Beginners looking for some advice / instruction

San Francisco Bay Area kiteboarding lessons, learning and support.
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rerickso
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Beginners looking for some advice / instruction

Post by rerickso » Wed Dec 29, 2004 12:49 pm

Greetings all,

My two roommates and I recently moved into an apartment in Lower Haight and we're dead-set on learning how to kiteboard. We've bought a few DVDs and an instructional land kite (Slingshot's Wasp II), and we're currently saving up money for wetsuits and lessons. The point of this post is mainly just to seek out some good advice and or assistance. Aside from a few questions that I'll list below, is there anyone out there who would like to teach three chill dudes the basics for a few hours? The lessons I've looked at seem to be running ~$300/person for three hours. The three of us would be willing to dish-out ~$500 for a few hours of good instruction. We're all coordinated 22 years old who swam in college so our safety around water shouldn't worry you whatsoever. Beers on us after the session.

General questions:
Is there a particular kind of wet suit that one should buy to kiteboard? (maybe one that restricts your arms less?)

Where's the best place to purchase used gear?

Where's the easiest / safest place for a beginner to start kiteboarding?


Thanks in advance for any advice -- have a pumpin' New Years

Arns

three beginners

Post by Arns » Sun Jan 16, 2005 4:15 am

yea when you guys find out this info, let me in on it, im tryin to start to.
Arnie
Articleix@aol.com

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Bob
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Post by Bob » Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:36 am

There are three simple things you must do to learn how to kite surf.

Fly your trainer kite
Fly your trainer kite
And Fly your trainer kite.

If you can not fly a kite with your eyes closed your really not ready. IF you can not fly a small kite on land how do you expect to fly a big kite while up to your neck in water?

I've been teaching for several years and have observed one basic truth. The better the kite skills the sooner your up on the board. If you can keep the kite in the air while crashing its easy to get going again. If the kite lands on the water, relaunching can take time and energy.

So fly your trainer kite every chance you get. Try to park it, loop it, trace clouds with it, fly it one handed etc. until it is a part of you. By then it will be April and the season will be here.

Wetsuit - You need mobility in the arms and legs with wind resistance in the body. I have a 5/3 for the winter and a 3/2 for the summer. Typically you get what you pay for. I will never buy a cheap suit again.

Used gear - Can be bought on-line here, at Ikitesurf or kiteforum etc. Just asking around on the beach Alameda/3rd ave / Crissy etc may be your best bet. Kite design is advancing in large leaps every year so don't go for much past a 2003. Good lines are essential.

Alameda Crown beach is THE place to learn. Its side on shore with no obstructions downwind and no boat traffic. If stuff breaks or you can not relaunch you will end up on a safe shore somewhere. This is not true of other sites. Do not try other places until you can walk back onto the same beach you launched from.

-Be safe-
*Have Fun*
And - Oh yeah fly your trainer kite.

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Denny
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Post by Denny » Thu Jan 20, 2005 12:39 pm

I agree with Bob. The more time you spend on a trainer the better. You will save YOU and your equipment a lot of wear and tear by practicing with your trainer.

As for a wetsuit, flexibility is key. There are a lot of good suits out there. I know that http://www.pacwave.net/wetsuits/wetsuits.php has some 2004 suits on sale right now. Ripcurl suits have great flexibility. I've been using their zipfree wetsuits for the last four or five years and love them. I get much less cold flushes down my back than from a zippered wetsuit.

Good luck and have fun!

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OliverG
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Post by OliverG » Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:18 pm

Speaking of wetsuits, Live2Kite posted some info of a few suits here:

https://www.bayareakiteboarding.com/vie ... php?t=1196

sflinux

used gear

Post by sflinux » Fri Mar 18, 2005 8:54 am

For used wetsuits: you should check out wise surfboards @ Ocean Beach.
For close out deals on last years models of suits check out Boardsports @ the Marina.

For kitesurf gear:
try www.craigslist.org
www.ikitesurf.com
or ebay.

integration
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Lessons

Post by integration » Sat Jun 04, 2005 9:20 pm

I live in Redwood City and have been considering taking lessons.
Has any one taken any lessons from Helm?
Can anyone tell me what the learning curve is?
I used to water ski and now I snowboard and mountain bike and I am not sure how much they will contribute to this.

Thank you,
John

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