SPI lessons/supervision

fredf · Since 10 Jan 2009 80 Posts Eugene. Or Â

I´m thinking of going to South Padre Island for most of a week in mid April. I am an ¨advanced-beginner¨ in that I´ve taken lessons and arrived at the point where I can waterstart fairly reliably but have not yet taken any long runs on my own. I´m thinking what I need is loose supervision while I spend a lot of hours just doing it. My question is what would be the most cost effective way to book that kind of help in view of lesson costs of $100/hr and up?
I have an 11m kite that I could take with me but I have a feeling that whatever I took would likely not be ideal so using someone else´s gear would probably save me a lot of hassle.
I realize I may be looking for a service that doesn´t exist but if I don´t ask I´ll never know for sure.
Thanks.

alien · Since 01 Aug 2006 114 Posts Portland Stoked

If you're comfortable with your kite skills and safety systems, etc., just take your gear down there and go for it. SPI is one of the most beginner-friendly kite spots there is, the flats on the inside of the island are shallow forever, meaning you can just stand up almost anywhere, so it's pretty hard to get into trouble. Though you won't want to have to rely on them too much, there will be other kiters around. It's a great place to progress in a relatively safe environment.

bobgatpdx · Since 04 Oct 2008 218 Posts Stoked

Phillip Money at Windsurf, Inc does great lessons. They take you out in their boat and follow you around. They also do "downwinder pickups" where they take you out, turn you loose and then find you an hour or two later. SPI is a super beginner friendly spot - you can touch the bottom for miles. Make sure you bring booties - there are small oyster shells in the mud that can rip up your feet.

www.windsurfinc.com

bobg

Nak · Sat Mar 21, 09 5:18 pm

One thought: If you don't have any previous board skills, consider taking a wake-boarding lesson. I stalled where you're at for a while. It was just a bit much flying the kite & trying to stay on the board at the same time. I spent 15 minutes on a wakeboard just getting the feel of riding a board & the next time I went kiting I was up & riding.

If you're going all the way to SPI, absolutely take your gear. At your stage it's probably better to use your own gear during a lesson anyway. Besides, you'll pay a small fortune to have an instructor all week. You need time kiting right now.

If you can, get a little wake-boarding in, then spend an hour with a kite instructor so he can give you tips. You're right on the verge of getting it. Very Happy

A week in SPI & you'll wonder how you didn't get it before.

Good luck and have fun!

fredf · Since 10 Jan 2009 80 Posts Eugene. Or Â

Thanks for the encouraging advice Allan, Bobgat and Nak. That´s what I´ll do - take my own gear and hope it fits with the wind conditions and just spend time on the water.
Will I need a car in view of the small size of SPI and the availability of a shuttle?
Any suggestion on a good place to book a room?.
Need a wet suit in addition to the booties?

tonyb · Sat Mar 21, 09 7:04 pm

Bring your gear and try it without the lessons for a couple of days. Look for Carol or I on the beach and we'll give you the ten minute low down on etiquette and what to watch out for. Like Alien said SPI is one of the most beginner friendly places you can kite. April is pretty warm but I'd recommend a shorty and booties as you might be spending a lot of time in the water as you first get going.

It's quite possible that your 11m kite may be too small for some of the lighter wind days in April but I can hook you up with a Spleene 141 board that will help if it's not too light.

Another shop that's good for lessons and has some gear to demo is Air Padre. And Air Padre just got their Grinch Winch going so you can do some wakeboarding like Nak suggests to get a feel for riding.

You kind of need a car as the flats are a couple of miles north of the last hotels. You could do it but it's a bit of walk with all your gear. Might be able to take a taxi each way but you'd still have to deal with the walk in from the highway.

For rooms in mid April you can just show up and drive down the strip looking for the cheapest room rate. You should see stuff from about $30 to $90 a night. Motel 6 and Super 8 on the low end, Holiday Inn Express, La Quinata, and others on the upper end. Hit Google maps and query for hotels in SPI. Try to pick something closer to the north end of town.

Also, do a search for SPI here on nwkite - lots of answers to your questions and ideas of where to stay.

Tony

The minnow · Since 26 Jan 2009 395 Posts argentina Obsessed

carolb · Sat Mar 21, 09 8:01 pm

I'd catch a group lesson the first day or 2 until your comfortable with your gear, riding, and safety system. If you can't be self sufficient, relaunch, get your gear, body drag, etc. you could get hurt, hurt someone else, or loose your gear. Either way, its better to be safe expecially if you haven't been on the water for a few months. Jeff at Air Padre is good for lessons. I wouldn't go with someone who drops you off and comes back in an hour. Drifting for a hour in the bay kite down waiting for a ride is no fun. I went to check on someone a month back and she was not a happy swimmer and had given up trying a relaunch before I arrive.

Then like Tony said some of us can keep an eye out for you and you can do the walk/circles once you're comfortable controlling your equipment.

We have the van with the red kayak on top so stop by and say hi.

DownStream · Since 18 Apr 2007 381 Posts Obsessed

you wont be doing any walking after a lesson at AirPadre. If you want a great deal and lots of riding time check their riding camps schedule. 956 299 WIND.

pdxmonkeyboy · Mon Mar 23, 09 12:05 am

Falafal,
The others pretty much hit the nail on the head. As long as you have your safety system figured out and your up and water starting, you should be good to go. To some extent, when people get to your stage, they just need to get their ass on the water and get some time in. Never been to SPI but hear it is a great place to learn.

look up the Bolstad clan for sure.

After your up and running, ask someone to take a serious look at you when your riding and give you some tips on stance and what not. That way you can focus on developing a good riding stance.

Have fun, be safe, and kite hard, learning is all about eating shit with a huge grin on your face.

I'm uber jealous!!

shred_da_gorge · Mon Mar 23, 09 1:56 pm

I highly recommend Brett Newcomb at Air Padre. He had me waterstarting, riding upwind, and transitioning smoothly in three afternoons, and I was quite comfortable just practicing there on my own after that. Spend some time practicing self-rescues, too, even if you don't need to, as it's easiest to practice where you can stand everywhere.

SPI is THE place to learn, and there are lots of supportive people around. Don't be afraid to tell people your level and that you need help and to ask people to keep an eye on you. You can walk just about everywhere in the water, and when you get to working on toe side you can do a downwinder from south flats to north flats so you don't have to care about staying upwind so much.

I'll be there in April so maybe I'll catch you at the north flats. Believe me, you won't be the only beginner out there!

Pete

forrest · Mon Mar 23, 09 2:00 pm

Yea, I learned from Jeff at Air Padre back in 2003. He was patient and made sure I was stoked on kiteboarding before my lesson ended. Plus I got to go from the North flats all the way to the bridge in one tack. I think that's like 7 miles or something, how's that for your first time on a board.

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

Speedo · Since 07 May 2007 264 Posts Obsessed

I learned in SPI also, and had good experiences with both of the main schools there. I have good things to say about both, but I did one lesson from one school and the rest of my lessons from Jeff at Airpadre. If you decide you need lessons, you might best be served by going with the school that uses your kites. I have to admit, that the main reason I chose air Padre was because he used the same kites I was going to buy. After the experience I can recomend his school HIGHLY and would bring my friends and family to him. I took lessons from the other school the first or second day I was there because Jeff was unavailable and I was just itching to get on the water. I can't remember the name of the other school but the instructor was cool and patient even though I was getting super frustrated (not his fault at all).

After a couple lessons, when Jeff was sure I was safe, he let me do downwinders from his boat. He would do beginner lessons off his boat, and keep a loose eye on me to make sure I was doing ok. By this point I could generally stay even and not lose too much ground. The wind was fairly light, so it was hard to ride unless you were doing down winders anyway. It seemed like few, if anybody in the flats were riding during those days. At the end of trip (about 10 days), he even took me downwind on the ocean side and I got my first taste wave riding!

there's a lot to be said for down winders. I was so focused on learning to go upwind that I wasn't having that much fun and I wasn't building speed and a good stance for going up-wind. having a boat nearby watching out for me and knowing I had tons of room downwind gave me the peace of mind to go out and have fun. In the process i got to learn to go upwind!

actually, I thought I could ride, but in reality, i was only going for very short distances and one direction pretty well and not too good in the other. The down-winders gave me the time to learn to ride as well as stay upwind.

shred_da_gorge · Thu Mar 26, 09 4:01 pm

Duly noted... thanks for the advice kitezilla!

holly · Since 09 Jul 2006 440 Posts Hood River Obsessed

Brett is cool and a solid instructor!!!and hes cute!!!!!

shred_da_gorge · Sat Mar 28, 09 12:53 am