Kiteboarding Magazine

Kristin
2009-10-29 11:04:31 | 1660 views | 0 Comments

The advantage of wave riding with a kite is using the kite's power to get you in and out of situations before something can go wrong.

Timing is essential. As you approach a wave that is going to break soon, you can do one of three things:

1) carve a turn on the face of the wave and begin to ride it back in
2) turn around immediately before getting hammered
3) jump the entire wave

Obviously, riding the wave is your goal, but until your timing is right, use the power of your kite to give you options. Once you are on the wave, identify whether the surf is going to break to the right or left then ride in the same direction, close to where the wave is breaking. This is where the steepest and best section of the wave is.

Sometimes you may find yourself in a closeout situation where the entire wave breaks behind you (as shown in the photo). Before the wave closes out and knocks you down, power up your kite to get in front of the white water where you are safe. If the wave takes you out, turn your kite away from the beach so it pulls you out of the white water and through the wave instead of getting tumbled in toward shore.

Like any good surfer knows, take a seat and look at the conditions before heading out. You need to find the easy way out to where the waves are breaking and are rideable. Understand the timing of the sets and the period of the waves.

As with any surf lineup, there is an order to riding and sharing waves; this follows with kiteboarding.