Extreme Living:
Kitesurfing
Posted on January 4th, 2012
Welcome to extreme living. We love lounging, but resting is nowhere near as much fun if you don’t experience the contrast of some high octane activity. We’re going to be focusing on activities that get us as excited as a spaniel puppy. This month it’s all about kite surfing.
What is kite surfing?
Kite surfing is a surface water sport. The kite surfer uses a large kite, known as a traction kite to pull them across the water on either a small surfboard or a board similar to a wakeboard (known in kitesurfing as a twin tip). The most popular type of kite for kite surfing is an LEI (leading edge inflatable), this type of kite has an inflatable leading edge and struts, which enable it to float on that water. This makes it easier to relaunch from the water if you crash.
You might consider kite surfing a new sport, and relatively speaking it is. Kite surfing as we know it started to develop around the mid 90s, however the concept of using a large kite to pull something along can be traced right back to the 1800s, when George Pocock developed a four line kite system to tow boats and carts. Around 1998 Kite surfing became a mainstream sport, with kite schools opening up around the world.
How do I get into kite surfing?
With the development of ever more reliable and easy-to-use safety systems, kite surfing is much safer than it used to be in the early days of the sport. But it can still be extremely dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. The only truly safe way to enter the sport is to take some lessons. There are kite schools all over the globe. Everyone learns at different rates, but you should be getting to the point of standing up and planing for your first runs after around 5 days on the water. Any experience in surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding or similar can make the going a little bit easier.
What kit do I need?
Kite surfing can be pretty expensive, eventually you will need:
- A wetsuit. In the UK you can probably ride in a thick 5:4 wetsuit all year round, unless you live in the south, where you might want a thinner, 2:3 for the summer.
- Kite/s (Many kite surfers have a quiver of 2 or 3 kites to allow them to go out in a larger range of wind conditions)
- Bar and lines (to control the kite)
- Harness – this connects the kite to your body so your arms don’t tire
- Board (either a surfboard style if you plan to primarily ride waves, or a twin tip if freestyle and tricks are more your bag)
- Helmet (optional)
- Impact vest (optional)
- Wetsuit boots, gloves and balaclava (essential if you want to play in the UK in winter)
Most of this equipment can be purchased second hand from e-bay. However, beware of really old kit; newer kites / bar and line systems (2008 onward) have much better safety systems. Before you part with your hard earned cash, speak to your instructor, other kite surfers and cruise the forums – ask lots of questions. It wall save you wasting your money and could save your life, (some kites are for experts only).
Why get into kite surfing?
Kite surfing is an amazing board sport with an infinite variety of jumps, grabs and spins at your disposal for the ultimate in self-expression. Once you have your gear and the conditions are on, you can just head for the beach and shred. Beware, once you start YOU WILL become hooked!
Kite surfing is exploding right now. Even British Airways recently used kitesurfing for a TV ad (below).
Resources
- British Kite Surfing Association (BKSA) – National governing body for the UK /
- XCweather.co.uk – for reliable wind forecasting
- Magicseaweed.com – for wind and wave forecasts
- Kitesurfing UK – Comprehensive UK kite beach guide
- Progression – Kite surfing techniques and tricks