After our initial evaluation we had a week to live our everyday life – deal with home, kids and work. On Thursday we were finally able to pack our gear and see Kristiin. The anticipation of our second session was already driving us crazy… This time we were actually going to learn something and Kristiin was coming to the water with us. So you cannot blame us for being like kids in a candy store!
Our second session was held at Püünsi – again new spot for us where to ride. Yes, we have heard, read and even visited many locations where you can surf, but we still have decided to be true to our home spots (Laulasmaa, Kakumäe, Vääna etc.). Probably also due to our insecurity – we had heard that in Püünsi you may find many stones and it might be tricky at first. Therefore, it’s always good to try out new places with someone who knows the way around.
Püünsi is a great place for west winds. The wind blows directly to spot and you have this amazing flat area. Even though you might see windsurfers, in our opinion this spot is usually fully occupied by kiters. The only downside is that this spot has really narrow coast strip, meaning that on a crowded day you have to count with others and quickly move around – you cannot leave your stuff lying around. If you go on or come off you take care of your gear right away and make room for the other surf lovers. It seems self-explanatory, but we all have enjoyed taking it easy at the beach …
Kristiin arrived to Püünsi around 14.30, we were almost ready to go on water. Initial agreement was that we start our lesson sharp at 15.00. All of us were in our usual good mood and the energy that was flowing around was amazing. Lots of jokes and laughs. For us kiting is a getaway from our everyday life, when we can enjoy our quality time and be friends as we are. No mini-me’s interrupting our conversation nor men with their ever-lasting battle with lost items … just us, the wind, the sea and our gear.
Kristiin decided that she will use either of our kites to demonstrate how to ride toeside. She chose to launch Anne-Mais 10m2 kite and stepped (literally stepped in, no hassle whatsoever) the board and headed to the crowded sea. So while we were watching her in knee-deep water she rode past us and showed how to toeside (occasionally throwing in few jumps, but this wasn’t for us). Literally she was doing it all 1 meter from us, meaning she was able to explain everything in word while showing it. We both watched her and were totally amazed, everything looked so easy for her. This is exactly why we wanted a personal trainer, it makes learning so much easier – you are seeing it all very closely and you are guided theoretically through what you are supposed to do.
She explained everything – how to slide your board, how the kite should move, where your bodyweight should stand and so on… After seeing and hearing all the tips – it was our turn. The first tries where really shaky and in slow-mo. We started off with dominant leg and after that we were supposed to try the other side as well. After 10 minutes of beautiful (10 out of 10 points) faceplants, it was slowly coming together. We understood in which position the kite should be to start pulling us so that we wouldn’t faceplant or just lose power. All of a sudden we were riding toeside and waving each other. The smiles on our faces were so ridiculous – totally grinning 🙂 Don’t get us wrong – we still continued to do our superb faceplants from time to time just to amuse ourselves and the cheering crowd (read: the coach and others). It’s actually quite ridiculous how kitesurfing works – at one point you just understand what you need to do and then it all makes sense.
Anyways Kristiin continued to give us new things to try. Turning from toeside to heelside and vice versa, also told us to jibe and believe it or not, we totally handled it! What a success! It was also amazing to hear how Kristiin cheered us and was even happier than us. She was so proud of us, she took the lesson together with a statement – “Immense improvement! Totally different kiters on water!” You can imagine our emotions…
At the end of our session we were so satisfied. We actually learnt something and quicker than expected. Cannot wait for our next session!
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