I’m a real water-baby and will literally try anything if it’s water-based, Kite Surfing is the next step as far as I’m concerned… wake-surfing, surfing, wake-boarding are all good fun and you can constantly improve, but to start from scratch again has genuinely been super exciting.
I teamed up with Adventure Faktory’s Thuymi Do, a fellow Women’s Health’er to test our aerial and aquatic skills down at Nessnass beach with Lewis, from KITE ZONE DUBAI. It’s certainly not the easiest activity, but it’s far from being too hard. You’re expected to need around 15-20 hours of training but in all honesty, you’re likely to want to buy your own kite by hour 10!
Here’s how we got on…
First you have to learn the proper terminology so that your instructor can communicate instructions to you clearly. This includes a few pieces of equipment and positions. As with flying any kite, when kitesurfing you always stand with your back to the wind.
Once you know how to discuss the position of the kite, it’s time to get it up in the air!
Then it’s time to learn how to control it… you’re first attached to it by a harness. This is the toughest part because your body tells you to do different things, like in my head, I wanted to pull the bar towards me when I should be keeping it level or pushing it away.
The bar controls the direction of the kite, as well as the power it exudes… you will pull one side of the bar closer to you, whilst pushing the other side away to help the kite change direction. If you panic or feel out of control, let the bar go completely and it will power down.
Next it’s time for some sand skiing to get the feel of the kite pulling you across the sand…
Then you’ll test it out in the water with some body dragging so that you can get to grips with the resistance.
And when you’re ready… you can give it a go with the board on your feet!