perhaps you can find your mojo in the wind that is forcast to grace you for the next week .take some time off and go to a decent spot without crowds and some good waves .Borrow or demo a mutant and see how you go .
Alternately take a closer look at those that are disabled in some way and can never do what we do .it gives a new perspective .

Buy one of these. I just got one. It is awesome.


This was my first time racing on Australia day


There are a couple for sale in WA from as little as $6000

Oris said...

Firstly we need to change your name Graceful.

Secondly you need to attempt things you haven't done.

Like jump a pier, remove your safety gear, kite in thunderstorms etc.

Good luck Graceful.

Agree, thunderstorm smashed Newcastle this afternoon, most of the other guys saw the lightning before i did and went in.
Oh well, there loss

PS, not all about the time on the water for me, catching up with the local crew, helping, watching, laughing at (or being laughed at) swaping kites and boards, beers after etc.

^^^ Looks like another annoying petrol-head ego machine.

Losing the stoke on kiting is unlikely to be resolved by an "armaments race" of more, and more involved, toys. Make the pleasures simpler, rather than more complicated.

For me kiting is as much about an elegant engagement with the forces of nature (working with them, and getting spanked if I go against them) as it is about putting notches in some conformist macho progression belt. Sure I like to learn new stuff, but not to compare myself to some generic standard, and the satisfaction of nailing a new trick is a very different stoke to simply being out on the water in great conditions at sunset, especially in a beautiful spot, free from the whine of internal combustion engines.

P.S. I love that I can get red thumbed for quoting Victor Frankl; I mean what would he know about happiness? He only survived a few years in Nazi concentration camps while his family were killed and then went on to become one of the more profound psychologists and psychotherapists of the 20th century...

... still, for those who are curious I recommend his books Man's Search for Meaning, and The Will to Meaning.

go get the 05 fuel out of the attic, you know the one with only 1" movement on the bar, so no depower when you let go and get out there when it's blowing hard.
You will get the rush that people who have only flown the new style kites will never understand and you will learn to edge all over again.
You may even get some new scars

Variety is the spice of life, maybe try something different for a while - like one of those skateboard things that you have to wobble back and forth to go, or maybe some extreme gardening, like cultivating plants with spikes and poisonous sap... Before kiting I skydived, and after a couple years and tens of thousands of dollars started to really get over it, started kiting and got that rush back - sometimes you need a change duuuude.... Good luck finding your mojo

Interesting topic.

The consensus seems to be that with kiting, as with life. the key to enduring satifaction is a sense of a continuing journey.

For many it has been surfing or windsurfing that has led them to kiting. The initial vigour of steep learning curve has plateaued. The consistency of summer conditions in Perth reinforces the sense of ennui. What to do?

Explore new possibilities:

Try racing.

If you have been seduced by the ease of use of a bow style kite, I suggest you get on a hyper-responsive wave kite on short lines. You will realise that you have been kiting with a truck all these years when you actually wanted a ferrari.

If your'e a wave rider, consider putting the straps back on and putting some oomph back in your riding. Once you master aerials off the lip you open the door to potential dozens of aerial manoeuvres as part of your wave ride. Nice too think you could do them strapless but were not all Mitu Moneiro.

Try travelling. If you are in Perth remember South coast WA has awesome set ups all over the place many never kited before. Get your mates together for a long weekend with a tent and a 4WD. Look out for each other. You could be the first you will never know but you will have the joy of discovery.

Put your kite on the plane and travel further afield. An Aussie dollar goes a long way elsewhere. Tassie, Peru, vietnam, Greece. Anywhere with wind after and waves in fact.

Remember that You have only just opened the door. A whole world of kiting possibilities lies ahead.

puppetonastring said...


Wot about that honking new, crispy clean, ocean ripping RPM your personal Santa bought you

That's my small kite, and it's very nice.

I am loving my recreational raceboard (Sector 60). You can go touring upwind in flash then come hooting back downwind. Gybing is a challenge to learn too. Its opened up another dimension in this fantastic sport.

If you haven't tried a Sector 60, borrow one and see if it lights your fire.

Variety is the spice of life - and kitesurfing.

Mate everyone gets the blues. Hobbies, relationships, whatever - only the lucky are eternally content.
My advice?
Push it a bit but don't force anything for too long. I have played guitar for 20 years. Every now and then I get a 'plateau' where I can't seem to improve and my enthusiasm plummets. But lucky for me I get it back. Not so with scuba diving. I was a PADI instructor for 10 years. Hell I dived some wicked places and then day by day it just seemed to leech away from me. The enthusiasm. I haven't dived for 3 years. But I got into kite surfing. Ain't life strange?
Same with my bro who was a hang glider. One day he just walked away ... but he got into Harleys.

Moral?

Doesn't matter what you do ... just keep into life!

Andrash said...

....some (long) years ago I found this problem with some mates: what's next....? higher, longer, more spin..etc..........eventually there is a plateau dictated and limited by your physical body... a limit which not always extends by the "latest model" of kites..... yes, I was stuck for some time too... then something happened:
I gave up trying to do new tricks every year... instead I tried to enjoy the same old tricks more and more every year....
The results were:
1) I had more fun every year
2) I have been fitter every year (with only very minor injuries)
3) I have been reminded in increasing frequency every year that my smiles are getting ridiculously wide, and my constant giggling is getting annoying for those who take life seriously....
for me the fun started at the end of my ego games....

Are drugs involved here.

Oris said...

Andrash said...

....some (long) years ago I found this problem with some mates: what's next....? higher, longer, more spin..etc..........eventually there is a plateau dictated and limited by your physical body... a limit which not always extends by the "latest model" of kites..... yes, I was stuck for some time too... then something happened:
I gave up trying to do new tricks every year... instead I tried to enjoy the same old tricks more and more every year....
The results were:
1) I had more fun every year
2) I have been fitter every year (with only very minor injuries)
3) I have been reminded in increasing frequency every year that my smiles are getting ridiculously wide, and my constant giggling is getting annoying for those who take life seriously....
for me the fun started at the end of my ego games....

Are drugs involved here.

Yes, they are called ENDORPHINS. Few hundred times more potent than heroin...

Just remind yourself that the purpose is to have fun.

Freddofrog said...

Intheozone said...

Buy one of these. I just got one. It is awesome.


This was my first time racing on Australia day

There are a couple for sale in WA from as little as $6000

dumb question but what are they called, looks huge fun!

Called Thundercats. in Perth check out. www.westcoastthundercats.com.au

Actually compliments kite surfing as we use it as a safety boat on long down winders. also to get out to Rottnest island for kitesurfing away from the masses. Have also used it as dive tender to go Scuba diving off. not to mention the fun of jumping through waves.

zzzzz said...

sweetriffs

Yngwie Malmsteen is for you when you plateau guitar

True story, taken out twice this year by the same kiter.