Last weekend when the wind was a bit less ferocious than it is at the moment there were a lot of people kitesurfing on the seafront. Pretty much everyone goes about it in a considerate and safe fashion and in general there are very few issues.

However there is a trend for beginners to feel that they are capable of riding there before they are ready. The swimming area situated next to the main launching area is on the face of it a nice learning zone with flat shallow water and a reasonable amount of room. There are some serious issues with this area the main one is that the conditions that it works on are inevitably dead onshore southerly winds. This leads to isssues of kitesurfers crashing their kite on the beach and getting dragged across the beach. This happened at least twice on saturday with 2 pedestrians in 2 seperate incidents being hit by crashing kites and in one case the person was really badly afffected by the incident.

In both cases the riders were struggling with basic kite control on old fashioned kites and were unable to ride. Everyone understands that people will crash their kite whilst learning and all proficient kiters have a responsibility to help learners to be safe. In my opinion if you are learning you need to answer yes to the following questions befroe trying to ride off the seafront.

1. Can i control the kite properly whilst getting in, out of the water and getting the board on my feet
2. Can i do a safe and controlled waterstart without crashing the kite
3. Can i ride safely in both directions and turn around without crashing the kite
4. Can i Stay upwind whilst riding.

If you can’t say yes to these questions you shouldnt ride on the seafront. Stick to the duckpond and Westward ho/ Saunton.

As of this weekend we are starting to run lessons again so if you need a refresher or simply want a lift to the sandbar please pop into the shop.