new to kiting - just introducing myself

[tommy]

hi guys
im tommy
i took lessons at oyster point a couple weeks ago and now im amping to get in the water and put them to good use
i live in santa cruz and got into kiting with the intention of going to waddell
im an avid, experienced surfer and i want to bring more stoke to the march to october time frame
i have a friend who is highly experienced at waddell and has offered to show me the ropes. he suggested i get experienced somewhere without waves. this is mind bogglingly frustrating for me because, based on reading this site, it looks like alameda is that spot. so im looking at 2 hours each way and it looks like the wind hasnt been great the last ten days.
so, im chomping at the bit

im wondering if san luis would be beginner friendly?

i tried going out at spot called twin lakes in town but the wind was too light and variable and pretty much straight on shore

i scooped up most of my gear on craigslist or ikitesurf

anyway, thats me.
cheers
tommy

[reyrivera]

Hey Tommy,

Alameda should be good this week, get ready and sacrifice your time for your road trip. Low tide in the afternoon, perfect for you to practice.

Unfortunately, the greater Bay Area is not an ideal spot for beginning kiters. I used to live in Santa Cruz and learned to kite there back in 2005. After a few destroyed kites, did my drive to Alameda until I got proficient at riding. Definitely not a spot for learning.

You can start in Alameda. Once you are riding, then check out 3rd Avenue in San Mateo.

If you end up in Alameda this week, come by Shell Gate street and say hi if you don't find me at the shack. That's where I rig and go if the shack gets too crowded. I went through the painful experience of having to commute to kite from Santa Cruz to Alameda. I can give you some decent recommendations. There's a handful of us former Santa Cruz residents riding there.

As far as driving, I think I understand your situation. We basically suck it up and do the 2 hour drive to Santa Cruz when the waves are macking at the lane :)

Rey

[Sonny]

hi guys
im tommy
i took lessons at oyster point a couple weeks ago and now im amping to get in the water and put them to good use
i live in santa cruz and got into kiting with the intention of going to waddell
im an avid, experienced surfer and i want to bring more stoke to the march to october time frame
i have a friend who is highly experienced at waddell and has offered to show me the ropes. he suggested i get experienced somewhere without waves. this is mind bogglingly frustrating for me because, based on reading this site, it looks like alameda is that spot. so im looking at 2 hours each way and it looks like the wind hasnt been great the last ten days.
so, im chomping at the bit

im wondering if san luis would be beginner friendly?

i tried going out at spot called twin lakes in town but the wind was too light and variable and pretty much straight on shore

i scooped up most of my gear on craigslist or ikitesurf

anyway, thats me.
cheers
tommy

A lot of Santa Cruz people come to 3rd to learn, some of them still come to 3rd to kite. If you come to 3rd, come find me and I will give you all the information about 3rd.

[Thor29]

The problem for beginners is that Alameda is the safest place to learn because of the long sandy beach, but the wind usually only blows there in the spring and dies out in the summer. 3rd Ave has much better wind in the summer but the shoreline is big ugly rocks. My learning curve was horribly slow because I kept trying to kite at Alameda when there was just enough wind to fly the kite but not enough to actually go anywhere. I switched to 3rd Ave before I could go upwind and when I tried to get out of the water just past the lower launch, I got my lines caught in the rocks and had to cut them to free the bar. That was a very expensive mistake.

Bottom line - do whatever it takes (lessons, long drives, kite vacations) to learn how to go upwind as quickly as possible. Then practice a bit at 3rd Ave before trying to add waves to the experience. While it might be theoretically possible to kite at 3rd before you can go upwind, it isn't a very good idea. You could launch at the upper launch, make a couple of tacks and then get out at the lower launch, but that's a very short distance compared to doing the same thing on the much longer beach at Alameda and then you have those rocks to deal with if you get blown past the lower launch.

[Xor]

My personal experience was great at learning Alameda and 3rd before I got upwind.
If you have plan b (lower launch) and plan c (drop kite before the rocks and self rescue) you are fine learning at 3rd if you can body drag and self rescue. But definitely talk to locals to understand all exits.

[tommy]

thanks for the tips everyone

my wife and i went up to waddell yesterday afternoon to check everything out
interesting to observe from the perspective of trying to learn
there was one guy who was at the beginner stage just doing laps up the beach from everyone else. going out, trying to stay upwind, coming back in and walking up the beach.
there was also an older lady who would launch from the beach, stay out while and get a wave or two, them come in and walk back up the beach.
a few people out there were very advanced
and we watched one guy get like 40 waves in 20 minutes. it was amazing

it was all highly motivating. my plan is to drive up to alameda tuesday, thursday and both days over the weekend

[friggin old guy]

I come from a surfing background myself.....

Might suggest taking some lessons in a flatwater spot with boat or jetski support. The individualized attention and time on the water can greatly speed up the learning curve. There are a couple of folks that do it up in the Delta......Kitopia and Edge are a couple of good ones, although I think Nat from Edge is still down in Ventana but should migrate north to Sherman soon. They'll take you upriver away from everybody so you can concentrate on kiting, not obstacles and survival of yourself/others.

Another option is to take a trip to a spot and do a dedicated week of lessons. My brother in law has a spot up on the coast of Oregon.....Floras lake is flat water shallow lake and they have jet ski support. They come from a surfing background so they'd be clued in on how to develop the main skills you want for waves. They run a B&B at the spot but there's a really nice campground there too. If you google Floras Lake they're the first links.

And the best way to make the most of any time on the water is to get your kite flying skills down on land. Get a trainer kite and get it wired.....if you can find a friend that kites, they can show you how to get the muscle memory started......steering the kite is more like punching with your fists than steering a bike.

The combo of surfing background and being in the waves is......killer. But you need to get through the first part, which usually involves putting your kite down in the water quite a bit....even in flat water. Relaunching in the waves....well that's killer too but in not so good a way. Tons of fun. Good luck......

[Sonny]

He already took a lesson, just need water time

[kalyp]

You could also just take one lesson at Waddell to get familiarized with the place, and then practice there. Lots of us learned there directly without going to the bay first. If you can manage getting out past the waves even just body-dragging it is actually quite good, even without staying upwind, because of the long sandy beach and wind parallel to the beach. Of course better to avoid going there on a big day at first (later in the year the waves get smaller) and better to avoid body-dragging out in the middle of everybody surfing the waves (just go a bit downwind).
The guys at Caution used to give lessons, not sure if they still do but they can probably point you to someone who does. http://www.cautionkites.com/contact/

[Loscocco]

Welcome tommy! My name is Erin and i am an addict.