14 Kitesurfing
Northam Burrows, North Devon
Enjoyment - 70%
Success - 25%
Will try again - Maybe
First timer's recommendation – It’s expensive to get going, but once you have all the gear it is essentially free. Just make sure you’re 100% committed before you spend hundreds on kites, harnesses and bars.
We were down in Devon for a week’s holiday at Easter, for the first time since the year started with surfing on New Year’s Day. Further along the beach at Westward Ho! from where the surfers go is an area reserved for kit sports. You can often see them in the distance from the seafront, but it’s not a sport I’ve had any experience with at all. Myself and my father-in-law Pete signed up for kitesurfing 101, with Robin from 514 Elemental taking us for a five-hour lesson.
We started on the Burrows, with a smaller power kite, to learn the basics of handling the thing, which was more difficult than it looks when you drive past Blackheath and see kids playing with them. The session after a lunch break was spent in the water, with bigger kites, inflated along the leading edge (LEIs I think they call them). We had to change from a 6 meter to an 8 meter as the wind died down, with the general rule being the stronger the wind the smaller kite you go for. This does make it a potentially expensive hobby as you could need 2-3 kites to cover all conditions, plus your harness, bars, wetsuit, helmet and buoyancy aid.
It was really good fun, especially when you get the hang of bringing the kite through the ‘windows’ and learn to get more control, and if I had the time and a bit more spare cash it would be tempting to carry on with the lessons and invest in some (second-hand) gear. However time and spare cash are two things I haven’t got in abundance this year, so I will try out some wakeboarding at the nearby wakepark to get some more practice at surfing at speed before maybe returning in a few years' time…
