Crystal River Area Newb

Ckirk · #1 05-19-2008, 07:38 PM

Im totaly new to kiteboarding and I'm in the market. I've been wakeboarding for probably over 10 years and I'm ready to move up to kiteboarding. I currently have a Hyperlite Premier 136 and some Belmont 3060 bindings. The area i live in would probably suck for kiteboarding but i plan on moving south in a year or so and want to get a head start. I think i have got a hook up for some Liquid Force kite equipment but i have no real idea what i need. I will proababy just buy a kite and harness and learn around here at our beach (Ft. Island Trail) that is about 500 feet wide. If anybody has anything used they want to sell me let me know.

ricki · #2 05-19-2008, 10:46 PM

Welcome to kiteboarding! Best advice, forget about buying gear before taking some quality pro lessons. You will get some time to try the instructors gear at his risk, this stuff is easy to damage when you are new, and learn first person what you need. The odds of selecting a good setup without some training aren't all that great. My first board was a Hyperlight, long in the past. As a rule you want less rocker for a good kiteboard. Also, learning on your own is not a great way to go these days with so many instructors out there. Some reasons why this is a good idea appear at:

http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=2071

Flying is easy to do as well. Would you advise learning to fly on your own? If not, why not? There are a number of parallels.

LSUkiter · #3 05-20-2008, 06:43 AM

Definitely good advice. First of all, take lessons. Like he said you get to trash the instructor's stuff and not yours which is easy to do. Also, although flying a kite looks fairly straight forward, its wrought with danger if not done properly. Now that I look back, I could have seriously injured myself if I didn't take lessons. I usually came out of each lesson sore, and sometimes a little scraped up. Would have been much worse if I was alone. In the Tampa/St Pete section of this forum, there is a recent thread from Tom Stock who's been riding for years getting worked over a little the other day. He has experience, so he was able to keep safe. Without that experience, it could have been bad.

Another reason you don't want to get gear yet is as soon as you finish the lessons, you're immediately gonna be dissatisfied with what you bought and want new gear. My stuffs a year old and I want more. Save your money for lessons first, then for gear. You'll be happier in the long run.

Again, check out the Tampa/StPete section for local instructors and come down here to learn on the weekends. We have an abundance of instructors. Also check out www.tbka.org.

Good luck,
Richard

Clew In · #4 05-20-2008, 05:57 PM

Hey,

What about a trainer kite first and dvd with instructions? I think it is the first gear one should purchase if they do not have one they can borrow. I flew mine and watched several dvds many times before my lessons. I think it helped me get more out of my lessons and the dvds are great reference after a practice/lesson for unanswered questions along with this forum.

Clew In

Ckirk · #5 05-20-2008, 08:09 PM

Much appreciated, myself and a friend who lives in the Indian Rocks area will probably look into some lessons down there somewhere. I can't wait learn this is an awesome site

LSUkiter · #6 05-20-2008, 09:05 PM

There are plenty of great instructors in this area. I took my lessons from Randy Radcliffe. He's a great guy/instructor. Also, the Eckerd College guys teach down here at the St Pete Beach area. Probably the best choice for you since you're going to be driving quite a distance and coming to Indian Rocks Beach, is to get your lessons from Watersports West(www.watersportswest.com). They're right there, and they do I believe most of their lessons at Three Rooker Bar which is a little closer drive for you. They're all great guys out there, and just like most of the other instructors in this area, stress safety. If you don't want to go to WSW for some reason, I can post Randy's number, he's a PASA certified instructor. Randy teaches at the Skyway usually which would be a long hike for you.

As far as DVD's good idea, totally forgot about that. I watched all the videos and read all the magazines. As for flying a trainer kite, I think its debatable. I had fun with mine and it allowed me to be sure I wanted to spend the money on lessons, but as far as making the lessons easier, I don't think it made any difference. Most instructors want you to put time in on a trainer, and I did, but think I would have been the same if I never touched a trainer. There's actually a thread about this on kiteforum right now.

Hope that helps