On my travels of Europe I saw many things, but one that kept getting my attention and that of my partner Scott, was seeing people in the sea with a kite strapped to their waist and a board at their feet gliding through the water with ease. It looked difficult but so much fun…so when we were looking together for other places to travel, he mentioned this to me again, and i was happy to go along with him. When we came across a website offering to teach this sport on the island of Sri Lanka, he looked so excited, we had to give it a try.
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When we arrived we met Dilsiri, a man who spoke of kite surfing with such passion, he excited me. This man was so much in love with the sport, he put the rush before important events in his life, including a wedding and a funeral, this was what he wanted to share with us, his commitment to it and his broad smile as he described the feeling of flying above the lagoon was statement enough of his love for the sport. He had found his calling in life, he was living his dream and he wanted to share it with us. He explained that this sport will ruin our lives, because once you try it, there’s no going back, its like a drug and you always want more. He promised us from our zero experience he could turn us into champions, and I believed him.
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So we watched as the pro’s took to the water, they made it look so easy and exciting, we were eager to have a go. The first few days we learned on a training kite, both of us nervous, but our instructor Mischi Walter, a kite surfing pro! The first instructor in Sri lanka with 14 years experience was so patient and encouraging, he had total belief in us, he taught us the set up, kite control, safety, body dragging, up wind body dragging, (which I learned the hard way, by the way, quite an experience being dragged backwards up the lagoon at greed speed, out of control, passing the pro’s tutting at me and then the walk of shame back again, but that’s another story) with a 12 square meter kite we started to learn, I wont lie to you, it wasn’t easy, falling in, getting back up, over and over again. Your whole body aching in pain, but each time I faltered, I was picked up and convinced to keep going. Scott took to it like a duck to water and put me to shame, he was trying out new moves with such confidence. But with the help and encouragement of Dilsiri, Mischi and Scott (and hearing tips from others passing through) simple correction of my posture and I was off!
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Before one week was through, they had me up on that board and even had me switching and turning with easy relaxed movements. I finally saw first hand what these guys were talking about. I found myself flying, gliding, having the courage to try jumps. So relaxed in the water I was singing out loud, and even let out the odd ‘woohoo!’ as I began to master it. With in two weeks, I was inspired by them, i put all my fears to one side and put my trust in them fully. Scott was so encouraging, he desperately wanted me to try, none of them let me down, with constant encouragement and praise.
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I know now in such a short time what these kiters are so excited about, it’s the most exhilarating, breath-taking, exciting form of sport and i was hooked. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn, it really is the most incredible feeling to let yourself go and become one with the kits and the wind.
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The buzz doesn’t stop there, it carries on even out of the water as we sat by camp fires sharing their stories and the places they’ve been, the way they describe there experiences and how they feel up in the air, just captivates you. They all speak with such passion and drive, with the biggest smiles on their faces as they recall there experiences, it’s truly inspirational.and all speak of this place here, Kitesurfing-Lanka being the best ‘playground’ of all. I feel extremely lucky to have shared this and learn from such lovely people, its hard not to love the sport being here.
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