Learning to Kiteboard on the Pacific Coast of Panama

One of the best places to Kiteboard in Panama is a long peninsula off the Pacific coast called Punta Chame. The long strip of land takes you out to Nitro City, Travis Pastrana’s action sports resort. The resort draws big name kiters like Youri Zoon, the current world champion of kiteboarding. Each year athletes head to Punta Chame to take advantage of the calm bay and strong winds. On windy days kites can be seen dancing about the peninsula from kilometers away. At the tail end of the kiting season, friends of mine Brais and Geraldine were passing through Coronado on their way to Costa Rica. Brais was egger to get some surfing in, but with no waves on the Pacific coast, he had high hopes there would be wind.  

 Brais is a professional kiteboarder and had been teaching in San Blas for several months. When we met he had offered to give me some lessons the next time we were in the same windy place. Curious to give the sport a try, I took him up on his offer when he arrived in Coronado.

I set out to Punta Chame with Brais and Geraldine late in the afternoon. We drove the windy roads for about 40 minutes before reaching our destination. When we got there, there was about 15 knots of side-shore winds. Perfect conditions.

And so we began. As I suited up I learnt my first lesson, side shore are winds blowing from the left of the right, parallel to the shore. An offshore wind is bad; it will take you out to sea, probably beyond your comfort zone. While we would be starting on land, everything I was about to learn would apply to a follow up lesson in the water.

We started with the basics. Learning down wind (where the wind is going), and up wind (where the wind is coming from). We stood up wind of the kite and made sure we were in an area with few obstacles around us.

We continued by unrolling the inflatable kite. Most kites used for kiteboarding have an inflatable edge. This edge is filled with air to stop the kite from getting crumpled, making it easier to launch. As I pumped the kite full of air, Brais cautioned if the kite was not inflated enough it would be difficult to launch. Once the kite was inflated I learnt a few positions for controlling the kite.

Transport position – Here the kite is held at the center bar with the inflatable edge facing up. This gives you the most control, allowing you to move the kite from place to place.

Parking position – with the inflatable edge down on the sand. The kite can be secured with small piles of sand.

Assistance position – this is a position from which you can help another kiter launch their kite. The kite is held vertically like a crescent moon up wind from the person controlling the kite.

We put the kite in parking position, secured it with sand and began unraveling and the lines. The lines are walked down wind from the kite. The outer lines (a red and blue cable) are untangled as you walk between them towards the kite. The same is done with the inner white lines.

The bar is placed on the ground upside down. If the bar is color-coded you will be flying with the red on the left. So when you place the bar on the ground, the left/red side should be on the right.

Once the lines are properly laid out they are connected to the kite using a Lark’s Head Knot. This knot is used universally in kiting.

The kite was ready to fly. But before we began there were a few more important safety tips to get out of the way. I learnt to use the quick release. Where the kite attaches to the harness is a red loop, this will release the kite in one pull towards your body.

Brais caution that the quick release was only for an “I’m going to die situation”. If I felt out of control, I could de-power the kite by simply letting go of the bar.

With the wind at our backs I learnt to identify the wind window. “Imagine a quarter sphere in front of you; this is the area in which you can fly your kite”, said Brais. The top of the window is the neutral zone called 12:00. The areas to your left and right are 9:00 and 3:00.

Brais got the kite into assistance position and ran over to help me launch. The kite was launched by slowly tugging on the red line until it slowly rose to 45 degrees and then up to neutral position (12:00). I learnt to control the kite by gently leaning the bar right and left. Once I got the controls down, Brais showed me the power zone.

The kite get the most power and is the most responsive when you find her “G spot” said Brais. When the bar is totally away from you body, the kite depowers. When you crank it to close to you body the kite suffocates and loses power. Somewhere in the middle is the G spot, find it isn’t always easy, but when you do, you’ll know.

We were an hour in to the lesson when a started to feel like I could control the kite on my own, find her G spot, and start to have some fun. At this point I realized how much of the sport had to do with controlling the kite. I began learning how to keep the kite at 12:00 with one hand, preparing for when I did have a board in the other.

I practiced bringing the kite to 3:00 while sitting on the sand, and using the kites power to help me up. I practiced moving the kite back and forth between 12:00 and 3:00 and 12:00 and 9:00, this taught me how to generate power. Which would be key for getting speed in the water.

With about 20 minutes of light left and the wind beginning to die, I got in the water. Keeping the kite 12:00, I walked backwards towards the water. When I got there I belly flopped down about 5 meters from shore. I was ready to learn how to body drag.

From here Brais told me to bring the kite down to about 2:00. This would move me forward, moving the kite from 12:00 and back to 2:00 would generate speed. It was a little harder then on land, but I was able to get a feel for being in the water with the kite.

After taking my lesson I realized it would have been difficult to just grab a board and a kite and head out, stupid actually. If there is anything I can recommend about learning to kiteboard it’s to find a good instructor!

If you want to learn more about kiteboarding or if your interested in taking some lessons click here for more info.