Tea-bagging and other water sports

Ok, now if you have no idea what tea-bagging is, then don't Google it either. You might just get the surprize of your life. Actually, do look it up, but make sure you have your search engine's "safe search" on the strictest filtering possible. If you are lucky then you might get the kitesurfer's definition of tea-bagging...and not the one you and your college mates used to "get back" at friends and girlfriends alike. I actually want to tell you more about kitesurfing..and particular kitesurfing in Cape Town. Which is by the way considered one of the best kitesurfing spots in the world. And it's no wonder, the Southeastern blows the largest part of summer and the conditions are more or less perfect, from novices to the best out there.

My kitesurfing history started not long ago...January 2009 to be exact. After many years of finding excuses for never trying it, I eventually faced my "fear" and forked out the money. You see, the scariest part of kitesurfing like many other adrenaline sports is the cash flow needed to get started. Once you get over that hurdle the fun can start. Being an experienced surfer I thought is was going to be quite easy. I even have paragliding experience, and with that combined with the board skills what more could one want? Wrong!

Kite handling was topic 1 in the first lesson. Once you get the kite in the air all you have to do is keep it there. Or so I thought. Make sure you know the difference between 1 o' clock and 2 o'clock on an analogue watch. When the intructor says move the kite to "1 o' clock" you might be very surprized to see what happens when you add an hour or so. This could mean the difference between getting a slight tug to getting air lifted like a Russian Korlev space rocket. Once your kite handling skills are OK, it is on to the next step...the body drag.

The idea behind the body drag is to have yourself pulled by the kite in the water, without the board. This is to teach yourself more kite handling skills while in the water. This will also give you a good indication whether you will be able to drag yourself back to the beach should you lose your board. Some people unexpectedly do the body drag on the beach when they mistake their "hours". It is however much more pleasant to be dragged along in the surf than on the sand. Trust me on this one.

Getting on the board and staying on is probably the best part of the first couple of lessons. Once mastered your kitesurfing experience has begun. Like surfing you are not really doing it if you have not mastered the "standing-up" skill. Kiting upwind is another skill that comes with time, because walking back 2 miles on the beach is a little embarrasing...and hard work. No wonder it is called the "walk of shame". Once on the board you dig your heel in and focus on a marker to give you a sense of direction. This could either be a stationary ship lying in the bay or a block of flats onshore. Keep your eyes focused and hope you are heading that way, because before you know you might be 200 meters downwind and then it is back to that horrible walk again.

So, where am I after about 17 sessions in the water? Well, my walk of shame is considerably shorter. I have narrowed it down to about 50 meters. I promised myself a new wetsuit when I can get that figure into the negatives, meaning I am actually going upwind. I am busy practicing the "jibe". This is turning around without sinking back and starting off from sctratch. I have succesfully completed a few. Sailing across the water and going the direction I intended to go is good and provides for sure a lot of fun. I do the occational jump, but this is very much UNintentional. For the spectators on the beach this might look impressive, but they will never hear from me that the jumps weren't really planned. Landing on your feet after an UNintentional jump is a bonus and does give you a feeling of "getting there". Landing on your face and getting body dragged a couple of extra meters downwind does exactly the opposite. Imagine 4 or 5 of these unintentional jumps in a single go and you know exactly what tea-bagging is in kitesurfing terms.

One thing is for sure...kitesurfing is fun. It might have dangers associated with it, but like many adrenaline sports it's all worth it. I hope to see you in the water soon. Keep on Kiting.