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Kiteboarding -- how hard and where to learn?


shawndoggy

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I can already foresee the day that my kids are grown and gone and putting together a crew gets tough. Kiteboarding seems like a great solution for the boardsports jones. But where do you learn how to do it? How much does it cost to get set up? How steep is the learning curve (for a non-sailor)?

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The guys at Wiley's ski shop are into it. Darren taught a few of us how to fly a kite at his dad's place a few years ago. Pretty crazy when it's dragging your but up & down the beach! :crazy:

After that it's just been a matter of getting out there & playing with it.

He might be a good source of info for you.

Heres a shot of my brother doing it on a SkySki.

kiteski1.jpg

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I am exactly in the situation you described. Plus we live near a fairly windy area, the delta.

The first thing you will want to do is get a trainer kite. You can find them on craigslist. Preferably one with a dvd. You will need to fly that thing with your eyes closed. Don't bother signing up for lessons until you have solid flying skills. Unless you want to pay some one to give you a trainer kite lesson.

Once you sign up for a lesson they will evaluate your flying skills. If your are G2G, than they will breakout a bigger kite. You will likely do some practicing for an hour or so on land, than you will move to the water. Here you will learn bodydragging. Just getting use to the power of the kite. And there is a lot of power. Once you look comfortable doing that they will throw you a board. I went from body dragging to riding a board in one lesson. After that you may take another lesson or so just getting use to riding and edging and trying to stay up wind. They will also address self rescue at this point. After that, if you are still hooked you will need to go get your own equipment.

Lessons are about $125/hr and include the use of the instructors equipment. Some instructors follow you on jet ski. Nat @ Edgekiteboarding.com uses a jet boat. He also has a helmet radio so he can give you instructions on the spot. He is a great instructor and highly recommend.

Kiting equipment new is around $1200/kite and $400-600 for a board. You will likely need a quiver of 2 kites. I usually buy the last years model. Like right now the 2011's are out so the 10's are on sale. Don't buy any kites that are over 2 years old!! There has been a lot of advances in the last couple of years.

I kite at Sherman Island on the delta. We also kite at Chrissy field under the Golden Gate and Waddell Beach on the ocean south of Half Moon Bay. Other kiting areas on the bay are 3rd Ave by the San Mateo Bridge and Alameda. There is a small group kiting at Folsom. There are also some kiteable days at Tahoe and I hear in your area Washoe? This weekend I was trying to go to Hood River, OR but the wind is light and chance of rain. But that area is the windsports capital of the US. We have also done a couple of trips to Baja and a trip to Costa Rica and Belize where we were able to kite. Trying to get to Maui over Xmas and will probably kite there :)

I think it is a pretty fun sport. There are times where I thought WTF am I doing ????? But once you get that AHAH moment and everything clicks it is pretty cool.

edit: I forgot to add that we are at the end of the wind season up here. So the guys giving lessons are starting to pack it up. Most if not all will head down to La Ventana or Los Barriles(?)in Baja in October. Our wind season is generally April/May to Sept.

Edited by stewart
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I know this would be a long way for you, but the Outer Banks of North Carolina is an outstanding kiteboarding location. There are several schools that give lessons there. If you ever come East, it may be worth a visit.

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I am exactly in the situation you described. Plus we live near a fairly windy area, the delta.

The first thing you will want to do is get a trainer kite. You can find them on craigslist. Preferably one with a dvd. You will need to fly that thing with your eyes closed. Don't bother signing up for lessons until you have solid flying skills. Unless you want to pay some one to give you a trainer kite lesson.

Once you sign up for a lesson they will evaluate your flying skills. If your are G2G, than they will breakout a bigger kite. You will likely do some practicing for an hour or so on land, than you will move to the water. Here you will learn bodydragging. Just getting use to the power of the kite. And there is a lot of power. Once you look comfortable doing that they will throw you a board. I went from body dragging to riding a board in one lesson. After that you may take another lesson or so just getting use to riding and edging and trying to stay up wind. They will also address self rescue at this point. After that, if you are still hooked you will need to go get your own equipment.

Lessons are about $125/hr and include the use of the instructors equipment. Some instructors follow you on jet ski. Nat @ Edgekiteboarding.com uses a jet boat. He also has a helmet radio so he can give you instructions on the spot. He is a great instructor and highly recommend.

Kiting equipment new is around $1200/kite and $400-600 for a board. You will likely need a quiver of 2 kites. I usually buy the last years model. Like right now the 2011's are out so the 10's are on sale. Don't buy any kites that are over 2 years old!! There has been a lot of advances in the last couple of years.

I kite at Sherman Island on the delta. We also kite at Chrissy field under the Golden Gate and Waddell Beach on the ocean south of Half Moon Bay. Other kiting areas on the bay are 3rd Ave by the San Mateo Bridge and Alameda. There is a small group kiting at Folsom. There are also some kiteable days at Tahoe and I hear in your area Washoe? This weekend I was trying to go to Hood River, OR but the wind is light and chance of rain. But that area is the windsports capital of the US. We have also done a couple of trips to Baja and a trip to Costa Rica and Belize where we were able to kite. Trying to get to Maui over Xmas and will probably kite there :)

I think it is a pretty fun sport. There are times where I thought WTF am I doing ????? But once you get that AHAH moment and everything clicks it is pretty cool.

edit: I forgot to add that we are at the end of the wind season up here. So the guys giving lessons are starting to pack it up. Most if not all will head down to La Ventana or Los Barriles(?)in Baja in October. Our wind season is generally April/May to Sept.

Great stuff Stewart, I was hoping you'd chime in. Yeah, Washoe lake is just 20 minutes south of my office, and Washoe valley (where the lake is) is notoriously windy all the time. Problem being there doesn't seem to be much of a retail / instructional community here.

Ever done any of the land-based stuff? We've got several dry lake beds nearby that look like they would be a good place to give it a shot without the risk of drowning too.

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I bought a used kite on eBay a few years ago and gave it a shot. I learned to fly the kite pretty well, but was never able to get up on a board. I was trying in the ocean, and when it was windy enough to fly the kite, it made the water too rough, and when the water was calm enough, it meant that there wasn't enough wind. I still have the kite, so I might try it again someday. I also bought two videos called "Secrets of Kiteboarding" and "Zero to Hero" that helped a lot in learning to rig and fly the kite, and also explained all of the equipment needed.

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Ever done any of the land-based stuff? We've got several dry lake beds nearby that look like they would be a good place to give it a shot without the risk of drowning too.

We use our trainer kites and ride parking lots, levies etc. on our longboards :)

Once you learn kite there are a lot of possibilities. Snowkiting looks like fun. There is a good spot near Kirkwood. I haven't tried it yet, don't want to face plant to hard :lol:

You could probably get a buggy or mountain board and hit those lake beds. Probably want at least a 2m kite or possibly 3m for that.

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I bought a used kite on eBay a few years ago and gave it a shot. I learned to fly the kite pretty well, but was never able to get up on a board. I was trying in the ocean, and when it was windy enough to fly the kite, it made the water too rough, and when the water was calm enough, it meant that there wasn't enough wind. I still have the kite, so I might try it again someday. I also bought two videos called "Secrets of Kiteboarding" and "Zero to Hero" that helped a lot in learning to rig and fly the kite, and also explained all of the equipment needed.

You really should take some lessons. Part of the lessons is having somebody yell in your ear when you do something wrong. Many if not most kiters will not give there friends lessons, except for flying the trainer kite.

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One other thing I really like is the longer sessions. When we go out on the boat avery one gets a 10-15+ minute pull maybe 3 times.

When I go kiting its usually a 2-3 hour downwinder or a am/pm 1-2 hour ride. I went down to San Quintin Baja a few weekends ago and we did a 10 mile downwinder in the surf.

The only downside is when there is no wind. You'll be like a drug addict looking for a fix. Kinda like that for me today :(

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I see this in my near future too, here on the East coast of Lake Michigan, I've seen lots of guys out kiteboarding. Me plus my 2 boys, that ain't cheap. It's either kite boards or a 4 seater dune buggy.

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I just happen to run across this guy on Facebook it appears is successfully riding a stand-up foil board behind a kite! :rockon:

I think this has to be a mix of the two hardest discipilines of on-water sports I've ever tried. :crazy:

34670_443891422754_558007754_5821789_1334545_n.jpg

Looks like he & his buddies are KILLIN IT in Puerto Rico.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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Shawndoggy, Washoe Lake doesn't have a lot of traffic on it of late. Used to be a lot of wind surfer/kite board activity, but now not so much. I know they had a fatality with a kite boarder who flew off the lake onto the parking lot. The State Park folks may have shut it down. I don't know. Might try one of the board shops to see about training. Best of luck.

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I can already foresee the day that my kids are grown and gone and putting together a crew gets tough. Kiteboarding seems like a great solution for the boardsports jones. But where do you learn how to do it? How much does it cost to get set up? How steep is the learning curve (for a non-sailor)?

There are a couple of guys always jonesen for 3rds in your area....or drive over the hill plenty of us over here to grab some pulls.

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If you are really serious about learning it pays to go somewhere the wind blows all the time like the Gorge. They have at least half a dozen kite schools there with excellent instruction and support. We kited there this summer for a few days and it nuked the whole time.

It is also very easy to snow kite as you just click in and go and you don't have to worry about loosing your board. There must be some open areas around Tahoe in the winter that hold good snow. Where I am we go right out our back door and you don't pay $85 for a lift ticket. .

Always where a helmet.

If you ever make it out to Big Sky MT my son will teach you.

For those of you who know how to kite check out this website for information on areas around here and people to hook up with.

http://www.montanakitesports.com/

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We tried it at South Padre Island.

The Laguna Madre is knee to waist deep for MILES so you can easily stand up and walk while learning.

Definitely spend as much time as possible with a trainer kite and master flying the kite.

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