Kiteboarding Breakthrough!
26 September 2022
• Bora Bora
by Karl Coplan
Today was session four of kiteboarding school. We flew the larger (12m) kite. This time I tried to focus on controlling the kite, and keeping it from flying back the wrong way. On the third triy there I was, standing up and surfing along, whooping it up. Then I slowed down and my board sunk. But at least I kept the kite out of the water. That time. Progress!
Axel said I went 100 meters. I was not able to repeat the feat today, however. Axel tells me “you need more power” when I sink, or “too much power” when the kite drags me off the board face first, or “you need to get the kite back to one-thirty” when I drag along upright on a sinking board.
But I am getting better at controlling the kite, and each time I make a spectacular face plant without serious injury I become less afraid of the kite. That is good.
After kite boarding, I met Robin at lovely Matira Beach,. We had a picnic lunch and hung out under the thatched sun shelter by the aquamarine waters of the shallow part of the lagoon. I would say it was like swimming in the world’s largest clear blue swimming pool, but, frankly, the water is clearer than any swimming pool I have ever swum in.
At the Bora Yacht Club (which is more a restaurant with dinghy dock than a yacht club) I presented a Nyack Boar Club burgee to the Maitre’d. He smiled, went behind the bar , and handed me a staple gun to post it in the thatched shed with the other yacht club biirgees.
Then, back to the boat for a South Pacific twilight dinner. I have one more kiteboarding lesson tomorrow, after that, the wind gets too light.
Don’t worry, by this weekend, this will be a sailing blog again, and not a “cool things I did on my vacation” blog.
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