Kite Boarding
I rode out to Lazy Point this morning and the wind was up, gusting to 30 mph and a constant 15-20 mph. It made for a tough bike ride but when I got out there, I got a show. The kite boarders were out in mass, taking turns riding the stiff breeze in Napeague Harbor.
Even though there aren’t any waves in Napeague Harbor, the kite boarders were getting serious air.
It sure looks like fun, but I’ve been told that it takes at least 10 lessons to get good enough to have fun. Not sure that’s in the cards for me.
Comments (Archived):
Ten lessons? Not sure who gave you that advice. If you took a Friday off of work to start, by Sunday, you would be riding. Sure, it takes a while to learn to jump and flip, but just getting out there and feeling that kite pull you across the water is a thrill. The August 20th issue of Fortune magazine has a piece in the back about our kiting scene in Silicon Valley, chock full of VCs like Bill Tai. Next time you are in town for a Twitter board meeting, let’s get you started.
I thought VCs were particularly adept at riding waves ;O)
I think they are more adept at keeping their feet firmly on the ground 🙂 I started at Age57. I guess Sacca is right given perfect conditions and being out on the water all weekend.
I never thought I’d see the day my passion would show up on a Fred Wilson blog post 🙂 Here’s the skinny, best way to learn is by going to a warm weathered island where being in the water is very enjoyable. Spend a week to go from learning to fly the kite, to body dragging, to learning how to get on a board. Thereafter it’s just a process of days in the water. It’s bit tough to have this dedication when living in NYC given the distance to places to ride and the fact that you’re a bit at the wind’s mercy for timing. Even where this is consistent, you really want to be w/in 10-30 mins of any location so that you can get there to enjoy the wind after you see the meters light up. That’s why living in the SF Bay Area makes this sport enjoyable. We have over 7 locations all fm 5 mins to an hour away, with some predictable locations w/big waves near Santa Cruz at 1.5 hr drive.I’ll tell you this, any one who has tried this sport and liked it has become an instant addict. It’s best if you’re in sales, retired, or have a very flexible schedule ’cause you’ll need it. The high you get fm riding is about 10x from the best powder day you’ve ever had on skis or snowboard…OK, perhaps 5x for 4 foot powder day, but definitely 10x fm a regular day on the slopes. Once you start jumping and doing tricks, the sport becomes tantamount to an out of body experience. Not sure if you know Bill Tai fm Charles River Ventures, but he’s an avid kitesurfer as well and has a blog dedicated to the sport called Kiteblog (http://kitevc.blogspot.com/).Give it a shot, you won’t regret it 🙂
Looks like something I would love to try.
I did a lesson on the North Shore and I could get up at the end of the day. Like P-Air mentioned, warm water is helpful since all of the learning you need to do is in the water. After 3-5 trips you should be having fun and be able to get some speed.
I’ve been wanting to learn to kite-surf for several years too. It looks like too much fun.
Hey Fred! thanks to the pointer to Lazy Point. Always looking for new places to kite. This sport is DEFINITELY a KICK – and as the other comments indicate – its definitely not as hard as it looks. And – like the others who have posted, I got up and riding within hours and was completely addicted from the start. If you ever wan’t any info on how to start, pls contact…