Hello and welcome. There's no definitive answer. I personally looked at my previous instructor with puppy dog like eyes and asked him if he could help me launch and land. He told me to knock the puppy dog eye thing off as it was making him feel uncomfortable, but agreed to help. It was a quiet day.

If you learned with a school at st. K, then they may be kind enough to keep an eye on you. But the difficulty you've got is: If anyone is a keen kiter, and it's windy, they'll want to be kiting. That said, 99.9% of kiters are helpful and friendly people and if you hang around the 'usual kite spots', and politely explain the situation, you'll certainly find someone that's willing to keep an eye on you for a short and defined amount of time.

In time you'll certainly get to know the usual faces, and find a regular kite buddy or two.

Good luck.

Judging by your avatar I would be surprised if you don't get them queuing up to assist you. If you don't, come up and visit us in sunny Qld, I would be happy to keep an eye on you.

When I was at this stage I found the Kite Republic Ride days or camps to be a good solution. After a few of those you'll have the confidence to go alone or find some like minded others to hang with.

Yep- solely down in St Kilda for the moment- and it definitely seems like a little community! I kind of figured it to be a "show your face, ask for help if you need it and practice, practice, practice" situation. Thanks very much!

Peterc150 said..

Get some kitesurfing buddies you can go out with and who can help you and keep an eye on you. As per jack5566, buddy up with some kiters at your local/preferred location. Its good to get away from the really crowded spots as the chaos tends to hinder early learning once you have got the basics.

Kiters mostly look after each other - we never know when we might need a rescue!

That's the idea! Just to displace some of the initial anxiety. Had some good tips on spots and meeting up with some people this weekend. Hopefully it all goes well!

And be sure to make it clear from the onset that you just need some onsite tips and ideas on the water without the $$$. Friendly people are always willing to help without asking anything in return. Bad karma.