I was standing on the board in my second lesson. However staying on the board is a whole bother story.. that took me another lesson and a few tries by myself after that. Now after going out by my self a few times I can quite confidently start left foot forward and even go upwind a bit but right foot forward is still a desaster.. I'm sure it will come but man it is frustrating...

How Long Does it Take....I managed to get two lessons under my belt last December before the Easterlies kicked in and disrupted the kite surfing season and my learning curve...I was respectful of the power of the kite and perhaps more cautious than others due to deadly lessons learned from hang gliding (one mate died two others hospitalised). I knocked out another 2 lessons a few weeks ago to refresh the lessons of 12 months before focussing on re-launching, self rescue and upwind body dragging and trying to get onto the board. I have been out twice on my own so far with good kite control but making some fundamental errors in getting the board heading downwind not to mention the frustration of body dragging back to find my board out in the ocean when it is hard to see and drinking half the ocean with all the wave action. A work colleague took me out onto the Swan River last Friday where I was able to stand up after each failed water start, recollect my thoughts and not have to worry about upwind body dragging to find my board. Looking for a breakthrough day but definitely being able to stand up assists enormously as you learn the water start skills....

Hi Peeps,

Learning kiteboarding shouldn't be about how fast you can get up on a board. In general, if you are given a board on your first lesson, you have been learning with the wrong school. If you are an average student, you shouldn't see a board until the end of the second lesson. Many schools and instructors define their quality by how fast a student gets up and riding, this is the realm of the untrained and the inexperienced instructor.

We get lots of students from lesser schools and we usually have to spend a good 2.5hrs filling in all the important stuff that the other schools have neglected or glanced over. They usually thank us after they learned the stuff they should have with us.

Dodgy schools/instructors think that beginners come to them to learn how to ride, this is not generally the case. Most people take lessons to learn how to ride SAFELY! There is a country mile difference between these two concepts.

To learn the full progression and be properly trained in all the necessary exercises should take the average student around 7.5 hours. Some take a bit longer, some a bit shorter. This is based on a one on one scenario.

It amazes me that there is no way in the world anyone would go with the cheapest backyard school/instructor if they were learning paragliding or SCUBA, but they would be happy to go and do lessons with some one for beer money. In 25 knots of wind and the wrong equipment, kiteboarding is more dangerous than both these sports.

Enjoy the learning process, it takes as long as it takes. Spend as much time as you can using trainer kites and watching the Progression DVD, it will make a HUGE difference to your progression.

Welcome to the sport and enjoy the ride .....

DM

Sean84 said...

adrenal said...


Then there is apparent wind: the extra lift caused by the forward motion of the aerofoil itself, something for nothing, a magic quantity. The faster you go, the closer to the wind you can sail. Or for a given direction, even less sheeting is needed.

How far can you get upwind with a kite? Keelboats I've been on reach comfortably up to 40 degrees, maybe 35 at a pinch up to the wind. Anyone got any ideas on whats the optimal on a kite just out of interest?

Sean,

have you seen that classic footage of a race between a kite, 49er and Moth?
It says it all. The kite creams the 49er and neck & neck with the Moth but eventually the kite out-points the moth and wins the 3 race series. Its here: