Page 9 - July_2014

Curt Benjamin, left, wades into Lake Champlain with kite aloft. His next steps are to get into a sitting position in the water, place his feet in the foot straps, sine the kite to create power and lift,
and launch. Jerri Benjamin, center, takes off in a slight wind and, right, has built up speed as she leans into the sail putting almost all her weight on her waist harness.
Photos by Angelo Lynn

When Lisa came in, big grin on her
Those interested in learning should power to drag you and an instructor six years ago, sined the kite to catch the
face, she said with a bit of zing: “Dear, note that kiteboarding is not a particu- across the water in a matter of seconds. wind (think of drawing a sine curve in the
maybe we should take up kiteboarding; larly intuitive sport. It’s a blend of para- Wrong moves can have serious conse- sky with the kite), create the lift needed
that way we don’t have to wait for you to gliding and wakeboarding, but on a quences to yourself and others. That said, to plane the board and take off with the
get good enough at windsurfing to keep board designed to cut through the water introductory lessons are mandatory, lest wind powering the kite across the water.
up with me.”
not bounce on top. Flying the kite is 80 you put someone else in danger.
It seemed completely doable, and
I would have taken offense, but I
percent of the game, they say, and re- That second day, I watched as Jerri, both were confident that the next two-
knew she was right.
quires careful attention to slight pulls on 60, and Curt, 63, who have both been hour lesson would get me launched on
A couple of weeks ago in mid-June, I the handle, down right or left, to send the avid windsurfers for the past 30 years the board and, if I wasn’t careful, hooked
got the jump on her by signing up for a 12- or 14-meter kite soaring with enough
and switched over to kiteboarding about
into a new sport.
couple kiteboarding lessons.
Ten hours is about the average time
I met with Jerri Benjamin of North it takes to get students riding the board,
Shore Kite-Sail-Surf in St. Albans for the
Jerri says. After that, it’s just practice —
introductory class in which we went over but in really nice places.
the basics: wind theory, equipment, how On Lake Champlain, the Benjamins
to rig the kite and pack it up, safety and teach out of their Cove Road home on
how to use the safety features. The equip- St. Albans Bay when the wind is right,
ment (sail and air pump for blowing up
or down the road a bit in St. Albans Bay
the sail) is amazingly compact, fitting in Park, Kill Kare State Park, or they motor
a backpack-size pouch, allowing you to over to neighboring Woods Island. Fur-
carry the board (about the size of a snow- ther south, the prime beach is Sand Bar
board or wakeboard, but lighter) in the State Park in South Hero, which has long
other hand.
been a popular location for windsurfing.
That beats windsurfing, which re-
But they also live the dream and take
quires a roof-rack on the car for the students, or family, on week-long trips to
board, multiple sails, booms and mask. Cape Hatteras, N.C. during the off-sea-
While both take a little set-up time, kite- son, as well as other trips to kiteboarding
boarding is a snap in comparison — all destinations around the world, recently
reasons why kiteboarding is soaring past spending two months at a kiteboarding
windsurfing in popularity.
KITEBOARDING EXTRAS
Mecca in Vietnam, which Jerri said was
Because there was no wind that after- “pure heaven.”
noon, I returned the next day for another A full week lesson in a location with • Kiteboarding is one of the fastest- by simply changing the board to skis
three-hour lesson—“the launch into kite- steady winds and daily practice “will re- growing new sports in the country with or a snowboard; thus it can be a year-
boarding”—that teaches students how to ally get you into the sport at an acceler-
fly the kite, body drag, retrieve the board about 1.5 million participants world- around sport.
ated pace,” Jerri said, adding that most wide, as estimated by the Outdoor In- • Lessons and instruction: Jerri and
and other skills. I started with a review, students can also pick it up in three to dustry Association in 2013.
Curt Benjamin are certified PASA
then a trainer kite on land, which teach- four lessons on Lake Champlain and then • While booming, it is still relatively instructors, as is their son, Jordan
es you how to sine the kite in the air to practice on their own with good success,
power and de-power the kite. In no time, and an occasional refresher course to ad- new — as sports go — getting its for- Benjamin, who is also president of
we moved into waist-deep water with a vance to the next level.
mal start in the mid-1990s when Laird the business. Jordan has been kiting
larger kite that in those gusty 10-18 mph Hamilton and Manu Berti popularized since 2006 and taught in Hood River,
It’s a fitting life for Jerri, who has trav- kitesurfing in Hawaii. It became main- Oregon, Cape Hatteras, N.C., and on
winds was good practice.
eled the world as a windsurfer and held stream in 1999 when key windsurfing Lake Champlain. Jordan’s wife, Erin,
I got the sensation of diving the kite the women’s championship titles in New
into the power zones at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. York and Vermont in the late 1980s, and manufacturers, Naish and Neil Pryde, is also involved in marketing and as
(on a clock) and back into the 12 o’clock for Curt, who describes himself as a fa- got into the kiteboarding business.
an instructor for Stand Up Paddle-
neutral zone to depower and create lift natic about kiteboarding.
• Costs of equipment: Two kites for boarding on Lake Dunmore (she and
to pull riders out of the water. It’s easy low and high winds, board, helmet, Jordan live in Middlebury while Jor-
“It’s a blast,” Curt says, to which Jerri
to spend an hour getting the hang of it, added, “when the wind blows, we go.”
wetsuit and safety vest will run about dan finishes law school.) North Shore
learning a few tricks, and becoming that After feeling the power of the wind $2,000 or more, but once the equip- Kite-Sail-Surf also sells equipment for
much more adept with the kite’s move- and anticipating the thrill of riding, it’s ment is purchased, the activity itself is windsurfing, kiteboarding and standup
ments before you try flying it with the easy to be swept up in their enthusiasm. usually just the cost of getting there. paddling. Go to www.kitensail.com for
board on your feet.
Time to book that next lesson.
The sails are also used in the winter
rates and more information.

JULY 2014
VTSPORTS.COM 9