own readiness, use the safety systems on your kite, and do not attempt a move because a page made it sound achievable. KitesurfingOfficial accepts no liability for the use of this information on the water.
Questions riders ask
What is a 313 actually made of?+
An unhooked raley linked to a frontside 360 rotation in the air with a handle pass. Alex Pastor frames it against the Blind Judge: same family, but you turn a frontside 360 instead of the backside 180.
What should I be able to do before trying a 313?+
Kiteboarding St. Petersburg wants the shifty to wrap dialled first. Universkite's ladder runs unhooked raley, then raley landed toeside, then raley with a full rider-and-board 360 letting go with the front hand into a wrapped landing, before you try the aerial pass.
Is the 313 a good first handle pass?+
Kiteboarding St. Petersburg calls it one of the first and easiest handle pass maneuvers, and points you to an advanced lesson to learn it. Universkite rates it advanced as well, and Alex Pastor lists it in a set aimed at experienced kitesurfers.
Does the kite I ride matter?+
Kiteboarding St. Petersburg recommends a hybrid C shape such as the Cabrinha FX because it creates more slack, which makes handle pass tricks easier to learn.
Where does the kite sit during the trick?+
Kiteboarding St. Petersburg parks it at 12:30 riding right or 11:30 riding left, then flicks it down towards the water near the apex to slacken the lines. Universkite instead builds speed with the kite at 45 degrees, dips it slightly, then lofts it sharply as you unhook.
Keep reading
Sources
Every step on this page traces to the sources below. Where they disagree or stay silent, the page says so instead of guessing.