Tips for kitesurfing beginners

There are several ways to learn to kite. It is best to plan at least a two-week holiday with a kite course. But with a little skill you can already celebrate your first successes on the water after a week of kitesurfing courses.

The kite area must be safe and suitable for beginners, the wind and water temperatures must be reasonable. The beginners should be motivated, but not impatient, to learn kiteboarding. Sideshore or sideonshore winds with smooth water are optimal. The water should be at least knee-deep and have a sandy bottom to minimize the risk of injury when kiting. A large standing area in the water saves time and strength.

A water temperature of 18 degrees is no problem, from 20 degrees it becomes pleasant and the body consumes less energy, which benefits concentration. The less neoprene you have to put on and take off, the more time you have for practicing. For training at spots with deeper water, helpers of the kite station with jet skis or boats should be on site. This also applies to practicing with offshore wind.

The kite stations have adapted to their respective areas and exploit the local advantages. Multilingual instructors with a lot of training experience bring calmness into the kite lessons and ensure a safe feeling during the training. With a maximum of two students per instructor, you can achieve fast learning results during your kite holiday.

Whoever is trained according to the rules of the VDWS or IKO kite associations can obtain a worldwide recognised certificate of proficiency after the course. Theory and practice alternate and the safe control of the kite is the first priority. This is called flying school and should be trained as extensively as possible. If the independent launching of the kite from the water works, bodydrag and waterstart follow. What sounds easy and relaxed needs time and is not learned in two or three hours. Especially at the beginning patience is required to keep the kite under control.

Those who manage the water start after one week and have ridden the first few meters can already record this as a great success. Driving and holding your course are the next goals, if possible maybe even driving a little bit upwind (against the wind). Depending on your experience from other wind or water sports, you will have to calculate 15-20 lessons to reach these goals. Individual lessons always include a phase of independent practice under supervision. With a classic beginner course, e.g. 10 hours, you probably won't become a kiter yet, but a few more hours will usually be enough.

Your own kite equipment is not necessary at stations. Trapeze, board and kites are provided during the lessons. Everything you carry on your body for kiting should be brought along by yourself. These are a wetsuit, shorty or - depending on the temperature - only a board short and a lycra shirt. Shoes and gloves are appropriate depending on the area. That's all it takes. Physical fitness and endurance before starting the course are always good.

Possible areas

It is important to choose the right spot and the right season to visit this kite spot. Not every area is ideal for learning all year round, often there are special months in the year when the wind is just right. Good beginner areas are not bad for experts either, therefore the following destinations should not be interpreted as pure beginner destinations! Classics are the stations in Egypt. Whether El Gouna, Hurghada, the Soma Bay with Safaga or Dahab on the Sinai. Here one can find very good conditions almost all year round. Fuerteventura with the big station of Rene Egli in Sotavento does a very good job, but also many stations in Brazil, which boast river lagoons or suitable sandbank constellations, are perfect for learning. Other good long-haul destinations are El Yaque on the Caribbean island of Isla Margarita and Mauritius in the Pacific Ocean. Djerba and Porto Pollo in Sardinia are also among the top 10 destinations. For travel and course offers visit: www.sunandfun.com