I just wanted to say as a newbie how impressed I am the general community that surrounds kiteboarding.

It can be very daunting for someone starting out learning a new sport, especially one such as kiteboarding. One thing that I have found in my limited time on the water is that I am always amazed at how eager and quick most people are to jump in unprompted to lend a hand.

My last 2 sessions out I have had guys that have probably got a lot more interesting this to do (such as getting out on the water themselves) spend a tonne of time giving me tips and advice of what I am doing and how to fix it. This is where I have to give a shout out to Rory who spent near on 30mins one day at 1st carpark explaining my kite setup and the effects of the settings etc, giving me tips and tricks of how to adjust it for the winds, and spending a tonne of time giving me help with my water starts and first runs despite the fact the wind was too strong for my kite. And I also have to give a shout out to Shannon and his gf who spent close to 2hrs at Kurnell yesterday giving me help and advice every time I came in to walk up the beach and even lent me a bigger board (a door) to help me get up. It got to the point they were even shouting instructions from the beach while I was out and Shannon kept shouting out tips while he was out kiting himself. I honestly think that without his and his gf's help yesterday I would still be struggling to get up, but thanks to their help I had the best session yet and actually got a good (by my standards) run out and back only stopping the once to change direction. Super stoked after that, and yes I did let out a little woohoo

So on behalf of all the newbies, I would like to say a massive thankyou to all those experience kiters who bother to take the time to step in and offer advice to us newbs, you know who you are, you're time and help means a world to us. You are ensuring this awesome sport grows stronger and keeping that community spirit alive ensures that everyone has a great session and will help to continue to grow. I just hope that I will be experienced enough one of these days (a few seasons from now) to return the favor to other newbs that come after me.

Thankyou

Yep, same story here.......

Have been kiting for 3 years this coming January and had some awesome help from experienced kiter's in the beginning. One guy in particular (Marty if ur reading this, thank you again) who was out with an ankle injury and had been kiting for 4 years, could see me struggling to get up and going, came down and sat in the water with me and gave me 2 hrs of his time to get me up and away. I have never forgotten this and have (always will) payed it back to the kiting community in the way of retrieving lost boards, rescuing fellow kiter's, helping newb's on the beach, supporting local events and have forged many great friendships along the way. We all have our kitemare stories like getting ur lines tangled around a floating buoy or tangled up in a float with a crab pot attached to the other end, but there is usually a fellow kiter there who is more than happy to help out (have had many boaties and jet skiers just ignore these situations). It might sound silly, but you will get the most experience by being in these situations, working ur way out of them and not making the same mistake twice

On a side note, my youngest son is getting started today in this awesome sport. After watching his dad for the last 3 years and coming home with bark off everywhere from skateboarding and me telling him it doesn't hurt that much when you fall off in the water, he has finally made his own mind up

Cheers Guy's
Peace out and good winds

Yep, generally the kiteboarding community is a really awesome group of people.

Heres hoping that as the sport grows, kiteboarders remember to stay friendly, and help each other out.

As said by Dafish, dont be too dismayed it some forum members pay out on you or belittle you from time to time (a shame, but it happens), most people on here are really top notch. Another good thing about this forum is quite a few highly ranked kiteboarders/ industry people are regular posters, so there is some fantastic knowledge to be passed on.

Glad that you have enjoyed learning the basics, the rest just gets funner and funner!