Generalities, history...

• Is there a difference between "flysurfing", "kitesurfing"or "kiteboarding"?
  "Kitesurfing", "flysurfing" or "kiteboarding" just speak about the same subject. Using boards on water propelled by a kite.
  The "flysurf" name was created in 1996/97 by Bruno Legaignoux and Manu Bertin.
  They thought that the pityful french girlz and boyz wouldn't be able to spell correctly "kitesurf".
  
  English speaking countries simply created the term "kitesurfing" that seems to be a correct description of our surf with kite amusement. Do not forget that at the very beginning most of the riders used surf type directionnal boards. Most of them came from sea and ocean users. They were either windsurfers or surfers.
  
  In the same time, wake-boarders decided to use "kiteboard" as a good description of their way to approach this new kite propelled sport.
  The use of a kite to propel a board under one's feet. Kiteskiing is somehow different because it has to be done with the use of water skis (single or combos) and is a term created by the Roeselers.
  Kiteskiing dropped to reach a very marginal level now, so the term "kiteskiing" is more suitable for snow kite practice with skis. And "kitesnow" fits pretty much to describe the snowboard riders with kites.
• Where can I find a kitesurf school ?
  Axel'Air has been providing kitesurf lessons throughout the year since 1997. See "School" section for more informations.
  
  If you are too far from the mediterranean coast or cannot organize a trip to visit our place, search the web. You will find a large offer now. But first choose carefully your school to enjoy your learning time.
  
• Is kitesurfing easy to learn ?
  Yes its quite an easy sport to learn and practice. It is much more simple than windsurfing or surfing because your balance is partly assisted by the kite which keeps you standing upright.
  Some knowledge of power-kites, windsurfing, wakeboarding, snowboarding or skating may help you to learn quicker. But anybody who is in a good shape can make it with good advice in a proper school.
  You will need some time to acquire the right reflexes and attitudes in piloting your kite. Let's say 6 to 12 sessions and you should be able to master totally your kite. How much just depends on the wind conditions. You should be able to control your kite from under powered to overpowered conditions.
  There is also quiet a kite culture to assimilated. Preparing your material, organize your lines …
  This sport doesn't need hundreds of our to have fun like other established and federalized older sports. It's rather like an adult game more than a sport in the classical media actual meaning.
  Reversely, kitesurfing present sever risks of injuries. You should not learn it alone and go in a school that teach you all the right safety attitudes.
  You can find some informations in the school section of this web site.
• Is it possible to travel up wind ?
  
  Yes, you can tack the wind with your kitesurfing equipment easily. Going upwind simply needs you to sail back and forth with jibes in between or without jibes with twin-tip boards.
  
  With the right material, 10 to 30 hours of training/sailing time should be enough to master correctly the upwind technics.
  This upwind subject is of low interested from now on.
  It wasn't the case during the first kitesurfing years. But now the gear available on the market is way much more efficient.And that helps !
• Can you kitesurf in light wind?
  A lightweight kitesurfer under 65 kg should be able to ride from 6 to 8 knots only with the larger kites and an adequate board. His board should be of enough area (width x length) and be shaped with a flat scoop. This shape will enhance the kitesurfe speed and thus increase the apparent wind. Increased apparent wind means increased relative wind, wich also means increased power. The first jumps will even be possible if the kitesurfer sails fast enough.
  It is necessary in this case to use a minimum of 15/16 m² for an inflatable strut kite or a 10/12 m² for a foil kite.
  A heavier rider of 75 kg need around 11/12 knots for his first jumps and a 85 kg needs around 12 to 13 knots. Bigger kites around 18 to 20 m² help the heavier to gain 2 or 3 knots in the minimal range.
  
  Riding in the minimal wind range shows rather technical for a beginner. Do never forget that 12 knots are two times more winds than 6 knots. Wind changes in the lower kitesurfing range have an impressive effect on the possibility to kitesurf or not.
  Furthermore, piloting a huge kite requires a very good technicity. It's even easier for a beginner to choose one size smaller for a beginner in light winds. With better results for sure.
  
  Be careful to use a board sized to the wind. Most of the people who cannot ride in light winds say they have a too small kite and do not realize that 16 m² on a 140 cm cannot be efficient.
  Simply add 20 or 30 cm to the board will change all that. Instead of buying a kite size above !
  
  To kitesurf in the lower wind range under 8/10 knots, the boards should be of the right size and have a bottom shaped for fast riding. This simply means flat bottom. A lot of rocker amount breaks the board speed by generating too much drag.
  
  Riding in ultra-light winds requires a very good knowledge and master of your kite. Because most of the kite do not relaunch correctly under 8 knots.
  
  Our tip:
  If you want to kitesurf in lower winds and cannot relaunch your kite, choose an on-shore or side-on shore wind direction to sail. In any case the wind will blow you back on the bank even with your kite stuck on its leading edge. We have tried to fold a 19 m² strut kites in the water. Simply forget it, this was a total mess. Same for foil kites with bridles hanging everywhere.
• Can you kitesurf in strong wind ?
  It is possible to kitesurf in winds above 25/30 knots, but you first have to get familiar with medium winds around 15/20 knots.
  Strong wind kitesurfing in an expert business. Strong winds increase drastically the risks endorsed by the rider
  
  The increasing curv line follows an exponential line. To speak clerarer we could say that in comparison with sailing in 15 knots regular winds:
  
  -sailing in 20 knots increases the risks by a factor of 2
  -sailing in 30 knots increases the risks by a factor of 4
  -sailing in 40 knots increases the risks by a factor of 8
  … Flash,(Marcus Austin) nearly died in his famous Leucate (France) session during a Mondial du vent competition edition in the laste 90,s.
  
  Be very careful in strong winds because smaller strong winds kites get much faster than kites for medium winds. We are aware that most of the critical accidents happened in strong winds above 20 knots.
  
  Use a safety system to kill immediately the kite power when necessary. This system should be efficient whatever the configuration you're crossing. It has to work while sailing and under charge even if absolutely overpowered.
  It has to be activated by a simple and efficient way even in the worse conditions like you spinning around your axle. If you have already met this situation you see what I mean, there is at this moment no way to find a little trigger hidden somewhere around your belly.
  
  In any case, the first safety rule is to fly only kite in winds wich you can control the situation
  If you already have a hard time to control your kite on earth, do not go on the water. When you are sailing, you create apparent wind that increases consequently the kite power. You are not going to control that.
• Can there be many kitesurfers sailing together ?
  Yes, there can be a bunch of kitesurfers together. The lines cross in a diagonal plan.
  
  Tips:
  -when you cross another kitesurfer, DO NOT raise your kite ! This is a very bad beginner attitude reflex that creates a "wall" to the kitesurfer that arrives opposite you !
  - a beginner that cannot tack the wind always kitesurf downwind of the other kitesurfers to avoid crossing the others trajectories
  
  A beginner has always priority over an expert that is supposed to be able to evaluate quickly his environment.
  
  The international yachting rule applies to kitesurfing . It stipulates that when you sail with the wind coming from your right (looking in your sailing direction) you do not need to change your sailing trajectory. The other sailor has to change his strajectory to avoid collision.
  
  To remember easily: if your right hand is in the front (sailing direction), you have the priority.
  
  This is only an indication to help you to face crossing situation, please refer to the total yachting rule to know your rights and obligations.
  
  This rule is not always easy to use.
  
  When 2 kitesurfers meet, both modify their own trajectory not to disturb the other one's sailing. Most of the time this rule solve the situation. But in case of trouble, the yachting rule are the only reference to stick to.
  
  You better know them because once you are going to face a bigger boat, you will have to be fully aware of what you should do.
  Big boats hurt !
• What are the different boards used for kitesurfing ?
  We can sort the different boards in 4 categories.
  
  The directionnal board
  Fins are located in the back and the nose has a right amount of lift.
  This is a shape that needs little power in the kite. Perfect for total beginners.Edging is no problem because of the big fins.Choosen site for average 75 kg rider should be around 190/210 cm.
  The weakness of the board is that if choosen of too bg size, the dierctionnal boards turn quickly uncomfortable in choppy conditions. But it suits so much beginners. Another difficulty lays in the absolute necessity to learn the jibe technique in a further step. The mini-directionnal board is the same but of smaller size. Mostly under 160 cm. This board is mostly riden by experts riders as most of new riders learnt to kitesurf on twin-tip boards and thus do not master the jibe technic.
  Too bad, because the mini-directionnal is absolutely versatile and is a silly weapon to ride in most situations for those who can master it. It has the wider wind range of all sort of boards. Tacks the wind like hell, rides perfect on flat water and surfs the best. Nothing else ?
  
  The Wake-board
  
  Many competitors and some expert riders have choosen to ride these boards.
  This kind of board measure between 130 and 150 cm and is very thin (10 to 20 mm). It needs to be overpowered all the time otherwise you sink in light winds . iI the wind lowers you also loose your ability to tack the wind.
  
  As sailing overpowered is only for experts, forget the idea to begin on a wake-board. By expert I mean somebody who can handle 25/30 knots wind conditions with no problem.
  
  This kind of board is used with high wrap bindings that are difficult to fit in alone. It is easier to have some help with this material. You can also fix some sandal plate instead but you loose the precision of the high wrap bindings.
  
  Light and small, this board is perfect for jumps and tricks tahnks to its total symetry. Jibing is not necessary either A good rider has an excellent edging potential with these ultra thin boards and it also soften the choppy conditions riding sessions.
  
  A 75 kg rider tacks the wind from 15 knots if correctly powered.on a 140 x 37 cm board.
  
  Please be aware that if you loose your high wrap bindings in a crash, it will not be easy to put them back on the water. Boots maintain and protect your ankles but if you land too hard, you cannot get rid of the board in the air and your knees gonna suffer…
  Neutral buoyancy of such boards provide no addtionnal security to rely and float on in case of emergency !
  
  The twin-tip
  
  this board is symetrical like the wake-board, slightly bigger. It combines both wake-board and mini-directionnal advantages.
  Its bigger fins (30 to 50 mm) provide a better and easier edging. Footstraps make the riding easier and safer. You do not need to jibe.
  Sized between 150 and 190 cm, it has a better wind range and thus need toi be less powered than with a wake-board.
  
  But the smaller twin-tips get closer and closer to narrow wake-boards…
  
  The scoop line differentiate the twin-tips. Very flat, the board will ride fast thanks to its perfect glide. But it will slides whenever you push too much on the back foot. With a higher amount of scoop, the board will be slower but will edge much easier whatever balance on the board you reach.
  
  The thinner twin-tips have very low floatation and cannot provide any safety volume in case of necessity, so be careful when going off-shore.
  
  The hybrid or mutant board
  
  This kind of board cumulate the advantages of the twin-tip and the mini-directionnal boards.
  Equipped with 4back fins bigger than the 2 front fins. It can be used as a twin-tip going both ways or you can jibe it also like a directionnal board.
  The best compromise ? Maybe. The back fins help to jump higher and make surfing easier, more controlable. You do not need to be that accurate than with a twin-tips when you go in the waves because you can rely on your back fins much better than on a twin-tip or worse on a wake-board.
  Laurent is totally "hooked" on this riding style...
  Sizes go from 140 to 170 cm.
• Is it possible to use a production surfboard to kitesurf ?
  In any case, you have to add 3 foostraps on your surfboard to kitesurf on it. The surfboards are not designed to sail on the rails like we need in kitesurf. The rails are not sharp enough to edge correctly.
  
  The deck is really fragile and can't resist to the feet pressure and the harness hook repeated shocks.
  
  If your surf board is in a good state, it would be sad to sacrifice it, but if it is an old surfboard, why not ? But think that this wil condemn the board to finish in a very bad state.
  
  Do not hesitate to browse this site to find for a cheap solution for you to begin.
  
• Can I use a wake-board production board ?
  Wake-boards intended to be pulled behind boats have too much width and a too much scoop amount for correct and easy kitesurfing results.
  
  The excessive width is intended to grant the board with extra pop capacity. That means the board will jump easier on the wake wave behind the boat. It also means that your board used with a kite will be difficult to control in choppy water !
  Only experts prefer this kind of boards when they jump without using the kite lift. Fast and radical jumps.
  
  the higher scoop amount slowers the board and prevet from good tacking upwind !
  You will have to be overpowered all the time and your wind range will be real narrow.
• I am goofy (or regular), what's different for me ?
  On a directionnal boards, you sail on both sides of you board. You are once regulat, once goofy. But do not worry, you can master rather quickly sailing on both sides.
  
  Riding twin-tip boards or wake-boards avoid jibing but you also ride goofy and regular. Riding switch is not very comfortable after a few minutes. But your feet stay all the time at the same place.
  
  Hybrids (mutants) boards can be ridden different ways. Back and forth like twin-tips or jibing like directionnals or even switch. Lots of configuartion are available according to your tastes. This board can be an interesting approach if you are used to ride only regular or goofy in other sports like skateboard, snowboard or wake-board.
  
• Who invented this kitesurf sport?
  We can't say that somebody has really invented the sport.
  Cory Roeseler and his father (USA) developped their kiteski equipment during the late 80 's. Their technique is based on a rigid banana shape kite with waterskis, single or combos. They are using a control bar with a disc-brake. This allows them to restart the kite over-head once it fell in the water.
  
  The Legaignoux brothers , Dominique and Bruno (France) patented their marine self-relauching wing called "Wipikat" in 83. It was originally marketed with a 2.50 m inflated catamaran and then became a few years later the Wipika.
  
  In1993, Laurent Ness associated his huge home built delta kites with a windsurf boards to sail on water. He tacked the wind from time to time.
  
  On his side, Manu Bertin began in 1994 in Hawaï with soft kites (paragliding type). He discovered and then used the wipika marine wing in 1995.
  
  First kitesurf pictures were published in the magazines in 1996 with Manu Bertin in Hawaï.
  
  Laurent Ness taught Raphael Salles how to kitesurf in 1996.
  Laurent finished developping the practice and understanding of the tacking techniques so the kitesurfer can sail back to the same point where he left or even go higher.
  
  For a conclusion, we have to underline that many isolated people worked separatly on the idea of using the power of the kite with a sailing device since the 70's. Maybe that we will be able to write the complete history of our sport in a few years.
• How do I relaunch a marine 4 lines bridled foil kite ?
  Basically, you can face 2 different situations.
  
  The kite crashes on the edge of the window:
  Always swim or mowe FORWARD. Never pull, water would enter in your cells. If your kite is folded like a wallet, just move forward and it will re-open and relaunch alone.
  
  The kite crashed on its leading edge:
  If your kite is equiped with a flipping system, ti should be easy. Simply pull on the kite leash connectedd to the back lines. The kite will first relaunch backwards and flip alone to land back on its trailing edge.
  
  Next step is easy, just take back your bar (if released) and the kite will take-off alone. Be careful, power can be huge. You need some free place to do that.
  
  If your kite is not equiped with such a safety/relaunching system, good luck !
• How many lessons should I take to reach autonomy ?
  It depends what you mean by "autonomy" ?
  There are 2 main meanings of the term autonomy that need to be carefully described:
  
  1-the first level means that you are able to evaluate if in one day's specifics conditions if the spot fits to your level and you will be able to choose the right size kite also and keep the control of the situation whatever happens. If you can manage all that, you are ready to kitesurf without school framing with all safety requirements completed.
  
  2-the second level means that you can go upwind and come back to your starting point.
  
  Most of our kitesurf school students can kitesurf without us after 3 or 4 days lessons if they respect all the safety rules transmitted during those lessons.
  
  To go upwind usually need some 10 to 30 sailing effective hours.
  It is often clever to take a few days lessons in school and then to train all what has been acquiered on your side and then to come back in school to finish the tacking technique learning process integration.
• What are the main safety rules ?
  All the safety rules used for smaller kites are valid for any power-kiting activity.
  
  Do not fly over public
  Do not fly upwind from roads, airports
  Do not fly upwind from railways and electric lines.
  
  Other additionnal rules have to be respected due to the huge power of the kites.
  
  For buggying, wear a helmet and proper boots. Cover your body with resistant clothes in case you slide. Sand burns you skin when you go fast!
  
  For kitesurfing, get first familiar with smaller traction kites before attending to go on water.
  You should always have empty space free of any obstacles 100 m downind your sailing zone.
  
  Wear a helmet to protect this incredible, brilliant clever head you have. A life-jacket will help you in case you face a bad situation off shore. Use a specific safety system to stop easily the power of your kite.
  Do not let you kite fly away. Use a proper kite leash system.
  
  Observe the same safety rules that applies for other snow and water users that share the site with you.
  Take informations before riding on a spot you do not know.