coastal kiting - when am I ready?

[jethrozimm]

Hi everyone,

I'm a second year kiter (took lessons with Boardsports last April) and am at the point where I feel comfortable kiting at 3rd, Coyote, Alameda, and Toll Plaza. I live in SF and have been carpooling with a friend who started the same time I have. We've been talking about trying some coastal locations such as Ocean Beach, Dillon, or Waddell and I'm hoping for a little feedback around kiting at these locations or on the coast in general.

Questions:
- Is there anything I should be prepared for in kiting on the Coast vs. Bay?
- I only have twin tip board(s) and am wondering if riding a surfboard on the coast is either required or recommended? I am picking one up from Board Sports to learn on this summer and didn't know I should be able to ride one before heading to the coast
- Do any of these VHF radios look acceptable?! http://www.westmarine.com/handheld-vhf-radios

thanks for any help/ advice.

[jjm]

Hi everyone,

I'm a second year kiter (took lessons with Boardsports last April) and am at the point where I feel comfortable kiting at 3rd, Coyote, Alameda, and Toll Plaza. I live in SF and have been carpooling with a friend who started the same time I have. We've been talking about trying some coastal locations such as Ocean Beach, Dillon, or Waddell and I'm hoping for a little feedback around kiting at these locations or on the coast in general.

In my opinion, Dillon Beach is a great place and your best bet to start riding the coast. It's not very crowded, you don't have to immediately contend with shoredump and greater spacing between waves so you're not constantly hopping whitewater.

Questions:
- Is there anything I should be prepared for in kiting on the Coast vs. Bay?

How comfortable in the ocean are you or how much experience do you already have? Be prepared for hold downs, washing machine, board is going to get away from you.

With kite down in the water a wave can grab your kite and is going to submarine you and take you for a ride and/or blow out panels.

The speed of the wave, especially when wind is more onshore can slack your lines and cause kite to fall out of the sky.

If you're floating/body dragging in the water and wave is coming at you, try to keep your kite in a position to pull you through the wave. If kite is overhead or on wrong side it can push you and slack the lines as mentioned above.

White water has a mixture of air and is less dense than water so you/board won't float as well. With more onshore wind (OB in particular) hitting the whitewater/currents can cause you to lose momentum/board speed/apparent wind.

There is the standard rule of "don't go out father than you're willing to swim" but stop and think about the conditions at the moment. Are you prepared to swim in from outside if you get separated from your kite/board?

ROW changes a bit, e.g. http://www.mauikiteboardingassociation. ... rules.html.

- I only have twin tip board(s) and am wondering if riding a surfboard on the coast is either required or recommended? I am picking one up from Board Sports to learn on this summer and didn't know I should be able to ride one before heading to the coast

Most people at coastal spots will have surfboards and focusing on riding waves. A surfboard is not required, but might be better suited for example punching through white water. Before you rig up stop and watch the traffic patterns and if there are any defined peaks where the waves are breaking. You won't make friends if you're constantly short tacking and jumping where everyone is trying to ride waves.

[Frappes]

I would avoid Ocean Beach until you are super comfortable riding on the coast; the conditions can get very burly. I consider myself a very competent kiter and I still don't feel very comfortable there.

This happened to me just a month a and half ago:

[tomf82]

Prerequisite skills for surf:
--Be able to perform small jumps in both directions to boost over whitewater(particularly while going right in coastal CA)
--Be able to jibe on a dime to avoid breaking waves and other riders. Ability to ride toe side isn't required but massively useful.
--Solid body dragging skills, kite handling skills(like looping to recover a stalling kite while you are getting pushed by a wave), self-rescue and ability/stamina to swim in surf.

If you don't have a background in playing in the surf(surfing, bodyboarding, bodysurfing) I strongly suggest getting some before heading out there with a kite.

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

[tgautier]

Agree with all the posts so far. One thing you can do however is take it in small strides. You can go to ocean beach and stay on the inside. This will teach you about getting out and riding waves without too much danger.

However this can be challenging on a crowded and or low wind day.

Kiting on the inside can actually be more difficult than the outside so if you can manage this then you're ready to tackle waves. I recommend a down winder to help you leave and understand how to kite wjth the waves not against them.

And there's always gazos Dillon Etc for a more chill time.

OB is pretty gnarly most of the time.

[WindMuch]

Interesting and relevant comments and warnings above, particularly about Ocean Beach. The place has many faces, many somewhat fierce. Be careful there, especially if the surf is more than waist high. And it's usually larger than it looks from the parking lot.

One other thing I haven't seen mentioned above - find out (or decide) if you are stronger riding 'Regular foot' (left foot forward) or 'Goofy foot' (right foot forward) and use this strength to your advantage in the surf.

For example, I ride most comfortably with my left foot forward ('Regular foot'). This is just a natural strength/preference and most riders will find they have a similar inclination. If you've skateboarded or snowboarded or surfed, you probably have a good sense of which way you feel strongest. Use this to your advantage when kiting in the surf. Here's a link to a couple ways to test your 'footedness': http://www.the-house.com/portal/am-i-go ... al-stance/

When I ride in the surf here on the west coast where the wind is predominantly coming from the west, north or northwest (onshore or side-shore from the right), I leave the beach on a toe-side tack. Being regular foot, this puts me in a position to make a quick turn, (to heel-side), back to the beach in the event that a wave or other rider is approaching. This is commonly referred to as a 'chicken jibe' and is an important move to have dialed, especially when the surf gets big or you're riding in crowded conditions.

Here is a video I made for a friend a few years ago when he was beginning to ride in the surf, showing some basic moves and kite skills:

https://vimeo.com/128726720[/video]

Hope this helps!

Kirk out

[windstoked]

All good advice by others. I agree with JJM that Dillon is the best place to start in Norcal, because the wind is side/onshore, the waves are usually broken up with a larger first break a couple hundred yards out and a second smaller break closer in.
A twintip works fine in the ocean. You should be proficient enough that you don't get your kite wet unless you're pushing new limits and know how to self-rescue, etc.
Being proficient at boosting isn't mandatory, but strongly advised for going over big breakers on the way out.
Surfing waves with a twintip using heelside carving/sliding at first is easier, with toeside carving after you've gained proficiency at that in calmer waters.