The latest craze in extreme sports is kitesurfing, it only started out in 1990 but there are tens of thousands of enthusiasts around the world. You can go to any ocean side on a Sunday and you'll see that kitesurfing has a strong following and has expanded quickly.

The kitesurfing board is a surfboard but shorter and the kitesurfer is attached to it with foot straps or bindings. You have the board attached to a kite, that looks more like a parachute, by a series of lines of various lengths. The board is propelled by the kite across the water at quite great speeds.

The challenge in kitesurfing is that your body is the only connection between the kite and the board and mastering the control of both the kite in the air and the board on the water is a key point.

If you're asking yourself how it's possible for a kite to stay in the air while holding the weight of the board and your weight at the same time the explanation is this: while flying, a kite is creating it's own wind and the wind it creates is faster than the wind powering it producing more power than the actual wind.

The Kitesurfing Gear

You might think that kitesurfing is not an expensive sport but that's not entirely true, the board and kite aren't the only equipment you need. Other equipment components are a kite pump(inflatable kite), bar, lines, board harness, life jacket and helmet. If you'll add the starting lessons you'll get a good amount that you'll have to spend.

Taking Kitesurfing Lessons

The theory behind kitesurfing is simple enough, the practice is another story. Because of that you need a little while to master. Kitesurfing enthusiasts should take lessons from an experienced kitesurfing instructor before practicing this sport, no matter how much experience you have with surfing or windsurfing.