Tag Archives: kiteboard

Never “Board” in California

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In a land of limitless possibilities, it almost makes it difficult to plan events. When I found out that Darren’s brother was coming to stay with us for 10 days, I wanted to organize the best activities that southern California has to offer, but where to start? What things did Darren and I like the most? What new events would we like to try? What would quench Kev’s thirst for sun, sand, and outdoors? Choices, choices, choices. The line up included a glider lesson with Soaring Academy, kiteboarding with SoCal Kiteboarding, surfing with Banzai Surf School, and a trip to Sea World. Each activity offered something new and exciting, but kiteboarding was the one activity that Kev wanted to try the most. Living in the mountains of Banff National Park, Canada, he was hoping to take the skills that he learned from kiteboarding on water and apply them to the snowy slopes of  British Columbia and Alberta; his lesson with SoCal Kites certainly didn’t disappoint!
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Go Fly a Kite! Testing the Prism Snapshot 2.5

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Darren is hooked!

Understanding the wind window, learning to generate constant power, controlling apparent wind, getting use to the forces of the power zone… the constant tinkering of kiteboarding had Darren thinking about it since his lesson with SoCal Kiteboarding two weeks ago. Since kite skills are about 70% of kiteboarding, we decided to test out a trainer kite and learn to control the kite before taking any more lessons. Trainer kites cost very little compared to real riding gear and they are far more durable. With only one lesson under Darren’s belt, and a big fat zero for me, crashing the kite while learning is a pretty good possibility; making the durability a major selling point. The trainer kite is a lot smaller as well so it will generate less power and be much safer. Continue reading →

Life’s too Short to Say, “Maybe Next Year”! Crossing Kiteboarding Off the Bucket List

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Darren and I don’t like to wait for adventure! We’ve tried to accomplish every dream imaginable and we’re doing a great job with it. About two years ago, he told me he wanted to try kiteboarding. He watched countless videos on the techniques and skills involved and he wanted to get out on the water. Life has a funny way of happening, though, and we forgot about his dream to master the kite on the water. We planned on trying it together two years ago when we were in Florida but the timing was off and we never made it. We tried again when we were in Jamaica for our wedding but the winds wouldn’t cooperate and, alas, it never happened. Darren was starting to take it as a sign that kiteboarding wasn’t in his future and he left it slip to the back of his mind.You’d think since we live in southern California we would have tried it by now, but no such luck. Finally, two weeks ago, I looked up kiteboarding companies in the area and I was determined to schedule a full course-to-ride lesson for him. On Saturday, he finally crossed kiteboarding lessons off of his bucket list… only to add purchasing kiteboarding equipment to his new list since he loved it so much. With similarities to sailing and tinkering skills required for perfection, Darren found a new hobby to add to his extensive list. Continue reading →