Dispatch, Kiteboarding

When something makes me really happy I want to share it.
  Kite boarding is done with a board similar to that for snowboarding or wakeboarding in that you stand on a board and go left or right, down a hill, being pulled by a boat, or in the case of kiteboarding, being pulled by a kite. The kite may be 8' high and 20' wide. In addition to power lines that are attached to a harness strapped around your waist and pull you along, there are control lines attached to a control bar used to steer the kite. You need to learn how to control the kite, and to control the board.





 The first time I saw kiteboarding was about 2002 and I was captivated. All it takes is a kite that will fit in a backpack, a board, and a harness to go around your waist. It is not brute power like waterskiing or wake boarding; it is using the wind to pull you, skimming along the surface of the water. To me it was exotic, and I knew that I could learn to do it. Normandie bought the first kite "trainer" maybe 4' wide, and I took it when I went to Houston. On the weekends I would take it to Galveston Beach and fly it, learning the feel of control. After a year I graduated to a next larger size that Normandie had been learning with. This one was large enough to hurt you if not handled correctly.
 The next step is to fly a real kite from the land. I was back in North Carolina by then and we would take the Bronco to the beach down from Carolina Beach where nobody else was, and attempt to fly it. After many crashes and tangled lines both of us were getting good enough for the next step, having the kite drag you through the water without a board; flying and controlling the kite while being dragged. I took some lessons in 2010 and 2011. I was beginning to start learning how to get up. Throughout this process Normandie was a year ahead of me. One reason was that she started learning before I did, the other was that it takes wind of about 16 knots for me to get up, she can get up in 12 knot wind. Many times I was standing on the beach watching her, not pink with sunburn, but green with envy. In 2011 I realized that, not being a wakeboarder, I had no idea what to do after I got up. So I started learning how to wake board. We rigged a vertical pole on Normandie's boat for Wilmington and the Wayler For Chocowinity, and took up wakeboarding. (Normandie named the Boston Whaler the "Doarway-ler", Shortened to "Wayler".)

 This time, using the pole I did not pull my elbows out, which happened the year before when I was getting up on the wakeboard with a horizontal pull such as when waterskiing. In 2010 I was getting up, sortta, in the marginal conditions (13 to 15 knots) we had that fall.
  A world class kiteboarding beach has steady, dependable wind, access, and a vast area of water waist deep. Only experts can kiteboard in deep water. You need to be able to stand up to launch the kite and prepare to start. Normandie found such a place in Turks & Caicos. Every year she and her mother go off for an adventure. This year it was Turks & Caicos. I would take the boat down and meet them there. Some years back a European couple went to Turks & Caicos to go kiteboarding. They enjoyed it so much they bought a small "Villa" complex, nestled in tropical lushness, on the kiteboarding beach. They have eight units (efficiency apartments) in two buildings, with pool, hot tub, etc. Normandie had gotten one of the units for the week she and Marjorie would be there. I would leave "Advent II" in an anchorage for the week.

 The rest of the story is that I put it all together. Normandie and I would take turns. She would go out maybe a mile and back, then give me the kite and I would go out and back. It was glorious. I had been wanting to do it for years and now it was a reality. We would stay on the beach after all the other kiteboaders had gone in. We didn't want to stop.
  This trip has been an absolute success. Thank you Normandie.
Bill Doar