FAQ Kitesurfing

Well, that obviously depends a lot on wind-conditions and your own motivation. With our Intensive Training it takes 2 windy days to learn the basics of kite-control, water-start and riding (that’s the best case, it takes some people 3 or more days to actually ride). After that it’s up to you: You will then know how to safely fly kites, assess wind, equipment and keep yourself and everyone safe. Then you just need to practise! If you feel more comfortable to continue your progression under supervision, you can join us for Supervised Riding where you practise on your own or rental equipment in your own pace until you’re real confident.

You will need at least one kite (with bar and lines), a board and a harness. Depending on where you’re from or where you plan to kite you might need a wet-suit, too. Generally we would say, if you live close to the sea, you can get away with one kite. The more you rely on your holidays to get a session in, the more kites you want to have…you will soon learn that the wind can be a moody bitch.
For boards it depends on what style you want to go for, if you just want to cruise or freestyle, all you need is a twin-tip. Only into waves? Easy, you just need a directional. If you want to play around with all styles, you either look at buying two boards, or you should consider a mutant.
As for costs: decent kites range from R4500 to R20000, depending if they are second hand, previous season models or the latest hype. Kites usually come with bar, lines and a pump. If you want to strike a bargain, you’re usually best off to buy a previous season model.

Prices for boards range from about R3000 to R15000. You look at about R5000 to R7000 for a decent brand new twin-tip or directional. Same as for the kites, you can strike great deals on second hand and previous season boards.

You will find harnesses ranging from R500 to way over R1000. Try out a few to find one that feels right! Make sure you buy a kitesurfing harness, they come with a safety handle, a reinforced leash-connection and the hook is designed in a way that it doesn’t bend up into your ribs.

We know how everyone is into the great bargains of online-shopping these days. Your chances ending up with gear that suits your needs are usually far greater if you get advise from a shop or school.

That questions is the stuff for long discussions. Generally we would say that if you’re 14 years old you’re good to go. Given you’re able to act responsible and have the guts to cancel a session if the conditions are to heavy. There are ways into the sport even for kids way younger. We have taught kids as young as 10 years, they all loved it! We have however a strict policy when it comes to teaching children: We do not teach kids under 14 years in our intensive courses. We offer special Kids-Camps where the kids learn in a pace and with methods adapted to their abilities. We only accept kids that are strong swimmer, and demand that at least one of the parents is actively kitesurfing. There is no point of teaching a kid how to kitesurf, if nobody’s able to supervise their progression. For more info on our Kids-Camps contact us.

A cynic would say: Because we don’t get our equipment back, when you fly away! Unfortunately, that’s not too far from the truth. Kitesurfing is a complex and technical sport, and kites in the sizes we use for kitesurfing are very powerful toys. Sure it is possible to learn kitesurfing on your own, but it usually isn’t very safe. If kites were dangerous only for the user, it would be one thing. But flying a powered kite in public, without properly learning the necessary skills is dangerous for everyone around you. Therefore, we rent kites only to experienced kitesurfer. Your experience can either be proofed by a kiteboarding-certificate (IKO, VDWS, BKSA, PASA, etc) or by a quick assessment through one of our instructors.

That obviously depends on what’s hard for you? Kitesurfing is a sport that demands technique rather than physical strength. The most important skill to kitesurf is kite-control. It doesn’t need much strength to fly kites, but it needs coordination and practise to fly kites whilst riding on a board. It can be helpful to already have boarding skills, but don’t worry if you haven’t got any it’s still the kite-flying that counts.
Most importantly, you should be a confident swimmer, reasonably fit, able to act responsible and accept that you can’t control the weather.

You need a certain set of skills before we can let you fly a powered kite. We do however offer kite-intros on regular basis. Our kite-intros run for several hours and include a presentation about kitesurfing, practical flying on a small trainer-kite as well as a depowered tube-kite. If you’re not sure what you get yourself into, these intros are a great way to get a feel for the sport.

NOTE: The kite-intro does not offer the same detailed tuition as our Level1 course. If you serious about learning how to kite, you will still have to take a full course afterwards. We do however offer special rates for our courses, to all participants of the intros.