Best kitesurfing place to learn

[Travis Cook]

Also, I am wanting to go somewhere to get several days of solid instruction and good wind. Would the Gorge be better than the SoCal coast? I just want to spend a few days on the water getting the hang of this. The wind seems pretty variable around here and you get 2 hours or so here and there-- and I'm not that good at being in the right place at the right time. Last week I showed up at DC northeast just when it went gusty and everyone left! It would be nice to ride around others for tips, help, etc...

Thanks!

[tjacques]

south padre island is a great place to learn and should be gearing up soon, not sure but fall can be good but spring is better. also the outer banks of NC. both are shallow.
my .02 cents

[John Guay]

The Gorge can be a great place to learn. Several schools take students above Wells Island with jet skis. This is a nice quiet location which is fairly shallow. A private instructor on a jet ski will speed up your learning curve big time. Jim Bison at New Wind has an excellent staff. The season is winding down wind wise. I would go in the next few weeks.

South Padre is probably the most ideal set up. Shallow, warm and windy in the spring. The fall can be good as well. Huge open sandy beaches for launching and landing. South Padre Island Kiteboarding has a really good school.

[Travis Cook]

Not anywhere in Southern Cal, though?

[brian.doubek]

Would the Gorge be better than the SoCal coast?
Thanks!

For dependable wind, the gorge would be better than So Cal Coast. I don't think there is much wind in So Cal this time of year. Sherman island CA also has very dependable wind, even more so than the gorge. If you can't stay upwind, the main launch at Sherman is tricky but you can start out at the Little BAja launch and take a lesson from Bruce, the esteemed owner of Sheldon Kiteboarding http://sheldonkiteboarding.com/RioVista.html

The wind seems pretty variable around here and you get 2 hours or so here and there--

You are preaching to the choir on this one...Pretty much sums up the joy of windsports in Utah.

[salvador]

sal padre in utah veri god

[Leo Chan]

south padre island is a great place to learn and should be gearing up soon, not sure but fall can be good but spring is better. also the outer banks of NC. both are shallow.
my .02 cents

The bay is generally a better place to learn than an ocean. You don't have to fight hard to stay afloat if your kite crashed.

[Kenny]

Belmont Shores (Long Beach, CA) is an excellent place to learn. However, the wind doesn't blow there every day. I would say probably 4-5 days every week. When it does blow the wind is very steady.

[Christopher Andersen]

Recently took lessons at both Hood River and Belmont shores (longbeach) california. I would say that if you can catch some good winds at Belmont shores, there is more room for beginners to setup and practice on the beach, and then pretty calm open waters in the bay. Hood river seemed a little more crowded and intimidating to me, but I havn't been else where in the gorge. Like the previous post says though, Belmont shores is not always the Most reliable wind, but the days that I was there (July) there was a nice afternoon wind everyday. I took lessons from "Kite Surfari" based in Huntington beach and was pleased with the intructor ("Johny") and with the way that I was treated by the shop. They gave a nice discount on equipment if you take a lesson with them as well. Anyway that's my experience.