Anyone here kite surf? I'm going to be picking this 'hobby' up this summer. My bro's been doing it a while now and so has my uncle (thats who's equipment i'll be borrowing )

just wanted to see who else does it and if there are any good places around NC that rent equipment and how much etc.

4/5/2007 3:09:31 AM

NTLB

4/5/2007 4:10:01 AM

NTLB?

4/5/2007 4:14:49 AM

I do I do.

Wrightsville beach just north of the jetty is about the most popular place. If there is wind there is almost always someone out there.

I don't think they rent equipment but Blowing In the Wind (the shop at the beach) would have every thing you need. http://www.gokitesurf.com

4/5/2007 5:34:24 AM

I do. And I took a lesson and bought my gear from ^. I just need to find the right day and wind conditions to get back down there and practice. I'd love to be able to get more than just me for a trip to divide cost and to have someone to help launch the kite.

4/5/2007 5:44:06 AM

There was a kite surfing thread in chit chat too.

4/5/2007 8:54:22 AM

I can't seem to find it amongst the insanity in Chit Chat and I think the lounge is a more fitting place to discuss kiteboarding.

4/5/2007 9:23:24 AM

Yeah, chit chat is only good for eggs right now... plz 2 B no locking Omar. : \

4/5/2007 9:51:14 AM

Thanks Coach. ^.^

And yesterday would have been a freaking fantastic day to hit the waves with 30mph max wind at Wilmington but Wednesdays kick my ass after work so there was no way I could have made the trip. And now we're entering the deep freeze.

4/5/2007 9:54:21 AM

Quote :

"There was a kite surfing thread in chit chat too."

i don't venture in there.

4/5/2007 9:57:03 AM

I'm pondering my next extreme sport srsly... how long does it take to pick this up? Is it something that can be self-taught? How much is a decent entry-level package? South Florida would be ftw for this.

4/5/2007 10:01:46 AM

I'd reccomend dropping the money on a power kite first. Like a four line 2.5 meter kite. Kiteboarding is mostly about the ability to fly the kite and the boarding is secondary. A 2.5 meter power kite is NOT your average dinky stunt kite. With the right wind conditions it can lift move your off of the ground some. I mainly took the class for the set up and safety instruction. You "can" teach yourself but your learning curve will be much greater after having at least one lesson. And you can probably get into it with under $2000.

4/5/2007 10:15:09 AM

The most obvious question ppl ask me about kayaking is "what happens when you get rolled over?"
I suppose the most obvious question here is what happens when the kite collapses in the water?

4/5/2007 10:28:49 AM

A very valid question. The simple answer is that with an inflatable kite it will fall nose first. You simply use the fifth line to get the kite on its back to where it looks like a U in the water. And then you use the steering lines to angle the kite to where it is catching the wind and launch from there. Let me dig up a link I found a while back that had it explained with pictures.

4/5/2007 10:32:15 AM

you just have to try to get it to come back up. I did a kite boarding boot camp and that was a big deal was teaching you how to self launch from in the water if your kite goes down.

power kites are fun as hell

4/5/2007 10:33:00 AM

I want to get one of those boards with the big tires so I can zip up and down the beach with my power kite for days when there are rip currents or the water is too cold. But they are $$$.

And sadly I can not find the link that has the guy water relaunching. I'd say check out http://www.kiteboardingschool.org/kiteboarding.htm

4/5/2007 10:47:55 AM

from watching a bunch of tutorial DVD's i've seen that inflatable kites (4 line) are much easier to handle/setup rather than rib? kites.

4/5/2007 10:48:23 AM

^^There's no such thing as water too cold.. you just need some gear from the paddlesports! www.nrsweb.com

4/5/2007 10:57:28 AM

Hmm. Not sure. I have a 5 line inflatable and I wouldn't imagine trying anything else as a beginner. And don't waste your time with a 2 line kite. You will get bored soooo quickly.

I also want to go snow kiteboading. That looks fun as hell even with you don't get as many jumps.

^ I have a wet suit that I wanted to try out this winter but I was too much of a pansy to try getting in the colder water and I know that I couldn't convince my girlfriend to come with me just to freeze on the beach.



[Edited on April 5, 2007 at 11:02 AM. Reason : And I found an egg in this thread. w00t w00t!]

4/5/2007 10:59:52 AM

I can tell you from working on the Nantahala (45 degrees all year) that you can get accustomed to cold water very quickly... With kiteboarding in a wetsuit you'd have to contend with evaporational cooling (from the wind) NRS 303 fabric guard protects your gear and keeps it water repellant. http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1908

Also a base layer of hydroskin http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product_list.asp?deptid=942
or mystery makes ALL the difference in the world. I just got some on clearance... surfers don't know what's up yet.

4/5/2007 11:13:02 AM

Here is a link with instructions and pictures of how to relaunch

http://gokitesurf.com/articlesstory.asp?ID=45

How fast you learn really depends on the person. I was able to pick it up rather fast. Not to brag but the first thing the instructor said after we got on the water was "why are you taking lessons, you don't need them." I wouldn't recommend trying to learn it on your own, there are too many things that could go wrong. It is great to get out and learn to fly a traction kite before your lesson but trying to learn things on the water by yourself is asking for trouble. I know the lessons at Blowing in the Wind they have jet ski support during the lesson so you can't get yourself in much trouble.

If you bought current year stuff all brand new you are looking at ~$2000. You can get a used kite, bar and lines for cheap. Actually there is a sale on the Slingshot Machine kites ($500 for a new kite, bar, lines, and pump a crazy good deal but it is a really big kite)

If you have ever been windsurfing I've heard kitesurfing is much easier, no jibbing or that nonsense.


Yesterday was really fun, but there was almost zero surf so there were no ramps to launch on. If anyone wants someone to kite with let me know.

4/5/2007 3:51:28 PM

I've got my kites here with me in Raleigh, a 1m training kite, 12m, and 17.5m. I'd like to try them on a mountain board if there is ever enough wind. So if you have a mountain board lets get together and we can both try to hurt ourselves.

4/5/2007 9:28:33 PM

What do you use a 17.5m for? Low wind?

4/6/2007 12:17:00 AM

With that 17.5 I can stay up-wind with the wind down to about 9mph on a 132x39 board. It doesn't turn near as fast as my 12m but it can get me on the water almost any day there is wind.

[Edited on April 6, 2007 at 8:51 AM. Reason : t]

4/6/2007 8:50:31 AM

We played with trying to get one of these things when we paddled the Mississippi River. Our canoe would have hauled ass if we had one.

Until we hit a barge

http://www.sourcetosea.net

4/6/2007 9:40:12 AM

na, you could get a 5m kite and it wouldn't really get you moving fast until around +30mph winds hit.

Of if you have a yacht go check out http://www.kiteship.com

[Edited on April 6, 2007 at 9:49 AM. Reason : They have really big kites]

4/6/2007 9:46:40 AM

The main issue we would have had would be dealing with the funky currents, and wakes from the barges and wingdams. The Mississippi ain't a river to be screwing around with.

It would also help if we could go more than a few miles in one direction.

4/6/2007 11:18:40 AM

I'm going to be headed to the Art Museum off Blue Ridge here in a little bit to go fly one of the big kites.

If you want to find me I'll be the only guy attached to a giant kite

4/7/2007 9:55:03 AM

wow, it is really gusty there, I don't thing I'm going to try that again

4/7/2007 12:14:26 PM

There was this guy today flying a 2.5m power kite right off of Edwards Mill road near the Mall at this field/soccar park. Oh wait, that was me.

Awesome conditions. Kinda gusty at times. Surfchex said they had a 44mph peak wind today in Wilmington. O.o

I am seriously thinking about going to the beach on Monday but with gas being $2.texas now and it only being in the 40s for a high even with a wet suit I don't know if it is worth it.

4/7/2007 4:46:00 PM

Going back and forth between Raleigh and Wilmington is getting more expensive

Look at Thursday

http://www.ikitesurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=242&siteID=1910&Isection=Forecast+Graphs

[Edited on April 7, 2007 at 6:15 PM. Reason : whoa!]

4/7/2007 6:05:48 PM

Thursday does look nice, but I work in Greensboro from midnight to 8am so I'd have to leave after being up for 8 hours, drive for 4, kite, drive back to Raleigh for something resembling sleep and be back at work in G-boro at midnight.

4/7/2007 6:47:42 PM

yeah if it was me I'd pass on all that driving too. Since I've moved out of the area I've stopped looking for a place to go. If you really want to find a place I'd say check out http://triangleboardsailing.com/tbc/siteinfo.html and just figure out where the windsurfers are going.

4/7/2007 9:27:06 PM

Is anyone free tomorrow and wants to head to the coast? It looks like a great day to kiteboard. I will pay for gas if someone wants to drive so I can catch a few Zzzz's since I will have been at work for 8hrs prior to that. If not then I may try and go myself but the $2.75 gas monster is looking even nastier than before.

4/11/2007 7:50:07 PM

if you come down to Wilmington let me know. I was planning on heading to the basin down at fort fisher or Caswell beach around 3 or so, depending on how west the wind is. I'm thinking the basin would be nicer.

4/11/2007 7:53:40 PM

I usually drive to Holden Beach, but Wilmington sounds much more appealing (and it's 45mins closer). Although I did have one lesson it wasn't as in depth as I would have liked and I don't get to the beach much living in Raleigh and working in G-boro so I will likely noob all over myself. But I would welcome having someone else there. I am going to catch a nap to help prepare for a looong (bu hopefully fun) day.

Hit me up on AIM. I should be back on once I get to work after midnight.

4/11/2007 8:39:13 PM

^he damn near killed himself today

But it was rather gusty and and there was too much wind to be learning on a 12m

4/12/2007 6:29:03 PM

i want to get into this..... im pretty decent on a wakeboard. where can i get a good setup for a decent price.

4/12/2007 6:37:23 PM

Blowing in the Wind is the shop that got me started. They have a shop in Wilmington that will help you learn and get you set up. I highly recommend taking lessons. Check out http://www.gokitesurf.com for more info.

4/12/2007 6:41:34 PM

Now that I have almost fully recovered from yesterday it is safe to say that humandrive is the man and a damn good kiteboarder. Had I done just two things differently then I think yesterday would have been a success. First, kids, make sure your kite isn't fully powered when your launch it and second, make sure to be well away from anything else.

I think the next time I come down it will be when I don't have to come back to work that night. I caught a two hour nap in Raleigh and then was a zombie all night at work. The whole things was really fun and I look forward to getting in more kiting time.

[Edited on April 13, 2007 at 7:36 AM. Reason : .]

4/13/2007 7:36:05 AM

^That's why I chose him. He's got skillz.

4/13/2007 10:11:36 AM

^^Oh I didn't know you had your kite fully powered when you launched. As you so violently found out that is a very bad idea.

Every time before I land my kite I pull in all the depower so if I miss it on my next preflight check I'll be safe. Then before I launch one of my major preflight checks is that I have full depower. Because if that kite gets going on launch it has a good chance of going to 100% power in seconds.

I'd say that is almost as important as checking if your lines are crossed.

4/13/2007 12:08:23 PM

anyone make it out today? Averaging 30 mph or so with gusts over 50 mph here at Wrightsville

4/15/2007 7:27:48 PM

I looked at the forecast for tomorrow and said 'HELL no!'.

4/15/2007 7:42:54 PM

If I am concerned about flying my 2.5m and retaining the use of my arms then there is NO way I am going to tempt the wind mistress with my 12m.

4/16/2007 11:01:59 AM

try hooking up your 2.5m to the bar you use on the 12m. Then you can wear your harness and fly without worrying about your arms or your life.

5/10/2007 9:42:53 PM

Oh if anyone is interested Blowing in the Wind is having a demo event with North kites here in Wilmington this coming Sunday (05/13/07). It looks like it is going to be a lot of fun and a great way to test out all the new equipment.

http://www.gokitesurf.com/articlesstory.asp?ID=56

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 9:53 PM. Reason : b]

5/10/2007 9:52:50 PM

Id probably get one if i lived at the beach (or had parents who had a place)


for right now its too expensive & I wouldnt get to do it enough to outweigh the cost


i did get a really nice new skimboard, hopefully it will be a good consolation to not being able to kitesurf

[Edited on May 10, 2007 at 10:05 PM. Reason : f]

5/10/2007 10:00:36 PM

Gas prices are killing my trips to the beach.

5/10/2007 10:05:06 PM

Went to the demo yesterday. I have to say the new '07 north kites are really different than the '06s. They turn much faster and have loads more depower. That said I didn't get enough time on them to really make a great comparison and the wind was out of the north and kinda gusty.

5/14/2007 8:01:07 PM