Have seen a bunch of kite surfers around Lancing/Worthing beaches and always stand and stare in wonderment – I often wonder how did those people learn such a cool pastime.
Well, how did they?

I mean, I should have the basic skill set..

I can fly a kite.
Wet suits flatter me and I know which way round they go.
I can swim.

How to best link these skills into full on wave ownership?

This is where someone says ‘get some tuition’, isn’t it.
How often do people die a drowny death without kite-surf tuition?

How much will half decent equipment set me back?

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/index.htm

About the cheapest place to get a set up.

However do get some tuition if only to learn the best and most energy efficient techniques.
There’s a really good school down this way at Hill Head.

Several cornish family members very adept.

You will need tuition and yep it can be very dangerous (esp to public who insist on running over to the kite “to give it a launch” for you).

I think most deaths are thuds – the power these things generate is stunning.

Hope that hasn’t put you off cause its a proper amazing sport, spectacle

When you say you can “fly a kite,” what do you mean? Power kite, stunt kite, carrier bag on a garden stake?

Please stay away from regular surfers, being landed on is a bit inconvenient. Big place for it is Aberavon beach.

Step 1. Find generous uncle
Step 2. Receive Power Kite / Tower of London Poppy
Step 3. DO NOT, under any circumstances express gratitude for these bounteous gifts.
Step 4. Get Tuition.

Step 5. #PrayForRusty.

How much will half decent equipment set me back?

I moved all my kit around the garage for the umpteeth time again this very morning… fed up of doing that … make me an offer.

3 kites/bars/pumps, 2 boards.. 1 being a big fat learner/low wind board… and a waist harness and a seat harness (good for learning with)

But that aside …

Patience and perseverance is what you need and lots of them.

Hardest thing I’ve ever learnt…. actually I was recently reminded of how hard I worked at snowboarding over the dry slope…. but at least the wind wasn’t strong enough/too strong/wind just right but the direction is wrong/now the tide is not right…. on that horrid killer carpet.

I’ve sold it well 🙂

Be careful and good luck

A) Pay for tuition.
B) Turn up for tuition.
C) Find out the weather isn’t favourable and sit around doing nothing much.

Repeat steps B-C ad infinitum

🙂

Haha -i’m getting mixed messages here..

10 mins from the coast so seems daft not to try my hand.

Ro5ey – I have literally no idea what that stuff is worth, but I know how much (little) I have in my wallet. How low is too low?..

I would practice with the harness/bar on the beach. Learn to keep the kite in the areas where you have very little power. Learn how much power comes on from getting it into different sections of the wind window.
Learn a figure-8 in the upper middle of the wind window. Do it enough so that you don’t have to look at the kite.

Then I would get tuition 🙂

I personally wouldn’t do it unless a) there was an onshore wind. b) someone who had access to the water was watching me.

We had a Kiter die last week at Hayling.

Please get some tuition. IKO are the standard, do levels 1-2-3 at least.

Then, find friends who do the same thing, your tutor should be able to point you in that direction.

Then, you may not know this, but you can’t always just turn up and go. Some beaches have a shop or local group that “owns” the launch area, Hayling does, thereby meaning you can’t launch from there without being a member.

Lancing and Worthing have a large network of kiters, nearly all will encourage and assist. But turn up and be a dick and they’ll tell you to do one.

Do a course. I lost 3 good friends in the early days. In one case it wasn’t even her fault. It isn’t like windsurfing when it goes wrong.

Really? In what sense do they “own” the foreshore and sea, which is where I presume you launch from?

Tuition +1, chap died near me a couple of years ago. Hit rocks, v sad.

OP lots of beginners around Poole Harbour – do an intensive weekend course ? Might be a bit far for you but they have nice gently sloping beach area and protected water (not too many waves). Alternatively book a suitable holiday.

Many beaches now have a policy of Third Party Insurance only users, Hayling has one because it’s so popular. The local kite shop own the rights to launch, everyone launching there must be affiliated to the club/shop and hold insurance. The council monitor and have the right to stop/enforce use. So in Haylings case the kite shop took on the task of control.
The local councils have (rightly) cracked down on kiters because the carnage caused in the early days was diabolical and every Tom, Dick and Henrietta came down to kite, launched (or tried to) kites that were far too large for the wind strength and flew down the beach using thier face as a brake, and the groynes as random slalom obstacles. People died and maimed and bystanders injured.

Not all beaches have this, popular ones do. Poole Harbour has restricted use, check that with the kite schools. Lancing and Worthing will be council controlled via a shop/school too and they will keep control over that. It’s a sensible measure aimed at encouraging kiters to group together, share the stoke, learn and self police.

Flying face down in shingle holding onto a 15mtr kite in 25knts randomly taking out pensioners and kids and other water users, whilst holding onto the bar and sheeting in is so 2002.

Give yourself and everyone else a break and get lessons.

You will not be welcome on any beach by anyone if you can not self launch and recover and we will tell you to go home, nicely obvz.

Andylc to the forum please!

Just coming the end of a 2 week learn to kite session in Essaouira, Morocco. Very mixed weather, from blowing dogs off chains to light wind. Waves all the time.
Today, I ‘got it’. Dead chuffed.
There is lots to take in. It looks easy, but there are lots of variables. A school has all sorts of kite sizes and boards so you can progress in most conditions. But, most importantly, instructors who know their schizzle and can impart the knowledge in a clear and structured way.

Now on the look out of a big fat (not cool) learner board to keep practicing in the UK….

I wanted to learn how to kite surf … as an ex windsurfer
However I have heard to many stories about how easy it is to die …

So I am taking up windsurfing again 🙂

I have been looking at learning to kite surfing holidays but have found the costs a bit steep. Was Morocco one of the more spendy ones or was it quite reasonable?

Having rescued two kite surfers, I would strongly recommend lessons as it would be easy to die without some basic knowledge

Buying second hand kit could also mean that you miss out on some of the safety improvements unless you know what you are doing (sorry Ro5ey)

Finally, once you have learnt how to Kitesurf and are bored with it, you can learn to windsurf which is much harder and way more fun 😉

So the council own the foreshore/sea? 😕

I’m not at all against what you’re saying, just questioning the legality given my understanding of the ownership of that in this country. I suppose they could stop people coming from the car park onto the beach, but are they going to stop everybody with a big bag (and I’m not sure that would be legal if they’re allowing other members of the public)?

FWIW I’m not a kitesurfer but used to windsurf (and had 3rd party insurance).

according to the hka website you just need insurance.

anyhow, i grew up windsurfing (on hayling) and a couple of years ago thought i’d give kitesurfing a go.

1. it is utterly essential to get lessons.
2. it is super easy compared to windsurfing.
3. the kit is really portable and a delight to fly. self launch/land kites (i had ozone xc lights ) alleviate the need for having to find someone to help.
4. do not buy anything pre 2010 and DO NOT buy that ebay bargain for tuppence 50 because IT WILL KILL YOU.
5. also if you are not confident in the water you will probably die. you will soon see that many many idiots kite surf.

overall its good fun though, they work in way less wind than a windsurf BUT the big thing for me was that i could never get used to being constantly connected to a great big flapping bit of cloth. and on the day when the wind backed off, my kite went down in surf, the lines clogged with weed, the kite started looping and i was dragged across a reef – which fortunately ripped the kite in half so depowered it a bit – i decided that enough was enough.

aracer – Member
bikebouy » The local kite shop own the rights to launch, everyone launching there must be affiliated to the club/shop and hold insurance. The council monitor and have the right to stop/enforce use. So in Haylings case the kite shop took on the task of control.
So the council own the foreshore/sea?

Yes, they have the right to hoof you off, correct. By not abiding to the bylaws they can do that. There are rules on signboards in the launch area and car park, guidance notes and phone numbers to call for assistance should you need it. You will find this information on many spots around the country, obviously not all but that’s entirely up to you to find them out.

The laws are there to protect everyone.

I think I’ve made that clear, to the point and reasoned.

I’ll agree it’s an odd situation in that if you launch for windsurfing you don’t need insurance nor be a member of any club, but we’re not talking about windsurfing we are talking about kitesurfing. They are distinctly different sports, YouTube is your friend here if you want to familiarise yourself with both.

Most seasoned water sports enthusiasts have at some point seen a kiter in distress, whether on the beach or in the water. There are many variables in kiting that would take up the whole forum to explain and detail, I’m not going to bore you but feel free to google them.

Kitesurfing is a fabulous exhilarating sport, it’s a very friendly and sociable sport, it’s beautiful to partake in and watch, it’s huge fun. But there are basics that need to be learned, mastered to get the full potential out of it. Kit these days is light, easy to handle and reasonably priced, designed to perform in conditions we get in the UK. It has many inherent dangers, not all of them visible.

The consensus here, anywhere, is if you want to learn get lessons, pick your location carefully, go with others of equal abilities, check the wind/tide forecasts, ask the locals about the location and its inherent foibles. Seek advice and make sure your kit is in tip top condition before you even rig it up never mind attempt to launch.

Seasoned kite surfers are friendly, encouraging and territorial. Turn up acting like a dick and you run the risk of ruining a beautiful sport for the sake of being a dick for everyone. Haylings been through all sorts of issues that are thankfully sorted now, learned the hard way. West Wittering has a whole raft of exclusions on time, tide, ability, being a member of the local club, how long you’ve been kiting… proving you’ve had and passed IKO 2 (I think it’s at least 2)

I’ve done it, I passed IKO 1-2-3 in Fuerte, bought gear, flew around for a couple of years, didn’t enjoy it. But you have to have a go right ? Of course you do, go enjoy the sport it’s really very exciting if you are good.

4. do not buy anything pre 2010

Why’s that, out of curiosity?

It’s shit.

Back then everything was shit.

The design, the rigging, the kite, the boards, the bar, the sea, the women, the beer.

It was all shit.

😆

It was an era when designs for ease of handling were developing and the early gear was very hard to handle.

Are you still missing the point that the council (or the shop) don’t own the foreshore or the sea? Which is presumably where you launch from.

ByLaws, are you missing the point of bylaws.

I’m out, you are trolling now.

Go seek information on council websites.

I know what a bylaw is, but generally they only apply on land owned by the council, and certainly only within the area controlled by the council. I may be being thick, but I’m not trolling – not sure how local council bylaws work on land owned by the Crown outside the control of the local council. Has anybody ever been prosecuted under these laws?

Aracer there are plenty of by laws around access to water in harbours etc.

The Crown estate typically owns what’s below mean high water by default (I think that’s the point where it changes). What’s above that line can be owned by, leased to etc others but may be subject to local authority or other controls.

It’s a great feeling when you finally get up on the board and manage to go a reasonable distance with the kite pulling you. Getting to that stage though is however a bit of a slog and expect a good few frights along the way. These kites are crazy powerful.

I gave up because I simply got fed up of waiting for the right conditions, i.e onshore wind, wind speed ok for my kite/ board size/ experience. I suppose it depends where you live but I spent more time hanging around the beach doing nothing than actually in the water, and one day I thought ‘Why am I doing this’ and stopped. If you plan having some fun at the weekend or on your day off I do like it to actually happen.

I think they would be on very dodgy ground insisting you are part of the shop/ club to launch. Its a sensible restriction but one I cannot see any legal foundation for. They have no right to stop anyone gong on the beach and doing what they want surely? YOu have a right to access to the sea and between the tide marks?

Ninfan? He is usually good on this sort of stuff

Mrs BigJohn and I have windsurfed for over 30 years. I’ve had a few kite lessons and last year in Vietnam we both took a one to one course. Our conclusions were that if we lived on the coast it would be worth the £1000 each in tuition to get as good as we would want to be, plus the £2000 of kit. But we don’t so we’re sticking with the superior, if harder work for us over 60s, sport of windsurfing.

Oh the glamour of Chasewater (a reservoir near Cannock) in winter. But we have a week in Tarifa in May to be ready for. Vass in July, maybe too.

Mate of mine bought an ebay setup a few years ago – he used to fly kites and had windsurfed

Had a couple of good days, then gave it up the day he was picked up & dumped onto a beach, right next to a groyne

(it was before 2010 though, so he bloody deserved all he got)

I’ve kited for nearly 15 years now. I love it, but I live by the sea, and can walk to the beach – can’t count the number of folk who have driven down from london only to be disappointed in the conditions. But living here, well I use the analogy of it’s like living in the alps and not being into skiing.

a solid new set up will cost you around £1k, plus another £300 for a wetsuit, helmet, harness.

Get lessons. don’t skimp on them – you wouldn’t go paragliding without lessons, and kiting is arguably harder to master (I’m told). It will also teach you good etiquette, and save you from pissing off lots of other water users – Kiters have had to work hard to maintain access to beaches and the popularity of the sport is becoming an issue – especially with people not considering the safety of themselves and others.

don’t buy old kit, however much of a bargain it is – safety of kites has increased enormously over the past 5 years.

I recommend these guys:

http://www.brackleshamboardriders.co.uk

top quality kit and really professional advise and service. better than buying online and so worth buying from a bricks and mortar shop who will help you out if things go wrong.

Just in case you are still thinking about buying some old kit and giving it a go:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-39177468

not saying this is what happened to this chap, but, it remains a dangerous (and awesome) sport, and the less knowledge and experience you have, the more risky it is.

Have fun!

That’s the guy I mentioned in my post earlier.

He was a local Hayling fisherman, knew the location, knew the tides, knew the weather, knew us lot.

He was good at it too.

And whilst I’m in reactionary mode at present, all I’m doing is imparting knowledge gained from years and years of playing in the sea.

And I’ve never said don’t do it, it’s a fabulous sport and should be encouraged to participate in.

Best of luck.

tjagain – Member
I think they would be on very dodgy ground insisting you are part of the shop/ club to launch. Its a sensible restriction but one I cannot see any legal foundation for. They have no right to stop anyone gong on the beach and doing what they want surely? YOu have a right to access to the sea and between the tide marks?

Ninfan? He is usually good on this sort of stuff

Sure, call ninfan in, he’ll surely know.

🙄

I have always looked at kite surfers and thought I’d like to have a go. This thread has completely put me off – which is a good thing (I gave up hang gliding after my instructor died crashing into an alp).