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Kitesurfing or Windsurfing
Joner - 31-7-2003 at 06:37

Just a though as I know there lots of friction between people who now kitesurf and those that have been windsurfing for years and have not taken up kitesurfing, but, if you were just STARTING OUT and taking up your first ever Forces-of-Nature sport, would you go for windsurfing or kitesurfing??

badexcuseforasailor - 31-7-2003 at 07:59

Living inland it would have to be windsurfing. kite buggying looks fun though

Burgy - 31-7-2003 at 13:01

There quite diferent sports, you might hate one & love the other. I should try the one you fancey most & see where it takes you.

burgy

Joner - 1-8-2003 at 06:21

I wasn't asking for me, I was just curious to see what people views were on which SEEMS the most exciting and accessible sport.

justal - 1-8-2003 at 06:39

Steve and I were talking about this on the beach the other day.

In my opinion, if I was just starting out, then I'd probably go for kitesurfing over windsurfing. Mainly becasue its so much easier to get to a stage where you are 'looking good'. With windsurfing it takes hours of practice before you can sail along comfortably on a smallish board in the straps and harness fully planing. Whereas you can be at this stage within an hour with kitesurfing. OK, you won't be THAT in control and you won't be able to get upwind, but you are already 'looking good'.

Similarly, doing the more impressive looking tricks such as jumps and other aerial manouvres whilst kite-surfing is so much easier than it is windsurfing.

However, saying all that, as a windsurfer first, I have found that the relative ease of kite-surfing means it lacks some of the challenge that windsurfing has.

From a complete newbies perspective though, kite-surfing does look pretty inviting. The kit is easy to transport, its relatively easy to start looking good, and the kit these days is actually up there in terms of quality and performance with modern windsurfing kit.

Windsurfing was one of the first 'extreme watersoprts' and it took years and years before the major companies had enough money and experience to really start producing top quality kit. Some of the older stuff was pretty awful! And then, even when they did have time and money to spend on R&D, their main aims were pure speed and racing performance, so we started getting boards with a ridiculous performance potential, but very little user friendliness. This has all changed recently of course.

With kitesurfing, many of the big manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon straight away. These were established big businesses that threw lots of money at it, and already had lots of experience in board design etc from other established sports such as windsurfing, surfing, wake-boarding and snowboarding. This resulted in rapid improvements in the kit in just a few years. Also, the emphasis was never one of pure performance, but always performance with ease of use. So we are now at a stage where modern kiting equipment is already as good as modern windsurfing equipment in terms of accessibility.

So, kitesurfing is just as accessible as windsurfing, probably more so as the kit is easier to transoprt, there are schools all over the place and its THE fashionable sport at the moment, so is getting lots of publicity. Also, from the outside it looks as though its the more exciting sport as well, as right from the beginning participants are whizzing off across the water sending up spray and often getting air (even if unintentional). In comparison, windsurfing kit would look difficult and unwieldy, watching people learn (uphaul, fall in, uphaul again!) would look pretty dull, and its not really in the limelight.

Personally I'd still prefer to be blasting about windsurfing than kitesurfing though.

Al.

Burgy - 1-8-2003 at 12:47

Joner, Kite sports all the way for me then & while being on the waters fun I'd much prefer to play on the sand.

quote:
Originally posted by justal
Steve and I were talking about this on the beach the other day.

In my opinion, if I was just starting out, then I'd probably go for kitesurfing over windsurfing. Mainly becasue its so much easier to get to a stage where you are 'looking good'.


Tiz also our curse, its to easy for people to get hold of kit & then go off to a beach & be totaly unaware of the danger there putting them selves & the public in.

Most people dont appreciate just how brutal kitesurfing is or how important kite skills are. Whey should they spend hours learning to fly a kite? its easy isnt it? That approach is fine till something goes wrong & your relying on your experance as a kite flyer to get you out of the poo.

ajdesq - 2-8-2003 at 19:03

My efforts in learning to kitesurf are posted on the kitesurf forum. It wasn't a pretty experience, I did NOT look cool, I did not enjoy it.

Having said that, I met a nature-loving kindred spirit over here in the States, and he came down to the Gorge for a couple of days so I could teach him yer bog standard level1 windsurfing. Yes, I think he enjoyed it, but he could NOT take his eyes off the kitesurfers. I think I know what he'd rather have been doing, and it wasn't bimbling about on a pond with a huge widestyle board & a kiddy-rig...