I had had a few kite surfing lessons near Cabedelo in Brazil - the wind was onshore, the shore break was interesting and language was a challenge. I had got to the stage of being dragged through the water by the kite with the instructor trying to hold onto my harness. The one important thing I had not been taught was about the kite itself and how to release it if I really really needed to.
I walked to Pigeon Point Heritage Park to see the guys at Radical Sports the local windsurfing and kite surfing school. Easy walking distance from where the boat was anchored. Anyway, after chatting with Brett, the owner of the school, I bit the bullet and signed up. I think this proved a much safer learning environment. The breeze is usually side onshore and not much in the way of waves. The only hazard appears to be the conch shells in the weed patches off the beach, which wreak havoc on the feet.
http://www.radicalsportstobago.com/
https://vimeo.com/user5005128/channels
This is not a cheap sport to learn - the lessons are definitely worth it. In the first six hours of lessons, taken over several days, one learns; how to setup and control the kite, body dragging using the kite to retrieve the board or get to shore, emergency drill for getting to shore if the lines get tangled of loss of board etc. Toward the end of the 6th hour I was ready to learn how to water start. After a few failed attempts and near drowning I managed to skip over the water for a few metres.
I also had a brief wakeup call as to just how dangerous kite surfing can be. While water starting a gust hit the kite launching me into the air and subsequently slamming me into the water, the kite dived vertically into the shore break with a hell of a bang. I think I had a pretty perplexed look on my face as Dwight the instructor asked me it I was alright. I was surprised at how quickly everything had happened. I confess that this incident did take the gloss of the sport and I seriously considered my mortality.
I was not able to get back on to the horse - so to speak as the was insufficient wind to kite surf. I still had several hours of lessons to go. I visited Pigeon Point on the odd occasion to chat with Brett and Dwight.
