Others have managed to do it, too! If they can do it, then I can damn well do it, too. But at the moment nothing works. I'm sitting on the sand in knee-deep seawater, somewhere between the beach and the reef near Hurghada in the Red Sea, and I'm supposed to be pulled out of the water by a stunt kite. I had imagined kiting to be easier. How did I get this crazy idea in the first place?
By Harald Zeiss
I let my life happen again in my mind's eye, but I can't for the life of me remember that beer-soaked evening sometime last September. Anyway, here I am, together with my best friend, with a board under my feet and a kite in the sky, and now I have to cover my first meters on the little bit of water as gracefully as possible. As I said, others have done it too!
Kite schools are a dime a dozen
My teacher's name is Momo. In reality Mohamed, but everyone says Momo. Sounds more like sun, sand and fun. That's what everyone here associates with kiting, and when you watch the experts flying their kites not only over the sea but also through the air, it seems that this trendy sport has hit just the right nerve in our action-pampered society. But before the flight comes the fall, and of those a beginner will have to put down a lot. The good news, however, is that you only fall into the water and don't really have much to fear apart from a proper seawater nose rinse. If you're up for it, you can make your first meters on the water after a good eight to twelve hours, and here you can read how.
First think, then book
The beginning is easy: book a flight to Hurghada, choose a hotel and enjoy the anticipation. Ideal for beginners is the kite area near the tourist resort town of El Guna. There is a wide selection of hotels and the fabulous kite beach can be reached in 15 minutes by tuktuk cab. However, there are a few things to consider beforehand. One is the wind conditions, which are more or less constant throughout the year. This has a direct impact on the learning progress. Because without wind no kite flies and without kite flying you also don't learn kiting.
So if you absolutely want to have learned everything until the return flight, you have to come in the windy time from June to September. On the other hand, you should check the air and sea temperatures carefully beforehand. Frostbite sufferers will avoid the months from November to April, when it can get very cold at night and sometimes during the day. Not to mention the temperatures of the Red Sea. After all, there are suitable wetsuits for all beginners, of course, the kite, the harness and an extra large board, on which it is easier to keep the balance.
Just one more thing!
For just under 300 euros, I booked eight hours of beginner's lessons at a kite school with Momo. BASIC 1. Sounds like little sense of achievement for a lot of money. It is best to bring the money in cash at the moment, because the Egyptian pound is on a rollercoaster ride. There the acceptance for credit cards and for the local currency decreases anyway. Momo is not just anyone, but was Egyptian kite champion a few years ago. But he tells us that only at the very end, presumably in order not to make us unfit for kitesurfing because of our awe.
The first hour is relatively harmless, with material knowledge, safety checks and a few important things about the physical peculiarity of the interaction of wind and kite. Fortunately, kite kites have become much easier to maneuver in recent years and thus much safer for beginners like me. If all else fails, so to speak, there is a safety buckle that separates the kiter from the kite, rendering the latter incapable of flight. It's a good feeling when you're hanging on that thing like a rodeo rider on a wild bull.
All beginnings are difficult
I have to unleash this bull now. As long as the dragon is directly above me in the sky, it flies without much effort and, above all, without pulling hard on the rope attached to my waist belt. It's all very easy. "But as soon as Ipull on the strings on the right or left by means of a crossbar, it moves accordingly. And thus into the wind. And pulls. On me. And if I'm not careful, he drags me a few meters undignified over the sea, until the dragon falls into the water. Then I have to get up for the 100th time, bring the dragon back to the zenith "at 12 o'clock" and walk backwards, back to where I was dragged away from. This is then the so-called Walk of Shame that beginners complete until they get it.
Now let's play dumb
The special challenge in kiting lies in the complexity of the movement sequences, which in interaction with balance and the most stable wind possible should lead to riding pleasure. But in kiting all masters first fell from the sky and this frustration tolerance must bring every beginner. Momo makes every effort to instruct me and above all to motivate me. Push, pull, left, right, gently, more power and much more I hear again and again these days. If you want, you can also have it in German. Kite instructors are not in short supply here and they all seem to be language talents. At some point in the afternoon, however, nothing goes in the head and the arms are felt to have become longer and longer. And luckily there is no wind the next day. I can really use that!
Second part of BASIC 1
The next day there is enough wind and I am back in the water. Not only the wind, but also the ebb and flow of the tide determine the learning rhythm. When the sea level is too low, it becomes too dangerous for the beginners. Low tide is at 2 pm. Therefore, we have to use the remaining time before the afternoon. While last time we practiced together on one kite, today everyone gets his own kite, adjusted to body weight and wind speed. Not only my awkwardness and a meanwhile latent muscle ache are causing me trouble, but also the unexpected gusts that sometimes pull more, sometimes less on the kite, making it difficult for me to control it. More water swallowing and more walk of shame. But something inside me feels like it's getting better. Momo thinks so too, but I think he gets paid for his good mood.
No pain, no gain
All of a sudden it works! I'm riding! I don't know if it was the endless repetitions, frustration, Momo's determination or just luck that I actually kite at the end of the second day. If you can call 100 meters of riding on the board such. Others have made it, and now I finally have too. The feeling of happiness is there immediately, the kick, the fun, the certainty that I have made it after all. And this is a moment to remember. Because after a few dozen meters, a gust of wind takes me off the boat again, back into wet reality. I'm lying in the knee-deep sea, and so is the dragon, but I know I can do it. A start has been made. Now it's just a matter of keeping at it and practicing, practicing, practicing.
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