Chia
During our trip to Sardinia we visited several nice sandy beaches and got to know kind people. Particularly Chia in the south of Sardinia left a lasting impression. We enjoyed the entire day with its enormous waves and clear water.
However, there was no wind during the day and additionally the kite school would only rent kites, when it was less crowded. Then when the sun went down, wind was picking up and people left the beach. We also had to pack our stuff to catch the last bus to our accommodation. That’s when we saw locals pumping up their kites and getting ready for an afternoon session.
We witnessed the experienced guys enjoying the waves on their strapless board. Being independent from schools and rental gear truly is a blessing.
Punta Trettu
Later on that vacation we rented a cosy racing car to explore different areas of Sardinia. To be honest the car was suffering a lot because of the bumpy gravel roads and my reckless driving style.
We visited one of Sardinias most famous kite spots: Punta Trettu. It has a distinctive headland with a view trees at the end of it where the kiters drop their gear and start the session. Another feature of the spot is that it has a huge area of flat water. Therefore it is ideal for students to take kite lessons and being able to walk back after losing a lot of height.
At this time I already wanted to make use of shortly acquired VDWS certificate to qualify to rent gear on my own. When I was asked if I was able to do turns, I frankly responded: “No, but I just stop and do a waterstart in the opposite direction.” This answer earned me a lesson with a teacher, focusing on turns.
The school equipped every student with the full kite surfing gear and additionally an helmet with an attached walkie talkie. Hence the communication with the teacher was possible during the whole session. At first the teacher wanted to see what I already know, so we went through the basics (kite control, body drag, waterstarts…) really quick. After this he took over the kite and board to demonstrate how to turn and while commenting each step.
Then it was on me to practice. Turning is a skill that requires kite steering while simultaneously board control and shifting weight from one foot to the other. By steering the kite to hasty from one side of the wind window to the other I unintentionally initiated my first jumps with harsh landings.
At this session I was really close to master my first turn. In hindsight I know with a bit more wind the lack of timing could have been concealed. Even tough I was a bit down because I did not make immediate progress during that session. It was essential to know the necessary steps and to get the feedback on what to improve.