Caption: Iker carving out a wave.
Kiteboarding: What is that all about?
Iker Tursi
You have probably seen those big flying things pulling people around on the water at the beach and wondered what it’s all about. Having kited for more than 10 years, I have been asked lots of questions. The latest and funniest question came a couple of months ago while walking back from the kite beach in Cape Hatteras, N.C.
This sunburned gentleman in a white tank top and a cap, sunglasses and sporting a gray horseshoe mustache asked me, “Are you one of those that fly them tarps?” Referring as “tarps” to equipment made of a very hi-tech fabric that undergoes extensive engineering and R&D processes is not only funny, but wins the creativity award for the best kite nickname ever.
So, what is that flying tarp sport then? Well, that is kiteboarding. Its simplest definition would be a watersport which uses a traction kite to harness the wind in order to sail the water with a board. However, its possibilities and disciplines are much broader than that. Kiteboarding is a combination of sports like wakeboarding, surfing, windsurfing, stunt kiting and even paragliding. This mixture makes it a very appealing sport for a vast number of people of different backgrounds. As a matter of fact, about 80 percent of the kiteboarders I know are anglers.
The second question that usually comes up is, “Could I learn to do that?” I have seen men and women from the ages of 12 to 70-plus and all different fitness levels successfully and safely learn how to kiteboard. The one prerequisite anybody needs is to know how to swim.
How you learn to kite is most important because it will contribute to your success in the learning process as well as to the safety of you and others around you. Flying a traction kite involves many skills that we don’t use in our day-to-day life. Therefore, it absolutely requires lessons from a skilled instructor in order to break the sport down into smaller steps, building muscle memory and doing so in a safe and fun manner.
To better describe this, I use the analogy of teaching someone to drive a car. You teach gradually, step by step. However, once they acquire the skills it becomes second nature. A certified instructor will require six to 10 hours to teach someone to become an independent kiteboarder. This means they will know all the ins and outs of safety and kite piloting all the way to riding on the board and that first jump.
The most prestigious and internationally recognized certification is the IKO (International Kiteboarding Organization), which is much like PADI for scuba diving. If you are curious about the sport, I invite you to take just a couple of hours of lessons from a certified instructor. This will allow you to see what it’s all about and help you decide if you’d like to join us on the water.
Iker Tursi, KPB Head Coach, can be reached at info@kiteboardingpalmbeach.com or 561-502-8623.