Wanna know why and how Triin started kitesurfing? Or how she was buying her first equipment with no clue what she was doing? Check out her story of becoming a surfer girl…
Thinking now back it’s actually hard to tell why I wanted to learn kitesurfing. Remember it was back in 2008 when the first kiters started to appear in Estonia and from the first glimpse it seemed cool. So it all started just because it seemed cool…
At the end of summer 2008 I took a beginners’ course, organized by Hawaii Express. There were no other schools at the time in Tallinn teaching kitesurfing or at least I did not find anyone else. Also, Hawaii Express seemed a legit option as they had years of experience teaching windsurfing.
I was taken to Stroomi beach by a guy, who supposedly was my instructor. Not to the sandy beach area where we teach at the moment but the wide grass field. I was super excited, but unfortunately not for long 😒
The guy attached the kite with long lines to me and it didn’t take long before I crashed on the grass, hurt myself and got a real scare. This was the end of the lesson as my side I fell on was aching. We agreed that he will call when it’s windy again and we can continue. I tried reaching him several times myself but didn’t succeed. Then it was already November (cold season) and in winter I moved abroad. I argued with Hawaii Express quite a while to get a refund for the lessons I didn’t do as I had to pay them in advance.
Second chance in Spain
Then I moved to Spain through the European Voluntary Service and got a bit bored. The working hours in the local municipality were nothing compared to what Estonians are used to, especially during summer. Therefore, I wanted to do something and found out that the next city to my hometown Alicante was Santa Pola, where one of the most famous Spanish windsurfers had a surfing school Daniel Parres Watersports.
I was browsing their website for a few weeks wondering if I should take a course or not. For a bloody volunteer the price was quite high! But then the will got power over me and one weekend I drove there to check the school out. Of course, it ended with signing up for beginners’ course.
Remember well how one weekend I went there for the course, chills running over my body because I was not sure if I can manage to do the course in Spanish. The only option to have it was in Spanish as no one spoke English. Luckily with this 3 months living in Alicante I learnt the everyday language, but kiting terminology? Huh!
We were divided into groups of four. Each group had an instructor. Remember how we did the intro, safety and also setting up the gear on the beach and then went to the water. Checking now the pictures (check the gallery ☝️) then we already has short lines when learning. Didn’t remember that!
Anyway we were divided into groups, two students with one kite and the instructor running between two groups of 2 students. We were in waist deep water, did a lot of exercises to hold and navigate the kite and ended up bodydraging. Then had a break for an hour and continued with the second part. Another weekend went back to have the last part when I tried to get on the board and manage to do my first unstable stripes (short ones but still!). At the time I was so addicted and sure that I want to learn this…
As I learn kitesurfing in Spanish then for quite some time all the vocabulary about kiting was in Spanish. Barra – the bar, cometa – kite, tabla – board, etc. + the commands what to do. I even had no clue how those things were in English nor Estonian.
Buying the gear with no clue what I was actually buying
I was super happy after the course and decided that I need my own equipment, or I will never learn it. For a volunteer it was an obstacle number two – where to get the money for this. With the help of my private English lessons and a loan from my parents (which of course I never paid back but explained them it was a gift from them for my birthday 🙈) I decided to buy the recommended equipment from their local surf shop. Thinking now back then I had no clue what I was buying, and they could have sold me literally anything!
I bought a Best Kahoona 9m2 kite together with the bar, Best board (don’t remember the name, but just recently Anne-Mai was still riding with it) and a Naish harness. The harness was the crappiest probably, but at the same time I was on a budget there and couldn’t afford myself the best equipment of all. Luckily no need for a wetsuit as the water was warm. As I didn’t have a car when living in Spain, I started carrying the equipment along with by bus 😝
I started going to the beach every weekend I could and when it was promised to be even a bit windy. Soon I made friends with the instructors in the surf school and got some more free (!) lessons and tips how I could learn the damn thing. I was still able to do only stripes downwind. As I was snowboarding left leg in front then this was the side I was more comfortable with. Right leg front – complete disaster and a crash after a crash.
In September I also got a slight scare. I was volunteering in the World Windsurfing Championships and decided that it was a good chance to go kiting myself. The wind, however, was too strong, but I was stupid enough to go out there anyways. Silly me! So, I had quite a nice fly and crash after which I didn’t feel the need to touch my equipment at all. Yet I believe that everyone needs a proper scare so that they don’t start thinking they’re supermans!
In December I moved away from Spain to Portugal. I dragged my gear along, but as it wasn’t the windy season and I still didn’t have a car, then I didn’t try to kite at all. At the time I was also so insecure to go kiting alone, therefore I wanted to find a proper school so that people would keep an eye on me, etc.
But then my life was turned completely upside town – the next two years I spent travelling for work. Basically, almost every week or two I was in a new place/country running a new project. Therefore, kitesurfing was history!
Starting again from zero
However, it was 2012 summer when I wanted to start again. This time already in Estonia as I had moved back here. It was bloody hard to remember what I was thought and, basically, I had forgotten almost everything. Starting again from zero. My boyfriend was helping me, but often it ended up with bad fights.
I remember it was 2013 when I actually started kiting again – that actually could be considered kiting again! It was such a nice feeling – my own little getaway. I was lucky that my best friend, Anne-Mai, wanted to learn it as well and then a year later it was already so-called “our thing” or “our quality time”. We started going kiting more just the two of us, developing our skills step by step. We were true enthusiasts like all beginners, trying to go kiting with every possible wind. At the time we were laughing at the guys, considered them being picky when going out to the beach only with very promising conditions, but now we’re the same, picky about the weather 😁
During the beginners’ years I’ve had all the experiences one can have – I’ve managed to crash the kite so that the lines are full of seaweed and I needed to clean them for hours, I’ve hurt myself with stupid mistakes, I’ve crashed into some stones underwater and crossed lines with other kiters, I’ve been in a condition where I couldn’t manage to relaunch the kite in the water and needed to do self-rescue, but actually couldn’t remember how to do it, I’ve broken lines…..but I strongly believe that all the mistakes have been vital learning points that also help me to be a better kiter and instructor at the moment. Crashing and making mistakes is a huge part of kitesurfing – what matters is what I learnt from them!
I strongly believe that everyone can learn kiting, when they have a will! Yes, the process can be a nuisance, but it’s important to keep on going!
And here I am now…still learning and developing my riding skills…
