Defecting Kiters

[kpsounis]

interesting thread indeed, as traig said. I am still windsurfing and kitesurfing on the waves, and my take is that it is a matter of having the right tool each time. after being a davenport local for five years, and then a malibu local for another five, and always travelling to find good waves, here is my take:

down in south cal, waves are smaller than in north cal, and winds are lighter. hence, it makes little sense (sorry pals from sc) to insist on wavesailing, unless you drive to jalama in a regular basis. kitesurfing not only gives me more days in the water, but also is more fun to ride a head high (or less, this is sc we are talking about) wave with a small surfboard than a windsurf board. (by the way, a small kiteboard is 6 foot or more, don't do the mistake of using such a small board that you end up "riding" with the wind instead of truly surfing the wave).

in places like san carlos or up north (e.g. davenport-scotts creek zone), things are less clear because these places tend to be a lot windier than south cal. nobody likes slogging. if you can't plane on a windsurf board, just get over it and kite. but, on a 4.5 or 5.0 (sail) day, windsurfing is a lot of fun. in such windy days, the question is how large is the wave. up north waves can be mast high easily. anything more than logo high is a lot of fun on a windsurf board with a typical length of 250cm. san carlos on good souths can get logo high easily. so, with big waves and wind, windsurfing makes a lot of sense to me. this also explains why a lot of guys stick to windsurfing in maui. windy, big waves, it's just so much fun to ride hookipa (minus the crowds). but, once waves get smaller than head high, one just needs a smaller board to match the smaller wave size, and kitesurfing is the winner.

last, kitesurfing has its problems too: try kitesurfing in very gusty conditions and it is really no fun, e.g. at jalama once the wind turns N-NW. or, try kitesurfing with large waves and zero wind on the inside (zero = not enough to even keep the kite on the sky). at least on a windsurf, in such very light days, you can slowly get out, get on a large set, ignore the sail and ride. (assuming you are into slogging, I am not. I prefer to paddle if it is that light.)

so, use the right tool for the right conditions to have max fun.

[tetiaroaxx]

Don't forget all the things that made windsurfing so un-cool in the first place............................

[seyfo]

Is that isobars on the first one?

[coachg]

Or the things that made kiting so cool.

http://forums.iwindsurf.com/viewtopic.php?t=15784

Coachg

[nealpar]

[beallmd]

look at that; windsurfers, kiter, surfers all living blissfully together. Maybe SOCAL really is paradise.

[dinoman8]

I have to say as a windsurfer for the last 15 years, yesterday I took a kite lesson. The love of windsurfing is not gone. But the time and travel to get the kind of wind I like, now with a wife and family.... is LIMITED.
So a 12-16 wind spread for a stoke in the waves, or just across the bay is a much more appealing use of time. I also liked the size of the gear, a bag and a board? Fits in most any car, not the van I drive to hold 3 boards and 6 sails... You get the picture.. I found in a 2 hour lesson, I was just about ready for a run with the board, but thge wind had dropped to 10, but I did get up a couple of times. Next week I will do it again!
Dino

[boggsman1]

C'mon bro , you never have three boards and six sails in your van!
One board and two sails is your standard travel kit. I wish I could go back three years and get the quote about wife and family when you were single and i was swinging by Crissy on the way to Costco to get diapers and wipes.

Boggsman

[jpf18]

[theq]