Why did you start kiteboarding?

I got my windsurfing gear out after a 5 year layoff to get fit again. Had a couple of lousy sessions in crappy winds, and when I saw that there was one windsurfer in the carpark (me) and 100 kites on the water I figured that something had changed.

Rang up the school that day, they said; no problem 5 hours lessons and $2000 gear and you'll be set. Well took me heaps longer and a lot more $, but I'm totally utterly hooked.

I started kite surfing back in 2008 just so I can troll Seabreeze!

EDIT:

Actually my wife got me into it, and now she's hardly kiting at all . I am now the "pro" in the family. My sons are starting out this year, so it's going to definitely be a family affair.

She bought herself back in early 2000's a Gastraa trainer kite and oddly enough, I was always fascinated by kites ever since my dad made me a "chancho" kite as a kid. Chancho is Spanish for a pig (hmmm maybe I should rename myself to loftypig? ).

I used to fly single line kites for fun and made a few nice ones over the years. My best was a simple diamond shaped kite but with a 400mt line!! I could hardly see it in the sky sometimes.

Then when I met my partner there was one day in Altona, VIC where we stood at Apex Park playing in the playground with our son, but she went off to look at the kite surfers. She was transfixed for hours and the next day decided to get lessons. That's when we met Steve at KSS and well... as they say the rest is history. Lars was our trainer and we quickly learnt the ropes (pun unintended) but we couldn't water start yet. Made a few friends along the way (hi Peter the Irish!), and then due to other circumstances decided to leave Victoria altogether. We couldn't stand the traffic, commute to CBD that took nearly 3 hours a day, late trains, crowds, and having to drive everywhere for everything, even milk and bread! To see our friends from the Eastern suburbs would be a whole day's trip almost. We had enough.

So here we are in sunny Townsville. true paradise for us. No traffic queues (nothing like Melb), only ONE red-light and speed camera, and beaches and mountains everywhere. This place is mecca for everything from walking along the beach, to kite surfing, cycling, mountain biking, hiking, mountaineering, swimming and everything in between.

You should come up one day.

Whenever its crowded I also ask "why did you all start kitesurfing????"

In the middle of winter I bought a 9m fuel which actually turned out to be a 13m.
Had a quick lesson how to launch and land.
Went out for some body dragging
it was gusting 20-30kn
Got majorly lofted
Then I was hooked.

I did it to meet friends because I don't have any, so far hasn't worked and lofty hates my guts. dunno why..