Kiteboarding in India
What is Kiteboarding? Simply put, kiteboarding is the sport of using a kite to harness the power of the wind & move around on a board. You can kite on land with a land-board or a beach buggy, on snow with ski-is or a snowboard & on water with a twin tip or a surf board. The sport is very young & the technology is developing pretty fast. The latest introduction in the kiteboarding world is hydrofoil where the board rises above the surface of water as there is a wing attached to a shaft at the bottom. This allows the kiteboarder to literally levitate on water!
Kiteboarding versus Kitesurfing
Both words mean the same thing but Kiteboarding is a broader term used for Kiteboarding on land, snow or water as opposed to Kitesurfing which particularly means on water.
Kitesurfing in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu on the east coast of India
You need wind for Kiteboarding!
Is there any wind in India?
India has a massive coastline with well defined trade wind seasons. India receives trade winds from the north east in winter & south west in summer. The west coast of India receives the south west trade winds in summer & relies on thermic winds rest of the year- there are a few Kitesurfing schools in the state of Goa which has great infrastructure for tourism. The west coast receives light winds averaging 8 - 12 knots during season with the winds getting stronger pre & post monsoon. The east coast of India receives both wind cycles boosting its kite season to almost 300 days per year. We are biased to the east coast of India as we migrated here in 2014 for better wind conditions & have been here since then. Although the infrastructure for beach based tourism is limited so we had to create our own little haven. Quest Adventure Sports Academy has an excellent Kitesurfing school with experienced instructors & quality equipment on the east coast of India in a town near Rameswaram. This region is the windiest location in India with winds going 25 knots + in summer season.
Kitesurfing is an amazing sport
It’s like windsurfing, paragliding, sailing and surfing all in one. Once you get riding, there is no better feeling. Many people consider kite boarding an extremely physical sport which requires a lot of strength and fitness but thats just a myth. You only use your hands for steering and it requires only average upper body strength. People of any age can do it. It doesn’t matter that you are in 20’s or 60’s, if you take lessons with an experienced instructor & learn the skills patiently, you can do it!
You will definitely not start riding in the first attempt- learning kitesurfing takes patience & skill development which does not happen overnight. A few days of dedicated practice with an experienced instructor will get you onto the board going short distances. It’s only a matter of time till you can ride fast & jump high! Kitesurfing allows you to express your creativity with tricks using your skill. Just remember to land soft!
About Kitesurfing in India
I saw a post of the Redbull King of the Air 2018 and it had me hooked. For those of you who don't know what that is, the Redbull King of the Air is a kitesurfing competition where riders are judged based on the height of their jumps and variety of tricks and style.