---

Kiteboarding gets people
up in the air

Many great things have been born out of a little imagination. Kiteboarding is one of them.

Using kites to harness the energy of the wind to move vehicles on land and water dates back to 13th-century China. The early kites used for this purpose in Asia and Europe, however, were small and deployed from flat ground.

If you go ... What: Kiteboarding School of Maui Meeting place: KSM's headquarters at 22 Hana Highway, Kahului, Maui, five minutes from Kahului Airport. Transportation will be provided to Kanaha Beach Park, where lessons are held. Lessons: Beginner lessons are offered Mondays to Saturdays from 9 or 10 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m. Intermediate and advanced lessons are taught after 11 a.m. All lessons are conducted one on one, with Cabrinha and Naish equipment provided for the sessions. Cost: There are four-hour/one-day ($290), seven-hour/two-day ($490), 10-hour/three-day ($675), 13-hour/four-day ($850) and 16-hour/five-day ($975) courses. You can take the four-hour course and apply it toward a discounted multiple-day package if you decide to add lessons. Kamaaina receive a 15 percent discount on all rates. Notes: Watching a training video or DVD such as "The Complete Kiteboarding Guide," by Naish Hawaii, will help familiarize beginners with the sport. A trainer kite (approximately 18 square feet) can be used for practice. You should be comfortable holding the kite steady in an overhead, neutral position; steering the kite from side to side; balancing your body on the board; and master other basic skills before proceeding to formal instruction. Students should wear a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and a Lycra top to their lesson. Call: 808-873-0015 E-mail: martin@ksmaui.com Web site: www.ksmaui.com

It was not until 1984, when two French brothers, Bruno and Dominique Legaignoux, patented a "water relaunchable" kite that the idea of kiteboarding started to fly. An inflatable feature allows this kite to be relaunched from the water should it land there due to pilot error or a quirk of nature.

Legendary French wave rider Manu Bertin brought the innovative kite to Maui in the mid-1990s. He and local champion Laird Hamilton developed maneuverable boards averaging 6 feet and 10 pounds to be used in conjunction with the ocean-friendly kite. Thus, kiteboarding was born.

Part of the sport's draw is its simple, compact gear. The nylon and dacron kite measures 27 to 225 square feet when aloft but can be folded to fit in a backpack. Your feet are strapped to a lightweight board just 4 to 5 feet long and weighing four to five pounds.

You control the kite via four or five lines attached to an 18- to 20-inch bar. A harness worn around your waist is hooked to the bar, which keeps the kite in place and allows you to rest your arms and shoulders when needed.

Brisk breezes carry the kite as high as 90 feet in the air. Catch the winds just right and you can fly 25 miles per hour and up to 40 feet above the surface of the sea. Seasoned kiteboarders heighten the thrill factor with gravity-defying twists, turns, jumps and somersaults.

"Kiteboarding combines the speed of wakeboarding, the agile movements of surfing and the freedom of paragliding," says Martin Kirk, president of the Kiteboarding School of Maui and a board member of the Maui Kitesurfing Community, a nonprofit association of 300 kiteboard enthusiasts ranging in age from 10 to 80.

"If you look at kiteboarding pictures and the kite isn't shown, you might think you are seeing wakeboarding photos. The kite really is nothing more than your wakeboard boat pulling you. The main difference between the two sports is that the kiteboarder is not only the wakeboarder, but also the boat driver since he or she is steering the kite. Kiteboarding is all about the kite and requires good hand-eye coordination."

---

KITEBOARDING SCHOOL OF MAUI While kiteboarders can perform gravity-defying acrobatics in the air, many beginners are content to glide across the surface of the ocean.

---

A LIFELONG WATER sports aficionado, Kirk captained boats for nearly 11 years with tour companies on Maui and the Big Island before a friend, professional kiteboarder Fadi Issa, introduced him to kiteboarding in early 1999.

"It captivated me like no other activity had," Kirk recalls. "The adrenaline rush of being picked up by the force of nature, controlling your flight to a safe landing and then sailing away again at high speeds was very addictive. I kept coming back for more."

Then the thought struck him: Why not start a kiteboarding school? He saw the potential of kiteboarding not only in Hawaii, but abroad and was confident there would be enough interest to support one.

Kirk founded KSM in the summer of 1999. Six years later, he says, "We're still growing. Kiteboarding has become the hottest water sport worldwide."

Watch skilled kiteboarders in action and you might think it's a pastime only for athletes in peak physical condition. Not so, says Kirk.

"We've taught kids as young as 8, and the oldest 'kid' we've had was a retired Maui surgeon who came in for a lesson on his 80th birthday."

KSM's lessons are held at Kanaha Beach Park in Kahului. Several options are available (see sidebar), the most popular being the four-hour introductory lesson. It covers all the basics -- from learning to fly, land and launch a kite, to getting into the water and doing some riding.

Kirk says the learning curve for kiteboarding is shorter than its sister sport, windsurfing, because the equipment is less cumbersome and the kite requires much less wind to move its rider than the sail on a windsurfing board. Even better, the mighty pulling power of the kite on the lightweight board means a kiteboarder can fly higher and stay airborne longer than a windsurfer (the record is 10 seconds).

"There are certainly many happy, flat-water kiteboarders who are content to 'mow the lawn,' or go back and forth on the water, without ever leaving the surface," says Kirk. "But most people eventually want to experiment with flight."

And that, he asserts, is the ultimate kick of kiteboarding: "Imagine what it's like to fly, then let us show you how to do it!"

---

KITEBOARDING SCHOOL OF MAUI Elliott Leboe slams the ocean surface while kiteboarding. Catch the breezes just right and the combination of kite and lightweight board will lift you in the air.

---

Kiteboarding tips

As in all sports, courtesy and common sense prevail when kiteboarding; following these tips will ensure you have a fun, safe time:

» Know how to swim. Wear a life jacket if you aren't a strong swimmer.

» To properly control the kite in strong winds, you should weigh at least 70 pounds and no more than 300 pounds (your waist should be 46 inches or smaller to fit the harness).

» Pay attention to wind and sea conditions, and don't go farther from shore than you can swim.

» Don't kiteboard too close to shore, either, as your kite lines can get snagged on trees, telephone poles, satellite dishes and antennas.

» Anticipate potential hazards and be ready and able to "depower" your kite at all times.

» Observe traffic in the water around you. Steer clear of others, particularly fast-moving surfers, windsurfers and water skiers. Don't fly over or immediately upwind of other people.

» Use a kite leash.

» Don't rely too much on previous sports experience. Kiteboarding requires a different set of reflexes because it's all about learning to correctly control the kite. Any board skills you've acquired from other sports will come into play once you've learned how to safely steer the kite.

---