Why should I take Kiteboarding Lessons or Kitesurfing Lessons?

Read the following article about a kitesurfer:

Kitesurfer blown onto roof

A kitesurfer in New Zealand was caught by a gust of wind and hurled about 50 meters over some trees before crashing on the roof of his own house yesterday.The incident, at Golden Bay at the northern tip of the South Island, has left the 43-year-old man in Nelson Hospital's intensive care unit with leg, chest and shoulder injuries.He was in a stable condition today but his injuries were considered serious.
Senior constable Crispin Lee of the Takaka police said a gust of wind blew the kitesurfer about 50 metres from the beach while he and the kite were about four meters up in the air. He went over the top of some trees, crashed into the roof of his own house and slipped down on to a fence where he came to rest, Mr. Lee said. Trudy Charlett, who lives in Pohara, said she was walking on the beach when there was "a real good swirl of wind". It picked up the kitesurfer, who is her neighbor, and flung him through the air toward his property. "It gave me a shock. One minute he was waving to me from the edge of the tide, the next thing I saw him flying throughthe air," she said. "He was quite high above the ground. I thought 'where is he going to end up?'."
Ms Charlett said the kite ended up in a neighbor's tree but the board was still attached to the kitesurfer when he was found.
The incident had left her shocked. "As soon as I closed my eyes last night (in bed) I saw him again flying through the air," she said.
The man was flown to hospital by the Nelson-Marlborough Rescue Helicopter which had to fly at a lower altitude than usual to prevent aggravating his punctured lung.Helicopter pilot Quentin Hulse said the patient "wasn't terribly happy" about the situation.

- NZPA

If that doesn't convince you to take a kite surfing lesson, then don't come to S. Padre.  You're the kind of person who is likely to get the sport banned where you ride.

How much are lessons?

The three hour kiteboarding / kitesurfing lesson is $280, a second and third person can sign up for half price.

 

How long will it take before I can ride on the board?

This one is tough to answer.  How long does it take to graduate from college?   The waterstart is a hurdle, once you get over that hurdle its all downhill.  Patience will go a long way.  If you're getting flustered you can't learn effectively, take a break.  Give it another go after you've rested a bit.  Many students conquer the waterstart after a good nights sleep.  Letting the subconscious work it's way through the motions seems to be a of value.

 

How long before I can jump?

This one is dependant on many factors including how often you are able to practice, the wind conditions, and how quickly you pick up the sport.  Some people can jump after ten hours of kiteboarding or less, others go slow and don't jump for a year.  It's all about comfort levels. 

Any tips for light wind kiteboarding?

Kiteboarding / kitesurfing in light wind is tricky; flying the kite requires extra focus and finesse. This is due to the fact that the kite is often teetering on the edge of stalling and the smallest mistake will usually cause the kite to fall from the sky. Understanding how the kite behaves differently in light wind is a step in the right direction. The biggest factor is apparent wind, one must understand what apparent wind is and how to make it work.

Apparent wind is the vector addition of the true wind speed, and the speed the rider is traveling. Consider the example where we have 10 knots of N wind, and you are riding E at 10 knots. The kite is feeling about 14 knots at this point. So by riding the rider is creating extra wind for the kite to use. However take the same example but lets ride downwind. If the wind is 10, and you're riding in the same direction at 10, the kite feels 0. Remember launching a single line kites as children, someone holds the kite and then lets go as we ran into the wind. As children we already had a concept of apparent wind.

Starting now with launching the kite we will recall that the farther upwind the bar is of the kite, the more power in the launch. By choosing the correct launch angle, getting the kite up in the air is easier. Many kites especially some the new flat kites, do not like to be launched with much rear line tension, this is also true for water relaunch, and when moving the kite from low on the sides back up to neutral. It is counter intuitive that pushing the bar away a bit often helps in these cases. When bringing the kite from low on the edge to neutral focus on the center strut, as the kite comes up try to keep the center strut almost parallel to the horizon, too much angle will cause the kite to stall. This idea can also be used to stabilize a kite which is about to stall, bring the strut down to parallel with the horizon. This allows the kite to stabilize by moving across the window and since the kite is moving side to side it doesn't have to fight gravity as much as it does when moving up, or against gravity.

Once the kite is up in the air avoid walking down wind if possible when moving to the water. If this can not be avoided keep the kite moving between 11 and 1 o'clock and make the way slowly. Keeping the kite high in the window gives us more time to react to luffing and stalling. Also avoid parking the kite in neutral, again , [color=red][/color][size=18][/size]Do not park the kite in neutral!, try instead 1 or 11. When the kite does stall push the bar away and turn the kite making the center strut parallel with the horizon, (turn kite down). Once the kite catches the wind bring it to a stable parked postion. Mastering keeping the kite up long enough to get to the water and up on the board on is the first challenge of light wind kitesurfing.

Once we get into the water we slap the board on quickly and without hesitation dive the kite, start kiteboarding / kitesurfing as quick as possible. Remember once you have the board on your feet you begin drifting with the kite which reduces the apparent wind. I usually loop the kite once or twice to get moving then stick with flying the kite up and down on the side of the wind window. I also down loop the kite when doing a slide transition, which in light wind is more of a pivot. Light wind is the best for learning to loop the kite while riding. Be cafeful looping when the wind is higher until you've practiced in the lighter stuff. And remember that downlooping is usually safer that uplooping as going up will generate lift.

The idea now is to work the edge of the board with the kite to generate as much speed as possible. The more speed we can get the more apparent wind the kite gets, and the more power we get. At this point over-edging will slow us down killing the apparent wind, conversely too little edge and we find ourselves following the kite which also kills the power. The more common of the two mistakes is over edging. The secret is the edge pressure must be varied as the kite moves up and down in the wind window. As the kite powers up during the power-stroke the edge pressure is gradually increased, as the kite begins to depower or turn, the pressure is decreased. This will take some practice and patience.

Getting good at kiteboarding in light wind is a great way to get more days on the water. Some of us don't live in places where it blows 20 every day, so being able to turn a light wind day into a fun day on the water would be great. Keeping the kite in the air while moving to the water and putting the board on is tough. Try practicing flying the kite in light wind without the board if you are having trouble with this step. Once in the water get up and riding as quickly as possible, thus getting apparent wind working for you. Keep your speed up and don't edge too much. By getting the right techniques you can be staying upwind and jumping while friends are watching form the shore waiting for more wind.

Try a spleene board for light winds. Read the reviews here.

What is the best month for wind?

If you look at the wind averages chart the two best months for wind are supposed to be April and May.  Often the wind is so good you'd never know it wasn't May.  The only month that has historically low wind is August.  Although, we have successfully taught many people in August.

 

What else is there to do on the Island?

Check out the page on S. Padre for a list of other activities.

Do you have other questions?..... Great, send us an Email