Everybody loves surfing

This weekend saw the start of my kite surfing training. With strong winds on Saturday, I went out and flew a 3m² kite without a harness. This was all easy stuff, familiar from my days off Flexifoil flying, but using a bar rather than 2 straps for the steering.

Then I graduated to a 5m² kite, which with the addition of being clipped to a harness around my waist was also quite easy to fly - just getting used to the power controls offered by the harness. I skidded about the beach for a bit, before donning a wetsuit, lifejacket and helmet to go "body-suring" in the water - letting the kite drag you face forwards across the water (fun).

Then, enjoying my confidence, I moved onto a 11m² kite - which took me 10-15 mins jsut to walk it out into the water as the pull was so strong. I then tryed body surfing back into the shore. The kite not only dragged me along, it also wrenched me out of the water a couple of feet, leaving me to splash back painfully as the kite swung round for another tug. Fun, but painful after 10-20 mins !

That was the end of the Saturday session. A few beers and a good kip later it was Sunday, where I went down for a second session - only to find there was not quite enough wind to try out the kite-board. But kindly they let me play around on the beach with a 14m² kite, skidding around for 30 mins. This ended with a sharp turn which flipped me onto my back, landing head first into the sand. Dazed and happy I decided I had overstayed my free session, and rebooked my other lesson for next Saturday.