Kiteboarding Lessons
Intro To Kiteboarding
Our Intro to Kiteboarding lesson is perfect for first-time kiteboarders or those looking for a refresher! This lesson emphasizes safety, equipment knowledge, and the essential kite-flying skills that build muscle memory. Kiteboarding is fundamentally about mastering kite control, and we’ll guide you at a pace that suits your comfort and progress. Once you’ve mastered the kite drills, we’ll introduce you to the board—though most riders experience the board in their second lesson. Even without the board, the thrill of harnessing the kite’s lift and feeling it pull you through the water offers a one-of-a-kind sensation that makes kiteboarding truly unique!
The Setup
Our lesson starts with 30 minutes on the beach going over wind concepts, equipment set up, safety & terminology. This takes place right on the beach behind our Sail Shop.
Water Flying
In the water we work on launching, landing, body drags and essential kite control drills with an inflatable 4-line kite. If you accomplish the flying drills as demonstrated we keep progressing you until you get to the board!
What's Next?
After your Intro to Kiteboarding lesson you can determine if kiteboarding is the sport for you! Now that you have knowledge from the first lesson we go on to focus on either further kite pratice or just board riding in our Standard Kiteboarding Lessons below!
Private Kiteboarding Lessons
After you have the basics down it is time to refine your skills. Whether you're riding for short distances, need more kite practice before adding the board, or are working on staying upwind and mastering transitions, we're here to coach you every step of the way until you're fully self-sufficient. That being said we do not believe in selling you endless lessons. We’re here to support you as you continue with lessons, practice on your own equipment when ready, and return to us whenever you're ready for the next step!
Right on the beach!
The waist deep friendly bottom right behind the Sail Shop makes it easy to get on the water and exchange equipment to progress!
Tight Crew!
At HISS we have a small lesson staff of 3-4 experienced instructors who work closely with us. This provides a more intimate experience between the student, coach and shop. We only have people working for us that care as much about teaching as we do! Click here to learn more about our crew.
Tools for success.
Our goal is to provide lessons that help you reach the next level in your progression. Whether it's adjusting your body position for optimal, relaxed kiteboarding or practicing kite control drills to comfortably launch and land with ease. Whatever your next step may be!
Kiteboarding Lessons FAQS
How long will it take me to be riding kiteboarding?
The majority of our lessons try the board on their second lesson. We have students we have taught over 20 hours and others we have taught just for 2. We say 6 -12 hours of lessons is the average to have longer rides and be self sufficient. At this stage students can ride both ways, launch and land and stay upwind some of the time.
Will I be on the board my first lesson?
It is unlikely you will be on the board for your first lesson but it is possible. About 5% of our students will get up and ride in their 2.5 hour first intro lesson. A 3 hour intro lesson pushes that amount to 10% - 15%. We will progress you at your own pace, meaning if you accomplish all the flying drills as they are demonstrated we will move you to the next drill until we get to the board. To ride kiteboarding effectively you need to be able to fly the kite without looking at it; this is a big ask for your first time ever flying a kite! At least 80% of the sport is kite flying ability. The main goal of the first kite lesson is to build kite flying skills with muscle memory. It is more likely to ride on the first lesson if you have previous kite flying experience. Wakeboarding and other boardsports help once you get to the board stage but until then it is all kite flying skills.
How can I prepare for my first kiteboarding lesson?
Watch youtube videos on basic kite flying going over wind windows, kite setup, safety, and basics of kite flying. The videos should be posted within the last decade or so. Anything prior to 2010 is not helpful as the gear is so different.
Fly 2 line training or practice kites to build kite skills. These kites are reasonably affordable, costing between $100 - $350, and can help you progress much faster on your kite lesson! These kites are easy to fly but challenging to master. The goal to master a trainer kite is to keep control of the kite when it is in neutral position at 12, while flying it one-handed with your eyes closed. If you have a large enough trainer kite, you can also simulate it pulling you up from a sitting position to standing. See the chart below for sizing information. We have new ones for purchase via our shop and rental in store.
Cable park riding or wakeboarding. A cable park is the closest simulator to kiteboarding, with wakeboarding being a close second. This being said, the kite is still the majority of the focus. If you have board skills it is one less thing to think about when the board is introduced on your lesson.
What communication devices do you use for lessons?
We currently use walkie talkies that are tethered to the life vests. In the past we used BBtalkin communication devices which when they worked worked great. Unfortunately the reliability of them in salt water caused them to randomly not work or get static during lessons. This led us to use the walkies instead for their reliability throughout the lesson. There are certain advanced lessons, such as jumping and riding toeside, that we will sometimes use bbtalkins as well as the walkies for easier 2 way communication.
When does my lesson start and end?
Your lesson starts when we are on the beach beginning the setup process. Our Intro to Kite lesson has 30 minutes of on beach coaching reviewing wind concepts, equipment set up, safety, terminology and basics of kite flying. Our Standard Kite Lesson has 10 - 15 minutes of on the beach coaching reviewing the rig up prior to walking in the water and launching the kite. Your lesson ends when we are back at the beach.
What equipment do you teach on?
We teach on primarily Airush equipment. Airush has a range of kiteboarding equipment which is user friendly, safe and excellent for teaching. We strongly focus on training instructors on which gear is the most beneficial for students to learn based on their size and kite flying style. We have loads of equipment in the school!
Where do you teach your lessons?
We teach our lesson right behind the Sail Shop’s waterfront location on the sound in Waves, NC. Right behind the shop the bottom is mostly waist deep and sand, which makes it a great place to learn! If the wind is a very offshore direction (ENE - ESE) or marginal winds from a side off shore (SE or NE) sometime we will shuttle from the Sail Shop via a jet ski to Pea Island Wildlife refuge. At the Refuge the wind is more consistent when it comes from an offshore direction as there are no buildings to disrupt the wind as it comes over land.
