@Rowdy:
Ok maybe we have to define the terminology first..
In the hood were I am coming from, we don't differentiate between winsurfing and "windsailing" or how you name it.
Going out in massive surf or in a flat pond, we call that thingy windsurfing.
And yeah, I got little clue how hard windsurfing trick xy is.
But my point is a very general one, in the sense that you can't call windsurfing "more legit", because simple stuff is harder to execute.
To give you a fantastic analogy:
You can learn to sprint 100m on your hands, with separates you from most people who can't do that at all.
But why learning it? It is just a less efficient way to move.
Instead, you could also stay on your legs and try to do it under 10secs.
Which goal carries more legitness?
To be more specific, I know quite a few ex windsurfers, and all they do in kiting is going back and forth (some pretty fast, I give em that) with maybe a mediocre boost at times.
One guy switched to kiting 8 years ago and is still too scared to pull a kiteloop.
There might certainly be windurfing moves that are much harder to coordinate, but impose less risk.
Anyway, who cares?
If you reach a high standard in whatever you do (I pride myself in posting this message on seabreeze), you might call yourself legit in that field, even though another guy might come along and totally outperform ya.
But I see your general concern that some kiters feel too cool, because they can "do stuff" relatively easily.
There isn't much point in arguing along the lines of kitesurfing versus windsurfing, because they are two different sports and each has guys who push it to the current limits. I appreciate both.
Then there is Joe Public, who goes out to get a buzz when he can, and kitesurfing in my opinion, gives him more options.
Two last videos:
A windsurfer trying to draw lines on a wave like a surfer.
3 things.
1) is it just me or is this thread just slightly off topic?
2)arguing about whether poley's or kiters r betr is pointless. -evry1 knows kites are far more agile.
3) as spectacular as those poley vids are, most of the tricks those guys do wash a lot of speed and momentum and r comparable to a dud firework.
yeah, I agree,
That last one, barn's vid from jeri, just shows a poledancer "trying" to do OLD SCHOOL kiteboarding dick tricks, but landing them on his back or under powered.If he wasnt on a malibu, he would haver sunk.
He is skilled, I guess, but its like comparing surfing pipeline(kiteing), to boogie boarding bondi(dancing)
notice the winks poledancers
So, in summary then :
Somebody complains that whilst sailing at his local spot he is regularly annoyed by kiters racing in and out through the waves without actually catching any or by kiters snaking him, then tearing off down the line unable to stay in the curl
Somebody else then caught this person kiting on a day there were no 'dragons for him to slay' and everyone else concluded he must be a closet kiter who has been trying for 46 years but can't yet balance on a board and therefore a women's underwear wearing ****ta
It was then generally agreed kiting is better than windsurfing on the grounds :
you can jump higher
you can stay up longer
it is more like surfing than windsurfing is
it hasn't been around as long
and windsurfing is better than kiting because
it is harder to do
some famous dude is pretty good at it
So I draw conclusions that :
If you moan about others pissing you off you are not permitted to then undertake any activity in public, even on a deserted windswept beach in the dark and rain
Hot Air Ballooning is the most radical and exciting sport in the world as you go so high and stay up for so long
Kiting is the most surfing like activity (except actually surfing) and therefore is the best way to spend your time (presuambly surfing is too much like surfing to be any good)
New is good, old is bad, having a Daewoo Matiz in your garage is better than cruising St Tropez seafront on a 916
Teaching a goat to sing opera is the most 'legit' thing around because it is so hard to do
Youtube is the guardian of modern culture, and posting a youtube link automatically wins any debate
Flipper is not a real person but a thing generated by averaging every comment on Seabreeze. As everybody seems to hate Flipper, everybody must also then hate themselves as there is a little of everyone in Flipper
History,,,,Who knowz it,,,???Jacobs kite 87 wehmouth speed trials,??One of the first stacked kite blown out da sky,Moving on 1998,Kym smallman brings kite sailing to west oz,,Coro beach,The boyz gob smacked by this new air floating machine,,,,Da gangstur Does his first ever kite down winder,,,not a lot of people no that,,Da smallman left and forgot to blow the pipe,,,and here we are still waiting for da pide piper to move it on,,,yacnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn z
is there a record for the amount of pages mounted to a topic ? and is it possible to rabbit on about anything for long enough to come back around to the original topic? -wish there was wind.
I went kiting on the weekend ......and ........guess what
Eyes was all over you crew with 10 years experience.
What carnt the King Do
Ps Intresting point West hammer , .......i forgot i did a down winder on da kite in mid 1990 ies on KYMs gear, who was one, of only a few who had the first pump up in Western Australia (There might of been a couple of air rams around not many Gavin up here in Gero ) Dont get me wrong i got rescued 2km offshore after zig zagging down da coast ........i was a rookie throwen in da ring and got beat up.
He was doing wild down winders around Margret river and ended up in the box at 10 foot AS the southerly went south East after launching at boat ramps,,,, may be he actually launched further up da coast.? in da 90s
and Geoff (wave scalple)wanted a go at Coronation beach park and KYM and da possie put on a fire breathing demonstration, and we ss, cleared da beach of people and Geoff got boosted over the Coros fire place and skidded down the beach ....... before tamming da beast .
Good times passionate people.
Ps With all my kiting experience i gotta be a red hot chance to win da competition to spot the kiter in that photo.
Sorry, but what just started out as a friendly post between friends has scaled up and is now causing all sorts of agro.
Enjoy your sport, no matter what you do.