As the name suggests, the Death Loop is a very dangerous situation that can happen to virtually anyone due to gear failure or a line getting wrapped around your bar or hooked through your harness in some way. Year after year many kiteboarders around the world get hurt or even die because of the so called “Death Loop”, and in many cases, releasing your safety system has no effect. It can even happen to highly experienced kitesurfers if caught off guard.

For this reason, Anton Chernyshov from Advakite.com put together a great video tutorial demonstrating a number of techniques to quickly and safely get your kite back under control without ever having to release your safety system.

We highly recommend you watch the entire video tutorial below, however we’ve also summarized the various techniques in case you can’t watch the video for some reason.

Surviving the Death Loop Video Tutorial

If you are reading this tutorial in an email or RSS feed, please click here to watch the video tutorial.

Examples of Situations that can cause the Death Loop

• Centre depower line (front lines) wrap around the bar
• One of the steering lines gets hook around the bar end or clip
• Steering line wraps around your harness hook

Activating your safety system may not help, as the depower system is locked around the bar or the steering line is hooked on your harness. It also makes the situation worse, because now the bar is out of your reach, making it impossible to rectify the situation. Your only option left is to cut away from the kite entirely.

How to Stop the Loop of Death

To stop the kite, simply grab the farthest steering line and pull it hard. That’s it… the kite will stall and fall out of the sky. If you are battling to pull this line, wait for the kite to hit the surface of the water, as it will be much easier to stall the kite while it has briefly stopped moving.

Securing the Kite Afterwards

Once you’ve stopped the kite, pull the steering line in even more to ensure your kite remains depowered. Then you have several options:

1. Untangle your lines and carefully relaunch your kite. Make sure the lines are completely free before attempting to relaunch the kite. You can untwist the lines once your kite is in the air.
2. If you are worried about your lines being tangled or there is a dangerous obstacle ahead of you, you can proceed straight to the self rescue. First wrap the steering line you already pulled in around the bar about 10 times to secure the kite in a depowered state. Then proceed with the self rescue as normal.
3. If you are in shallow water, you can just walk up the steering line towards the kite. Be sure not to get yourself entangled in any loose lines and don’t wrap the lines around your hands or fingers in case the kite does power up and relaunch accidently.

Practice

We don’t recommend practicing death loops on the beach or even in the water, as you could potentially hurt yourself or someone else. But you can practice preparing for the various scenarios using your bar and lines at home as demonstrated in the video. Repeat a few times with your eyes closed in case your bar is under the water when you’re in a tricky situation.

If you have questions or you’d like to share your own experiences, please post them in the comments below. And please share this information with others, as you might save someone from serious injury or death.

PS: A big thank you to Anton Chernyshov for taking the time to make this great video and for sharing his knowledge and experience with everyone.

Surviving the Death Loop was published by inMotion Kitesurfing.

What You’ll Learn in this Wave Kite Series

This 5 part series of professionally produced wave riding tutorial videos will help you quickly master the art of Kitesurfing waves. The great news is that as an intermediate freeride kitesurfer, you’re only ten days of practice away from becoming a legit wave kitesurfer!

Over the next few weeks you will learn:

1. How to Start Wave Kitesurfing: Timing your Turns
2. Your first turns with timing and usage of the entire wind window
3. Riding your first waves backside
4. Top-turns and bottom-turns, performed both frontside and backside
5. How to gybe

How to Start Wave Kitesurfing: Timing your Turns

Watch the video tutorial above to learn how to perform carving transitions with the right timing, and then get out and practice, practice, practice… If you are reading this article in an email or RSS feed, watch the video here.

Getting Started

If you can ride upwind and toe-side, then you are ready to learn to ride waves with a kite.

If you don’t live near a kite spot with waves, you can start preparing to learn wave kitesurfing on flat or choppy water using your twin-tip board. This will allow you to get used to the fundamental moves before you take a trip to a good wave riding location.

Carving Transitions

Carving transitions are turns where you keep the same foot in front during your entire transition. Smoothly turning from and to toe-side and heel-side in both directions is essential for riding a wave board or directional board. This means you have four different turns to practice.

Timing the turn of your kite and board is crucial for a successful transition. Before pointing your board downwind, steer the kite sharply through the power zone in the opposite direction. Then shortly afterwards, follow your kite around by steering your board’s nose downwind and then into the opposite direction. If you get pulled over your board, steer your board downwind harder or faster. If you sink into the water you most likely moved the kite to 12 o’clock and didn’t steer the kite quickly enough through the power zone.

Important:  first turn the kite, and then turn the board. One strong pull on the bar with your back hand should do the trick. Watch the video above to learn the correct technique.

Don’t forget, if you want to wave kite in various conditions such as with the wind from the left and from the right, you need to be able to do your turns on your weak side as well. So practice both ways from the start.

Get on a Wave Board

After you’ve mastered all four turns while powered on your twin-tip board, start practicing the exercises on a directional wave board.

Switching to a wave board might take some getting used to, and you need to adjust your riding technique slightly. Make greater use of the fins to help you to ride upwind instead of riding the board on the edge like you would when riding a twin-tip board.

You’ll find that your wave board has less drag in the water. It will also speed up quicker so you should find it easier to move the kite through the power zone. Try this while carving downwind in a smooth slalom line and enjoy getting into the flow of things.

Important: Keep in mind that your wave board has large fins which are fragile, so avoid riding in shallow water where they might get caught in the sand and break off.

For now, don’t worry about switching your feet (gybing). You will learn to gyb later, as it’s a bit more difficult to learn than just riding the waves. In the meantime, if you do want to change your feet, simply slow down and drop yourself in the water, turn your board around manually and head back in the other direction.

Downwinders for Kitesurfing Waves

While cruising in slalom lines you will be heading downwind and losing a lot of ground. Kiting back upwind will take time, effort and energy. The same applies when you’re riding down the line on a wave. For this reason, most wave riders like to do downwind trips from one point to another. All you need to do is organise transport at the end of your downwinder to get you and your gear back to your starting point.

The advantage of doing a downwinder instead of kiting in one spot is that it will maximize your net practicing time on the water. It will help you reach your learning goal at this stage faster, which is steering the kite in a controlled manor through the power zone while turning the board in the other direction. It’s also just the most enjoyable way to wave kitesurf!

Lesson Summary

• Practice the four different types of carving transitions: from heel-side to toeside, from toeside to heel-side (goofy and regular stance)
• Timing: First turn the kite, then steer the board to follow the kite
• Steer the kite through the power zone while turning the board downwind
• Practice alternating between all 4 types of carving transitions in a slalom line downwind

If you enjoyed this tutorial, then keep an eye out for our next lesson in this wave riding series: “Your first turns with timing and usage of the entire wind window” by subscribing to our updates. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to post them in the comments below.

This wave kitesurfing video tutorial was brought to you by KITEKAHUNAS Kitesurfing School and KITEKAHUNAS Wave Camps.

KITEKAHUNAS is an advanced Kitesurfing School in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition to their regular kiteboarding lessons, they also offer Wave Camps designed for wave kitesurfing beginners and experts. The camps include 2 weeks of pure wave riding pleasure, guidance, accommodation and transport from downwinders – all in all, an unforgettable experience.

Wave Kitesurfing Video Tutorial: Timing Your Turns (Lesson 1) was published by inMotion Kitesurfing.

To continue the growth of kitesurfing as a sport, we need to recognize and overcome the barriers to entry these newcomers are faced with, and amplify the existing kiting community’s voice at the same time. We asked a number of pros who didn’t let anything get in their way what barriers you might run into when learning to kitesurf professionally, how to overcome them and why it is all worth it in the end.

Helena Brochoka

“At a beginner level, I think a lot of it comes down to fear. People are scared of a big powerful kite that can pull them out of control. Understanding the wind and kite’s “power zone” is really important in order to feel comfortable with a kite. It may seem hard at first, but it just needs a bit of practice. In the end, it’s a relatively safe sport, as long as you don’t engage in risky actions (such as launching close to trees, buildings, or rocks etc). I think it is most important to be familiar with how the wind works, and how to control a trainer kite fully before you switch to the actual big kite.

At a more advanced level, kitesurfing is very dependent on the conditions. In many other sports once you learn a trick, you usually know how you do it, and you will probably land it nearly every time. In kitesurfing you often think you’ve nailed it, but it might not work the next day or at a different spot due to varying wind and water conditions. Learning a trick is a much longer process, and it takes years to gain consistency. As frustrating as this might be, the key to success is to not give up, and just to keep trying again and again.”

Alex Arseneault

“I would say that the biggest barrier when learning to kitesurf is probably our ability to make decisions. When starting the sport, we are not always aware of the danger or risks of a spot or wind conditions.

To overcome that barrier, surround yourself with experienced people. Don’t be afraid to ask questions at a kite spot. Many kiters are present anywhere there’s wind and water. Take your place in a community; even if you are a beginner, we’ve all been there before!”

“Kite schools and shops are also there for you. Find the best Kite School you can trust and continue to ask questions. Kiteboarding can be complex (kites, boards, bars, lines etc). We learn every day, that’s what makes this sport so special.”

Jessica Perigny

“I would say that for someone who has never participated in any wind sports, understanding how the wind works is really difficult. I remember when I was teaching at Real Watersports, I would spend so much time explaining the wind. The best way to overcome this, in my opinion, is to watch videos and spend LOTS of time flying a trainer kite. It’s so much easier for a coach when students arrive having watched videos because they at least have a basic idea of what to expect.”

Dom Granger and Annie Carrier

“I would say, and I think it’s different for men, but for women, aside from money and/or time, I would say fear is the biggest barrier. Fear of not to being able, fear of the water, fear of not being strong enough, and fear of not being able to afford it. The best way to overcome this fear? Just do it! It’s definitely possible if you want it to be.”

Jana Schader

“The biggest barrier in learning how to kiteboard for me was getting back on the board after your first huge crash. To overcome your fear, you have to start slowly and think back to something great that happened before the crash. Watching others crash and get back up helps too.”

Brandon Bowe and Brandon Cordina

“Time and dedication. Kiteboarding takes anywhere from 5-8 hours to learn the basics, and the first stages of learning to kitesurf are very difficult. Just stick with it and learn to stay up wind, which is the key to success. Oh and make sure to get proper instruction! It’ll save you a lot of frustration!”

Jake Kelsick

“Mastering the kite. I always tell people kiteboarding is 80% kite control and 20% being on the board. Once you master the kite, your kite life will be much easier. Aside from that, if you are persistent and motivated, you will be ripping it up in no time!”

These kitesurfers and so many others are passionate about working with new and experienced kiters to help keep this sport growing to the level that it deserves. You can check out our kiting community, what they can do and what they can teach you on MentorMob by clicking to their profiles above.

What barriers and challenges have you faced to get to the level you are at now, and how did you overcome them? What tips can you offer potential newcomers to our sport to keep them motivated? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

This article was contributed by MentorMob, a community for kiteboarders and various other interest groups, and a great place to get free online learning guides.

Overcoming Barriers to Become the Next Pro Kitesurfer was published by inMotion Kitesurfing.

There are of course a number of great resources documenting the history of kiteboarding or kitesurfing, but we thought we’d summarise the highlights for you, so you can get back to doing what you live for… kiteboarding. And if you’d rather get body slammed into a mine field of sea urchins on an exposed reef than read an article on the history of kiteboarding, then feel free to skip straight to the video below, which is a humorous and very entertaining look at how it all started.

Seriously though, we can’t thank the producers, Josh Kendrick and Dan Connely enough for this brilliant tribute to kiteboarding, which comes packed with interviews with all the great pioneers of kitesurfing, and is what inspired us to write this article in the first place. It’s 55min long, so if you don’t have time for that, we’ve also included a 6 min video, Short Kiteboarding History by Susi Mai and Robby Naish.

Who Invented Kiteboarding

The story of kiteboarding will vary slightly depending on who you speak to. The Chinese for example are credited with using kites as a means of propulsion as far back as the 13th century. In the 1800’s George Pocock used kites to propel carts on land and ships on the water, making use of a 4-line control system similar to what we use today. And in 1903, aviation pioneer Samuel Cody developed “man-lifting kites” and succeeded in crossing the English Channel in a small collapsible canvas boat powered by a kite. You can read more about the early history of kites here.

Bruno Legaignoux

But the pioneers of kiteboarding as we know it today are the Legaignoux brothers, Dominique and Bruno Legaignoux from Breton, France, who are credited with inventing the first inflatable kite. They first started experimenting with kites in 1984, and in 1985 demonstrated a prototype at the Brest International Speed Week and filed their first patent.

However, they weren’t alone… parallel to this, and all the way across the ocean in Oregon, USA, Cory Roeseler was developing his Kiteski together with his dad, Bill Roeseler, a Boeing aerodynamicist. Cory’s KiteSki became commercially available in 1994, could go upwind and had a rudimentary water re-launch system. In the late 1990s, the Kiteski evolved into a single board similar to a surfboard. The video (around minute 6:40) shows just how instrumental Cory was in the development of kiteboarding.

Cory Roeseler

Development of Kiteboarding as a Sport

In 1997 the Legaignoux brothers partnered with Neil Pryde to produce small numbers of kites, which they then sold under the brand name Wipika. These kites had preformed inflatable tubes and a simple bridle system, both of which greatly assisted their water re-launch ability. Bruno Legaignoux has continued to improve his kite designs, and went on to invent the bow kite design a few years ago which has been licensed to many kite manufacturers, and has become quite popular in modern day kitesurfing. Learn more about the various kite designs here.

First Bow Kite | Image Courtesy of Ocean2Air

In 1998 Don Montague and Robby Naish requested a licence from Bruno, and as part of their agreement, Don Montague developed software which enabled them to design great kites in a fraction of the time. This was one of the defining moments of the sport.

The birth of kiteboarding as a mainstream sport really began in 1998 when Joe Keuhl organised the first kiteboarding event, which took place on Maui in Hawaii. The competition was jokingly dubbed the kitesurfing world championships and all the big names in kiteboarding were there (25 of them). Flash Austin won the competition.

Of course, learning to kitesurf in those days was treacherous. There were no instructors to learn from, no trainer kites, and nobody had figured out that they should launch the kite at the edge of the window yet. It really was the wild, Wild West back then…

One of the unique aspects of kiteboarding is that it developed in a number of different directions all roughly around the same time… on the one hand you had the likes of Robby Naish and Flash Austin boosting massive jumps, while guys like Lou Wainman and Elliot Leboe were pioneering the wakestyle side of kiteboarding. And now, largely thanks to the KSP World Pro Kite Tour, we’re getting back to our surfing roots with strapless wave kitesurfing.

Originally the terms kiteboarding and kitesurfing really meant the same thing, however, in recent years there’s been a push to distinguish the two as different disciplines. Kiteboarding refers to anything that isn’t wave riding, so this would include freestyle, wakestyle, speed and racing, while riding waves with a kite would be kitesurfing. This trend really gained momentum when the KSP tour launched in 2011 with the One Eye Pro in Mauritius.

Video: Upwind Launch of a Sport

If you want to hear how it all began from the pioneers and influencers themselves, we highly recommend watching this video…

If you are reading this in an email or RSS reader, click here to watch the video.

The Future of Kiteboarding

The future is definitely looking bright for kiteboarding and kitesurfing. We’ve got two pro tours, with the PKRA covering freestyle and the KSP geared purely towards wave riding. We’ve got speed and course racing world championships. Kite gear is evolving at an incredible pace, with kites and bar systems becoming safer and more efficient. Kite schools with qualified instructors can be found all around the world, and more youngsters and girls are getting into kiteboarding, which is great for any new sport. On top of that, kiteboarding almost became an Olympic sport last year, and while we didn’t make it for the 2016 Games in the end, we’re confident that kiteboarding in the Olympics is in the not too distant future.

Short Kiteboarding History by Susi Mai & Robby Naish

If you are reading this in an email or RSS reader, click here to watch the video.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this little walk down memory lane. If you think we’ve missed anything important, please do let us know in the comments below and we’ll update the article accordingly. And if you enjoyed this article or the videos, please do share it with your friends.

Note: The first and last image are courtesy of Neil Egerton Photography.

The History of Kiteboarding & Launch of a New Sport was published by inMotion Kitesurfing.

Jessica is an accomplished kitesurfing instructor and is best known for pioneering a kitesurfing business on her own in a third world country.

We asked her to share with us her take on kitesurfing and the vital role the sport plays in her life…

A Burning Passion for Kitesurfing

From the first time I saw kites dancing above the water in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) 10 years ago I was hooked. I used to go down to the water on windy days and just watch the guys practicing jump after jump. I kept saying to my husband at the time, “I want to do that” to which he just replied I would never be strong enough. This is the greatest misconception in the sport but at the time I believed him, so for 5 years I just watched. Finally after my divorce I decided I was not only going to kitesurf but I will excel at it!

I took a 6 month trip around South America and did my first lesson in Mancora, Peru. Leading up to taking this lesson I had only spent a couple of weeks learning to navigate ocean waves and was still pretty intimidated by the power of the ocean. Twice during the lesson I needed to take time out to try to build up confidence in myself. I was never a big swimmer and tended not to excel in water sports due to my discomfort in being underwater.

Jessica Winkler Kiting in Nicaragua

After 6 hours of lessons in Peru I was unable to find another place to complete the course until Jericoacoara, Brazil. I ended up staying in Jeri for over a year. I fell in love with the sport and kited every day. During my progression in kitesurfing I was also taking swimming lessons 3 times a week in the ocean to learn to handle currents, waves and rip tides properly. This was one of the most important things I could have done because kitesurfing can be a dangerous sport and the ocean is a very powerful force. It is very important to understand how to read the ocean and to stay calm in the case of an emergency.

I now absolutely love the water and spend most of my time in it either kitesurfing, surfing, wakeboarding or swimming. Once I got over my fear, I had the confidence to become a sponsored kiteboarder. I am currently sponsored by Fuel, O’Neill, Jet Pilot, You Scared?, ProTec, GoPro, Heart & Huntington, and I have just finished a film for Oxbow.

Jessica Teaching in Nicaragua

Starting the Kitesurfing Romance

Kitesurfing is an extreme sport and people should never try to learn it on their own. A certified instructor is always necessary for a minimum of 6 – 8 hours of instruction. People who attempt to launch a kite on their own without clear knowledge and understanding of the wind window and the equipment, often result in injury or in some extreme cases death.

When choosing a location to learn in I would recommend looking for shallow, flat water with as few hazards as possible. The school should have relatively new, well maintained equipment and knowledgeable capable staff and instructors. You can find this information by looking on Kiteatlas.com or here: Kitesurfing Schools Directory.

Kitesurfing Safety Tips from Jessica

Water safety in kitesurfing is extremely important. When you have so many elements to be concerned with, board, kite, wind, water, waves and other people, safety is number one. For me, I tend to be over cautious with my students. If I see someone kiting in an unsafe manner, I will point out to them how their behavior is endangering themselves and others.

One of the most important things is being aware of yourself in relation to others. You need to keep a good 30 meters of space between you and anything or anyone downwind of you. Always assess your surroundings before launching. Even as a spectator, never stand between the kite and the rider.

Secondly always remain in full control of your kite, on and off the water. If you feel over powered then you need a smaller kite or wait until the wind drops. Accidents happen really fast and the last thing you want is to put yourself or anyone else in danger.

Building the Dream Home – Kitesurf Resort Nicaragua

I ended up taking a surf trip to Costa Rica in June of 2010 to see my mom who was living there at the time. I decided to go to Nicaragua and check it out because it was close. About 10 minutes after I crossed the border I saw a sea of wind turbines facing a big lake with an island made up of two impressive volcanos. I asked the taxi driver to pull over so I could have a look up and down the beach for kitesurfers or windsurfers, but I didn’t see anyone, yet there was a good side onshore wind that day.

Kitesurfing at Amayo Kite Beach, Nicaragua

When I finally got to the beach town of San Juan del Sur, I spent the next week asking everyone about kitesurfing. The only thing anyone knew is that there was a guy who tried to open a school a couple of years ago, but it never worked out and at the moment there was no one doing anything here.

When I got back to Canada after my month trip I decided to start looking for a way to get down to Nicaragua. At the time I was working as a travel agent so I was exposed to meeting all sorts of people traveling to the area. About 2 months later I ended up selling a ticket to a guy who was building an action sports resort in San Juan del Sur and he thought the idea of opening a kitesurf centre was great.

By November I was on an airplane to start my new life. I’ve had experience with starting a kitesurf / windsurf centre in the past. In 2008 I was the Director of Operations for a million dollar Club Mistral / Sky Riders resort project in northern Brazil. That project gave me the confidence and knowledge for starting and working in a foreign country.

Jessica Winkler

Currently I’m living in Nicaragua trying to start the first kite business in the country. There are 330 days a year of wind and strong side onshore winds Nov – May on Lake Nicaragua. I’ve started working with a Nicaraguan family who owns 800 acres of water front property on the best part of the lake. We named the area Amayo Kite Beach after the wind farm consisting of 39 turbines which line the beach. The spot is beautiful, private and empty!

My business Kite Nicaragua is slowly getting off the ground as I am still looking for an investor to help me build it. I myself have been fortunate enough to pick up a few sponsors who believe in me for trying to pioneer the business of kitesurfing by myself in a 3rd world country.

If you would like to know more, or you have any questions or comments, please post them in the comments section below, or contact me directly from my website.

Written by

Jessica Winkler

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Kitesurfing Love Affair with Jessica Winkler was published by inMotion Kitesurfing.

But first let me just say this… kitesurfing is hands down one the most insane sports on this planet! I’ve tried many extreme sports and some not so extreme sports, and this is honestly the one I would choose to do every single day of my life. Now if only the wind would blow every day… well maybe in Cape Town… Anyway enough of that, you’re probably dying to know how to go about getting into kitesurfing.

Will I Be Able to Learn Kitesurfing

Girls make great Kitesurfers!

Well the good news is that anybody can learn to kitesurf. From the age of 10 through to 85, Boys, Girls, Men and Woman are all enjoying this thrilling sport! In fact, as long as you are mobile, you can learn to kitesurf. Contrary to common belief, you do not have to be extraordinarily fit or strong, and girls make great kitesurfers too btw. Naturally you will get super fit and strong if you kitesurf regularly, but this is not a requirement to learn. The bad news is that you can’t just go out and buy a kite, head to the beach and figure it out on your own…

Learn to Kitesurf the Responsible Way

Unlike many sports that you can teach yourself through trial and error, kitesurfing is a sport that requires the supervision of a qualified kitesurfing instructor. This is in the best interest of your own safety and the safety of other innocent beach goers and kiteboarders. Besides, do you really want to risk ripping that sexy new kite you just bought because you don’t know how to set it up correctly or launch and land it safely? Investing in a few lessons with a kiteboarding instructor will be money well spent, as you’ll not only become a safer more responsible kitesurfer, but you’ll also learn much quicker.

Some of the critical things you need to learn before you attempt to kitesurf on your own are:

• Safety, rules and regulations on and off the water
• Weather conditions and how the wind window works
• How to set up your kite correctly
• How to launch, land and fly the kite safely

More on this in upcoming articles…

What Do I Need to Get Started

All you need to get started initially is a few lessons with an IKO qualified kitesurfing instructor. You will find a list of recommended kiteboarding shops and a list of recommended kiteboarding schools or instructors on this website.

Tail Grab – Well Almost…

So head on over to either of those pages and contact your nearest IKO certified Kitesurfing School to ask them about their lessons. The school will provide you with all the training equipment you need, so you really just need to come with your baggies / bikini, sunscreen and loads of excitement.

Once you’ve completed the course, or you’re in the final stages of your lessons, you can consider buying your own gear. If you can afford it, I highly recommend buying your gear as early on in the course as possible, so that you can practise on your new equipment while still under the supervision of your instructor.

To get started with your own gear, you will need at least one kite (your local shop will advise you on the different types of kites and the best size for your weight and local conditions), a kiteboard and a harness. The bar, lines and pump come with your kite in most cases.

How Much Does it Cost

Well, the truth is kitesurfing isn’t the cheapest sport to take up, but trust me when I say this, it will be well worth the investment, and the best decision you will ever make… A brand new rig will set you back in the region of R 18 000 ($ 2 600) depending on the gear you choose. But you don’t need to buy brand new equipment to get started. Your local kitesurfing shop should be able to set you up with second hand gear that could cost you as little as R 7 000 ($ 800 in the USA). The beauty of this route is that you minimize your start up risk, and by the time you are ready to upgrade, you already know you are addicted to kitesurfing and the investment will be well worthwhile. Also, you will have a better understanding of what equipment will suit your needs best.

Wow, that’s Expensive!

Not really… I know the equipment might sound quite expensive at first glance, but let me put things into perspective for you. If you’ve ever taken up any other kind of lifestyle sport such as scuba diving, skiing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, sailing and even deep sea fishing or angling, you’ll know that this isn’t a lot of money to spend on something that’s going to bring you so much pleasure and keep you fit and healthy at the same time.

Wave Riding – Off the Lip!

Here are some numbers to get you thinking:

• Scuba Diving will set you back roughly R 20 000+ for a full set of entry to midrange gear
• Snowboarding: roughly R 8 000 – R 20 000+ for entry level gear, but largely dependent on where you are in the world
• Deep Sea Fishing : R 10 000 – R 30 000 depending on your requirements

Now the real difference is that once you have the kiteboarding gear, you hardly have any other costs to go kitesurfing, apart from the petrol / Gas to get you to the beach and your sunscreen. In contrast, with scuba diving you still need to pay for your dives and cylinder fills each time you want to dive, and there may be extensive travel and accommodation costs involved if you don’t live near a great dive spot. With snowboarding, you will need to travel to a skiing region, pay over the top accommodation expenses and buy a not-so-cheap ski pass. And fishing? Well if you don’t own your own boat, then you have to pay for a fishing charter or hire a boat for the day. If you do own your own boat, then I’m sure I need not tell you what it costs to maintain that bad boy…

You see, not so bad after all? So do yourself a favour and book your first double lesson, and see if you like it, how much you love it! Your first double lesson will cost you roughly R 800, so you have nothing to lose, but R 800 perhaps… You won’t regret it.

In coming articles we will break the kitesurfing course down into its individual modules, which will give you a better idea of what to expect and we will also be bringing you plenty of gear reviews and helpful advice and tips about kitesurfing.

Also, if you’re curious about how kiteboarding started, who invented the first inflatable kite, and where the sport is headed in the future, check out at our history of kiteboarding article, and definitely watch the video.

To ensure you don’t miss out on a single article, subscribe to our website and get the latest articles directly to your inbox. Click the link below to connect right way:

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See you on the water!

Beginners Guide to Kitesurfing: Getting Started was published by inMotion Kitesurfing.