Learning to Kite

A girl's perspective - Nikki Pattinson

So, the first time I held a kite was up on the top of Castle Hill in about a foot of snow. At this point I had no idea about wind speed or gust speed. It was really just an attempt to impress a cute guy! I managed quite well…only managing to fall over in the snow a couple of times…and not getting dragged along face-first (which I have been told is a big achievement for a first-timer!) I must admit that I didn’t really see what makes it such an addictive hobby. I was cold, wet and achy by the time I went home.

Well it’s now a couple of months on and I’m still trying to impress the cute guy so I decided to give it another go in a drier, warmer location. The wind was wild with a speed of 25 gusting 35. Even the sand was forming dunes behind any stationery objects on the beach. I was given a 2 line HQ Symphony Beach 1.4 to start off with. Such fun! Even with this baby kite I could feel the power of the wind. It was quite exhilarating! My ‘tutor’ then decided to upgrade me to a four line Flexifoil Sting 1.2 . Wow! This one did try to lift me off my feet at times but I managed not to fall over (much to the disappointment of the boys I’m sure!) It was really cool learning how to control the kite with the smallest movements. I was really impressed with myself for being able to land and launch it on my own. I’m now beginning to appreciate why the boys are so addicted and I can maybe see myself chasing the wind with them in the future...