This year 2023 that we start, it will be loaded with what you most want right now: sun, beach, nature, outdoors, sports and a lot of sea. Here in Tarifa we have all that and much more… The wind!!
That wind that always accompanies us and that takes away the bad, leaving the good. This year will be the one that we teach you kitesurfing with more passion than ever and from our blog, we want to explain all the steps so that you are very clear about what a kite course is like.
In this article, we are going to solve the most common questions that we face every day at school and that we will be happy to solve in this way or through any question:
- How to do it, that is, type of course: if in private or with more people.
- Duration, how many days are the best and how long per session.
- Methodology, which is learned every day and how the course is developed.
- What does the kitesurfing course include and what do you have to bring, what is needed.
- Best time of year and with what type of wind it is better to learn.
- Schools and kitesurfing areas.
- Spots in Tarifa.
- What to do after the course. Buying material or renting is the big question when you are independent.
And of course where to do it, but that is already clear to you: In Tarifa with KitePassion: Kitesurf courses.
YOUR KITE COURSE
Taking a kiteboarding or kitesurfing course (whatever you want to call it) is something you’ve been planning to do for a long time and you want it to be perfect. The exact same thing happened to us back in 2002 and we wanted everything to be great.
Learning safely and quickly, getting into the water, controlling the kite, not getting involved with another kite or going sailing as soon as possible, are questions that you ask yourself and do to us while that sensation of pure adrenaline invades your body, that tingling that is almost Addictive in a unique setting called Tarifa and in which you wonder if they will be able to do it, to get it!
For this reason, we do everything on our part, because we understand that you are very excited about your learning and we want all the decisions we make for you, to be the most appropriate for you to learn and enjoy to the fullest.
HOW TO TAKE YOUR KITESURF COURSE
Everything will depend on several factors: The time you have, whether you come alone or accompanied to do your course and the budget you have. We propose three types of courses:
- Private
- Semi-private
- Group Course
1.- Private Lessons: Personalized courses with 1 student, 1 kite and the instructor. The progression is obviously much greater since the instructor is with you all the time and you with the kite in your power.
You learn much more, since the instructor is exclusively for you and your time is used much more, it is more effective. Courses in private mode usually last 2 hours per session, more is too much, since after two hours in the water, you are physically and mentally tired, so you are wasting time and money. Our experience indicates that two hours of duration in private and semi-private courses are more than enough. Another possibility is to spend more time, but always with a break in the middle of the session.
When the student has to leave for some reason and his motivation is through the roof, we propose the possibility of a double session, that is, 1.5 hours (rest) and another 1.5 hours. But always with a good rest between both classes.
Although the student is physically very well, our experience tells us that after those two hours he makes mistakes that he would not normally make and is due to fatigue and tiredness. Better to stop, rest and butt in the second session.
2.- Semi-private Lessons: In this case the group becomes more numerous, with 2 students, 2 kites and 1 instructor always close to you, teaching you throughout the class. But no one else, just the two of you. The duration of the class is two hours and you always have the kite with you. Also great progression and designed for people who come together to have fun and learn.
As in the private one, it is advisable not to do more than 2 hours since it is physically demanding, especially when you are from the second day in the water and after two hours of teaching with the kite either in the Bodydrag or Waterstart Phase it is not convenient to tire ourselves excessively.
3.- Group Lessons: You are 3 to 4 students sharing 2 kites and with 1 instructor. In this case, it is also very effective, since the duration of the classes is 3 hours and you are learning from your classmates and sharing a kite. Like the previous course, everything is included and the courses are longer and perfect in case you come with your friends to Tarifa !!
Rental with Supervision: Once you acquire level 3 in which you are already totally independent, we offer you a 3-hour rental system with the supervision of an all-inclusive instructor in which you will not be alone on the beach, but you have the security and certainty that there is an instructor with you and you feel safer on the beach because of it.
We also solve another question which is the number of hours required for a kiteboarding course, this question is very relative and almost one million. Some students with two days of class have enough to be independent, because they have positive transfers from other sports they have done before.
In the case of kite, we have very good students who come from paragliding and who in turn have practiced wakeboarding or snowboarding and who have very good kite and board control.
So they are very good at coordinating both elements and are prepared in little time to go to the beach on your own. Others need more time to reach this level and to always start renting with supervision. Ultimately, it is a matter of practicing, spending time and spending hours … But blessed punishment being on the beach enjoying the best sport in the world.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE KITESURF COURSE
A complete kitesurfing course must have at least three days of course. Some students require less time, others need more but the average is three days regardless of the type of course you take.
- First day: Theory and learning of the kite on the ground.
- Second day: Bodydrag and start with the board.
- Third day: Waterstart. Board, board and more board!!
First day: During the development of the class on the first day, the first thing that we are going to teach you is a bit of theoretical aspects, essential so that the second and third day you perform on your own. Essential theoretical aspects (25 minutes of the class approximately). You have to learn to ride the kite, the thing is that you are independent.
- Assembling the kite correctly and safely.
- The three security systems, remember: Release the bar!
- The universal signals to launch and land
- Theory about the wind window.
As we have mentioned before, kitesurfing are all advantages and it is not necessary that you have a lot of knowledge about wind, directions, etc … You just have to understand that the wind has to be at your back.
The key word is Easy, kitesurfing is a much easier sport to transport, ride, understand and assimilate than other water sports such as windsurfing. Besides being more comfortable, less physical and cheap. These factors have been the key to the boom of this sport in the last 20 years.
Once you have the theory under control, we move on to the practice of flying the kite. The key word is: Control. It’s about you controlling the kite, not the kite controlling you. Everything goes through the steering bar control and that you pay attention to how sensitive and intuitive the kite is. The more rough you are with it, the more jerks it will give you. Smoothness and control are essential.
We will do exercises flying the kite in the zenith, to the right of the window, to the left. Also with one hand, since we need the other hand open to transport the board and finally on the ground emulating the bodydrag. If we manage to do all these exercises, we are ready to go to exercise and continue with day 2. Prepared for the best… Without a doubt, day 2 is pure euphoria !!
Second day: We go to the water, already with all the necessary water clothing: neoprene, vest, harness, helmet, etc… We make a quick reminder of what we learned the first day (refreshing) and once everything related to the flight the kite. Remember that we work with the concept of muscle memory: what we learned on the first day is always much better on the second day.
We go to the water to do body-dragging, without a doubt the most fun exercise in kitesurfing and quite affordable. Here it is first of all about putting the kite in power and gliding over the water as if we were a dolphin. In the first instance, without a table, then to do it with a board.
In this way, we are going to learn to control the kite with one hand and the board with the other, so that if there is a break on the shore, we will learn to overcome it to get to put the board on our feet.
Once we have controlled the bodydrag with both hands and in both directions, which is essential to return to shore in case we need it or to learn how to recover the board. We start with the waterstart or departure from the water with the board.
Third day: The first thing we have to teach is to put the board on the feet out of the water to the student so that he understands the process of placing said board.
Once the footstraps have been prepared to fit the foot and once again we have reminded the student of the methodology of the table and how it is the correct way to put it on, we check that he understands it and knows the order.
So we teach you to put the kite in power by doing the spoon movement from 11 to 2 for example, so that when you get up on the board, the waterstart is a success and you achieve the goal of making the first lengths on the board that will be a sensation that you will not forget in your life. Kiting with a board on the water is not comparable to anything.
WHAT DOES THE COURSE INCLUDE?
It´s all included, you only need sunglasses, sun cream and a bottle of water to hydrate yourself … Ahhh and positive energy, I tried hard to enjoy it to the fullest. All courses include all the necessary material for the year 2021 complete: wetsuit, harness, kite, board, helmet, leash … All of the fantastic brands:
Likewise, it includes rescue boats in the Lances Norte and Valdevaqueros area. We work with the New Angels Tarifa company, who did an incredible job in 2022. These boats pick you up in case of need in the school area and return you to the shore. It is essential for safety reasons since the wind in this area of the beach is off shore (from land to sea).
BEST MOMENT OF THE YEAR 2022
Without a doubt, the best months of the year are between the beginning of April and the beginning of November. We make special emphasis in the months of May, the first fortnight of July and October. These are months in which statistically the windy days are very numerous, the weather is perfect and the post-kite atmosphere in Tarifa is incredible. With great life in the beach bars, a perfect beach atmosphere and just people to enjoy.
Last year (2022) in the month of May we had: many western days, slightly less than eastern days, 1 strong eastern day and 1 single day without wind. What was simply spectacular, since the average was also 24 degrees Celsius.
We always encourage you these months by meteorology. Although if August is your vacation month, do not hesitate to come in August you will also ey the beauty! Of course, a little more patience to park and arrive.
Obviously, outside these months: November, February or March you can also enjoy kitesurfing since the water temperature is quite similar throughout the year (maximum 19º and minimum 17º). So do not hesitate to come with us, since we are open from March to December 31 and any time is good … However, this time indicated above is the best: May, July and October.
This year we will have to be positive and see when the 2023 Season starts due to Covid 19, we hope to be operational and at your complete disposal from mid-March. We will be informing you through social networks when we can start.
Types of wind in Tarifa
We basically have two types of wind in Tarifa: east and west. Like everything in life, it has its pros and cons. What you should be very clear about is with the east wind on the beach of los lances, do not sail if there is no rescue boat, do not go out kite since the wind takes you out to sea and can be very dangerous. Security before everything!!
