MBKiter said..
I am a relatively new kiter based in WA - only started a couple of years ago with a number of lessons, but missed getting a kite in the air completely last season due to other matters that unfortunately took me out for the year.
Very much looking forward to the new season and wanting to put in as many hours as I can (both in lessons and independent practice) to see how far I can develop my skills this coming year.
While we wait for the good sea breezes to arrive in the next 2-3 months, is there any harm in launching a kite on the beach in coming weeks so I can start to get a feel for it again before I am able to hit the water? Unfortunately will be mostly easterlies coming in over the land, so I imagine it will be a bit gusty - not clean wind.
Hi
MBKiter,Good to see this kind of motivation to get back into the sport.
As I mention to all my students on day 1, the most dangerous place to fly a kite is on land. In fact, the overwhelming majority of deaths and serious injuries in kitesurfing, occur on land.
This may seem contradictory as in kite school, we often fly kites on land to begin with. But there two very important differences :
- It's done on short lines (We start with lines as short as 5 m) and with very small kites (we start with kite as small as 3m)
-It's done with close supervision of a professional instructor
We also strongly advise our students to avoid kiting in winter in Perth, especially the first 1-2 seasons.
If you fly a large kite (eg. 9, 10m, etc.) with 24m lines you should be in the water as much as possible, and you need clean, reliable wind.
The best thing you can do is start with a refresher lesson in October when schools like ours re-open.
Chances are that your muscle memory may have faded and you may easily do mistakes and have bad habits if you start again on your own without any instruction.
You can use your gear during refresher lessons to get familiar with it, once you demonstrate good kite control skills on smaller kites and shorter lines.
As Doonut, mentioned, winter winds are quite dangerous on top of all this, so best to wait until the first sea breezes which usually arrive late September / Early October.
We have lot of free resources on our website's blog that can help you assess your skills.
www.kitebud.com.au/blog/Stay safe
Christian - KiteBud
