pro wake boarder new to kiteboarding

[swerv_on]

ok so im a sponsored wakeboarder and i ride for cwb and liquid force wakeboard companys and i was cruising google video last night and saw the liquid force kitboarding team(dont ask why i have never seen them befor) anyways so i did some reasearch and i would like to enter the sport, so basialy what i need to know is what gear you need, if theres any local shops in east bay area, and the biggy for me is if i can use one of make wakeboards kiteboarding (i understand that all you have to do is change to kiteboarding bindings)

[kitekarl]

There's been endless posts about using wakeboards for kiting. Do a search on this site and on kiteforum. Bottom line is that there's too much rocker on a wakeboard. You can do it but it sucks, slower to water start and harder to get upwind. That said, take lessons. All kiters that you'll talk to are pretty much unanimous on this for a couple of reasons. First, a kite can kill you. There have been plenty of serious injuries on people that don't know what they're doing. Secondly, you can injure other people and cause bans on beaches which have also happened. Even though you'll pick the sport up quick, be a real hero and be humble for the first few days. We'll all thank you for it. K

[swerv_on]

o im not trying to be a hero im just trying something new and i no wat u mean by getting other hurt for stupidity on water so i plan to be humble, the main reason im trying it out is cause bout a year ago i was run over by a jetski on the delta cause they ignored our man down flag, so im fimliar with water safety. regarding the rocker on the kite boards about how many inches are we tlking bout cause i have a 3/4" rocker board where as most wakeboards are like 1.5-2.5 so i have an extra board that i could convert if that would work

[fearlu]

Just have LF set you up with a kitesurfing kit-- sponsored riders will have access to all the right stuff I'm sure. You'll dig it. Nothing like 20-foot airs with the flick of the bar!

[S.I. Rider]

which part of the east bay are you from? like berkley, or antioch east bay? there are really good schools all over the bay and delta. lessons are a must. not to scare you, but it would be like taking off on a street bike and not knowing how to ride.

[panzerfaust]

yeah, we had an example of how badly things can go this weekend at SI. I don't know about everyone but being air lifted to the hospital is not my idea of weekend fun. So I don't mean to sound like a broken record repeating what everyone else has alread said but for your own good take a lesson. You'll thank me in the morning :).

[swerv_on]

for fearlu: im a sponsored wakeboarder hence i only get wakeboard gear and i only got a sponsor cause im a minor and cant fund it on my own and my parents suck

for S.I. rider:im from orinda just over the hill from oakland and on the otherside of caldacot tunel so i have no problem getting to places to get lessons

for panzerfaust: trust me you wont scare me being run over by a jet ski absolutly sucks and the recovery is great also...NOT!!! but im on the same page as you first thing im doing is getting a practice kite and then going to get a bunch of lessons...you have any schools or trainers u would recomend

[Fassn8]

Took my lessons at Kite Wind Surf in Alameda. They run a top notch school with jetski supported lessons to take you where ever the wind is. Call the gang over there (www.kitewindsurf.com) and they'll take good care of you.

Spend some time with the trainer kite and your lessons will be MUCH better. A good rule of thumb is to be able to fly the trainer kite with your eyes closed and have a good understanding of the wind window. IMHO - flying the kite is 75% of this sport.

Good luck!

I'll bet you never want to be pulled behind a boat again :-)

[panzerfaust]

for fearlu: im a sponsored wakeboarder hence i only get wakeboard gear and i only got a sponsor cause im a minor and cant fund it on my own and my parents suck

for S.I. rider:im from orinda just over the hill from oakland and on the otherside of caldacot tunel so i have no problem getting to places to get lessons

for panzerfaust: trust me you wont scare me being run over by a jet ski absolutly sucks and the recovery is great also...NOT!!! but im on the same page as you first thing im doing is getting a practice kite and then going to get a bunch of lessons...you have any schools or trainers u would recomend

nah, I'm not trying to scare you. I was scared for the guy that got hurt and truth be told it can happen anytime, i guess it gives you a perspective more than anything else.

I would say that you should get a an inflatable kite as a trainer because I believe the small two line kites teach bad habbits, however, they are less expensive. You could probably borrow a trainer from kite-wind-surf if you take lessons there. Jeff and Emily are really nice and I'm sure they'd help you out.

[swerv_on]

fassn8, good tip i definatly keep that in mind about flying the kite with my eyes closed. and trust me after having something like that happens it takes a bit of time to get used to being comfortable enough to do crazy a** jumps and flips and spins let alone getting in the water again!!!

panzefaust, ive been looking into the smaller inflatabl kites, and i was also wondering to save money is it just like a bad idea to skip a trainer and go straight to a 12m kite because we are behind plenty of hills and trees here so we get little kinds like around 4-6 knots on a windy day but i can go on top of hills and stuff here to get large winds if i want to get lots of wind, so basicaly is that a big nono to do that or could i get away with it to save money cause as i alread said im on a tight buget and my parents rarely will give me money, not to mention the great deals on 12m kites on ebay, also my understanding is that a 12 m kite is the best kite to go with if u only want to invest in a single kite