tow in with a kite

[tufgon]

I was staying out on the north shore about a week ago and saw a group of surfers towing in to 12 footers behind a kite! While paddling is a great workout, I'm sorry but these guys got it figured out. They were out there all day catching wave after wave with minimal effort. I decided to check out this kiteboarding as a means to big wave riding and I have to a say I am inspired. I found a free copy of the kiteboarder magazine at kbmag.com and learned a lot about kiteboarding, it's the icing on the cake for surfing, now I can be dropping in while all my buddies are still fighting to pass the break. I will never quit paddling into waves but my new kite will aid my big wave riding when the break is just a little too far. This new sport is allowing me to push my passion even farther and I think everyone should get a taste.

[duhkine]

I'm surprise people haven't heard too much about kitesurfing. Its pretty cool but you need the wind and waves make it fun too. The equipment must be expensive. Unless you're good most kitesurfers I think have to walk back to the starting point but some can find a way to ride it back against the wind. I just visited Kauai and I've seen tons of kitesurfers. Looks pretty fun but has its risks and cons as well.

Aloha!

[Bbaysurfer]

the first topic sounded like an andvertisement or something. I dont know.

[globesurfer]

Kitesurfing looks so sick, ecept I havent seen people dropping into waes with it.

I wana do it so bad.

But well, holidays coming up in OZ, were gettin in2 winter, and the winter sales comin up at torquay so i can get me a 3.2 steamer

Wicked

[Phil]

imo its just to much equipment makes it to expencive to start and alot can go wrong with it its a pain to setup and get going, ill just stick to surfing becuse all you really need is a surfboard

[sinistapenguin]

I've seen a lot of people kitesurfing - not tried myself, but your comment about

catching wave after wave with minimal effort

I'm not so sure - kitesurfing looks like pretty hard work, albeit different to surfing!!

[Guest]

The first post looks like some of that tricky fan-dangled covert marketing stuff to me. Wonder if the poster works for Kitesurfing.com or sommat.

[Broosta]

Kitesurfing looks gay. Loads of my old windsurf buddies changed to kitesurfing and keep trying to get me into it but I think it looks lame, and I've seen good kitesurfers at Hossegor. Windsurfing is way better in waves, but surfing beats em all hands down. All just in my humble opinion of course .

[Broosta]

...and its not towing in with a kite... unless you let the kite go after you caught the wave... and at £500+ /kite not so great .

[Momentum]

yeah if you goto murawai you see kite surfers all the time its pretty sick.

[tufgon]

First of all Broosta(?) the only reason you call things gay is because you are insecure with yourself, your afraid of change and that you might get your ass kicked behind a kite, as well you are too broke to buy a kite so instead you'll just hate on people who are stoked on it (even your own friends). My advice to you is accept change, don't hate on your friends, and come out of the closet cause there's no use hiding it's just going to make you even more angry inside.

[Brent]

excuse me young fella.
You talk like a sales pamplet.
I too think kite surfing is gay and I am neither insecure nor have my head in the sand culturally or sport wise. Neither am I poor.
Kite surfing's target market appears to be males (mostly 25-35 year age group) whose sporting interests lie with purchasing equipment (and there's so much to buy!!!), covering their rear car windows with stickers and being cool. Kinda like the culture of Triathlon compaired to say, cycle racing...fashionable...they're more about buying stuff & being seen to do it...rather than actually doing it on a regular basis.

Surfing is immediate, it can be done almost anywhere there is waves, you can be in the water taking part as fast as you can get your shorts on, the gear is inherently low-maintence, you can be taking part for less than, say a couple of hundred dollars. Kite surfing is none of these.

[rctkj]

I have checked out the kite surfers and it looks to me like you have to have a strong wind. I perfer glassy conditions. I also agree that just having a surf board is more like you and the ocean in harmoney. I don't even like wearing a wetsuit or board shorts for that matter more or less a harness I am not bagging on the sport I just like surfing. There is one advantage about kite surfing I can see and that is when the surf gets blown out you hook up the kite and continue having fun.

[Broosta]

First of all Broosta(?) the only reason you call things gay is because you are insecure with yourself, your afraid of change and that you might get your ass kicked behind a kite, as well you are too broke to buy a kite so instead you'll just hate on people who are stoked on it (even your own friends). My advice to you is accept change, don't hate on your friends, and come out of the closet cause there's no use hiding it's just going to make you even more angry inside.

I called it lame too, and may also have called it weak, rubbish, dull, etc. so what does your logic make of that lot .

I don't like kitesurfing because it is supposed to be a better alternative to windsurfing, and clearly its not. It reminds me of the Windweapon - remember that monstrosity!

Negative points of kitesurfing:-

1)The kites need so much room due to the length of lines that where you can windsurf is not necessarily a large enough area to kitesurf.

2)Whenever its shown on the Extreme channel or wherever it shows people planing along on flat water and then gently taking off to do a slow backward or forward roll maybe sometimes with a grab. That in my book looks gay or lame or any other similar adjective.

3)If the kitesurfers go to play on waves they look hindered by them not helped - when they charge towards a nice looking ramp all that happens is the lines go slack due to the uplifting action of the wave conflicting with the pull of the kite. With a windsurf the mast is solid and able to use the wave power to boost the windsurfer into the air like on a motorcycle jump.

4) When a kitesurfer falls they can take out loads of other water users with the trailing lines so its more of a danger to others than windsurfing.

5) When I used to windsurf alot I remember kitesurfs were just beginning to be used and it was said that they had an advantage over windsurfs in that they needed less wind to get going on to have proper fun - this is actually not the case as they need about the same amount of wind.

Incidently I'm quite affluent at the moment so no I'm not jealous and bitter because I can't afford a kitesurf. Nor am I affraid of change. I just don't see the point in changing to something inferior .

[PapaW]

Not sure if this has been said as I don't have time to reads the whole thread but...

Here in the UK you have to have alicence to Kitesurf. (ie you have to have been on a beginers course) ITs a good Idea i think as if you thing about it with other water users and other kiteboarders about its bloody dodgy!

[babyboarder89]

thats a good idea! when are they going to start doing that with surfing? bit of crowd management!

[globesurfer]

Sick mate, its holidays down in Australia, the local suburban surf shop is gettin me a brand new wetsuit full 3/2 steamer

150 skins!

Thats australian money, u ppl living in the us... hmm.. about 90 bucks

Wicked

[tufgon]

check out this link and let me know if anybody thinks kiteboarding is gay

to reply to broosta: nobody should ever say kiteboarding is supposed to ba a better alternative to windsurfing it is just simply a new innovative sport that happens to be a lot of fun and if you check out the link you will see that the technology has come a long way and all your so called problems with the sport are basically obsolete if you no what you are doing. oh yah and as far as wind goes a good kiting day you need 10 to twenty knot and a good windsurfing day is more like 20 to 30 so once again I think you are just afraid of things that are new so in turn you find it easier to just talk xxxxx.[/code]

[tufgon]

theringmedia.com/ExtremeHotel/Extreme_MaximVideo.htm

[Broosta]

OK checked the link out and there is only 1 movie I could get to work that contained Kitesurfing and that did not change my opinion. There was 1 off the lip that looked ok and they played it like 4 times. All the jumps were as I thought.
I am open minded but have still not been impressed.
I will agree that Kitesurfing is a new, innovative sport which may be quite fun for some, but it is no good in the waves or if there are many other water users in the near vacinity, or if you don't want to look gay .
Windsurfing only needs 20 knots of wind to have fun, yes you can still have fun with more but you don't have to have more. I used to be semi-pro windsurfer so I know. 20 knots is the high end of a force 5, 30 knots is force 7. For windsurfing force 4-5 is fine - especially riding waves. http://www.zetnet.co.uk/sigs/weather/Met_Codes/beaufort.htm