Imagine you are in deep water and you have fallen off your board. Your board is now upwind of you some ten meters or even further. You cannot use your kite to pull you into the wind and you cannot swim back to your board and If you keep your kite at 12, you are drifting downwind.

The secret is to remember that your board is also drifting downwind. Yes your board is coming to you so all you have to do is body drag across the wind and your board will magically appear in front of you!