Now we are poping (time to jump)!

The day we were supposed to learn how to pop…

Estonian summer has surprised us with unbelievably warm and sunny weather this year. We had been waiting for a windy day for weeks and finally it was windy. We set a meeting with Kristiin at Paljassaare beach, which is basically located in the heart of Tallinn and used for kiting with east winds.

When we went to the beach we were so excited. This is it! Finally! Our excitement, however, vanished once we arrived. We had forgotten that it was the time of summer holidays, which meant that there was enormous traffic. Gosh! The thought of trying our first “jumps” in such a traffic was quite scary. But oh well…to the water.

Kristiin asked us to get into the water without our equipment so that she could show us every single move as much as we want. So there we were, in  knee-deep water standing and waiting Kristiin to pass. And there she was playfully poping like a boss. We just started laughing… and asked to do it again and again so that we could check out every single movement one at a time – first the hands, then the body and board, landing, etc. After multiple demonstrations and questions, we were ready to take our kites…

An hour later we were happy and sad at the same time. Happy about our tiny progress – we both got ourselves a bit out of water! We didn’t consider it as a jump yet, but at least we were confident enough to try poping on our own. It was a good base for next time.

But we were also angry – angry at ourselves and the traffic. Triin was pissed about the new harness and the gusty wind. She had put the harness on too tight and as she had to hassle with the 12m2 kite, which was actually too much for the day, her ribs started to ache. Due to the too strong wind, she was also forced to stay quite close to the shore where she had no room to practice jumping. As Kristiin told us we should always check that we have around 50m free space in every direction before trying to pop, but that day it was a rare find. Anne-Mai on the other hand was forced to stay too far from the shore, quite close to the concrete blocks and iron scrap, you can find at the Paljassaare bay, which, of course, disturbed her from practicing. Yes, you read it right – Katariina dock is historically built port structure, therefore there can be find construction materials in water. This is why this spot is not recommended for the kite beginners. 

In addition, we think our trainer brings us trouble 🙂 As she is one of the best kiters in Estonia, it seems that everyone would like to show off when she’s around. It was already the second time when she was in the water and all of a sudden there was a punch of guys trying to do their tricks exactly in front of her. Exactly in the space where we were supposed to practice so that she could check and give us tips for improvements. It’s not like we haven’t chosen a side area so that we can practice. But wherever she stands, traffic comes around her. We know that we should be more arrogrant on the water and fight for our space, but unfortunately it’s not in our nature. Especially when we are learning new things i.e. first jumping!

Although we left the session with mixed feelings (it’s also in our nature to excel in everything), we actually did well. Our coach was proud and we had a solid base to continue practicing. Till the next poping 🙂