Interesting article with some widely different perspectives from a handful of guys who defined the sport for so long. In sharp contrast to a recent post by Robby Naish who has just got back on a windsurfer after a long lay of with injury. Robby Naish says that the thrill of hitting the lip is still the same as it always was.
I think with any athlete who is so in to a sport for so long, the risk of going stale is very high.
Clarence
I think a lot of people stay fresh with their water sports by dabbling in a few of them. If you have a big garage or trailer you can get different styles of windsurfers, throw in a kite, wave and race sups, surf boards. No need to be a quitter. Maybe Dave Kalama was living in a small apartment at the time? Or was driving a Carolla.
In Cabrinha's case being the face behind a kite brand the sole pursuit of kiteboarding as "one wind sport" makes good business and personal sense. He had to choose one wind sport as he says on the video and windsurfing I suspect went out of business expediency. I think kiting is not that bad if it is your way of life and way to earn a crust.
Select to expand quoteI guess kiting will always suffer from the idea that it is the offspring of windsurfing, or a little brother who never quite reached the popularity of its older sibling. Asking retired professional athletes why they quit a sport must be as boring for them as it is for the average weekend sailor/kiter.
Select to expand quoteAl Planet said..I guess kiting will always suffer from the idea that it is the offspring of windsurfing, or a little brother who never quite reached the popularity of its older sibling. Asking retired professional athletes why they quit a sport must be as boring for them as it is for the average weekend sailor/kiter.
Most people think that windsurfing is kiting.
Select to expand quoteMrCranky said..Al Planet said..I guess kiting will always suffer from the idea that it is the offspring of windsurfing, or a little brother who never quite reached the popularity of its older sibling. Asking retired professional athletes why they quit a sport must be as boring for them as it is for the average weekend sailor/kiter.
Most people think that windsurfing is kiting.
I don't know the difference between the rugby codes or what offside rules are and I guess that I few seconds research on the web would enlighten me but somehow I just end up looking at funny cat videos. It's hard to expect everyone else to behave any differently.
Have kited on and off since it started.Never once have I wanted to give up wavesailing ,it has a more direct feel with the wave and you can't get that same projection out of the lip on a little kite board .For me windsurfing forever kiting to mix it up.
People I know are surprised got back into windsurfing at my age. They invariably ask "Why don't you go kiting?" I say "Because I don't think my body will learn anything new". It does get tiresome though.
Likewise. I tried kiting in the Red Sea it was fun but I happy to choose the best wind sport Windsurfing which I learnt to do in 1981.
I left in 1989 and returned in 2014.
From that chat it was light weight car park banta and if you sat them down and showed them that they would laugh Dave Kalama was one of the best windsurfing wave surf riding shredder at 90kgs and over he just crushed heavy waves that lighter guys struggled with for him to not really kite full on in the waves and say kiting was better was a slip of the tounge / my point is the origional windsurfers spent years on antique gear and developed it / antique kites came along and many of the original crew were in there 35 to 45 and many people who ripped on the windsurfer had a go kiting but the injuries and danger associated with it in the early days just did not stack up many got seriously injured on the kiting persuits ,a lot just realised the windsurfing was better some the other way / lucky for the younger generation wes developed both to a point where the equipment is that advanced you can learn both twice three times as quickly / personally it came down to having to much equipment cost and maintence Geraldton being so windy with swell kiting just did not fit and the pain in dealing with a med strings tangles and a bursting bladder and not wave riding or being able to instantly get the same feeling just did not stack up 
Select to expand quoteSparky said..
Or was driving a Carolla.
Hey, don't knock em. Fits 3 boards, 3 sails. Adelaide to Robe to Adelaide - $30 fuel.
Select to expand quoteking of the point said..
From that chat it was light weight car park banta and if you sat them down and showed them that they would laugh Dave Kalama was one of the best windsurfing wave surf riding shredder at 90kgs and over he just crushed heavy waves that lighter guys struggled with for him to not really kite full on in the waves and say kiting was better was a slip of the tounge / my point is the origional windsurfers spent years on antique gear and developed it / antique kites came along and many of the original crew were in there 35 to 45 and many people who ripped on the windsurfer had a go kiting but the injuries and danger associated with it in the early days just did not stack up many got seriously injured on the kiting persuits ,a lot just realised the windsurfing was better some the other way / lucky for the younger generation wes developed both to a point where the equipment is that advanced you can learn both twice three times as quickly / personally it came down to having to much equipment cost and maintence Geraldton being so windy with swell kiting just did not fit and the pain in dealing with a med strings tangles and a bursting bladder and not wave riding or being able to instantly get the same feeling just did not stack up
All good points. Remember also Peter Cabrinha has a financial motivation to say what he did. He does not push a Cabrinha windsurfing brand although JP and NP are in the same group but he is not involved with them as far as I know.
Windsurfing has that "Oneness" feel about it that you just can't do without.
kiteboarding has that extra dimension that opens up a whole realm of new spots to adventure into that a windsurfer can't.
foiling is the new challenge
Select to expand quoteking of the point said..
From that chat it was light weight car park banta and if you sat them down and showed them that they would laugh Dave Kalama was one of the best windsurfing wave surf riding shredder at 90kgs and over he just crushed heavy waves that lighter guys struggled with for him to not really kite full on in the waves and say kiting was better was a slip of the tounge / my point is the origional windsurfers spent years on antique gear and developed it / antique kites came along and many of the original crew were in there 35 to 45 and many people who ripped on the windsurfer had a go kiting but the injuries and danger associated with it in the early days just did not stack up many got seriously injured on the kiting persuits ,a lot just realised the windsurfing was better some the other way / lucky for the younger generation wes developed both to a point where the equipment is that advanced you can learn both twice three times as quickly / personally it came down to having to much equipment cost and maintence Geraldton being so windy with swell kiting just did not fit and the pain in dealing with a med strings tangles and a bursting bladder and not wave riding or being able to instantly get the same feeling just did not stack up
This has to be the longest run-on sentence I have ever seen in my life!
But it reads.
