Well it finally happened, and it was one of the most physical things I’ve ever done. It was high tide when we got there so there was no dry land practice with the kite. An intro to putting the kite together (lots of pumping up), a lesson on how to do a self-rescue, and then we were in the boat and riding out into the sound. My instructor, Andrea, was very impressive - she was steering the boat with one hand and flying the kite with the other. Once we were far enough out that I wouldn’t get in the way of the pro’s (which was quite some way) she got me to attach the kite to my harness and drop into the water. The golden rule of kite boarding is if anything happens to the kite and you can’t control it, let go of the handle. I soon forgot that one and quickly found out how it feels to be a torpedo. Man, there is so much power in that thing. After a couple of bollockings from Andrea for not letting go (really, she didn’t mess about) I got the message. And I also started to get the hang of it. The big problem with the first lesson is that you’re learning to control the kite while it drags you along the water. In order to get the kite off the water you need to get your feet in front of you and on the surface to provide some resistance, and that is bloody hard. I felt like I’d been treading water for 3.5 hours. It’s very cool when you get it launched and you’ve got the kite at an angle that’s powerful enough to drag you without the torpedo effect. So all in all I had an awesome time. I was knackered at the end. Andrea says I’ll be on the board easily in my next lesson, but really there won’t be another lesson as I can’t afford it. Top experience though, and strongly recommended! As I was so far away from land Linda only managed to get one photo of me just about to launch the kite:
Oh, and we went to see Transformers 2 tonight. My advice? Wait to see it on DVD.
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