Ideal Locations to Kiteboard on Okinawa.
More links to each beach with photos and more information will be comming soon!
Okinawa, Japan provides alot of beautiful beaches and some fun areas to explore. The areas listed below are just some of the ideal spots around the island where kiteboarding is prohibited. You can go to any of them and have a great Kiteboarding experience.
Picking the right Location:
Choosing the wrong place to launch you kite may end your career kiteboarding before it even gets started. Before you start, spend time walking the beach and get to know what hazards there are. Including entry and exit areas.
- Area’s free of obstacles and people: Mistakes happen, so make the extra effort to look out for people, power lines, parking lots, and fixed obstacles to avoid collisions.
- Side shore Winds: This wind direction makes it easier to go out and come back in. Onshore winds make it difficult to get away from the beach and offshore winds make it impossible to get back to the beach.
- An area Free of wind Shadows: Tree’s, buildings, hills, mountains, and even piers all will disrupt wind flow causing gusting conditions which are dangerous for beginners and advanced kiters. Take time out to check the winds for the area you will be kiting in and understand why some areas are windier than others.
- Flat water, no shore break: Before launching your kite, walk into the water: if you get knocked over by a wave, you are entering an area with shore break. If waves that strong get a hold of your kite, it may be difficult to impossible to re-launch the kite from the water.
- Sandy bottom: Look online for a satellite image of the riding spot that you’ll be visiting. Reef bottoms are unforgiving and make it hard on the feet to stand up in shallow water. The reef also isn’t very nice to the bottom of your board when you decide to ride into the shallows.
HOW TO GET STARTED:
Kite boarding is simple and safe. Here are some simple steps to get you going.
- Check out the scene. Go to the local spot where all the riders are and watch, ask questions and get to know the sport and the locals. They are excited about seeing new people interested in kite boarding and will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
- Go to school: Kite boarding is a technical sport, so having a professional instructor guide you through the learning phase will ensure you have fun and remain safe. It also saves you time and money.
- Get the right gear: for 95% of the kite boarding population, a 12-14m kite will be a great starting kite for the beginner. Going to large will be intimidating and hard to work with. A larger board will help to stay up on plane when learning and will allow the beginner to ride a bit slower than a smaller board. Harness is personal preference. Waist harness offers more tange of motion while a seat harness give more support for the back and keeps the controls and spreader bar in a more user friendly position.
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