Kitesurfing
intro

Kitesurfing

Tell me about kitesurfing..

Is kitesurfing fast?

How can I learn to kitesurf?

Some history of kitesurfing...

Kitesurfing Books we recommend..

Choose from these destinations..

Fiji

Spain

Turkey

Mauritius

Red Sea

Cyprus

Thailand

Brazil

Philippines

Australia

N.Zealand

South Africa

kite surf girl kitesurfing lessons
Kitesurfing (also known as Kite Boarding) is a fast growing and dynamic new sport, which is gaining lots of publicity - because it is so extreme. It is not wind surfing, it is not wakeboarding, it is not surfing and it is not kite flying. Kite Surfing is the fusion of these disciplines with other influences to create the wildest new water sport for years.

Back in 1999, there were probably only a few hundred kite surfers in the world, but the sport’s popularity is growing rapidly. Today, there are many thousands of people kitesurfing…come & join in - find out what the fuss is all about…

So, tell me about it!

kitesurfing kiteboarding with extreme sports cafe The idea is very simple - A kite surfer stands on a board with foot straps or bindings and uses the power of a large controllable kite to propel him/her and the board across the water. This simplicity also makes kite surfing challenging. Your body is the only connection between the kite and the board and you have to control them both at the same time: piloting the kite in the sky and steering the board on the water.

When flying across the sky, a kite generates lift in much the same way as a wing. Since lift is proportional to the size of a kite, the early pioneers realised that if you make a kite big enough it could generate enough power to propel a vehicle on land, snow, ice or water – and so the traction kite was born….
Is it fast..?

It can be. Unlike other sail sports, 5 knots of wind is all that is needed to get going. Whilst others are stationary, waiting for the winds to rise – kite surfers are surfing..
kite extreme sports cafe
While a windsurfing sail is dependent on the wind to generate power, a kite is only dependent on the wind to fly. When a kite flies, it creates its own wind (apparent wind), which is faster and therefore produces much power. Since lift is proportional to the square of the wind velocity, if the apparent wind of the kite is twice that of the actual wind you will get four times as much power from the kite. This simple fact is not easy to appreciate until you actually fly a traction kite. Numerous first-time traction kite flyers have been injured in the past for misjudging such power.

Okay – enough, enough – Can I learn to kitesurf?

Sure... take a look at the kitesurfing courses we offer...

I've read the short version, hit me with the juicy bits

Want to know a bit more about kitesurfing and what is involved? Well this should answer some of your questions.

A bit of kite surfing history

The original Wipika Classic Kite - almost the same as 1987 kitesurfing courses Kitesurfing as a sport has existed for about 6-7 years – since the late 1990's we've had international competitions and tours as well as more than one equipment manufacturer. It is these things that change a specialist activity from a few people into the beginnings of a global sport.

Whilst kite surfing has been popularised in the last five years due to better safety systems, more recognition and global standards, there are some documented [videoed even] cases of people using para-glider wings as well as early traction kites to kite surf on a surf board even back in the 1970s.

foils are great to use on land but not so good for water when kiteboarding Whilst the idea of using foil based traction kites to kite surf with appealed to many as a “"fun thing to do” once or twice" it wasn't until two Frenchmen, the Legaignoux brothers [Bruno and Dominique] invented the re-launchable inflatable kite that things really took off [Click here for the original 1987 patent].

The leading edge inflatable kite [or LEI as it is abbreviated] really pushed the fledgling sport of kite surfing along. Now if you dropped your kite in the water [which happens a lot] you could [with some practice] re-launch it and carry on sailing. The modern sport of Kite surfing was now born.

Since then, many manufacturers have come on board, Kitesurfing equipment prices have dropped from their initially “"re-mortgage-the-house" prices and have stabilised at quite a reasonable sub £1000 mark for your initial equipment [less if you go second hand]. The safety element of the sport continues to improve with manufacturers coming up with new innovations for safety every week it seems.

Kitesurfing boards have seen rapid development as well with a quick departure from Surfboard style “"directionals" and wakeboards into dedicated Kitesurfing boards which are now made from such materials as Carbon Fibre and Formica and are only neutrally buoyant.

Kite surfing in the UK

All kinds of aerobatic tricks are possible now in kitesurfing Whilst not generally acknowledged as being a great water sports nation, the UK has been at the forefront of Kitesurfing globally more or less from its inception. The ready availability of different water forms from lakes, flat water on shallow beaches to traditional beach surf as well as being pretty consistently windy for much of the year makes the UK a top location to kite surf in the world.

Kitesurfing within the UK has continued to go from strength to strength. We have had 2 kite surfing world champions [PKRA] in the last 4 years as well as a full domestic competition circuit that supports pro-riders [BKSA] . We also have one of the largest [and oldest] power kite manufacturers within the UK [being Flexifoil] who continue to innovate for all kite sports, not just kite surfing.

Safety matters.

Whilst all of this is great news, it isn't without its dark side. Kitesurfing has claimed the lives of numerous people worldwide and the UK was unfortunate enough to have it's first fatality in 2003 [news story is here].

Whilst Kitesurfing in all it's acrobatic glory looks easy and is just “flying a kite, unfortunately if a kite is powerful enough to lift you 40 feet in the air when it is under control think what it can do when it is out of control.

As such, and unsurprising really considering we are a training organisation but we recommend that if you are thinking of learning to kite surf then you seek appropriate tuition from a reputable school.

iko international kitesurfing organisation
ESC conducts all its courses using IKO Instructors, following IKO Guidelines.