Kiteboarding: Riding Florida's Wind and Waves

By Thomas Becnel
Published: October 17, 2007
Last Updated On: July 19, 2011

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Kitesurfing is much bigger and badder than traditional windsurfing, which seems tame by comparison.

Even the world's worst kiteboarders - clumsy students like me who can barely stand on a board, much less handle a kite - immediately grasp the power of this extreme sport. From the first minute of your first lesson, you can feel it in your hands and in the pit of your stomach, as the huge sail of a stunt kite threatens to lift you off the ground and drag you down the beach.

. . . unlike windsurfing, where the most fun and difficult maneuvers take a long time to learn, the thrills of kiteboarding are immediate.

On the water, this eye-opening force will send you skimming across the surface or, in my case, slam-dunk you repeatedly.

Kiteboarding is much bigger and badder than traditional windsurfing, which seems tame by comparison. You need less wind, which is good, but more room to maneuver, which is bad. There's more risk, both to yourself and the people around you. It's not for the weak of nerve or faint of heart.

Instructors keep various size kites on hand depending on the student's weight, fitness level and wind strength to allow everyone to learn and progress safely. Some students, especially those with wakeboarding skills, take right to the sport. And some students struggle, as I did, before kite, board and rider come together in a rush.

The best ride of my first lesson lasted just a few seconds, but I think I'll remember that feeling for a long time.

On the business cards for Kitemare (which rhymes with nightmare), Jeff Weiss has printed his slogan: "Learn fast, kite safe, get amped, go huge and share the stoke!"

Um, OK.

Weiss, a Florida native, began kiteboarding in the spring of 2000 and began Kitemare.com in the summer of 2000. Based in St. Petersburg, the mobile kite school is able to take advantage of the constantly changing wind directions and tides along the coast.

His classroom, depending on the wind direction, is often Fort DeSoto Park where the beach is fabulous and the beachgoers few and far between. Beginners start with a small trainer kite, literally learning the ropes and flying basics. Steering is simple, but the lesson soon covers neutral and power zones, along with maneuvering safely along the edge of the flying window.

After practicing with a trainer, students move on to a full-size kite measuring from five to 13 meters. Gulp. Many models today have inflatable tubes that give the kite its shape and help it float and re-launch from the water.

Students do a lot of re-launching, as they repeatedly crash the kite into the water while learning to fly. This soon became my best thing.

The next stage is body-dragging, learning to move the kite back and forth across the water without a board. Then students start to steer the kite one-handed, while maneuvering a kiteboard beside them. Finally there's stepping into the board straps while turning the kite into a power dive that will pull the rider up and onto the water.

Keeping all of these things in mind at once is a little like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time. When you get confused, the kite goes astray, the board goes flying and you get a face full of saltwater.

Low winds frustrated my beginner's lesson, which stretched over a few days, but wound up giving me more kite time. I wore a flying harness and a safety helmet with a radio receiver, to make it easier for Weiss to coach me through maneuvers.

Miracle of miracles, at least once or twice I did everything right, the board popped right up and I was kitesboarding.

Weiss says, unlike windsurfing, where the most fun and difficult maneuvers take a long time to learn, the thrills of kiteboarding are immediate. When you get up and going, it's with speed and power, and sometimes students perform tricks by accident.

Going by the Kitemare slogan, I suppose my grades were mixed. I don't think I learned very quickly, but I did manage to kite safely. I didn't really get amped, and I certainly didn't go huge, but I sure did try to share the stoke.