Raley to Blind is an unhooked raley that turns 180 degrees at the last moment into a blind landing, with the bar passed behind the back on the water.
Also called: railey to blind · raley to blind with surface pass
Prerequisites
Schools teach this differently
Our sources disagree on kite height: MACkite says park the kite at 45 degrees or lower and IKSURFMAG uses roughly 10:30 or 1:30 to keep the bar low, while Kiteboarding St Petersburg keeps the kite at 11 or 1 throughout the trick.
Ideal conditions
Learnable and practicable in marginal conditions; come in with speed across the wind regardless of power, and practice slightly underpowered while learning.
How to do it
1. Set up and load
- Come in with speed across the wind and park the kite low, around 10:30 or 1:30, so the bar stays close instead of getting pulled up.
- Really do bear off downwind before edging — it is a must for all pop and bar-pass tricks — then unhook by pulling the bar into your hips with shoulders back and hips up.
- Carve hard back away from the kite and sit into the edge as if you were sitting up in a chair: back straight, hips locked, ankles flexed up.
- Straighten the front leg to keep the board hard on its edge and drive through the back leg until the lines are fully loaded.
2. Pop the raley
- At the apex of line tension, release the edge and let your legs scoop out behind you into the raley.
- Start with a small pop and a half raley while you learn; more speed, more power and more edge turn it into the full version later.
- In the air, pull the bar in and under your shoulders toward your hips.
- If the kite starts to climb, tug the front hand to bring it back down; a high kite pulls the bar up and turns the pass into a contortionist's job.
3. Throw it to blind
- Hold the raley and wait: timing is everything, so start the rotation at almost the last minute, never aimlessly up in the air.
- Pull the bar hard into your lead hip with both arms so your body comes over the bar.
- Tuck your chin, turn your head over your back shoulder and commit to the full 180.
- Release the back hand and twist your front wrist so the bar rotates into the small of your back, with the back of that hand against the harness on your new lead hip.
4. Land blind and pass
- Land flat and pointing off the wind with no edge in the water; over-commit the 180 slightly if that is what it takes to ride out downwind.
- Keep looking over your back shoulder to spot the landing.
- Reach around with the free hand, grab the bar palm up, then release the original hand.
- Go for the pass early; getting the second hand back on the bar fast puts you in a more natural riding position and gives you more stability to ride away.
- Carve onto your heels, slide the board through 180, hook back in and ride on.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Lazy pop, so there is no height or time to finish the rotation
Fix
Pop a proper raley on every attempt, even if it is only a half raley; the rotation needs that pop to complete.
Mistake
Throwing to blind too early, up in the air
Fix
Do not throw yourself aimlessly to blind; wait until almost the last minute, then rotate.
Mistake
Pulling the bar in half-heartedly during the rotation
Fix
Haul the bar into your lead hip with both hands; the goal is to get your body over the bar.
Mistake
Under-rotating and landing across the wind on an edge
Fix
Commit through the 180 and land riding downwind with the board flat, or the kite drags you straight onto your edge.
Mistake
Skipping the wrist twist, so the bar is not behind you for the pass
Fix
Twist the wrist as the back hand releases so the bar waits in the small of your back where the free hand can find it; aim for the back of the hand touching the harness.
If it goes wrong
- Learn the pop to blind version first; adding more speed, more power and more edge — and therefore more pop — evolves it into the full raley to blind.
- Practice slightly underpowered and in marginal conditions, where you can stay in control of the move.
- Rig the leash on the correct side so it hangs in front of you: left side on port tack, right side on starboard.
- Walk through the bar-pass hand sequence on the beach holding your bar before trying it over water.
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 do I need to have dialed before trying a Raley to Blind?+
Consistent unhooked raleys, the surface pass and the pop to blind. MACkite's guide wants all three consistent first and suggests something like 300 attempts should be sufficient; IKSURFMAG adds that hooked-in blind riding should be sorted, and your raleys fully dialled, before you add any blindness.
How much wind do I need?+
No source we cite gives a number in knots. IKSURFMAG says the move can be learnt and practiced in marginal conditions, and Kiteboarding St Petersburg recommends practicing slightly underpowered to reduce the chance of injury.
Which hand passes the bar?+
It follows your stance: riding regular with the left foot forward you pass with the left hand, riding goofy with the right foot forward you pass with the right.
How hard is it compared to other unhooked tricks?+
MACkite rates it a 2 out of 10 among unhooked freestyle moves and pitches it as intermediate, while IKSURFMAG files it under advanced technique. Timing is the crux: at the top of the raley the kite should feel slack or drift downwind, which is what makes the handlepass easier.
What does landing it unlock?+
The handlepass line of tricks. MACkite names it the progression toward the Blind Judge — then the Blind Judge 3, 5 and beyond — and toward pairing the rotation with the backroll and the frontroll.
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.