Two Beers and a Pretzel

The other week when we were taking Meghan to meet her friend at the Vineyards, we drove the Pacific Coast Highway for a bit and saw some people kite-surfing near Ventura.  Brian and I both thought that looked really cool.  He went to Vegas this weekend.  I booked kitesurfing lessons and took my first one.

The first lesson was all about safety, setup, and controlling the kite.  I got to the point where I could setup and self launch and land a 10m kite, as well as sail it neutral.

You wear a harness around your hips & legs to anchor the kite, and control it with the bar.

Then I learned how to get power out of the kite.  WOW!!  It was a near perfect lesson, as we started the day with light winds around 8-10 knots, and by the end of the lesson we were getting gusts of 20-25 knots.  After practicing letting the kite drag me around the beach (while standing and leaning against the pull), I hit a big gust on a power sweep and it pulled me a few feet into the air.  I somehow managed to avoid landing on my face.  It was not graceful, but it was amazingly fun!!!

My next lesson will be a review of what I’ve learned, then I go out and get dragged around in the water.  Eventually they’ll let me use a board…

After that, there’s a whole crew of people that take regular trips to Baja, Mexico to ride the wind on 6 mile runs parallel to the beach.  I can’t wait!!