Kiting- I Don't Know Nothing
I love this sport! It's just what I had hoped for. Kiting makes a 10-15 MPH day seem intense, challenging, and completely exhausting, at least for this newbie. Signs of progress- I got my longest rides yet! I'm no longer trying to stay in the shallows. I'm bustin' out. On a few rides I even came back close to where I started. I think it was more luck than skill because my stance is still mostly a mess but I'll take what I can get. The feeling of intimidation that I got from my first 4 or 5 sessions is pretty much gone. What I need to fix- The mini wooden fins on my board aren't grippy enough. The board was sliding out a lot compared to Frank's Spleen Door 64. There are plenty of guys on the web who say you don't need fins at all. They must be on steroids. What worries me a little- People say that the most dangerous animal on the planet is a beginner kiteboarder who has learned just enough to think that he/she knows what they are doing. I want to avoid that trap. I keep telling myself, "I don't know nothing." Waquiot Bay, Kiteboarded, S, 8-18, 12M kite/ 152 ply board, Door 64, Frank, Sandie, Megan, others. |
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6 comments:
Your worries are real. In fact, as I was told when I started selling sporting goods, most men over-estimate their abilities and most women underestimate theirs. I really don't think any kiter out there in Wacko Bay isn't a potential yard sale. I watched the crowd with binoculars for a while from Seconsett Island around 4 p.m. and decided to stay away.
The crowd was about the biggest I've seen yet. It must seem like an invasion to long time bay users, like an invasive weed.
you do have good health insurance i hope
Yesterday I sailed Waquoit Bay with a number of kiters. In fact, they usually don't offer interference to me as I stay out in the main body of the bay most of the time. Most kiters there are friendly and polite. Accidents are rare. However, now that I-kitesurf has started to offer predictions and talks about putting up a sensor, it can only become more crowded with newbies.
I confess that I'm one of the newbies there, too. The sad fact is, I just don't know any other place that offers such safe conditions in the usual south to southwest winds we get around here. I promise to stay polite, as out of the way as possible, and to go to other places as soon as I can get back to my launch site and am competent at self-rescue.
If you don't go there on weekends, you can avoid the hassles. Futhermore, I often wonder why the youth that takes up kiting doesn't try windsurfing first. If you have a mind of your own, kiting must feel terribly restrictive.
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