It is easy to forget what it was like to be a beginner, so here is a story of learning to kite by Rhonda Reyna who had the luck of running in to Jessica Winkler.
Kitesurfing is my “Field of Dreams” and fountain of youth. I cannot tell you how or why I know it was meant to be in my life, but as with anyone who has a passion, it’s just a feeling that takes you over. Kitesurfing is a challenging sport; conquering the learning curve, overcoming nervousness or fear about controlling the kite and eventually making it up on the board, provides a sense of accomplishment and elation that makes the effort so worthwhile and satisfying. Kiteboarding attracts special kinds of people; those who are passionate, driven and people who are not quitters, a trait I most admire about kiters. They have all been through the tough learning process. Many have told me, “you have to want to do this.” They are right. I have pursued it with passion and enthusiasm and met so many wonderful people along the way. I went from curious spectator, to wanna-be participant asking questions of kiters on the beach, to participant, and are now the one giving information to onlookers curious to know more about the sport. I enjoy talking with them and sharing my experiences and thoughts about how they can safely get started.
I saw my first kiteboarder in Florida 2012. He was tacking gracefully up and down the beach and smiling at me. I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. That moment was a seed in my head that would lay dormant until the right time came for it to grow.
A couple of years later while driving over the San Mateo bridge, I saw a bunch of colorful kites flying over the San Francisco Bay and Googled their launching location as soon as I got home. I discovered 3rd Avenue and started going down there regularly to spectate the sport. Every kiter I met coming off the water had an ear to ear grin on his face and would tell me, “you should try it, you’ll love it”. I eventually became well acquainted with some elite kiters and followed them to Waddell Creek where I saw a whole new level of the sport; wave riding and jumping. It was amazing, and intimidating. My impression was that this was an athletic man’s sport, only for the very brave, or at the very least, most crazy. Amazingly it was an inaccurate perception.
One day when there wasn’t any wind, I ran into one of these super capable kiters at the beach where he was surfing. He asked if I would like to be introduced to his friends who were also at the beach, two professional female kiteboarders from another country. He told me they were better kiters than himself. I have a lot of respect for his abilities so I thought he was just embellishing and flattering them. After talking with these incredible ladies, I learned that they travelled the world chasing the wind and going to kiting competitions. He teased me and said “Rhonda, when are you going to learn to surf? I thought to myself, forget surfing, anyone can do that, I want to learn to kiteboard.
I looked up kiting schools in San Francisco Bay, took my kite flying lesson, purchased a trainer kite and began to practice. Unfortunately it was the end of the wind season. I was stuck facing a long winter without getting to be on the water. My desire was overwhelming. Life was unbelievably stressful and I needed relief. I wanted to have fun, and images of happy, smiling kitesurfers played over and over in my head. “Build it and they will come”. I knew the owner of the kite school, would think I was crazy, but I told her I wanted to buy my quiver. She patiently advised me on the proper equipment I would need and endured my insistence on color coordination and matching accessories. Eventually we assembled a quiver that I was thrilled to have.
Shortly after, an opportunity presented itself for me to go to Turks and Caicos, on the recommendation of a friend of a friend who said he had been there in July 2015 and had seen kitersurfers in Long Bay. My first lesson was a disaster. I had a bad crash and tore my hamstring. I was not to be thwarted and scheduled a lesson with a different school. Three days later, after an emergency visit to a chiropractor to dislodge my jammed leg from the hipsocket, I met Jessica Winkler, a professional Kitesurfing competitor and Instructor for Kite Provo. Jessica was able to get me up on the board and riding, despite having had a serious injury. She made me feel at ease with the kite even though winds were in the high 20’s. She is a genuine human being, enthusiastic to teach the sport and we instantly connected. I felt a sisterhood with her. I’ve never met anyone with an equally infectious sense of enthusiasm and love of life and sharing fun, as myself. I was so ecstatic. Jessica and I share the same desire to see more women on the water, participating in kiteboarding as a pleasure sport that fosters female bonding, loads of enjoyment and great friendships.
Intense stress from my life had aged me beyond my years. At times I felt old, incapable and low in self esteem. Learning to set up my kite, ride the board and having fun with Jessica on the beach, built me up and had shocking age reversing effects. I look 20 years younger in the pictures she took of me. We are still laughing about it. I came home feeling physically fit and had a smile from ear to ear on my face.
Upon returning home, I was very motivated to take as many lessons as I could to get comfortable with the sport. Most schools have a waiting list as lessons are in high demand so I scheduled with several instructors; Boardsports, Kite 415 and Sandy and Donny Parker in Sherman Island. This turned out to be a good thing as each Instructor brings a different piece of the puzzle and they have unique teaching locations which have a variety of benefits as well. Having a background in Forensic Science specializing in Firearms, as well as experience teaching Horseback Riding lessons for the past 11 years specializing in beginners and Foxhunters, I have a very methodical approach to learning anything high risk. I take my time and I want lots of details.
It has been amazing talking with and meeting all the kiteboarders at the different locations. The village of willing kiters to help me practice each skill set to ensure we are all safe, has left me overwhelmed with happiness. Rebecca Aguilar, of GoPro, was the first woman I met at Waddell Creek. She was untangling her lines when I walked up to introduce myself and ask if she could help me with a specific skill on my trainer kite. She happily did so and her sister and friends, who had never flown a kite, eagerly came to join me and learn what it was all about. I taught them to fly the basics, so we all ended up having great laughs and fun that day. A real instant pay it forward moment.
While taking lessons with Sandy Parker at Sherman Island, I spent a lot of days hanging around to observe kite launching, landing, and flying as well as to meet people. Sherman Island has such a nice vibe full of friendly kite families. I have met too many people to name, but 3 stand out as having provided some much needed mental support for my first Downwinders. Maui Mike, a big dog at Sherman who has the most enthusiastic, generous spirit of anyone I know, Kerstin with her wide grin and infectious stokedness and Silvia, who seems to have my back, despite having just met me, all accompanied me down the Delta. It was very comforting to know I had experienced buddies watching over me and helping to guide me into a very intimidating kite landing location full of large driftwood and a small beach. I flew in on what Mike said was one of the most chaotic moments he’d seen all season. A very helpful lady waded out and held onto my harness, guiding me in while a gentleman cleared a landing on the beach and caught my kite. The whole thing could not have gone any better. It was a very positive experience, and I am so grateful to everyone for helping.
The next location to conquer was the rocky entrance at 3rd Avenue. Many kiters who fly at Sherman Island also fly this location. Kerstin came out with me to assist on my first solo sessions. We made a plan that if I could not make it back upwind to the upper launch, I would fly to the lower launch. A misunderstanding, on my part, led both of us to have an hour and a half of fun while I tried to get upwind. Unable to do so on my first 3rd Ave attempt, I ended up easily landing at the lower launch by myself. She was in shock and we had a great laugh. The next week, I made it upwind and landed back at the upper launch with the help of Kerstin navigating me through the slippery mud and with lots of smiles and cheers from all my kite buddies. It was such an amazing day. I was super stoked!
Another “Villager”, Rob Shea, who I had met at Kite Expo 2016 in Pismo Beach earlier in the year, has been a terrific mentor at 3rd Avenue, making sure everyone knew I was a beginner and to watch out for me. He is amazing. When I came into the upper launch the next day on my second effort that week, he flew his kite in barely ahead of me, landed it mock speed and waded out into the water to come assist me with my landing. I was very impressed and felt so much safer. Awhile later while I was resting and he was enjoying his own session, another main kiter at 3rd did a fly by to check on me. He walked over to make sure I was ok and had not gotten hurt since he saw that I was sitting down. I so appreciated being looked after, thanked him and told him, no I was just tired and needed rest. What a wonderful village of people looking out for one another.
Since Waddell Creek has been on my radar from the very beginning, I thought I’d better spend some time down there learning wave rules and watching the flow. I met some locals; Art, Alex and Bill, who have been so generous in showing me the ropes. I had a concern with one of my kites so Alex, a very experienced kiter, spent the day flying it with me and troubleshooting. He validated my instincts that something was wrong, so we sent the kite into the shop for a tune-up. Art and Bill have spent a lot of time with me getting used to strong winds, and have held on to me like a kitten by the scruff of the neck, letting me get used to flying my kite in wave action and feeling the surf hit me in the face and move me about. They’ve shared their local knowledge of wind, wave and water conditions. They’re tough, and I like that a lot as it has been great for confidence building. Thanks to their “get it done, no babying it” style, I was in the water putting my board on and flying down the beach in and out of some small waves in a very short amount of time. The weekend I was there, winds were at 25mph with good size surf. They told me many beginners would have been intimidated. Somehow, they make me feel super safe, so I was having a ton of fun and laughing my head off. We’ve made instant friendships and all share the passion for kiting.
My favorite part of kite life, is the commraderie; full of bbq’s, after session debriefings and connecting with families eager to have all of our kids enjoying the outdoors together. This is a challenging sport so everyone has been through the learning curve. If you’ve been determined enough to become a kiter, it’s instant proof that you have a strong character to finish something you’ve started.
It has been a fun journey so far. Waddell Creek is a great spectating location and I laugh to myself that I am now the one who gets stopped and asked all the questions. I enjoyed meeting some very friendly women one day who gave me graham crackers after one of my sessions while I answered their questions about what it is like to get into the sport and why does it seem there are so few women doing it? I enjoy people and see a future of helping new participants, particularly women, get started, as well as innovating it in some interesting ways. I have a lot of ideas coming from a competitive equestrian background so we will see where it goes.
by Rhonda Reyna
