Hey everyone,

I asked this question in another section but then found out there's actually a WA kitesurfing section in this forum, so I'll repost.

I'm thinking of taking up kitesurfing. How often are you able to get out on the water in Perth? Would it be a hobby that I could do a few times a week (after work, weekends etc) or only a couple of times a month? (Might be easier to break it up into different seasons?)

Any good spots to practice (after a few lessons) near Scarborough?

Thanks in advance

At the moment... friggin never! Short daylight hours and erratic winds... Grrr

In the summer months with, heaps more. Mostly on weekends but I can grab an hour or so after work once or twice a week. It would be lots more if this Wowzer state had daylight savings!!. Good winds 5 out of 7 days so lots of opportunity

If you are thinking of taking it up my suggestion is "invest". Invest in lessons, invest decent gear (ask your instructor for his/her advice and don't go too cheap) and invest in time (you will need lost of practice before this sport becomes awesome and once a week won't be enough initially).

I'd suggest pinaroo or leighton to practice as there are less waves to cause dramas.

Best of luck

That's it ... In the summer its 5 to 7 days a week in Perth.
In the winter it's either light wind kiting on sunny days and when the storm clouds roll in the wind speeds can get to 50 plus knot squalls!.Second option is for the advanced rider.
If you have 10 to 20 grand to spend on gear you can kite all year round . That means getting getting a a good quiver of kite sizes and boards.
light wind gurus will go in as low as 4 knots.I get an average of 3 sessions a week.Yesterday in perth I scored city beach to scarborough downwinder to my self on a light wind kite and light wind surfboard in the 6 to 12 knot wind range. I was reasonable powered at 12 knots .
I have spent about 15 to 18 k on gear over 6 years of kiting .

Great, thanks both! 5 out of 7 days a week in summer would be great.

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eezeegowin said... If you are thinking of taking it up my suggestion is "invest". Invest in lessons, invest decent gear (ask your instructor for his/her advice and don't go too cheap) and invest in time (you will need lost of practice before this sport becomes awesome and once a week won't be enough initially).

Was defiantly planning on taking lessons. How much supervision / mentoring etc do you need after the standard 6hr package?
Gear wise, is the main thing to watch when buying second hand the kite/lines?

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eezeegowin said... I'd suggest pinaroo or leighton to practice as there are less waves to cause dramas.

Cheers!

You're overthinking this.

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j235 said..
Great, thanks both! 5 out of 7 days a week in summer would be great.

eezeegowin said... If you are thinking of taking it up my suggestion is "invest". Invest in lessons, invest decent gear (ask your instructor for his/her advice and don't go too cheap) and invest in time (you will need lost of practice before this sport becomes awesome and once a week won't be enough initially).

Was defiantly planning on taking lessons. How much supervision / mentoring etc do you need after the standard 6hr package?
Gear wise, is the main thing to watch when buying second hand the kite/lines?

eezeegowin said... I'd suggest pinaroo or leighton to practice as there are less waves to cause dramas.

Cheers!

In terms of how much practice... how long is a piece of string?? It really depends on how well you've been taught and how quick you've picked it up. Me?? I took ages to get up and going but the good thing was that where I practiced I got to know the locals who kept an eye out for me and the local kite-school would give me advise when they saw me struggling. My advice here would be get to know the locals and do your lessons at the place you intend to practice.

Gear is a difficult one when starting out as there is so much to research. Scroll back through the topics in the Newbies section as the question has been asked so many times. You'll need a user friendly "all round" kite, no older than 2007 but preferably as new as you can afford. Your instructor will discuss this one with you. I made the mistake of going cheap second hand and ended up wasting my money and going out and buying decent gear anyway.