Kiteboarding

mikejoyce · Newbie Joined: 28 May 2004 Posts: 9

Has anyone ever tried Kiteboarding?? It looks awesome, I really want to try it when I am in NC this summer for a golf tournament. If you are not sure what I am talking about check out this video.. http://www.goprovideo.com/VideoGallery2.htm Click on the top right one that says "Kitty Hawk Kites Kiteboarding". Any feedback would be great!

jason_ssr · Posted: Jun 09, 2004 12:18 pm Post subject:

I kiteboard quite a bit. It is the coolest thing you will ever do on the water. Get a lesson and join the addiction. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

mikejoyce · Newbie Joined: 28 May 2004 Posts: 9

Where do you do it? I am going to get a lesson for sure sometime this summer, and I am trying to find a used kite maybe to purchase. Would it be enough wind on a lake to do it? My lake is fairly big. Is it hard to learn? I am pretty good at wakeboarding, so I don't imagine the boarding part is much different.. Thanks for any info you have!

vetndan · Criminal Joined: 25 Jan 2004 Posts: 58

jason_ssr · Posted: Jun 10, 2004 5:09 am Post subject:

I do it all over the place, lakes, rivers, beaches, etc. All you need is a large body of water and some wind. There are many places to get cheap used gear, so that wont be an issue. Deciding what to get based on your style will be the only effort. I would take a lesson on the coast of Texas in South padre Island or Corpus Christi. They have the most consistant wind in the country and they are fairly cheap places to get to and stay. If in NC try REAL Kiteboarding. They have lessons and some good spots to learn. It is a huge benefit to learn in these places because the water is shallow and smooth. Though riding on a deep choppy lake is alot of fun, learning the basics sux. Learning somewhere where you can stand up at any time is priceless! Relaunching a downed kite is easy once you know how and do it 10 times or so. in shallow water you can do 10 relaunches in about 30 minutes and be a master at it. You down a kite in deep water, if you cant get it back up, you may drift for a couple of hours before you make it to somewhere you can stand up and get help/instruction.

The boarding part is similar, but learning on a wakeboard can be hard. Kiteboards look like wakeboards, but they have different rocker and edges to optimise kite power. A wakeboard is very slow in comparison. Once you have good kite skills, a wakeboard is fine.

If you buy the newest latest and greatest stuff from the big brands it can be pricy. $1500-$2500 for a kite setup. However, used kites are only $100-$500. The latest thing to hit the kite market is direct internet sales without windsurfing distributors marking up the price (the reason the big names are so expensive). BEST Kiteboarding and Liquid Force Kites both have great new kites for half what the big guys cost. You will need to spend $50-$100 on a harness and you are ready to go.

It is legal in most all waterways, however you dont want to fly it around overhead lines. You must use a little common sense when picking a spot.

A kite is simply a wing/sail. When its in the wind, it pulls like a MACK truck, but when out of the wind it has very little pull. So, when you want to slow down or stop, you fly the kite to one of these "neutral places" where the pull is gone. If your back is to the wind, then straight out in front of you is an imaginary square called the "window". When the kite is in the window, it is pulling. Fly it to the far left or to the far right out of the window and it has no pull. Also if you fly it over your head out of the window it has no pull. That is how you stop it. Fly it down into the window for pull, and fly it out of the window for stop.

CCH · Newbie Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 2

I have been doing a bit of kiteboarding over the last couple of years when the wind is up in the Delta. It is a lot of fun, and to me more challenging than wakeboarding because you are also driving the boat, and it goes up/down as well as left/right.

If you already wakeboard, at least you don't have to worry about what your feet are doing while you are learning. I actually learned on my wakeboard, but I would not recommend it--you have to ride with an "overpowered" kite to make it work.

Definitely take lessons--the kites are extremely powerful and the potential for harm during the kite launching process is high. I started by having a friend launch the kite and bring it to me in the water.

You should also get a trainer kite to practice with on dry land. These are just small kites (1 sq m versus 12-20 for real kites) that have the same controls and similar flying characteristics. I've seen them for $50 on the net. Don't go in the water until you can fly the practice kite without looking at it.

Equipment will probably run you $1k if you get it used, since you need at least a couple of kites. I prefer 4 line to 2 line kites, because you can adjust their power on the fly, giving each kite more range, and making kite launch and recovery easier.

Good luck!