check this pic out, from the bulletin

The Bulletin | Sports | Hanging out on a kite

Hanging out on a kite
Kiteboarders continue soaring in the Gorge and business is booming for Bend man
By Mark Morical / The Bulletin
Published: August 25. 2006 5:00AM PST

ROOSEVELT, Wash. - Chris Thomson's colorful kite soared directly overhead as he floated up 30 feet into the air and hung upside down like something out of a Batman movie.

He slowly twisted back down, his board landing softly on the choppy water of the wind-whipped Columbia River.

Thomson's movement, while breathtaking and awe-inspiring, was utterly controlled, as if in slow motion.

Kiteboarding borrows some names of its tricks from wakeboarding, but its focus is the wind and the kite, and finding that delicate balance between the two that allows the boarder to both carve the water and float freely through the air.

"It combines wakeboarding and water skiing, but you get to drive the boat also," said Michael Giebelhaus of Bend as he watched Thomson from the grassy riverbank at Roosevelt Park last week. "You get to decide how fast you want to go. It's just you and the wind. And it changes the whole time you're out there."

Technorati Tags: kiteboarding , pic

Kitesurfing - San Quintin April 2006

not a bad vid on kite boarding.

becarefull, this guy is lucky to be alive

Kitesurfer injured after crashing into fishing boat

By Will Carson

A KITESURFER suffered horrendous injuries when a tricky aerial manoeuvre went wrong - and he landed in a fishing boat.

The 26-year-old suffered deep cuts to his neck which coastguards described as the 'worst cuts to the neck ever seen''.

The accident happened when he crash-landed in Thorness Bay on the Isle of Wight following the attempted jump.

continued...

The man, from West Cowes, had been kitesurfing with friends in
strong winds off Gurnard buoy, just outside Cowes, on Saturday
afternoon. The group decided to head for the calmer waters of the bay,
which is protected by a sandbank, creating flat water perfect for
kiteboarding. Able to launch up to 30 feet in the air thanks to the
massive kite, the kitesurfer attempted a jump, but a mis-timed landing
saw him crash into the fishing boat.

Coastguard rescue helicopter India Juliet diverted to the scene, suported by Cowes and Needles lifeboat crews.

However, due to the shallow water rescue teams could not get their
boats into the bay, and the lifeboatmen were forced to leave their
boats and wade over to the fishing boat.

The man was badly cut and was rushed to St Mary's Hospital, Newport.

A spokesman for the Coastguard said: "He had very deep cuts to his
neck - they were the worst the coastguard has seen. He is very lucky
not to have done any more damage to himself."

Technorati Tags: kiteboarding, injuries