The History of KiteSurfing
KiteSurfing is by far the latest craze in extreme sports. The
idea of using a kite to enhance speed and gravity for the surfer
seems like a new and exhilarating challenge, yet the art of
KiteSurfing dates back to the 13th Century Chinese when it was
used as a simple mode of transportation. KiteSailing, as it was
known, was a medium that used the wind as an aid to harness its
momentum and energy to mobilize their canoes across water. The
earliest recorded history of KiteSailing dates back to the early
12th Century.
In the 1800’s George Pocock took the basic kite design to a whole
new level by increasing the size of the overall kite and used
them as a sail to glide carts on land and ships on the water. The
designs of the kites were engineered with 4 lines, the same setup
being deployed today. Both carts and boats were able to turn and
sail upwind. The wind would generate enough lift underneath the
kite to raise it off of the ground and powerful enough to sustain
it for a period of time.
These kites have been able to propel a man-made vehicle across
the ground, snow, ice and water. These kites are codependent on
the wind and its necessary to get off of the ground or water to
get them to fly. However, once the kite is in the air it
manufactures its own wind, which is proportionately faster and
creates a higher rate of speed for the vehicle.
Yet one issue still remains most of the earlier kites were
deployed from the land and off of the flat ground. Not on the
water where KiteSurfing takes place. In the 1980’s Wipika,
Kiteski, fOne, Concept Air, C-Quad, and Naish Kites marketed
water launch kites. These kites could be sailed again after
falling short of wind into the water.
In the late 1990’s off of the Hawaiian coast of Maui, Laird
Hamilton and Manu displayed the extreme sport opportunities to
radical surfers and wake boarders. Its popularity has since
skyrocketed as one of the fastest growing water sports in the
past two years.
Today there are organizations, competitions, videos and magazines
worldwide dedicated to this increasingly popular sport and the
thrills associated with it.
Jakob Jelling is the founder of
http://www.kitesurfingnow.com
Visit his kitesite for the latest on kitesurfing equipment,
kiteboarding lessons, places to surf and much more!
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