Added: 01/19/2006 |
Kitesurfing - An Adventurous And Challenging SportKitesurfing, also known as kiteboarding and/or flysurfing, involves a power kite used to pull a snowboard over snow, a wheeled board on land, or a surfboard on water. It is a comparatively young sport, which enjoys increasing popularity among adventurous tourists. There exist several different places worldwide where kitesurfing is particularly popular, like Australia and New Zealand.
One of the greatest attractions of kitesurfing is controlled flying, which is more difficult and dangerous. When the move isn't executed in a proper way, a kitesurfer may be affected by power lines, nearby buildings, or highways.
Those eager to experience the thrilling and challenging sport are offered several kitesurfing techniques. One of the advanced techniques is body dragging, which requires some basic skills in kitesurfing.
Here, we should differentiate between the down the wind body drag technique and the upwind body dragging technique, which greatly resembling each other. While practicing down the wind body drag technique, you should step in the water and get under way with a kite, using its power to drag yourself across the water area. The only difference of upwind body dragging kitesurfing is the position of a kite, which must be placed in at the right or left side of a wind screen.
Another kitesurfing technique is valuable in acquiring basic skills to steer a board. The first, and the most important, tip: while standing on the board, you should be completely in control. Try to put more pressure on your front foot to move your body toward the face of the board.
In order to start the kitesurfing sport, some pieces of gear are required, including a power kite, kite board, control bar, harness, and flying lines. Kites come in various forms and sizes. Some of them are more rectangular, while others are designed to have tapered ends. The size can range from 2 to 18 square meters. Kite prices may range from $200 to $1700, depending on the type.
Experienced kiteboarders usually have at least three kite sizes to accommodate different wind conditions. Kiteboards fall into three categories: wake-style boards, twin-tip boards, and directional surf-style boards.
Twin-tip is the most popular type of a kiteboard, as well as the easiest one. Flying lines are used to attach the control bar to the edges of the kite. The majority of kites have a four or five-line configuration. Flying lines come in sizes between 25-35m. A control bar, used to hold the kitesurfer is designed to provide a safety-system. A vest-type harness is used to attach the kitesurfer to the control bar, taking most of the strain of the kite's pull. This allows the surfer to do various tricks.
So, where to go to experience kitesurfing? Choose locations with steady winds and large bodies of water. Most often, kitesurfing occurs along the shore, but it is also possible to practice it on large lakes and rivers. Among the world's top kitesurfing locations are Maui (Hawaii), Cabarete (Dominican Republic), Safaga Bay (Egypt), Tarifa (Spain), Cape Hatteras (US), Chumpon (Thailand), Tranque Puclaro (Chile), Nitinat Lake (Canada), Western Cape (South Africa), and more. Among others, Australia is regarded as the most popular destination of kitesurfers, offering plentiful locations with favorable conditions for the best kitesurfing experience.
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