It occurs very often that I have to hear how windsurfing is better than kitesurfing (or vice-versa), that kitesurfers are just a nuisance (or vice-versa), etc. That is not what I intend to talk about in this article. I think both sports are a great way to have fun on the water (personally I do both and think that badmouthing one or the other is juvenile as these sports can coexist perfectly and share the water without any problems). I dedicated a whole other post on surf rage and where that comes from. Here is a fun clip illustrating what happens from time to time.
Working at a surf center I often get asked the same question: Which is better, windsurfing or kitesurfing? I usually give a rather quick answer to this as usually there are other people waiting to be attended. However, I thought I would break it down a little more to provide a more complete answer for those not knowing which of these to choose.
Transport
At the Surf Center Playa Sur we also offer storage of both windsurf and kitesurf gear I keep having to witness how burdensome windsurfing gear is. Usually the board bag with one (or two) boards and 3 sails will weigh around 30 kg and has to be dragged around the airport and ends up being a bit of a hassle when added to the standard luggage we are taking with us. Kiteboarders on the other hand will have their one board under their arm and one kite over each shoulder or just a long bag the size of a large set of golf clubs. Kitesurfing turns out to be less of a hassle overall.
Equipment cost
The gear for both windsurfing and kitesurfing both cost roughly the same. When new they can be anywhere within the 1000€ to 2500€ range. And in used condition the gear will be somewhere around the 500€ to 800€. The difference comes in the life of each piece of kit. In general, windsurf kit will last somewhat longer before it needs to be replaced. A kite (especially the lines) will need to be replaced after about 3 years whereas a windsurfer can easily last 5 to 6 if maintained well (ie. not leaving the rig laying out in the sun for longer than need be, etc.)
Buying used kit is a little bit more tricky in kitesurfing as the integrity of the lines must be checked carefully and the leading edge must be tested to ensure there are no slow leaks. For a windsurfer it is pretty easy to evaluate the condition of a board and sail.
The gear for kitesurfing is more fragile than windsurfing gear. Tears and holes will be much more frequent due to wear in the mite material than in windsurf cloth because it is much thinner (for less weight).
Learning
The two learning curves for each sport are pretty different. For kitesurfing you have to spend a couple of hours on the beach to learn how to handle the kite, then do a few sessions of body drag through the water and only then is it time to try to get on the board. This usually adds up to around 9 hours which is where you are at a point where you can continue to practice without supervision. For windsurfing this is different. I usually spend 15 to 20 minutes on the beach teaching my students what it is they will have to do on the water.From there it is off to the water.After around 2-3 hours with flat water, 4-5 in waves, my students are usually at a point where they can sail back and forth alone.
Now comes the main difference. A kitesurfer after about 20 hours will be riding with a speed and technique similar to that which he will be sailing in 2 years. A windsurfer on the other hand will have a more gradual and constant improvement throughout that time.
I have heard so often how kitesurfing is the sport that people turn to that are unable (or too impatient) to learn how to windsurf.
Physical requirement
Kitesurfing is less challenging. There is no denying that. The quadriceps get some working on but that is about it. People who take on windsurfing will be challenged more and will see their stamina increase with each session as the body adapts to the new requirements. The running joke among windsurfers is that kitesurfing is for girls and pensioners, basically referring to the physical condition required.
Independence
While it is technically possible to launch and land a kite on ones own, you need a certain level of experience to be able to do so as getting the procedure wrong can end pretty bad indeed. Usually therefore it is at the very least “strongly recommended” to have a second person on the beach to launch or land your kite. The problem mainly comes that it is also dangerous to launch someone’s kite while flying your own so two kitesurfing buddies will have to do some interesting (and dangerous) juggling if they want to go kiting simultaneously). For windsurfing this is not the case as you are quite independent in that sense.
That being said, just for general safety it is wise to go on the water with others around who can lend a hand in case of injury, equipment malfunction or any other precarious unforeseen situation.
Locations for sailing
There are two types of locations which are exclusive to one sport or the other
The first is shallow water. As a windsurfer you are in big trouble if you are cruising along at speed and the fin suddenly touches the ground. It can result in a very spectacular and possibly painful catapult indeed (and possibly some board repair). On a kiteboard you don’t have this problem since you are only skimming the water surface.
On the other hand, if we are at a spot where the shoreline is lined with tall structures such as trees or lamp posts it is rather tricky and very dangerous to go in as a kiter since if the lines get caught in them, kitelooping along the ground and crashing into stuff ensues. Windsurfers have less trouble as all they have to deal with is the immediate surroundings.
Safety
This is where the two sports have their greatest discrepancy. Ever since kitesurfing has hit the beaches I have been seeing a continuing increase in accidents. My explanation is that since kitesurfing is easier/faster to learn than windsurfing, a lot of people are not physically and psychologically ready to do an extreme sport start to do an extreme sport. The thing is that as long as nothing goes wrong, it is a fun sport which gives the sensation of speed and planing pretty easily. The problem arises when something out of the ordinary occurs. In that case, circumstances can turn dire pretty fast which leads to serious injuries. Since many kitesurfers have started to kitesurf at a level way beyond their experience, when things go wrong they don’t know how to react and are unable to reduce the consequences,.The trouble is that these consequences do not always affect only the kitesurfer but also anyone up to 200 metres downwind of them. Windsurfers on the other hand have only 5 metres to worry about, 20 if they are jumping.
Also the severity of the accidents in kitesurfing is greater. While it is true that i have seen windsurfers with dislocated shoulders, sprained ankles, broken legs and cracked ribs. Usually these are few and far between. Admittedly they tend to occur on the water and the rescue is a bit of a hassle but even then you have the option of getting on the board to save energy, be more visible and lose less body heat.
Conclusion
From an objective point of view, kitesurfing offers many more advantages over windsurfing except for when it comes to safety, and there it is far behind. This is also an aspect which I don’t see being eliminated from the sport. The long fragile (but very dangerous) lines combined with the immense power that can be generated by the large surface of the kite will always be a hazard, regardless of technological improvements. This is the reason this sport is an extreme sport.
Combine this with the fact that it is easy to learn and that the minimal physical requirements for kitesurfing and you have a dangerous combination. People that are not suitable for doing extreme sports will start to do extreme sports. And the worst part is that they are not aware of the possible risk they are putting themselves in.
I am by no means trying to say that no one should do kitesurfing. I just think that it is not made clear enough to students how to go about learning it safely and practicing it responsibly. Most of the accidents that happen are due to bad decision making and irresponsible riding (like going onto the water in unreliable offshore winds or practicing or showing off tricks near the shore or in areas with a lot of people).
As for the sensation, kitesurfing is a fun sport. I started to use it as an alternative to the low wind days where 5.7 m sails were no longer enough. For me personally, having to sail with 6.0 m or more was too much of a hassle and with a kite takes less physical effort to handle regardless of its size. As a windsurfer kitesurfing is really fast and easy to learn so it was a nice addition to broaden my range of conditions in which I can have fun on the water.
How often do I get the question by parents?: At what age is it advisable to start windsurfing?
It is somewhat difficult to properly answer this. Of course there is a lower age limit. Mainly this is given by learning capability of the child and its weight. I personally was standing on a windsurfer at the age of 4 with my dad sitting on the front of the board. However, it has to be said, owning a surf center lends the opportunity to choose the best days to do this, which are rare in El Médano.
Here are a few things to take into consideration when thinking of teaching your child how to windsurf.
Age
First of all, a 5 year old might will have a somewhat shorter attention span than an adult. Add to this that they will also get tired faster and you have to gauge how long he has fun and when you are pushing the limit.
Also, explaining the concepts of the wind (relative wind for example), etc. is tricky when you are dealing with such a young mind. Therefore the initial stages might be possible to transmit through show and tell and intuition but once more technical aspects which require understanding are required, we reach an obstacle.
That being said, children do have the wonderful ability to learn physics feats pretty fast. In conditions that are not unfavorable, as child will get the hang of windsurfing very fast.
The age also influences how impressionable they are by danger. It is important that they are aware of the dangers that can arise without instilling so much fear as to make they abstain from the sport. As I said, finding the correct balance is difficult with young minds.
Weight
In windsurfing, the real deal begins when we start to lean backwards into the wind and let the sail hold us. This is fair enough for and adult to apply that weights over 60 kg. For us it is no problem to slowly get used to the wind holding us despite gusts and waves as the impact is not THAT great. For a child however, they have to start with very small sails which start to get flung about by the wind when being pulled out of the water, pulling the child with it. Also, when the wind is not constant, the gusts destabilize the equilibrium of the windsurfing child a lot more than an adult.
Strength
It isn’t until the waterstart (and to some degree the beachstart) that we use the wind to lift us out of the water. Up until that point we are forced to lift the sail up with the up-haul rope. This means that we have another limitation since as we progress we will use bigger and bigger sails. This implies that they will also get heavier and for a child there comes a moment in which the sail is simply too much too lift. Add to this the wind pushing down on it and you have a child that will get tired very quickly.
Even for the waterstart you would have trouble as with small sails the lever that can be applied through the boom onto the board is very small (the same goes for the arms range of the small kid) meaning that control over the board through the sail, be it for the beachstart or the waterstart, is more challenging than for an adult.
Conditions
Due to their size, waves are relatively much bigger than for an adult, and the wind variations are much greater. All in all we want as flat water as we can get it and as constant wind as possible. This may be the conditions we want anyways but for children it is just that more important.
Conclusion
I am all for getting children motivated for this awesome sport early on. They are fast learners and will be really motivated if you gauge their stamina limit right. I would say a good age to start is between 5 and 7 and weighing over 30-35 kg each of these aspects (learning capacity and weight) leaning on the other..
It has to be remembered that until a certain weight is achieved, the process will be limited to big volume (relative to their size of course) and small sails. You can reduce this limit with very lightweight kit (mainly sails) and choosing the right spot to learn. It will be a long term investment but if you go windsurfing once or twice a year in the holidays the progress limitations will hardly be noticeable 🙂
This is a post I wrote a while back for another blog in which I detailed some important features people whould have who were aspiring to become windsurf instructors. However, you can also read this as a bit of a guide as to what to look for in a windsurf instructor in order to have the most out of a lesson with them.
9. Charismatic
This is secondary but in many places it is the responsibility of the instructors to get their own students meaning it is up to you to approach people and offer then the opportunity to experience the awesome sensation that our particular sport brings with it. I’m just saying that being charismatic in this case helps. It is also more likely for a student to return if they felt comfortable with their instructor.
8. Speak the language of the student
I don’t speak Russian to the extent of holding a conversation. I do however know a number of phrases along the lines of “front arm straight”, weight on the back foot”, “back straight and other basics along these lines. It reduces the likelihood of your student misunderstanding a movement of yours that they must imitate.
This might not be a crucial necessity but it helps a lot if you can explain something in words while the student puts it into practice without having to look at you so they can concentrate on the manoeuvre or conditions (like waves or gusts).
Of course we do not depend on auditive communication only, whats more, the student will learn faster if you make them use all their senses, but being able to communicate in the same language will avoid them to focus on the wrong thing or get a different message.
7. Know the sport inside out
You have to be able to explain every reaction of the kit caused by any alteration done by us, be it practical, like why the board turns when we move the sail, or technical like what happens when we tense the downhaul or what the purpose of the loose leech is.
Baz Luhrman had it right. We usually don’t take the time to protect ourselves from the sun. This goes for stretching also by the way. In both cases we are putting ourselves in a very careless and potentially very harmful situation.
But focusing on the protection from the sun, here is a quick explanation of why it is important to take so much care of our skin.
This is a topic that is close to me as two people I knew fell victim to skin cancer. Any type of cancer is a dreadful but there are a couple that can be avoided easily lung cancer being the first by not smoking, followed by skin cancer by reducing our exposure to the sun.
Clothing
Of course this is a bit of a tricky one for anyone who practices an outdoor sport. Luckily for us, we can reduce the exposure also with the use of wetsuits, lycras (when it’s too warm for neoprene) and the application of sunscreen.
The clothing however can only cover so much of our skin. The face is always exposed and body parts such as backs of the hands and feet as well as the lips and ears are often forgotten when it comes to the application of suncream.
Suncream
For me I always go all in with factor 50 although if I get my hands on something more potent like Daylong Acitinica which is designed for the prevention of non-melanoma skin cancer in at risk patients and of photodermatosis (according to what it says on the bottle). The best I have found for the face is the waterproof sunscreen sticks like the one from Zinka
. Quick to apply, doesn’t go all runny when we get in the water and no mess on your hands. With normal suncream we tend to have greasy hands after application meaning the grip on the boom will not be al too good. We have to either rub them dry thoroughly with a towel or better yet, wash them with soap. We also have to wait a little so it doesn’t start running into our eyes when we fall in the water.
For the lips I use a stick with SPF 15 or 30 as once they dry out and burn it is likely for herpes to originate which will not go away easily and most likely not at all if you don’t spend some time out of the sun. If it does appear, the initial stages will look like a blister on the lip. Ar this point you can already start applying Zovirax on it as it aims to kill the virus.
After the sunburn
If you do get burnt, make sure to treat your skin, hydrating it properly. Any oil or cream that helps hydrate the skin (like baby oils) will do the trick. Another great way is to use Aloe Vera although I admit it is the icky way to go about it 🙂
Areas often forgotten:
– Ears
– Upper side of the feet
– Back side of the knee
– Just above the elbows (also remember that the lycra sleeves might slide/roll up
If you have anything that would make this article more complete, please let me know in the comments.
Some people have been told to put the front foot on the board when doing the beachstart and the waterstart but I find this an akward thing to do as we will be positioining the board with our hips turned so that we are facing the same direction as the board and once we are on the board we will be facing the same way. Tha back foot is going to be closer to the board and all we have to do is lift it to one side and on to the board. If we want to put the front foot on you have to move the body facing the back of the board or move the leg across the front of our body. It makes no sense.
