Continue reading for kitesurfing click the button below for the Wing foiling FAQ

Is Kitesurfing difficult?

• Everyone learns at a different pace, depending on their abilities, sports background, limitations etc. In saying that, on average most students are getting to their first water starts on the board after 3-5 hours of professional instruction. At Smile Kitesurf, your instructor will only move you to the next level AFTER you feel confident on the previous one.

• Windsurfing, sailing, skateboarding, wakeboarding, paragliding, snowboarding all these sports can help you get on the water faster each bringing their own strengths and weaknesses.

• With that said if you have no experience in any of these sports the instructor won’t have to break any bad habits!

How many lessons will I need?

• After around 6 hours of lessons students tend to reach the point of independence.

• Some people will require less and some people will require more, everyone is different.

• The instructors will change and adapt the lessons based to how you are performing as an individual.

• Smile Kitesurf will strengthen the areas we see you are needing in order to build your kitesurfing confidence sooner.

• If you are showing a lack of knowledge or skill in a certain area, the instructor will simply wind things back and focus on that area to ensure you are having a good time and not getting frustrated. We may evgen move to a another skill or exercise to help you build the skill that is required.

What type of board could I ride?

• You will be learning on twin tip boards for your lessons, which are bi-directional boards that can ride both directions without having to turn it 180 degrees.

• After your feel confident and safe kitesurfing, you can pick any discipline you would like, each with their own subtle difference, learning curve, pros and cons:

  • Twin tip boards - weight tends to be on the back heel can be ridden in both directions. Choice of either boots or straps. Straps are perfect for beginners as they are the easiest to learn on and can remove and walk back up the beach.

  • Unidirectional/Surfboards - more weight on the front foot when riding. Can only travel in a single direction in the beginning. Great for going upwind and use on less windy days. Easier on the knees can be a steeper learning curve to begin with as you can be stuck trying to ride in one direction until you are able to tack/jibe.

  • Foil boards - Difficult and steep learning curve no matter how long you have been kiting for. All weight is on the front foot to keep the foil down or ‘in flight’. Once mastered has best upwind ability and perfect in extremely light winds for exploring. Large outlay for complete set of equipment. Now an Olympic sport!

  • Fin-less boards - skim boards, boogie boards and fin-less surfboards add an extra layer of fun and challenge to kiteboarding in very shallow water.

Do you have to be strong?

You don’t need to be super-fit to kitesurf, however, you should be comfortable swimming in open water, for safety reasons.

A kitesurfing kit is lightweight, so you don’t need lots of muscle strength either. However, a general level of fitness will help you progress faster, give you more stamina on the water and help you avoid injuries.

• You need little to no strength at all. The power of the kite actually pulls you through your harness/waist and effectively holds you up on top of the water.

• Your arms are simply there for looks and to do the occasional movement of the kite through the power zone or pull the bar to lift you that little bit more.

• Once you are going though there is very little input at all just a slight pressure on the bar to keep the kite in the air. The more you relax into it and focus on the feeling of what is going on the easier it is and the faster you develop.

What time are your lessons?

• The wind is predictably unpredictable! If there are kiteable winds in the morning the lessons will be scheduled in the morning. If not they will be changed based on the forecast.

• We will contact you of any changes to the forecast. We unfortunately do not control the wind and will do everything in our power to give you the best possible lesson experience and help you choose the best time slot that ‘looks’ to have the best winds!

What is a safe place to learn?

• Any body of water with a sandy bottom in knee to waist deep is the best location to learn. (please check locally about any dangerous animals that may be present in that area first).

• The most important elements for kitesurfing are consistent winds, space so you can launch/land your kite away from trees, rocks, cars, power lines and someone to help you.

• No hazards (rocks, people ect.) downwind in case you do need to do a self rescue or ‘flag out’ your kite.

• All of our lessons take place in the ocean in around waist deep waters for your own safety and two line lengths clear downwind and away from the beach. We also incorporate 2 way radios so we may communicate freely.

Awesome, that’s great! What about crocodiles, sharks and stingers?

• Crocodiles are very similar to sharks in the sense that we are visitors to their environment. If there is a crocodile sighted in the area we DO NOT carry out any lessons for a few days after the sighting/confirmation that the crocodile has been relocated. Usually they are just cruising by during the summer months when they are more active but they can be anywhere at any time.

• Local kiters to Bowen and people of the community that we have spoken to, have not had any issue with salt water Estuarine crocodiles frequenting the kitesurfing lesson locations. Check out Be Crocwise to educate yourself a bit more and the “QWildlife” app for all recently reported sightings.

• Stingers are generally blown in to shore after a few days of strong consistent Northerly winds. They do not like open rough waters so tend to look for calmer waters around mangroves and estuaries. You will be given the option of wearing a stinger suit every lesson. The instructor will check the beach/water before every lesson and deem if it is safe to go out.

  Smile Kitesurf will take all common precautions to minimize and eliminate the risk of being stung by jellyfish. If you would like to educate yourself more about the marine stingers and what to do please see the surf life saving website.

What should I bring to the lesson?

• Just bring yourself, a water bottle, sunscreen, hat, a wetsuit if you feel the cold, a smile and a positive attitude!

• We will supply all kitesurfing and safety equipment unless otherwise advised.
  

If your question isn’t answered, please get in contact with us smile@smilekitesurf.com