Yesterday I couldn’t seem to kite surf without being a major hazard to myself, those around me, and the boats in the anchorage. Today I launched from the beach, albeit after a rather inauspicious beginning, but after nearly an hour of blasting back and forth including actually succeeding at several turns, I returned to the beach I had departed from and carefully landed the kite for Isabel to catch.
Wow. I did forget to remove my last Boeing Phantom Works cap before entering the water and I did lose it, but Alex from SV Ari-B was providing crash rescue support for his wife Carla, and he found my cap. Today was a lucky day. I’m still barely in control at times but beginning to successfully deal with rough water and gusty conditions. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have another epiphany.
Isabel got grumpy today and announced she was done with kite surfing, which I took to mean she’s done with me trying to help her make progress. While she took a long walk on the reef to hunt pretty shells with some cruising friends, I found Aline of Tuamotu Kite School and enlisted the support of her husband Adrian, an absolutely exceptional kite surfing instructor. Tomorrow Isabel will have a private lesson from 1030 to 1230, and I’ll ride along with Adrian to learn as much as I can about launching from a dinghy. It’s a good skill to have as there’s a shortage of beaches in lots of places.
With luck Adrian will get Isabel past this current learning hump and back to having a great time hurling herself around the bay. This is a way we can play together, something rare and special, and it’s worth a little short term pain to reap the long term reward. Cross fingers.
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