A day in the life of a kitesurfer:
Kite boarding is not just a sport, it is a lifestyle.
First thing in the morning, with only one eye open, we check the wind forecast for the day. Once able to open both eyes, we look out the window to see if the trees are moving in the wind yet. If it doesn’t look like we are going to be able to get onto the water straight away, we start the day by doing necessary things, like eating or going to work.
But straight after that, if the wind is on, we are ready to get onto the water. Rocking up at local beach, we set up our gear within 4.5 minutes and get changed into our wetsuits. Now we could be ready to hit the water but first we have got to make sure to quickly catch up with our fellow kitesurfers.
“Hey bro, what kite size are you taking? 9m? Yeah, thought so!” “What do you think it’s blowing out there? 25 to 28 knots? It’s gonna be epic! See you out there!”
Now that we have done the necessary catching up, we are ready for our kite boarding session.
Out on the water all we need is the wind, our kite and board and enough motivation to try this new trick we’ve been thinking about for a while now. Usually all it needs is a mate riding past and we are motivated enough to show off our skills. If close enough to the beach so others can see us, beach goers are a great motivation as well. Sometimes it can be hard to hear the cheering from the beach though, especially when the water is splashing all around our face and into your ears.
After the session we usually just hang out on the beach and flush down the saltwater with a beer.
But what to do if there is no wind?
Well, checking our kite boarding gear is an important part of the sport. Pumping up the kite in the backyard to get it to dry, waxing our lines so they are protected and tightening the screws on our fins and boots. On day 2 of no wind, we just watch ‘how to’ videos on YouTube to visualise the next trick on the list or read kite boarding magazines to learn about the latest gear.
If there is still not enough wind on day 3, we just head over to our local kite boarding shop and buy a bigger kite or a foil board!
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