Learning to kitesurf, how old is too old?

[pagoda]

Will you be one of these kitesurfers that scares the s*1t out of me as I potter out of the estuary as they zoom 3 meters from my bows at 25knots. They are very, very scary things.

Got on the water windsurfing from the early '80s progressed to dinghies and latterly proficient snow boarding. My younger son Kite surfs fairly well - extremely proficient on snow (UK-Brits level). I am tempted at times,but equally scared? If I could cope with a kite I would be in business. Wake boarding was no great problem ;-) !

 

[choppy]

Thread probably a bit said and done now but having got quite frustrated at the local windsurfing in Mallorca - we get a very good sea breeze and surprisingly good blasting windsurfing at this end of island - but it's always half a Beaufort too low when you get out often a matter of realising the guys planing have pretty condition specific kit or are 12 year old grooms.

Then was in Tarifa this year - 5 days of 8 to 17 knots sandwiched by force 8 or 9 (our arrival and departure days) and would guess 700 to 1000 kites of all ages and abilities -well obviously mostly quite good due to location-and Maybe 70/30 split male/female maybe 50 - 100 windsurfers. Last time there opposite ratio.

So after watching the kites daily in 10 to 15 knt started a few lessons this year. I am told really not a strength thing, this I think is true as previously mentioned there is a high proportion of female kiters which is really nice, fitness a big help but I reckon to be similar age (though I seem to have no concept of this apart from the pain) to original post. Having had a mouthful of mud in park and thought lost my teeth with trainer kite (picture 90 kilo guy with 2m kite accelerating to faster than he can run before he has can let go of the bar) & have to say tuition a must, none of the keep falling off till you get it of early windsurfing. So far so good - oh yeah ?- It's great trying something new and am going for a couple more full days which may or may not put me at level 2 whatever that is. 1st try tethered to young Spanish lady and 2nd from Austrian instructor keen on shouting "I am not a windsurfer " to break 20 yrs of habit so he said. but he was excellent at explaining what was happening with the kite and lines - intuitively quite different activities I would say though wind awareness of course big part.

Haven't had to buy any kit yet and boy do they take full advantage of supply and demand on lesson prices but the kit fits in the boot and you can take easily on a plane

 

[KellysEye]

I learnt to kite surf in the BVI's when I was 66, you need to be fit I walk five miles a day with our dog up to Southleigh Forest in Emsworth, lift weights and do press ups and sit ups. The strange thing is the smaller the kite is the more powerful it is and more difficult control the bigger they get they are less powerful and easier to control. I started kite flying lessons on the beach with a small kite and if you do that you will see what I mean.

 

[Happy Dayz]

No being a strong swimmer, I have often fancied trying the trike beach surfing game,

Looks great fun .

Alan

 

[Sandy]

Got on the water windsurfing from the early '80s progressed to dinghies and latterly proficient snow boarding. My younger son Kite surfs fairly well - extremely proficient on snow (UK-Brits level). I am tempted at times,but equally scared? If I could cope with a kite I would be in business. Wake boarding was no great problem ;-) !

We all get into water sports in different ways. I "commanded" several frigates and destroyers at the age of three; I was allowed on the bridge, sat on the Captain's chair and drunk Coke in the wardroom. Since then the commands have got smaller and smaller

 

[ex-Gladys]

I learnt to kite surf in the BVI's when I was 66, you need to be fit I walk five miles a day with our dog up to Southleigh Forest in Emsworth, lift weights and do press ups and sit ups. The strange thing is the smaller the kite is the more powerful it is and more difficult control the bigger they get they are less powerful and easier to control. I started kite flying lessons on the beach with a small kite and if you do that you will see what I mean.

That's because the pull is generally related to the kite speed, as much as the area, slow a kite down and the pull reduces... Stunt kites as the wind gets marginal for the particular model used to deploy a "nappy", a rectangle of strong gauze with a piece of strong line threaded through each side which attached between the lines and the kite

 

[Halo]

If you need to ask the question then you are too old.

 

[KAL]

I have been watching a load of training videos on YouTube and hope my sailors instincts will give me a head start. One of the Tarifa schools has a "break the rules" course variant which intends to get a beginner up on the board by end of day one. The standard RYA 3 day intro sets aside days 1 & 2 for basic stuff with nothing more ambitious than a trial body drag start in the water minus the surf board with the instructor being towed behind holding the student's harness.

Some strong indicators here that mastering the basics of kitesurfiing is hard.

That's almost exactly my experience. I did the RYA 2-day course about 15 years ago. First day was spent learning the kites, and kite buggying in a field. I nearly died from the pain and exhaustion caused by having to do a half sit-up for hours, while steering with feet and controlling a powerful kite. That's not to mention the impossibility of trying to sleep that night, as it felt like my arms had been amputated.

Anyway, the next day was even more joy, as we took turns to be dragged through the water across Torbay, sans board. Couldn't see a thing, as seawater sprayed mercilessly into the face, and swallowed much of it. Emetic effect worked, I can tell you. Finally, managed to get up for about 10 sec. The course ended, and I've never done it since.

Maybe my experience was unusual or unfortunate, but good luck to you if you decide to try.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

That's almost exactly my experience. I did the RYA 2-day course about 15 years ago. First day was spent learning the kites, and kite buggying in a field. I nearly died from the pain and exhaustion caused by having to do a half sit-up for hours, while steering with feet and controlling a powerful kite. That's not to mention the impossibility of trying to sleep that night, as it felt like my arms had been amputated.

Anyway, the next day was even more joy, as we took turns to be dragged through the water across Torbay, sans board. Couldn't see a thing, as seawater sprayed mercilessly into the face, and swallowed much of it. Emetic effect worked, I can tell you. Finally, managed to get up for about 10 sec. The course ended, and I've never done it since.

Maybe my experience was unusual or unfortunate, but good luck to you if you decide to try.

That was nothing like my experience in Poole. I did one day and was up on the board within a couple of hours. Most of the kite only work was done on the beach and, as far as I was concerned, being dragged through the water only happened when I got it wrong. Can't remember the name of the outfit but it was the one by what is now Tesco's on Sandbanks Road...

 

[wully1]

The strange thing is the smaller the kite is the more powerful it is and more difficult control the bigger they get they are less powerful and easier to control. I started kite flying lessons on the beach with a small kite and if you do that you will see what I mean.

Errrmmm...

Oh never mind.

 

[jonjo]

First step is to learn to fly a power kite IMHO. Sailing and kite flying skills are totally different, I (6' 3, 100kg) have been dragged across a field by an 8' delta stunt kite, and kite buggied behind a small quad line kite on Camber Sands. Some of the basic kite control movements need to be embedded, for initially a two line, then a 4 line kite.

This would appear to be excellent advice. I drove over to Brancaster beach north Norfolk today and watched some experts close up as they jumped maybe 15ft in the strong winds following the thundery front that went through mid afternoon.

I was able to quizz a part time instructor who refocused my plans. He said forget the zero to hero intensive 3-day course approach because so much time is needed on basic static kite control on the beech. He said it is frustrating to teach people who want to be out on the water asap, this is because of the pressure to skip over fully developing kite control skills and as a consequence they experience an excess degree of frustration on learning water starts. He pointed at his 12 year old son and said he would not let him get on a board until he could control a kite blind with a sailbag over his head.

So Plan-B is to get a training kite and learn to control on the beach.
Then I will spend most of my tuition money once I am ready for the on the water stage.

 

[grumpy_o_g]

This would appear to be excellent advice. I drove over to Brancaster beach north Norfolk today and watched some experts close up as they jumped maybe 15ft in the strong winds following the thundery front that went through mid afternoon.

I was able to quizz a part time instructor who refocused my plans. He said forget the zero to hero intensive 3-day course approach because so much time is needed on basic static kite control on the beech. He said it is frustrating to teach people who want to be out on the water asap, this is because of the pressure to skip over fully developing kite control skills and as a consequence they experience an excess degree of frustration on learning water starts. He pointed at his 12 year old son and said he would not let him get on a board until he could control a kite blind with a sailbag over his head.

So Plan-B is to get a training kite and learn to control on the beach.
Then I will spend most of my tuition money once I am ready for the on the water stage.

This is true but, if you are anything like me, be prepared for a period of time where your kite-flying skills and your surfboarding abilities do not quite match up. Handling the kite on the beach and then when your feet are on a small board that moves around underneath you are two different things I found. Good fun learning to do it though of course and this is the best time of year with water temperatures nearing their highest point in the UK.

 

[ex-Gladys]

This is true but, if you are anything like me, be prepared for a period of time where your kite-flying skills and your surfboarding abilities do not quite match up. Handling the kite on the beach and then when your feet are on a small board that moves around underneath you are two different things I found. Good fun learning to do it though of course and this is the best time of year with water temperatures nearing their highest point in the UK.

Kite handling skills need to be second nature, to enable you to concentrate on the other parts (in my case a kite buggy)

 

[longjohnsilver]

This would appear to be excellent advice. I drove over to Brancaster beach north Norfolk today and watched some experts close up as they jumped maybe 15ft in the strong winds following the thundery front that went through mid afternoon.

I was able to quizz a part time instructor who refocused my plans. He said forget the zero to hero intensive 3-day course approach because so much time is needed on basic static kite control on the beech. He said it is frustrating to teach people who want to be out on the water asap, this is because of the pressure to skip over fully developing kite control skills and as a consequence they experience an excess degree of frustration on learning water starts. He pointed at his 12 year old son and said he would not let him get on a board until he could control a kite blind with a sailbag over his head.

So Plan-B is to get a training kite and learn to control on the beach.
Then I will spend most of my tuition money once I am ready for the on the water stage.

If you want top quality tuition you won't do any better than Edge Watersports in Exmouth. Steph Bridge (5 x world champion) and her family dominate the sport both nationally and internationally. I was speaking with her son Olly just yesterday, he kite surfed around the IoW, 60nm, in approx 2hrs 30!! What they don't know about kite surfing isn't worth knowing. And they are lovely people.