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Windsurfing vs Kitesurfing
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outhaul



Joined: 27 Sep 2011
Posts: 254

PostPosted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nw30 wrote:
Windsurfing: If it was easy, they'd call it kiteboarding.


It's not all that easy, I've tried.
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arnegahmig



Joined: 27 Nov 2013
Posts: 17
Location: El Médano

PostPosted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
arnegahmig wrote:
As a windsurfer you have to get an additional board which takes a lot of dedicetion to the sport

Every WSer I know has several or even many boards, some idiots as many as two dozen ... that they actually use. Sad


For windsurfing in the water, sure. But I was referring to windsurfing in snow Wink
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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 7:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

outhaul wrote:
nw30 wrote:
Windsurfing: If it was easy, they'd call it kiteboarding.


It's not all that easy, I've tried.

Think learning curve, how many times did you try kiting, and how long did it take you to master windsurfing (assuming you have)?
IMO, kiting can be mastered in about 1/4 the amount of time, less strength and endurance needed also.
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AndreiA



Joined: 14 Apr 2013
Posts: 73

PostPosted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 7:56 pm    Post subject: Nice article, thank you! Reply with quote

Good summary, especially around safety. Interesting to note, people who just observe (but not practice the sport) would often say that windsurfing is more dangerous than kite surfing. Smile
Andrei
na-windsurfing.com
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jamieinnyc



Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 108

PostPosted: Tue Jan 07, 2014 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to agree that your essay was a very pleasant surprise in its balance - I don't often find balanced information/opinions on the web. It's a very timely discussion for me - I have windsurfed for 30 years, but over the holidays in TCI took several kiting lessons and got up on a board for the first time (and upwind!). Not an easy transition from windsurfing - the board is very different in feel, and the bar is not a boom. Anyway, off to Cabarete for 4 days next week to try to build some momentum.

Why kite for me? The same reason you gave - but with very different numbers (reflecting the reality of the conditions I sail in). I want to kite when I can't get going on a longboard and a 10M sail. I want to kite on a SUP, even - in 7knots. And also, I want to travel with gear - and my windsurfing gear doesn't fly. And of course, I want to know the sensation. There remain 2 major issues for me with kiting, though. I am deeply skeptical on the safety issue - I just don't think the sports are even close in terms of safety. And kiting doesn't give me that confidence (yet, maybe someday?) to be free of the shoreline and really go for miles, which I sometimes do on my windsurfer.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful and informative essay (hadn't considered the cost of wear on gear, for instance). For my part, I'm very much looking forward to learning to kite well enough to offer some more informed opinions - and to rip it up on the water.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My knee surgeon told me he had driven to Hood River to evaluate the prospect of taking up kiteboarding. Watching a kiter slam into several cars cured him of that silly notion, and subsequent surgeries he's done trying to repair crushed kiter pelvises, femurs, etc. buried that idea for good. I just told him that if he ever considers it again, to Google up "kitemares".
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outhaul



Joined: 27 Sep 2011
Posts: 254

PostPosted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jamieinnyc wrote:
I have to agree that your essay was a very pleasant surprise in its balance - I don't often find balanced information/opinions on the web. It's a very timely discussion for me - I have windsurfed for 30 years, but over the holidays in TCI took several kiting lessons and got up on a board for the first time (and upwind!). Not an easy transition from windsurfing - the board is very different in feel, and the bar is not a boom. Anyway, off to Cabarete for 4 days next week to try to build some momentum.

Why kite for me? The same reason you gave - but with very different numbers (reflecting the reality of the conditions I sail in). I want to kite when I can't get going on a longboard and a 10M sail. I want to kite on a SUP, even - in 7knots. And also, I want to travel with gear - and my windsurfing gear doesn't fly. And of course, I want to know the sensation. There remain 2 major issues for me with kiting, though. I am deeply skeptical on the safety issue - I just don't think the sports are even close in terms of safety. And kiting doesn't give me that confidence (yet, maybe someday?) to be free of the shoreline and really go for miles, which I sometimes do on my windsurfer.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughtful and informative essay (hadn't considered the cost of wear on gear, for instance). For my part, I'm very much looking forward to learning to kite well enough to offer some more informed opinions - and to rip it up on the water.


Hey Jamie,

Tell us about your latest Kiteboarding experiences, Very curious on how you are doing
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jamieinnyc



Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 108

PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, don't know if this is the right forum, but I guess in the interest of a windsurfer's perspective...

Kited for three days in Cabarete, 2.5 hour/day. I got up and going, and could stay upwind. I was surprised how long it took for me to get it - "sitting" on the kite, not standing on the board. I actually think that having windsurfing experience may make it harder to learn - no muscle memory matches. Could only do 2.5 hours a day because first 2 days I was wiped out, legs like jelly after trying to force that locked in windsurfing feeling. The third day it clicked, legs felt fine (because they really don't have to work that hard), but had a harness that was badly bruising my ribs (still sore a week later). It was windy at 25 knots, and Cabarete gets a little nuts when its windy, with many dozens of kites in a limited area. Had 2 line wraps, one that I flew free, and one that was a safety release and swim in. Yes, different from windsurfing for sure, no heading out to sea.

But.. the power in the kite is pretty stunning. It was definitely not the conditions I am most interested in exploring kiting for, and I would have had more fun on a windsurfer, but at this point that means nothing. Hey, if I can keep a kite in the air in 7knots (or even less, ideally), and get a board (any board) moving, it will be way faster than windsurfing. Many kiters would say "why?" in those conditions, but so would many windsurfers - the extreme sport disease (must always be extreme).

A quick Cabarete note: used PayPal for hotel, took US$ for kiting, and only used my credit card for DR Pesos at the bank branch (Banco BHD) right in the center of town. I didn't use plastic anywhere else, paid cash for everything. Someone in the bank stole the card info and withdrew $5k before my bank shut the card down. So, even being cautious in DR is not enough - you may get jacked anyway. Just thought I would share.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9293

PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

outhaul wrote:
nw30 wrote:
Windsurfing: If it was easy, they'd call it kiteboarding.


It's not all that easy, I've tried.


As in any sport, it takes years to reach the pinnacle. However, I was going back and forth on a kite by my 3rd day on the water. It took me a year back in the 1980 to figure out how to water start a windsurfer. Of course there were no teachers or internet back then. Laughing

I haven't kited in ten years, however kiting does appeal as an old mans sport. Windsurfing has taken its toll on my body. South Padre Island may be a stop I'll make to relearn kiting someday.
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outhaul



Joined: 27 Sep 2011
Posts: 254

PostPosted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 11:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jamie, I haven't used for kiting but maybe consider trying the Dakine harness shorts, very comfortable and defiantly won't ride up and hurt your ribs. For me it makes the "sitting" part much easier and I believe I get better mast foot pressure when sailing strapless on my windsup. It's marketed as a kiting harness but works great for windsurfing —you'll probably need to get longer harness lines as the hook rides a good bit lower than any waist harness.
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