My Kiteboarding Journey

    A look back at my Kite Boarding progression from the day I decided to learn to now and beyond. It's a sport that has become an obsession for me with seamingly endless opportunities to learn and aspire to new skills.           

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“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

Confucius

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Home Base

I’m lucky enough to be located in Perth, Western Australia. We have access to some of the best beaches in the world with some first class Kiting locations. There are huge stretches of beach heading north and south of Perth to explore, I completed my lessons at Woodman Point but have since spent much of my time at Pinnaroo Point as its much closer to home. We have a sea breeze that blows most afternoons at a steady 18 – 25 knots from November through March making Perth at great place to take up Kite Boarding.

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“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.”

Winston Churchill

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Trying to improve my board skills at the cable ski park 😂

Nice to have my partner is on hand to capture the progress.

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My Previous Experience

So what experience did I have before learning to kite? Not a lot, really. I had flown a stunt kite a bit as a kid so had a basic understanding of kite control (they say kite control is 90% of the challenge so maybe it helped a little). I also had some experience with sailing which helped with understanding the wind conditions but I really had no board experience at all, so I think this was always going to be my biggest challenge. But what’s the point of learning something new if there is no challenge - it’s half the fun!

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Nice flat water bay - bit off shore though

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Cloudy afternoon at Pinnaroo Point 

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Do… or do not. There is no try.

Yoda

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About Me

At 40 I decided to focus on my fitness and weight after being overweight for most of my life. I always made the excuse that I had no time, but as I felt my health was suffering I made a trip to the doctor that has ultimately changed my life; from sleeping better, snoring very little (much to my wife’s happiness), exercising for enjoyment, improved self-confidence and ultimately starting a sport I would have never dreamed of previously. I’m 30kg lighter and the fittest I can honestly say I have ever been in my life. It took me the best part of 12 months to lose the weight, and 12 months after that I was looking for a sport to enjoy. I was spending time running and doing weights for fitness, which in itself becomes addictive, but was looking for something to do just for the fun of it. 

This was the start of my Kite Boarding Journey.