Isle Of Palms Magazine Spring/Summer 2019

10 www.IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com | www.ILoveIOP.com | www.IOPmag.com Y ou have probably seen riders on the Isle of Palms gliding across the water on a board attached to a kite, propelled by the wind and wondered, “Could I do that?” The answer is, yes, you can be a kiteboarder, but going it on your own is not recommended for beginners. Force Kite & Wake owner Stan Radev says with kiteboarding, you have to take lessons – it’s not something you can learn by watching a YouTube video. The sport can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, even for experienced wakeboarders. He recommends that if you’re considering a foray into kiteboarding that you first buy a practice kite, which is completely safe and teaches you about the muscle-memory movements you’ll need to conquer this popular watersport. Once you have the movements down, the next step is taking a lesson, and Force has taught thousands of them through its experienced kiteboard instructors. Radev suggests pairing with a private coach. “It’s very technical,” he said. If learning kiteboarding sounds daunting at first, not to worry – Radev assures that if you have board balance from surfing and can handle a kite, they can get someone standing on a board within a few hours. Contrary to what many beginners may think, kiteboarding is all about harnessing the power of the wind to pull the kite and has little to do with how strong and fit you are. In fact, if you are concentrating too hard on using your upper-body muscles, you are doing it wrong, explained Radev. If children weigh at least 60-70 pounds, they can learn kiteboarding; it’s all about being able to resist a pull. They teach a lot of kids lessons, and most Force instructors are parents themselves. Every Season Is Kiteboarding Season One of the benefits of kiteboarding in a place like Isle of Palms is that you don’t really have a season, and you can ride all year long if the wind conditions cooperate. And that happens often, according to Radev. “There’s probably more than 200 days of the year for perfect kiteboarding conditions,” he said. However, Radev qualifies that learning the sport requires patience because, when you’re a beginner, your weather window is smaller. You can ride anywhere on Isle of Palms, but Radev says kiteboarders congregate at 3rd Avenue and Wild Dunes. Harnessing Wind Power By Colin McCandless Kiteboarding a Popular Year-Round Sport on Isle of Palms