In case you don’t read till the end... thanks again for your support!

Feb-April

I started the year with the decision that improving my kiting would mean going out in the cold months and not just in the cozy summer days. My first session of the year was in the first week of February – it was snowing but I wasn’t the only madman out there. That session ended in a broken bar and a gash across my thumb. I mainly remember the cold!

 But let me recap. To some who are not familiar with kiting it may seem a scary thing to try. Please don’t be put off, it’s a fantastic way to enjoy the elements and it’s probably safer than base jumping, freediving or cycling. It consists of a series of learning stages the first of which is learning to fly a kite – not difficult if you have opposable thumbs. This stage is great and you very quickly in a day learn to drag yourself across the water using a kite. This of course only reflects your innate superior ability – bring on the next stage!

Then it’s flying a kite whilst putting a board on your feet. This is surprisingly tricky and undignified, as you spin around under the kite one foot strapped in the board, the other thrashing like a drunken breakdancer...with some effort you get both feet in the straps – only then you remember  that you are attached to a kite. If you are lucky it crashes, often you try and regain control and experience the first of many ‘air’ moments. Still… this stage gets easier after a few sessions and once the feet are in it’s time to try to stand up on the board and plane on the water. Ah!ah!  Finally time to look the part! Dreams of athletic poise and elegance flash across the eyes.

Unfortunately this is an even trickier stage and where a lot of people eventually quit.

Unless you are a bit stubborn that is and don’t mind flying in the air and crashing in the water several times an hour. You eventually get the hang of it... crashing that is... or as it is better know:  ‘faceplanting’. It’s a good time to have a cold as the salt water injections up the nose do wonders for the sinuses.  It’s a real achievement getting up on the water and the lure of finally looking the part is just seductively around the corner. No more having to say to people ‘I’m off kiting’ when really you know that you will just be slammed in the water and dragged in the sea for the amusement of onlookers .  Alas it’s all an illusion. You are still a way away from the dream.  Having got yourself on the board you now have to stay on it. Sometimes it comes together for more than a second and then you spend the rest of the session hoping to regain that Nirvana moment. Over weeks and months the nanoseconds of board experience add up. Now you can stay on the board for prolonged distances  - at least twenty, maybe thirty yards. It’s probably only on one side that this happens but who cares? You also have no control of where you are going... but again who cares? as you are doing spectacularly well just staying on the board. The cool image is sadly diminished by the distinctive stance adopted at this stage...rather akin to spending time on a Turkish toilet....

Going out for kiting sessions regularly is easy enough if you don’t have a job, responsibilities, the wind is strong enough but not too strong, or gusty and it’s low tide and you have a likeminded friend who also doesn’t have a job, a family......

Another delightful quirk of the learning process is that the wind has to be onshore – did I not mention that above? Never mind but anyway the wind should be onshore.. but best if it’s not directly onshore, cross-onshore is perfect. The beauty of cross onshore whilst learning is that you and your kite eventually end up some distance downwind of where you started. Not having yet acquired the skills to kite upwind you now have to walk back up along the beach whilst flying your kite. This is a beginner’s stage that all learners have to go through hence there is much appreciation and sympathy from seasoned kiters at the beach. The upwind walk is in fact affectionately known as ‘The Walk of Shame’.

Perhaps it is now clearer why at the start of the year I decided that putting time in when the beaches were relatively empty seemed a good idea. My level was such, that all being well, i.e. smooth steady gentle winds in flat chest-deep water, I could just about manage to stay on the board and sometimes go upwind. Any deviation from ideal conditions and I was ‘walking’ again. I should also mention that learning to stop and change direction is the next stage and not one that I was familiar with. So I managed to put in a couple of sessions in March, including one with St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall in the background and another one in West Bay near Margate with new kitebuddy Gordon. I don’t recall March as being very warm…, neither April for that matter where I managed a couple of sessions with Ernst (a seasoned kiter by the way) off Tankerton beach.

May

In May I found out that the kitesurfer who had jumped the pier (Lewis Crathern) was organising a charity mass kitesurf to claim a Guinness World record. It would involve 250 plus kiters sailing 1mile upwind. This to be followed by a downwind section of up to 45 miles starting from Hayling Island and ending in Lancing. Knowing that my kiting ability was still short of the required level… I naturally signed on. I ticked the box saying I would do the 1mile and then see how it goes.

I thought that this would be the incentive to consolidate my skills. To some extent this was true and more sessions followed with Gordon, Dan and Ernst budding-up and watching over me.  

June

A long weekend in June camping and kiting in Le-Touquet with Ernst was pivotal. Ernst gave me lots of tips and leant me some of his gear i.e. kite and board! and finally I seemed to have cracked consistent kiting upwind especially in lightwinds. After trying out Ernst’s gear I came back home and traded my lightwind kite for a different model. A few solo sessions back in Tankerton followed. These were excellent and I finally felt like a capable independent kitesurfer! J J

July

One gorgeous Friday evening the winds looked good and I rushed out for a session. All went well and I was enjoying myself when my kite collapsed mid-air - burst bladder! This required what is known as a self-rescue. By the time I got back on shore, I realised that my foot was ‘slightly’ tangled on my lines. An older lady who was kindly watching me make my way back was not amused and effectively told me off for practicing this sport. A photographer who had been taking pictures of me had called the coastguard who arrived five minutes after I landed. Thankfully the coastguard was very reasonable and realised that I had not been reckless and took a picture of me with my tangle to share with my friends. The photographer also sent me some of the pics he had taken which was really nice of him.

We were told by the organisers that the safety precautions had changed – the whole event was going to be more expensive than anticipated and we should raise more money! Also we had to decide how far we would kite. I decided to kite to Pagham which is still a 15mile distance. Of course I still had practice time left!

August

Reality setting in now. I had one session where going upwind was fine but I realised that I couldn’t go downwind very effectively. I had to pick-up my daughter so headed for the beach and did a reverse ‘Walk of Shame’ downwind. Good news was that the aquapac to store my mobile phone worked well and my old sailing watch was still water-tight. But I realised that I needed some instruction nd paid for a session in Camber sands. This was really awesome. Ben my teacher was in the water ahead of me showing me the downwind techniques and he is a most chilled guy. For the first ever I wrapped my lines around another kitesurfer – not entirely my fault but I did feel bad. Thankfully it all got sorted and Ben was brilliant at getting me back out on the water quickly. I also tried my first intentional sent jump…

..OK the less said the better!

September

Well here it is now – had a fantastic session with Gordon in Pegwell Bay – steady winds and my normal and toeside turns working well – upwind riding is good and am skimming off the chop. Also manage my first proper ‘air’ time JJJ

The following session and I am solo in Tankerton – wind is gusty (and cold) and there are big swells. My confidence is knocked a little bit as I am finding the conditions quite tough – but hey! Who said it would be easy?  Also wrapped a towel in three plastic bag layers and putting this in a rucksack to see if it will stay dry – no chance! Two days later manage to purchase a dry bag so hopefully am now prepared.

As it turns out that is my last session before the big event! It’s on for Sunday 15^th September!!!

Thanks again for your support – it really is appreciated. If you fancy kiting…let me know J