Getting started in Kite Surfing

Any experienced kite surfer will tell you that the best way to get started is to get some professional tuition. Kite surfers can be a danger to other surfers, swimmers and even pedestrians on the beach. The BKSA have a list of recognised UK kite surfing schools you can check out here.

Introduction to Kite Surfing

A first lesson will typically brief you on equipment issues such as kite sizes, set-up, maintenance and safety. You will also learn about ways to fly with the wind and planning your trip with the weather in mind. The first step in kite boarding usually involves learning how to fly the kite (keep it aloft) while standing on the beach. From the beach, you take your new found skills into the water and learn body dragging, where you allow the kite to drag you through the water without a kite board.

First steps in Kite Surfing

Next, you are ready to head out into the water with full kite boarding equipment. To get started, one lies down in the water with legs extended down-wind and the kite in a neutral position. Once you have slipped both feet into the foot straps, the kite is brought down to the power zone, which will lift you up out of the water and start you traveling down-wind after the kite. The board must be edged into the water to be steered with the legs, much like a ship's keel.

Turning your Kite Board

Beginners can execute 180 degree turnabouts by lying down backwards in the water, turning the kite and starting off again in the opposite direction. More advanced kite surfers use a technique called a heel jibe where they slow down and switch their feet, turning the back foot to become the lead. The surfer must then reverse the kite which pulls him 180 degrees - at which point his feet will already be in the correct position.

Poorly executed turns can result in dangerous tumbles with the possible threat of entangling. At worst, a kite surfer can be pulled high into the air only to fall again uncontrollably or be dragged underwater into objects at high speed. For this reason beginners should seek out expert instruction.

Flying and Jumping

The ability to jump high into the air and perform tricks is one of the big draws of kite surfing. Jumping a kite surf is extremely difficult and carries with it a fair amount of danger. Badly performed jumps can carry kite surfers into buildings, hard ground, piers, power lines and other hazards. Uncontrolled contact with the water from height can cause serious injury and even death.

Kite surfers jump by building up speed and digging the board in hard to the water (edging) to create a lot of tension. To create lift, the kite is quickly flown into an overhead position and the kite surfer will be lifted up into the air, whereupon the kite must be quickly readjusted so as to maintain a consistent forward lift from this position. From here turns, grabs and other mid-air tricks can be performed.