20,000 quid to kite surf?

this is one hell of an expensive way to kite surf,  but if you want to be the first in some of the best spots on earth, then might just be worth it.

Belfast Telegraph

Kitesurfer: A high-flying boat close to lift off
In high winds, a kitesurfer can be pulled across the sea like a runaway train. So why are members of the public lining up to pay twenty grand to surf where no one has surfed before? Mark MacKenzie reports
11 September 2006

There are some dreams money can't buy. But then again, there are some that it can. If you happen to have a spare twenty grand and your idea of nirvana is having the wind drag you across the ocean like a wilful racehorse, how about kitesurfing on deep blue swells off some of the remotest islands on earth?

And should your technique require a little fine-tuning, why not take along some of the best professional board riders on earth? After a day carving graceful arcs at sea, why not retire for margaritas and sushi made from the fish you caught while spear-fishing that morning?

If all this sounds like part of a seductive sales pitch, that's essentially what it is, a rough precis of what daily life might be like on the Best Offshore Odyssey, an innovative new approach to adventure travel. In Nov-ember a 60ft, purpose-built catamaran will set sail from the island of St John in the US Virgin Islands. Aboard will be six investors, hand-picked for the privilege of shelling out close to £20,000 each, and each able to handle a power-kite on the open ocean.

Part of an "expedition" that will last for the next five years, they will sail with one aim: to find the best - and as yet undiscovered - kitesurfing locations in the world.

The idea was born in 1998 when Gavin McClurg, the American who is in charge of the project and will skipper the boat, took ownership of a 52ft yacht from his father. "While I could afford the down payment," he explains, "I had to find a way of making it [financially viable]." The answer was a modest chartering business, and over the next seven years McClurg sailed countless nautical miles, noting down remote spots with the wind and waves one day to accommodate his other passion, the then relatively new sport of kitesurfing.

To combine his sport and his business, he hit upon the idea of a continuous kitesurfing cruise and began poring over maps, weather reports and, more recently, the online satellite imaging service Google Earth. Combining old-fashioned hard data with new technology, he built an impressive list of year-round island kitesurfing spots in, among other destinations, Micronesia, the Coral Sea, Australasia and the Indian Ocean.

Now all he needed was a way to pay for it. Last year he secured sponsorship from the US kit giants Best Kiteboards, but it wasn't enough. He decided he had to find some like-minded investors. Before he can set sail in November he has to offload the remaining 40 per cent of "shares" in his boat, a share being a two-berth cabin which investors book for a minimum of 10 days at a time for the next five years.

If all this sounds rather familiar, you might have spotted that McClurg's expedition will operate as something resembling a timeshare scheme, albeit an exotic one. Shares in the Odyssey require a minimum cash injection of £15,000, and a minimum yearly membership fee of £1,500 plus expenses each time an investor wants to join the boat.

Although the price tag may sound steep, McClurg insists the deal represents value for money: "At the end of the five years investors can expect to get half of their money back from the sale of the yacht, making the price of each trip a fraction of that charged by other well-known operators for just a simple cruise." There, however, the similarities with traditional timeshare schemes end. For it is on the subject of who gets to go that things get a little complicated. McClurg says the Odyssey team will consider applications from novice kite-surfers, but those wishing to take part in the more demanding legs, the 15-day, self-contained journeys McClurg refers to as "epics", should be of at least intermediate ability.

"They need to be comfortable [at sea] and be able to handle themselves in deep water," he says. The reason for this becomes clear when you consider just what McClurg means by "epic". One trip planned for next year, for example, runs from Tahiti to Bora Bora via the Austral Islands of French Polynesia. Designed to coincide with the arrival at the Austral Islands of migrating humpback whales, it will cover 800 nautical miles.

In which case it is probably not a good idea to lie about your ability when applying. It is also worth bearing in mind that, in addition to its crew of advanced kitesurfers, the Odyssey will be joined intermittently by some of the world's top kitesurfers, professional athletes such as Will James, Ben Wilson and Jeff Tobias, to help clients hone their skills

The presence of such waveriding luminaries is intended to add touch of class to the kitesurfing documentary that will be filmed in five parts along the way. Those investors who fail to make it aboard in the weeks the film crew are there will have to make do with the boat's full-time extreme sports photographer.

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a gentile reminder about kiting

Kites and Flight Toy

KiteSurfing Equipment

You are ready to take on the extreme sport of KiteSurfing, you are ready to pound the surf and soar across the water and above the waves. In order to start you will need to purchase KiteSurfing equipment that will provide both safety and quality. The last thing you need happening is equipment failure as you jet across the ocean at a high rate of speed.

Many accidents can occur, but with the proper training and safety instruction the risk can be reduced significantly. Make no bones about it; KiteSurfing is a radically extreme sport. It may not be as dangerous as parachuting out of an airplane but it has other hidden dangers that aren't always noticeable.

Before you set out you will want to purchase a setup that is cost-effective and will provide protection. You want to be safe and you want the equipment to work at all times. A Wet suit is a necessity. You never know when you may lose your kite in the water you will need to keep yourself buoyant as you swim, sometimes a long while to recapture your kite and other times into shore when your kite goes out to sea.

You will also need a life jacket or as it is known as a buoyancy jacket that will keep you afloat should you tire while swimming into shore or after your kite. A board leash, perhaps the only thing that keeps your board on your feet, the board leash straps around your ankle and stays attached when you crash or land in the water.

A safety release is strap that attached you to the control bar. Once attached it allows you to add slack to one side of the kite and guiding it down into the water safely. A safety release can be 2 or 4 line and also can be used for inflatable and framed kites. Foil kites must be carefully navigated downwind to bring them down into the water.

There are three types of kits: inflatable kites, single skin framed kites and ram air foil kites. All of these kites can be launched from within the water. Inflatable kites are blown-up with a pump on the sand and are slowly lifted as the surfer approaches the beach line. Special precautions must be held so that innocent passersby do not get hurt. It is much better for any kite to be launched from within the water instead of the sand.

There are several quality kite makers that supply the various shapes, colors and sizes including: Wipika, Naish, Sea Jump, Seasmik, KiteSki, C-Quad, Banshee, Concept Air and fOne. The price of the kite will range from $ 500 to $ 1,500. You can find many places on the web as well as in surf pro shops that will get you started from about $300 and up. Some people have been creative and created their own kites.

The last piece is the board. Most boards are rigid, thus there is very little movement involved. Your feet become harnessed to the board and a leash is recommended so you do not lose the board after a crash or re-entry from the sky. A typical board can range from $ 500 to $ 1,200.

Remember, your safety and well-being are tied to the equipment you use, it is wise to do research on the various brands available and if at all possible try them out before you buy them. This way you can tell if it fits you well and is easy to maneuver.
About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.kitesurfingnow.com. Visit his kitesite for the latest on kitesurfing equipment, kiteboarding lessons, places to surf and much more!

Technorati Tags: kitesurfing