Anyone here into kitesurfing?

[Davies]

Guys,

As per the title, is anyone on here into kitesurfing? I'm looking to book a 3 day course for June (when the water will hopefully be a tad warmer!) and wanted to get an idea about the price of a decent setup and whether or not is was feasible (size wise) to carry it around on the back of the bike. I've got a YZF1000 Thunderace which has a pretty decent sized rear seat to strap things to, I just wouldn't want to be the width of a bus!

Ta! :D

[the_lone_wolf]

i've been kitesurfing for about 5 years now, you could certainly fit a couple of kites into a backpack, but realistically the amount of extra stuff you would have to carry such as the pump, wetsuit, towel, bar/lines etc would make it difficult if not impossible to use the bike, then you would need to find somewhere to carry the board, which is ~1.3-1.4m long - there's a reason lots of kitesurfers use VW transporters.

It's been few months since i've been out on the water, but a reasonable setup (3 kites, one board plus extras) could be had for under a grand i reckon, i don't have the training kites but if you fancy coming down to the island this summer i'd be happy to get you going with your own kit once you've got the basics down pat...

drop me a PM if you want to chat about getting started:)

[Fizzy Fish]

Probably worth at least trying out power kites on land before taking to the water, as it will give you an intro to the principles and speed up your learning once you get on the course. Oh and if you smile sweetly you can come have a play with our kites sometime :D

[FG1]

I don't do water but have been known to buggy quite a bit. If you fancy meeting up sometime I can let you have a play with my kites. They are relatively easy to fly for beginners (PKD Centuries) and they will give you a taste of the kiting bug.
Be warned though, it's addictive and can be costly.......

Here's a piccy of a mate just about to roll his buggy in Newquay:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e90/tonyw2000/Paulabouttokissthesand.jpg

Unfortunately, a car is needed for the buggy and kit:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e90/tonyw2000/BuggyRackandbuggy006.jpg

[independentphoto]

That's a sure fire way to get :plod: attention.

[Spiderman]

No....but ive always wanted to try it. They sued to do it in Lanzarote a lot when i lived there but i just never got round to trying it.

Hell i prbably cant even stand up on a board anymore its been so long but i'd still have a go at it. Still got my old wetsuit too :D

[the_lone_wolf]

this thread made me dig out some old kite movies on my computer, and guess what, i found one of me on youtube....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgffamRNmlY

that's me at the beginning kind of ridge soaring, the other guy is big tony, from a couple of years back

bear in mind we'd been out on the water all day so we were absolutely shagged

[FG1]

TLW, we'll have to dig out the top hat video.......

[the_lone_wolf]

TLW, we'll have to dig out the top hat video.......
ah yes, but he never meant to go that high;)

[FG1]

Here, have a look at this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RuE5t1-H9k

[Davies]

Excellent, nice one guys! Ness, I think I might have to pop over some time soon to see what flying a kite is all about. To be honest it kind of scares me having such a big sail in the sky and not having a clue about how to control it. I've done windsurfing, wakeboarding and snowboarding in the past so hopefully I can combine all 3 and attempt to master kitesurfing....or have a go atleast! TLW, in my head it seems that it might be ok if I'm around 1.6ish metres wide on a motorway.....I guess it all depends on how high all the kit will be stacked. I'm in no position to buy a van/car, otherwise it would be a different story. FGO, that thing on the back of your car is just asking for trouble :lol:

[DavieSV]

I was just getting into kiting just before my daughter was born.
Not had the chance since:mad:
Started with a delta, good for direction but no power.
Moved up to a 2 line foil, direction control but no power control.
Then got a 5 square meter 4 line foil, face down in the mud all the way.
I live in Derbyshire, so not much open water to surf on.
I built a buggy for the grass, what a laugh, everybone should have a go at least once, it's suprising what a work out it gives you

Get proper training, it is dangerous to you and those around you.
If you do it right it's fun, if you do it wrong it could be deadly

May the wind be always on your back:p

[the_lone_wolf]

TLW, in my head it seems that it might be ok if I'm around 1.6ish metres wide on a motorway.....I guess it all depends on how high all the kit will be stacked.
i'd be less concerned about the width or height, and more concerned about how much it will affect the aerodynamics of the bike, if you mount it sideways like you say it'll be acting like a huge spoiler, and considering the amount of force you will feel on the board in just a 25-30mph breeze on the beach, at 60-70mph it would seriously unbalance the bike. if you think about the extras you will also need to be carrying, i'd say you're highly likely to get pulled for overloading the bike. later on today i'll take a photo of a typical amount of kit, board, 3 kites (i have 11 to choose from, it gets addictive) and the extra stuff, so you can see just how much there is

one way to do it if you have no car would be to find someone nearby who does and share lifts to the beach, giving them a bit for fuel:)