Finally! an extreme sport where decapitation is a REAL danger!

[steelasp]

Kitesurfing, or kiteboarding. My dad has the rig. I'm going to take up this, the most awesome of wind driven sports. Hopefully, it will get me in shape. I cant stand working out just to work out. I need a fun activity. And since this combines some of my favorite things, stunt kites, water, and high speed, I think it's the sport for me.
Some tricks:
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some failures:
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just for fun:
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The kite my dad has is 12 square meters. The practice kite that I've been flying on land to get the hang of controlling the kite, is 1 square meter, and it pulls me around, even with a light breeze. Those kite lines are under unbelievable tension, and will cut off appendages if you get tangled in them, so it's a bit dangerous... But I can't fucking wait to try it.

[Supreme]

Bah, looking for a sport more lethal and extreme?
Try BASE jumping. It will BLOW YOUR MIND and give "Real Danger" a whole new definition. :p

LOL here you go:
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I kid, I kid, kite surfing is fun too. :D Good luck with your new found hobby!

[53V3N]

Steelasp, that looks like fun x 100. Be sure to post pics/footage of yourself out on the waves when you get them.

My hands literally started sweating watching that base jumping video. I don't think that's the sport for me.

My favorite activity is rock climbing. I have no problem with heights really but I like to be attached to the structure. Like the saying goes, "It's not the fall that kills you but rather the sudden stop at the bottom".

[ready_aim_rock]

Jeb Corliss = Jebus Jr. Period.

Ever seen Stunt Junkies? They had Jason Sleazak jumping a small island on a kiteboard. Amazing stuff!

[steelasp]

So I went out and flew the practice kite today(1 square meter). I had a blast. I got out in the water, and let it drag me down the beach. I only crashed the kite once, and that was while I was walking it up the beach looking the wrong direction, and got my steering backwards. I kept letting it drag me, and then walking the kite back up the beach while my dad was out windsurfing.

After he came back in from windsurfing, my dad wanted to try the new kite harness he just got, with the big kite(12 square meters!), so he did the same thing, went for a drag without the board. Well, it dragged him through the water, he was bobbing in and out of the water up to his knees. He only went about 20 feet, and there was someone in the water in the way of his kite. Instead of getting out of the way, she just stares stupidly at the kite as my dad is being dragged right towards her, and he had to crash the kite to avoid decapitating her with his lines. That's where the fun began. He was too far out to touch the bottom, and couldn't get the kite back uprite, so it just kept dragging him straight down wind. Luckily the wind was blowing straight along the beach. I chased him a quarter mile down the beach, and jumped in the water and started swimming to help him get the kite under control.

Now, I'm a fat fuck who just quit a 10 year, pack a day, cigarette habit less than two months ago. I have made a vow to myself to start a healthier life style(thus the kiteboarding as my intended new hobby) along with giving up smoking, but I'm not there yet. So I start swimming out to him, I;m wearing my t-shirt, hat, and shades, and trying not to get my $200 shades in the sea water, so I'm not using my energy very efficiently. By the time I get out far enough, he's already down wind of me, and there's no way I'm catching up.

Great. Now I'm way out in the water, exhausted, and I've still got to help him before his nice $1500 kite washes up on the rocks. I nearly drown getting back to shore, clamber out of the water, wheezing, panting, and coughing, and start running down the beach. I run/walk/stumble another 1/4 mile, and finally get far enough down wind of the kite that I can jump in the water and swim to it. Fuck the shades, they're already wet. I grab the edge of the kite, and it skates right back to shore, pushing me along with it. We walk it back up the beach to where we started.

This may sound masochistic, but I had so much fucking fun. I got my heart really racing for the first time in a while with the running and the swimming, and got a great upper body workout from flying the practice kite all afternoon.. I'm ordering my own harness, and I'm going out in the next week or two. Fuck lessons, fuck more kite practice, I've got the kite down pat. I want to fly the BIG kite. I want to jump on that board and fly. Video will come soon ladies and gentlemen, including some video of me failing horribly. Hopefully that stage will go by fast.

And that's how I spent my afternoon! What did you guys do?

[mdotpandie]

Oh, man, that sounds like a BLAST! Makes me really miss the ocean. Good luck! :thumbsup:

[steelasp]

I went out this morning and flew the big kite. There wasn't much wind, but it picked up for a while when a squall came through, and I got hauled around pretty good. I worked on upwind water dragging. If I can get that down, I won't have to wear an ankle strap to the board, because I'll be able to use the kite to pull me right to the board when I fall. The ankle strap is handy, but dangerous, because when you fall, the leash pulls on the board, which tends to dig into the water, and then slingshot right toward you.

So after I flew it for a while, my dad took a turn, and got dragged way down the beach. He hasn't gotten the hang of the upwind deal yet. Then it was my turn again, and I was just about ready to try getting on the board, when the wind died completely, and we couldn't even get the kite in the air. Anyway, my new harness is good, and I got to feel what it's like to be hooked in to the big kite. I hope the wind picks up tomorrow. I'm getting really excited about this. I forgot my camera, but I'll take it if we go tomorrow, and get some pics or video.

[disturbed86]

If adrenaline rush with a risk of decapitation is what you're after, you could always go to Japan and throw things at the Yakuza.

But seriously, that looks like some fun shit! Also I want to try base jumping, but probably without so many sharp-looking buildings nearby.

[Slacker]

Jeb Corliss = Jebus Jr. Period.

Ever seen Stunt Junkies? They had Jason Sleazak jumping a small island on a kiteboard. Amazing stuff!

Oh you mean this?

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Haha, kite surfing looks like too much fun. You thinking on trying to go far with this sport?

[steelasp]

That guy cheated, he used a ramp. I would be impressed if he popped that off a wave.
This guy is jumping a boat with no waves, and hardly any wind.
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and

If you're using a ramp, you can do this
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Who am I kidding? It's going to be a long time before I try any jumps like that on purpose, but it's my understanding that when you're learning, you get a lot of air without meaning to. My dad once got lofted 15 feet in the air, and that was without a board. He drifted about 40 feet, and didn't come down until he crashed the kite.

[Slacker]

That's crazy, that dude totally beat out the guy on "stunt junkies."

[assassinhold]

dude, play motopaintball without a facemask or a helmet. (motopaintball: go out to the desert or something like it, with paintball guns, on motorcycles (dirt bikes?) and play paintball while going at a minimum 40mph.

[davampress]

dude, play motopaintball without a facemask or a helmet. (motopaintball: go out to the desert or something like it, with paintball guns, on motorcycles (dirt bikes?) and play paintball while going at a minimum 40mph.

No one gives a fuck...and you were saying steelasp

[steelasp]

So. The winds have returned, and I've been able to start practicing again, so I thought I'd revive this thread. I went to the beach today with my dad and an old windsurfing buddy of his that came to visit. He brought two kites with him, a 12 meter, and an 18.5 meter.
I flew the 12 meter today, and it was a blast, but the wind was a bit to light for it. I was unable to maintain control of the kite while getting my feet into the straps on the board, so I have concluded that I need more practice just flying the kite.
So this guy is leaving tomorrow, but he's leaving the 18.5 meter kite with us, as well as a new control bar with a much better safety system on it than the nonexistent safety system on the bar we have. This means I will have a kite I can use when the wind is really light like it has been lately, and I'm less likely to kill myself trying to get into this sport. I'm fairly excited now, and a lot more confident with this newer equipment.:thumbsup:

[Icarus]

This looks awesomely fun... I want to try it!

[steelasp]

I can't edit my previous post, but I looked at the bag for the kite today, and it's actually a 20.4 meter kite. Jesus fucking Christ on a stick, that's enormous. I can probably use that thing in under 5 knots, which is good, because that's what we've been having here a lot lately.

Icarus: It does look like fun, doesn't it? I can't wait till I get to the point where I can get up on the board, but even just flying the kite and being pulled around in the water is a rush.

[pick001]

How strong/fit do you have to be to do this? Seems like you have to have a lot of arm and ab strength.

[steelasp]

Stronger is certainly better. One of the reasons I'm trying to do this is to get myself back into shape. You're hooked into the kite with a harness, so arm strength isn't as important as it looks.

The kite is set up so that pulling the control bar towards you powers the kite up and gives you more power. This, and other adjustments allow you to fly the kite at the power level that is ideal for your personal level of strength, but essentially, if you're strong enough to pull the bar right in close to you, you'll be able to go faster.

Lower body strength is important too, because you have to be able to dig the edge of the board into the water and resist the pull of the kite in order to travel upwind.

[Boycott]

this makes me want to live somewhere closer to water lol...
Not saying there's no water, but there's no clean, object free water...
I've wanted to try windsurfing for a while now but all we have here are lakes surrounded by forest