KISS THE SKY KITEBOARDING
PASA Certified Kiteboard Instruction on Florida's Gulf Coast
Before Your Lesson!
So, you're ready for a lesson with us at Kiss The Sky Kiteboarding! There are few things you should know before the day of your lesson.
Equipment: For your lesson, we will provide all the kite gear, harness, kiteboard, and safety gear, such as helmet and life jacket. Extra items like wetsuits and booties are available for rental. (You will be in the water for awhile and could get cold, and there are some sharp shells on the bottom sometimes.)
Terminology: We will use a lot of kiteboarding terms during your lesson, and they will all be explained in detail, but here's a few to get you ahead of the curve:
Trainer Kite: this kite is used on land and during your lesson as a tool to learn basic kite steering
Power Kite: the big beautiful parachute-looking thing flying in the air that we use to harness wind in kiteboarding
Kiteboard: the board you will eventually be standing on as you ride, similar to a wakeboard, but using straps instead of bindings
Harness: the brace surrounding you at the waist, that the center kite lines will hook to, so you are
constantly connected to the kite, through the core of your body, not just your arms
Control bar: the bar that you will use to control the kite, with the steering lines connected to the ends of the bar.
Kite leash: the safety strap that connects you to the kite, so your kite won't float or fly away from you in the situation where your control bar becomes unhooked from your harness.
De-power strap: This is a strap that adjusts the power of the kite ("de-powering"), and is connected to the center lines, accessible while the kite is hooked to your waist harness.
Wind window: where you will fly the kite in relation to your body position
Edge of the window: the part of the wind window where you will fly to launch and land the kite
The kiter's clock: positions on the edge of the wind window, like a clock, i.e., 12:00 is right above you, 9:00, 10:00, & 11:00 are to the left of 12:00, and 1:00, 2:00, & 3:00 are to the right of 12:00
The power zone: this is where the effect of the wind is the strongest, as more surface area of the kite is in direct contact with full wind.
The board launch: getting going on the board from a reclined position in the water, by diving the kite, watch the video, "Board Launch" on the video page
Sheet out: pushing the control bar away from you, thus reducing the power of the kite's pull AND slowing down the speed of the kite
Relaunching a kite after crash: the inflatable kite floats on the water, until you steer it to relaunch, watch "Relaunching a Kite" on the video page
Body drag: what EVERY kiteboarder must learn, as you WILL need to know this in such cases as losing your board and self-rescue, and is achieved by holding the kite with one hand at about 45 degrees above the water, and allowing the kite to pull you through the water, your legs trailing behind you, using your free hand as a keel to go slightly upwind
Self-rescue: another skill EVERY kiteboarder must know, as there are times when things don't go as planned, such as unexpected high winds, injury, or equipment failure, and the kiter must know how to get himself and his gear safely back to shore. PLEASE learn this from a certified instructor!!!