I look like I'm ready to be shot out of a cannon, but this is just standard kitesurfing gear...at least for beginners. The helmet has a microphone in it that allows the instructor to talk to you when you're offshore which is quite a cool invention. The vest is a combination life vest and harness that the bar of the kite clips into. I'm carrying a 5 sq meter kite which is the smallest they make. They actually go up to 20.5 sq meter, if you can imagine.

We took our lessons through Vela which was a great school. The manager is a yachty himself and hence was very cool to us. Our instructor, Mo, was a good teacher and also extremely helpful, she even drove us to the grocery store to get some provisions before departing. We had a super fun three days. Chris did amazingly well and I was at least able to get up on the board and make a few good runs. We ended up buying one kite, so we will hopefully have time to practice in various spots on our way up the coast from Panama to California.