Vancouver Kiteboarding: Getting Started

I have been kiteboarding for less than a year but I'm hooked and going to Buzios, Brazil in 3 weeks for a kiteboarding trip. I am still very much a beginner or "kook."

When the temperature improves, you can kiteboard at Spanish Banks/Jericho Beach but only until the May long weekend because the lifeguards are out and there are too many people on the beach to do it safely. In the summer you can go or to Boundary Bay, near the ferry terminal, but the best somewhat local place is Nitinat on Vancouver Island but it takes 5 hours to get there. Victoria and Squamish appear to be very good too but are more advanced and I haven't tried either location yet. This spring I plan to check out the Gorge in Oregon and I want to try snowkiting in Washington State too but who know if I can find the time.

If you are serious about trying it out the best thing to do is to go to Spanish Banks with a trainer kite which is basically a small practice kite that you can fly to get a feeling for the sport. I have one you can borrow as I don't use it much plus it has been repaired to do a mishap with a tree last year.

I would also recommend picking up an instructional DVD like the Complete Kiteboarding Guide and a couple of kiteboarding magazines. If you are still hooked then the next step would be to take a few lessons which will set you back a couple of hundred bucks. Lessons are important so that you can learn about safety and some beginner details that perhaps a buddy might forget to teach you.

At some point, you will have to invest in equipment so start saving or fill out that Visa card application. A used kite and board will cost you approximately $1000 but I think that with the changing technology I would recommend buying a new kite and a used board which would cost more like $1800. Airtime Board Sports has consignment kites and boards and Coastal BC has good online ads.You also need a wetsuit, harness, and helmet and booties too which will run you another $600. The good news is that once you have all of the equipment, the sport is inexpensive to maintain except for travel costs. That being said, you should have more than one kite in your quiver for variable wind conditions and then you might want a kite and board bag for travel etc. I'm only a year in, but I keep buying stuff.

As you can probably tell, I'm fired up about the sport and encourage anybody who's interested to try it. It can be hard to take the plunge and get started, but if you want to kiteboard this year you probably want to start preparing soon.