1 Day Kitesurfing Course Taster

 

Course duration - 5 hours tuition time (total course time ≈ at least 6 hours)

Cost – £95 – everything included

Kitesurfing is the combination of kite flying skills and board control. Initially learning to control the kite is the most important factor which is covered in the one day course. The 1 day Kitesurfing Lesson is aimed at mastering the control whilst being safe and having fun. 

This kitesurfing lesson is an ideal birthday or Christmas present in the form of a kitesurfing gift voucher.

  

1 Day Kitesurfing Course Outline  

                 This 1 day Kitesurfing Course  covers all the theory and safety aspects of the sport but is still 80% practical for maxium fun!!

- Site and Risk assessment - Theory of the wind and sea conditions - Equipment explanation - Wind window analysis - Power kite / trainer kite flying - Static flying exercises - LEI* (water kite) Set up - Equipment tuning - Safe kite launch / land techniques - Introduction to depowerable LEI kites    - Flying of LEI’s using harnesses - Controlled Body dragging - Deep water / emergency pack down - Tidy Pack away methods - Debrief and hand outs

*Leading Edge Inflatable’ – these are the kites we use in the water, explanation below  

        

 Kitesurfing can be a dangerous sport if not learnt and taught properly, for this reason we spend the first part of the lesson covering some theory and safety both on the white board and beach so you understand the sport and have a safe and highly enjoyable kitesurfing lesson. We will cover the skills needed to carry out your own risk and site assessments whenever turning up at any beach. The short lesson will also cover knowledge of the wind and tides then its effects on kitesurfing and a brief explanation of the equipment we use for kitesurfing. We will refer to the knowledge learnt in these lessons throughout the day to help you understand and cover the kitesurfing equipment in more detail.

 

With the theory and safety covered we can move onto the fun part – kite flying!

Eighty percent of learning to Kitesurf is mastering the control of the kite and understanding how to manage the power so it can be generated and controlled when need be.

After briefly setting up some power / training kites, we will summarize the controls with a demonstration and explanation then allow you to fly under our instruction. We start with very small kites with limited power so you can learn to fly them without the fear of being out of control

    

This session will be used to run through basic exercises which will be referred to again later in the day when we enter the water. As you gain control, confidence and are content, we will increase the size of the kite to allow you to feel the power.

 

We will never put you in a situation that is dangerous and beyond your capabilities. All the kites we use have safety systems which instantly stop the power of the kite under the users demand.

  

 

 

 Usually at this point we would have a break to grab a drink or sandwich if it’s near lunch time. During the summer months there is AJ’s catering van in the car park which serves hot food and refreshments.

  

 We take this opportunity to get you fitted up with wetsuits, harnesses, buoyancy aids and helmets ready for the rest of the kitesurf lessons activities – these are all included in the lesson cost.

Using our onsite facilities you can get changed out of the wind in the warmth of our centre’s changing room in addition to leaving your belongings in the secured environment. 

      

After the short break we proceed with the set up of the LEI’s* firstly with a demonstration then getting you to set up your own. It is important to understand how these work so we will give a briefing on how to tune the kites for different conditions as well. LEI’s are Leading Edge Inflatable’s – the kites we use for the water. We pump them up as they have internal bladder to hold their shape in the sky and aid their relaunch when on the water. They are a single skin unlike the parachute like power / trainer kites.

Before entering the water it is important to understand how to launch and land the kites safely and how to activate the safety systems before moving onto the harness work. A demonstration of controlled launching and landing will offer the opportunity to comprehend the skill and practice throughout the course will help you learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into the sea- everybody will get a chance to fly the kite in waist deep water before going any further. Once it has become a little more natural to fly, we can move onto body dragging.

 Body dragging consists of using the kite to drag you through the water. This is a really fun exercise which is continued until we exit the water. There will be a MAXIMUM of 4 students per qualified instructor and usually you will be working with one kite between two.

 

 

Once we have exited we the water you will be shown how to pack the kite down in deep water in an emergency situation (deep water/ emergency pack down). We will run through different scenarios and ways in which you can rescue yourself and get to safety or picked up by the rescue services. This is a very important part of the course so you will be asked to demonstrate it yourselves.

 

At the end of the lesson we will debrief and offer hand outs including information of the theory and interesting magazines. This is just the beginning of kitesurfing and we highly recommend getting further lessons on the 2^nd or 3^rd day to complete the body dragging exercises, become really proficient with the kite and moving onto the board starts. Although the one day course covers a lot of information and is a great fun adventurous experience, you will not cover enough to learn the sport and continue on your own.

 

What you need to bring with you: Sensible sturdy pair of shoes, towel, swimming costume, suncream, sunglasses, and warm clothes if it’s cold