Why Blog about Kiteboarding/Kitesurfing?

This is my first blog ever. Why would I decide to start one now? Well, for the first time I feel I have some experience, knowledge and advice to share on a topic I am passionate about.

I started kiteboarding in the fall of 2007. Like many students of the sport I tried to teach myself. I bought my first kite (2005 Naish Raven C-kite), my first board (148 Cabrinha Prodigy) and my first lessons (Real Kiteboarding: Zero to Hero DVD) and hit the beach. Luckily I managed not to hurt myself or anyone else as I tried to learn how to setup, launch, bodydrag, and land that monster kite. I never did make it out into the water that fall...

The following spring I decided to take lessons at the Best Kiteboarding Center in Amityville, NY. After a couple three hour lessons I had gotten up on the board for a couple seconds and was officially hooked. While I would have loved to keep taking lessons I couldn't afford the cost. Luckily I met another newbie who had a boat and we spent the summer of 2008 teaching ourselves in the Great South Bay of Long Island, NY.

By the Fall of 2008 I was confident enough to try a downwinder through the Great South Bay. I quickly realized that downwinders allow you to progress very quickly. You no longer have to worry about trying to stay upwind. A downwinder allows you to keep failing over and over until it starts to work. After you learn how to stay upwind, you can focus on improving your heelside and toeside riding style, turns, and eventually jumps.

I am still learning every session. This sport has an amazing learning curve. It starts off steep. A newbie has to learn how to control a powerful kite while learning how to wakeboard. Getting up and taking your first couple tacks may seem impossible in the beginning. Once you overcome that initial hurdle the learning curve becomes more gradual and you can look forward to building on your base every session.

The goal of this blog is to help you progress as quickly as possible. There seems to be a lack of basic tips and guidance on transitioning from newbie to beginner to intermediate to advanced. Over time I plan to write blogs on a variety of topics around technique and gear.

In addition this blog will serve as a guide for kiteboarding in the NYC/Long Island area. This area offers a wide variety of terrain and conditions. If it is windy there is a place to ride regardless of direction. Over time I hope to post on the most popular locations to ride in the area and the logistics behind doing downwinders in the ocean and bay.