The riders of Kite Club Hatteras have been surfing the shores of Hatteras Island for years and have now officially set up a permanent kiteboarding school in Avon on Hatteras Island. We know the wind patterns that prevail on the island and take our students to the best and safest locations to learn how to kiteboard or to improve their kiteboarding skills.

Kite Club Hatteras doesn’t just offer expert, fun and safe kiteboarding lessons, but gives you the full experience of the kiteboarding lifestyle, providing beautiful island houses, helping you discover great kiteboarding spots, and introducing you to other kiters. Your lessons with us will not only give you the perfect start to getting up and riding independently, but you will be surrounded and supported by a great group of people with whom you can share your riding experiences and have a fun time.

Our Instructors
Kite Club Hatteras instructors are IKO certified. In fact, we are the only school on the island with IKO certification.

Christo has been kiteboarding for over six years. He has ridden and taught in the US (North Carolina and California) — as well as in some great spots around the world, including Bulgaria, Spain, Dominican Republic, Panama, Mexico and Peru — but he will be the first to reassure you that the best wind for kiteboarding is at Cape Hatteras. This is why he started thinking about opening a kiteboarding school on the island as far back as 2008, and has now set up Kite Club Hatteras as an official school in Cape Hatteras. Hristo has a proven record of taking students to the best and safest spots on the island and providing them with a complete kiteboarding learning experience, taking beginners from the basics to becoming independent riders. Hristo was a self-taught rider and uses his personal learning experience alongside his professional training to decrease your learning curve and increase your fun.

Wendy  has been riding for over eight years. She is a sponsored rider and has taken part in many competitions, breaking through through this male dominated sport to become one of the premier riders in Cape Hatteras. She loves to bust out the big boy tricks, but still gives it her own feminine flare. Wendy specializes in teaching women and provides a “no fear” experience, helping boost riders’ confidence and to become not only independent riders, but kiting stars. Wendy’s laid back attitude combined with her vast kiting experience make her a great teacher to learn with. She’ll walk you through set-up and have you up on a board and riding in just a few hours.

For more information please visit: www.kiteclubhatteras.com
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An epic kite adventure to South Padre Island, March 2010

After a long, cold snowy winter….it was time to dust off the gear and head south to hit the wind and water. This was my 2nd annual South Padre Island kiting trip, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Good friends, new gear, and warm temps. Damn straight! We were all jumping on planes to Brownsville or Harlingen, jumping in Ruby Begonia and driving 2000 miles or jumping in the Defender 90 and driving 1300 miles! Either way, it was a long trip filled with vehicles, multiple planes, cancelled flights and lost gear. We all trickled in, and slowly trickled out…..and most importantly, quenched our thirst with some great riding conditions and WIND!!

After three connecting flights on Saturday, a tired Meggers arrived into Harlingen and did a little wind-dance as I saw my surfboard gear bag make an entrance through the baggage claim tire flaps. I had arrived. My gear had arrived. STOKED!

[Rule#7: Travel light]

The forecast in SPI for the last month was terrible…the wind had been less than usual, temperatures were lower than normal. I was praying this would change. But, as I awoke on Sunday morning, temps were barely touching 50 degrees. As the day warmed up though, we sat in the sun at the North Flats and waited on the wind. By 4pm, I rigged my 9m Rev2, Warren on his 12m Rebel, and JB on his 13m Rev. One word…Glass-tastic! The flats are just that…shallow water, endless flat sand to park vehicles on, room as far as you can see to launch, land, rig kites. It’s amazing! And 2 port-o-potties in the far, far distance.

[Rule #1: Cardio]

By early evening, Jimmy and Brian had arrived after a canceled flight into Harlingen. They made it as far as Corpus Christi and drove down. Their gear took a detour, so they only had a couple carry-on bags. We solved that problem: Jimmy took my harness and kite, while Brian took JB’s kite and harness. We share well….anything for friends to get a session in after a long day of travel!

[Rule#29: The buddy system]

Monday was fun-day, as there wasn’t a lick of wind. Rented some paddleboards, hung out at the pool and beach, and readied ourselves for the following couple days. The wind was coming!! Tuesday brought us some winds (SE 20-25) that built through the day. We all got out at the north flats with epic off-shore conditions. I got out on my surfboard in the flat water to work on transitions and toe-side riding. While doing this, I stepped down on something nasty!!! It will always be a mystery…but the story is that a stingray punctured the bottom of my foot

[Rule#13: Shake it off.]

Nasty nasty…but back to riding in less than an hour. We all gathered in Ruby Begonia and headed over to the ocean for a group 10-mile downwinder. Kites ranged from 9m to 13m, with fun surf to play in the entire way up to the north side. Jimmy got out on Janie’s pink Amundsen, and well, he was smitten. He prayed for SE wind the rest of the week, just as excuse to ride that sweet ‘lil girl.

[Rule #16: Opportunity knocks.]

Wednesday morning, the wind had died off, so we camped out at the north flats and set up a Ruby Begonia tent. Beers broke out at 11am, and the boys got the skim board out to be pulled by JB in his D90 along the water’s edge.

Warren rigged some 600lb test line to a wooden stick, but it couldn’t hold him over 5mph on that skim board. SNAP! The sun poked through and temps heated up, as the wind teased us. A few of us got some quick rides, but not enough to stay up-wind. Packed it up and headed home for dinner and a movie with the gang….ZOMBIELAND. We quickly learned surviving the zombie apocalypse can be very similar to our kiting lives. There are rules (as quite a few are mentioned thru this story), and it’s a good idea to apply ‘em!!

[Rule #26: A little sunscreen never hurt anybody]

How perfect….a zombie movie that shows us how journeys really bring us together, even in a virus-laden world!

Thursday answered all of our kite dreams….the most EPIC day for everyone!! Warren planned an early-morning ocean downwinder, as winds were from the NNE. After that 10 miler, another one followed after all meeting up at the flats. I took the second one soundside on my surfboard with Brian [Rule#8: Get a kickass partner], as Jimmy, Warren, Buster and JB went for the ocean a second time. We all re-grouped at the flats and continued to ride until about 5pm. We were flippin exhausted!!

What a day! Friday morning brought more calm winds, as I took Buster to Harlingen to fly off….SE winds filled in later in the afternoon (14-16) and we all got some great riding in. Switzerland had arrived, and as we lost Buster, Laila and Reto joined us for some riding through the weekend! Saturday proved to be just as stellar as Thursday. Early morning downwinder with SE winds pumping, I ventured out on my celeritas surfboard for my FIRST ocean downwinder on a directional

[Rule#17: Always carry a change of underwear].

We all started out at the condos and headed north for 10 miles….myself, Jimmy, JB, Warren, Laila, Reto, Brian and Mike. Elaine and Janie worked the Ruby Begonia pickup like rockstars!! By the time the downwinder had finished, winds ramped up to 25mph with gusts over 35! JB and Jimmy were lit, on 10m and 13m kites! [Rule# 22: When in doubt, know your way out] After the ride, we all jumped in Ruby and headed to the flats to ride one last long afternoon. Sunny, warm temps….just a beautiful windy afternoon! Girls were rockin’ it as Janie, Laila, Elaine and myself were all out in full force! Watch out boys! Lots of firsts for this gang out on the water that week…and most importantly great group fun.

Saturday night was filled with one last dinner, gear packing and wrap up from a killer week out on the water. A great week filled with great friends, great wind, sunshine and plenty of tequila, I mean water.

[Rule#40: It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Unless it’s a sprint, then it’s a sprint]

SPI “Kite Zombieland” 2010 starring:

Warren Fuller

Janie Fuller

Eugene Fuller

Jimmy Kondisko

Brian Muller

Meg Shipman

John Brown

Todd “Buster” Alphin

Laila Hug

Reto Leuenberger

Elaine Beresni

Mike Beresni

Special appearances by:

Ruby Begonia, Pinky, The Brain, Pink Amundsen, The Claw, D90 #77, and a stingray

South Padre Island, Texas is a great place for all levels of kiting….from beginners to advanced riders. The flat, shallow water is great for progression and the gulf-side ocean gives another opportunity for wave riding and excellent downwinders. The busiest kiting times tend to be April/May and October/November. Check it out as your next kiteboarding vacation destination!

YK Kiteboarding is licensed, insured, and stoked to be creating educated and safe new kiters with F-One kites, one of the world’s premier kite brands. Lessons are given on the latest (2009 and 2010) model kites and boards to maximize their students’ progression speed and safety. Camille and Matt set up shop at one of the best kitespots on the Chesapeake Bay in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Camille has been putting in a ton of work on the back end, most notably in launching their new web presence at www.YKKiteboarding.com. Matt and Camille are busy meeting prospective students and scheduling lessons on the Bay and at the shore. YK is also partnering with DCKites to offer kitecamps on Hatteras Island in the outer banks of North Carolina.

For those feeling a little more adventurous, there is Isla Holbox, Mexico. Isla Holbox is a prime and easily accessible spot for total newbies and total shredders alike. With daily kiteable wind conditions from December to August, Isla Holbox is one of the world’s ideal kiting spots—steady wind, shallow blue water, no obstacles, and empty beaches that are all yours! With reasonably priced packages for everything from hanging your head in a hammock to a deluxe eco-spa experience, YK has you covered on Holbox.

When there’s no wind in the bay, renting a stand up paddleboard (SUP) from YK at their North Beach location, just north of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland is the ticket. SUP is fun for kids of all ages. Explore the picturesque coastline in style, and get a great workout, too.

“Sunday:
Building SE flow. Wide spread of wind here with mid teens common all areas. Afternoon focus shifts to the south and east. Southern Bay a push to low 20s likely. Delmarva a push to low 20s by dusk. Showers drive into the region as well to make for some up and down conditions.
High temps Low 50s.”
Let’s hope for more wind this year.

So I finally got myself out of the mountains and down to the warm & windy state of Florida for a week of college spring break mistakes . Me and a few friends poked around the east coast and found places to sleep for 5 nights.

The wind started to pick up when we were in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, so I figured I’d head over to Delray to score a session with that crew. I arrived early to 18 knots and sharks. There were tons and tons of sharks. They said it was the most that they’d ever seen there. Others were out, so I figured I’d rig too. Unfortunately I’d just been fixing a tear in my leading edge, and had forgotten to zip the zipper back up, so of course I popped my main bladder as I was pumping up. Luckily some sail tape provided a temporary fix.
–side note: should I try to patch a 4″ rip, or just get a new bladder?
So I went out, didn’t see any sharks, but saw a lot of 5 foot long mobile coral reef under me. I didn’t realize until I came in that there’s no reef at Delray . Also to be noted, I hit a manowar on every single tack. I have never seen that many manowars in my life. They covered the tide line on the beach. So needless to say, I spent the first half of the day not falling. A few local guys had a kitecam to shoot all the sharks underneath. Thomas Leeman was shooting video too, so here’s his footage of that day. I’m on the beach in this one.

Towards the end of the day, the wind had picked up and I was able to convince myself there were less sharks, so I got in some wakestyle in the shore break. Finished off the day watching people on strapless surfboards being chased by sharks. They were literally jumping out from behind the kiter’s wake. Screw. That.

I also ran into Andy Hurdman giving a lesson. I dunno if anyone here still remembers him, but he’s an LF pro rider who lived in DC for a bit. We would see him at Terrapin occasionally. He’s moved back to Delray now and runs his own lesson shabang. 

Anyway, he told me that he’s really into night kiting now and would I be down for a session tonight? I said hell yes.

So we met up around 9:30 that night and split up cars for a 12 mile downwinder from the Boca Raton pier to Delray beach. I know this seems like a terrible idea with the record amount of sharks and manowar in the water, but this is how we went about it:
For that 12 mile span of beach, the sand meets the ocean at a pretty low angle. So you can actually kite in the little wave slicks on the beach. You can kite really really fast in them. So that’s what we did for the majority of the session. I went finless toeside on my Recoil in about 3″ of water, doing an average of about 16 knots. Andy was a show-off in front of me, he was hitting lips and boosting 25 foot airs, which looks spectacular when outlined by the Boca Raton skyline. We both carried lights to signal to each other any coming dangers (Andy lead since he’s been doing this downwinder for a while).

The coolest thing from the whole experience was when we hit the Boca Raton inlet, they were dredging for beach replenishment. The dredge was anchored about 300 feet outside the inlet and it was a 60 foot long boat, about 30 feet high, lit to no end. There were fluorescent lights projecting from every deck at every angle. The closer we got to it, the more like daylight it was. Me and Andy met on the beach before hand to discuss how to get around it, and the consensus was to go in between it and the inlet, but to watch out for the wind shadow. Andy wanted to go play with it, so I said I’d meet him on the other side.

Well getting out past the shore break, the waves were getting kicked up to head high, but they were nice smooth breaks. I was set to head into the inlet and go around when I noticed a floating wall. They had these 5 foot high floating barriers, I guess to prevent too much silt pollution. While I’m figuring out how to get around these, I’m watching Andy right up next to the boat–boosting huge airs in the lights. I can’t describe what it looked like, only kind of like something out of a sci-fi movie.

So I took a few more tacks and boosted over the barriers, and after a few minutes of wrestling with the current, made it around to the other side. The rush I got from that though was pretty insane

We finished the whole run in about 50 minutes and completely exausted. I went home and passed out for 12 hours, but when I woke up it was blowing 25 with head high waves. Scored a 6m session in head high waves with the local West Palm beach crew.

Every little blue dot on that beach is a dead manowar

And now I’m back in the mountains, sore, doing homework. But it was definitely a crazy week. 

After a serious winter when my wife and I had to face the facts that life was narrower, thinner and more fragile that we thought, the first day of spring finally came and wash away all that. I was waiting this 6am packing of the gears in the dark for a long time. Jet-lagged from a 6weeks abroad anyway, I was ready to go regardless of the weather forecast. I am glad I did. That was as much about taking my time to drive to Assateague than actually getting there. Following America struggling with its legislation on the radio, corn fields getting ready to deliver, gas stations as social gathering spots, and me, the foreigner, ready to grab a good time for a modest fee at the state park. You cannot beat that.

I arrived at 10 sharp. Assateague was empty but the wind was there already brushing the bushes and this is when the word “ rusty” came to my mind. Holly cow, that sport is demanding. Being lonely is not my thing, but eh, I treated me with an hour session in 12-14 knot. Rusty with a capital “ R” . Never mind.

The other guys came (Victor and family, Guillermo and family, Steve T, and the locals). We ended about 6 to 10 kites. I cannot remember. I did not care too much about pictures and all, I was on the water for the first time of the year with 15 solid knots behind my bar and I was just thinking how good that was. All in all I probably had 4 hour session. I did not take pictures –sorry (just those three below to say we were there). After that it was 5PM, we had beers and grilled meat on the spot, courtesy Guillermo and Victor families. I returned home but I had to stop for a nap at a parking on a mall because I was so tired. Sleeping on a parking lot, on the first day of spring, torn and all smiles, you cannot beat that. When I woke up, America had moved on.

Ask your doctor if saltwater therapy is right for you…Mine said “Yes!”

Strapless kitesurfer Patrick Rebstock traveling in search of waves and wind.

When the wind gets super strong the only thing you can do is Megaloop!

Dre and Jack - Remix.

New video presenting the Key kite from Slingshot. The Slingshot KEY HD is the newest kite in the Slingshot line up featuring the Hybrid Delta canopy.

Benefits to the freeride minded rider are unmatched range, superb upwindability, easy water relaunch, instant 100% depower and safety in a clean uncomplicated package.

Just Tech: 2010 Slingshot KEY HD from SLINGSHOT RH on Vimeo.