Michelle Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 Has anyone been to Puerto Rico? I'm looking for a cheap place to stay in PR. I can go online, just wanted some personal inputs. I plan to learn to kiteboard this summer! I'll take some lessons in San Juan and then move on to Salinas to stay with some friends. Yeah....someone's got to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted May 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2007 Ok, I'll try something else. Does anyone besides Joel and I kiteboard in Colorado? You know, the mountain desert where there's no water?:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 why not hood river at mt hood? i dont do kiteboarding. haven't tried it, and my hobbies (sports) are gettin' more expensive -- snowboarding and motorcycling. maybe fishing. oy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted May 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 That's an idea. I am just trying to go to places where I know someone that I can hang out with.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 You could always come to Hawaii. The water is warm and we get good wind. We have a guest room for you to stay. I also have a training kite you could use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terryw Posted May 11, 2007 Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 I have been watching the kiteboarders at the beach for a while now. It looks like a blast. What does a decent rig cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted May 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2007 Oh thanks Bosco!!! Ah, be careful what you offer.....:rolleyes: I had an offer to go to Nebraska next weekend because apparently it is a big haven for kiting. But the water is 47F!! YEOW! Kite gear is not cheap - $6-700 for a kite, and then you have to buy the harness, board, lines, etc. But man it looks fun 'huh?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelP Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 willywhit in Mass. also kites. He's usually on the Cape I believe. I'll be up there in August and will try to get down there and meet him for a session or 2. Bordy kites now too over in the Salt lake area. It should be good there this time of year. give him a shout to find out about lessons over there. Bruce (Coiler) and Leslie are big kiters. They are in Cape Hatteras at the moment kiting :-)))). Once you've got some lessons under you give me another shout about equipment. Don't buy anything new yet since in the beginning you'll be beating the cr$p out of it at first. Used gear is very very cheap and there is a lot of good stuff out there. Let me know when you are ready for gear and I can see what I have and give a shout out to many friends with stuff. Things should be warming up soon in the upper states and then it will be fun getting wet. right now anyplace near CO will demand a wetsuit or drysuit. Hood is really cold at the moment too. Plus it's a harder place to learn at then other places. There is good advance kiting in Puerto Rico but I've not heard of any schools there. Can you go to the Dominican Republic, Cabarete???? HUGE kiting scene. lots of schools and plenty of warm sunshine and beaches :-))))... In a little bit I'll be researching a place in WY that a friend found. About 1 to 2 hrs north of Steamboat. We are just waiting for it to warm up a bit. He flew over it last fall and thinks it will work. We'll see and hope for the best. In the meantime, Independence Pass opens May 29th, I'll get about 2 weeks of snow kiting up there before it all goes. Snow kiting is so much easier but it's not as casual as the beach :-)))). later, Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted May 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2007 I've talked to Bordy but need to give him another call. These plans are changing daily. Cape Hatteras has a huge school, but it's expensive. $1100 for 3 days - WOW! A bit more than I can afford for lessons. Puerto Rico has lessons out of San Juan. I've already contacted a few of the schools but it looks like the Puerto Rico trip is put on hold for a few months. Maybe at the end of the summer, once I figure out what I am doing first. Definitely let me know about the place in WY - that is not a far drive for me. If this works, I can use it to snow kite on the lake in the winter. I'll be putting the word out as soon as I am ready for gear. Thanks Joel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted June 8, 2007 Report Share Posted June 8, 2007 Michelle, When you do get to PR, drive out to Shacks on the other side of the island. http://www.villamontana.com/kitesurf-caribbean.html http://www.blastkiteboarding.com/camps.htm You'll learn more at a 3-4 day camp in Cape Hatteras or PR than you can in an entire season on your own. Sounds expensive but you'll be so psyched and so exhausted after boot camp. Do they all girls camps at Real in OBX,too. http://www.realkiteboarding.com/index.cfm?page=newsitem&id=1028 I'm kiting lately with a chick who just started last year, took lessons, got good gear and she's ripping. Living near a windy beach is key, too :p Kite chicks are HOT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelP Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 willy, I'll be in Mass. in August visiting my parents. I'll be on the Northshore though. Are you still kiting on the Cape? What's it like then? I might be able to get away for 2 days and come down there. What do you suggest I bring for kite sizes? I'm thinking of bringing just my 9 and 12 and 2 boards to cover 12mph thru 30 or so. Thanks, Joel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Thanks Willywhit. I'm actually going for lessons this weekend - 2 days of 4 hour lessons with the Kite Ranch in Nebraska, of all places. I would never ever try to learn this sport on my own. I did check out the kite boarding lessons in PR - but that trip has been put on hold for a little while. I'll get back to that one. Hopefully by the end of this weekend I'll be a hot kiter chick too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kipstar Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 They run a lot of courses here in Thailand as well, you might like to check out whether it is cheaper to go to some island in the caribian to learn kiting there and might work out cheaper. Personally, I find kiting like shown in that pic to not really be my thing, and ironically find the feel of a windsurfer to be a lot faster, smoother, and more like the slide feel of snowboarding, but to each their own; our winds mean that the kiters get somewhere less than 1/2 the days of the windsurfers, due to the lack of constant onshore/cross on/cross shore here. Of course, they also stuff up the beach area near the clubs as well, so it isn't a bad thing that they get less days :-) If you get a chance, try both, as they are pretty complementary to eachother. For kiting, the modern bow kites and gear make learning and safety a lot easier, definitely worth it to do the course no matter what the cost. Virtually all the kiters I know (and one of my friends/clients is a kite company) suffer injuries from time to time; it is a pretty full on sport, so the course should help get you through it a bit easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Yeah, also kites are much easier to travel with than windsurfers and I don't know, the sport of windsurfing has never really appealed to me that much. But I'm really excited to learn to kite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 windsurfing is alot of fun but waaaay harder to get good at. We still bust out the wave boards when it nukes over 40 knots( way too scarey on a kite) Just got this video today http://www.sailworks.com/web/video/video.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kipstar Posted June 15, 2007 Report Share Posted June 15, 2007 Yeah, those Sailworks guys go big. Dale Cook just flies on the huckers; I love the way big air looks on a board with sail. I dunno, being a sailor, kiting looked a lot harder to learn than windsurfing; horses for courses i guess! For sure, kiting looks easy to travel around with; the winter kiting is the bit that appeals to me most actually; the idea of being hauled up a hill and enjoying it; well I can think of a few places where i ride that this would be awesome! Willy are you seeing some of the trends of kiting with longboards, and all that down where you are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted June 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2007 Tried to take my water lesson this weekend and there was TOO MUCH wind! DAMN! Blowing at 23-25 knots and that is just too much for someone who has no clue what they are doing. I had my land lesson the day before, but I was so bummed that I couldn't get in the water. Now I can't get my lessons rescheduled until end of July. UGH! I want to kite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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