MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Kite falling out of the sky!

So, Zuma is where it happened last night. 5:00 pm hit, I checked the wind report (5-11mph - perfect for learning!), so I snuck out of work earlier than my usual 6:30pm to kite. I arrived at Zuma by 5:50pm and there was enough wind to fly and bodydrag. The Kite Sheriff Tom and Greg was already there, "ripping it up," as they say. So I launched the kite with V-Dawg's help (V-Dawg was my instructor from my lesson a few weeks back). He gave me a couple of tips on bodydragging and flying the Bomba. He says that the Bomba doesn't need to be flown too much. "Just let it be in the air" and take you out to sea. "don't fly the Bomba too much, just let it pull you," he said. Simple enough. I tried it on land for about 5 minutes, felt comfortable, so went into the water to bodydrag. And within 3 minutes, my kite stalled. $"!@#!#$! Shiet man! I saw it coming out of the air, so I "choked the chicken" (this maneuver involves pulling on the center lines to make the wings flap in order to get the kite back into the wind window). I choked the chicken for a bit, got it back in the window and tried to "let the kite be" and pull me out to sea. (I'm trying to fly the kite with only one hand so that my other hand can be free to hold the board.) Then the freakin' thing stalled again! I saw it coming down, but it was hopeless. It hovered only a couple of inches above the water in an upside down U, not a C. I think I may have been able to get it back up if it was in a C shape, but not a U. At this point, I'm thinking, "Help?! Somebody? how do I save it to get it back up?" Choking the chicken wasn't working because it was too far out of the window and the wind was dying. At this point, I'd say the wind had died to about 4-5 mph. And to my delight, the kite fell in the water and got soaked. eh-heh, eh-heh. I wouldn't have minded so much if this had happened toward the end of my session, but not within 3 minutes of hitting the water! I can't launch a soaked, heavy kite. So that made me done for the day. Man o man, I shake my head in disappointment. I suck. Period. Looking back on what happened last night, maybe I should have pulled on the depower strap to depower the kite when I saw the kite coming down. V-Dawg and Michelle says that the kite should always be depowered when you launch. Hm...

I now have my kite in my livingroom on top of a sheet, hoping that it will dry. My apartment is now officially a sand palace. Sand in my livingroom, sand in my bathroom, sand in my bedroom, sand in my bed, sand in my hair, sand in my ears, etc.. I swear I'm going to turn into a sandman soon. Next time, I'll try flying it more than trying to "let it be"... And if I crash the kite next time, I hope I had had at least 10 minutes of flying my kite instead of 3...