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Kite Courses : Free use of Stand Up Paddles with all Courses

TO BOAT OR NOT TO BOAT?

Surf Zone offers kite lessons from Land as well as from a Boat. Having options can be confusing so we have compiled a list of the pro’s of both.

Kite Beach:Learing to kite starting from Land

By ‘from land’ what we mean is you launch your kite from land and then walk into the water with the kite in the air. When you have completed kiting on the ocean like a mythical Greek god or goddess, you then exit the water onto land and land the kite safely.

The benefits of learning from land at Kite Beach are as follows:

  1. When you are independent you will most likely be kiting from land and not from a boat and therefore when learning from land you will learn how to launch a kite, walk into the water, exit the water and land the kite.

  2. Once you start riding, you will begin to ride downwind (with the wind) first. At kite beach you can exit the water, walk back up wind and then re-enter the water to do the whole thing once again, thereby really encouraging you to learn to ride up wind faster.

  3. The wind is more on-shore here, so no matter what, one day you will make it back to land.

  4. At kite beach we are able to provide each client with their own kite, once each client in the group are able to: body drag up wind, relaunch the kite, and walk out of the water, walk up-wind and re-enter the water.  There is a max of two people in a group.

Bay of Santa Maria, learning to kite by Boat

Reasons we can only teach from a boat in the Bay of Santa Maria

  1. The wind is more off-shore, so coming back to land is much harder and could take months.

  2. There is often a shore/beach break which makes it difficult to enter and exit the water.

Pro’s of learning from a boat in the Bay of Santa Maria.

  1. You learn faster as the instructor is closer to you.

  2. You can have much longer runs.

  3. The water is much flatter and there is no kite traffic.

  4. When it is a group (2 people) we only use 1 kite and switch off , however if it is a group of two people who are riding well and want to advance their skills, we can then use 2 kites.

  5. With beginners, while one client is in the water, that clients progress is used to show the other client in the boat what they should and should not be doing.

  6. You don’t have to walk, the boat will take you back up-wind.

Complete Beginner Kite Courses:

2 clients-2 kites-1 instructor

WHAT TO EXPECT IN YOUR COURSE: How many steps you take in a lesson wlll depend on you and your progress.

Step 1: Learn to the Kite. First you will learn to fly the small kite on the beach, and then learn to fly the large 4line kite. You then go into the water with the instructor and learn to have the kite take you in both directions “body drag” and re-launch the kite when it falls in the water.  The goal of the first lesson is to body drag and relaunch the kite without assistance from the instructor. You will also learn how to prepare the kite lines. In the first introduction lesson there in only 1 kite between 2 people as you are learning to fly the kite. You WILL go in the water in your first lesson. After the introduction lesson most people know if kiting is a sport for them. In the second lesson the goal is for each client to have a kite. 

Step 2: Kite Control. You will learn how to prepare the lines, the kite, and how to use the safety leash and the chicken loop. The goal is to make sure that you can relaunch the kite out of deep water on your own. That you can walk into the water with the kite and body drag out and back up wind, and then walk out with the kite in the air.

Step 3: Board Start. After you have completed step 2 you will start with taking your board and walking into the water with the board. Then body drag out holding the board. Change hands and come back with the board in your other hand, take the board and walk out of the water. The instructor will then demonstrate how to position the kite and place the board on your feet, as well as how to move the kite to get you up on the board.  REMEMBER Kite Surfing is 90% knowing how to fly and control the kite, safely.

Step 4: On the Board. The instructor will now explain how to ride on the board in both directions, controlled. There is a continued focus on safety: watch others, in and out of the water safely, how to deal with beach breaks.

Step 5: Move to Independence. Learn to ride up wind, turn and come back to where you started without crashing the kite. Congratulations you are now a kite surfer and can RENT. Note you can only move on to the NEXT step when you have completed the previous step. How many lessons each step takes will depend on you.

Move-on Courses:

2 clients-2 kites-1 instructor

If you have done some kitesurfing before then we recommend our KITE MOVE ON lessons. You can book 2,4,6,8,10, 12hours of lessons. 

If it has been a long time since you have done anything, or have only done a little body dragging in shallow water, than we recommend you start with a 2 hour private lesson and then continue with groups. We recommend this, so you are not placed in a group where you are repeating things you already know.

If you are already body dragging in deep water and know how to relauch the kite, board starting, or on a board, then groups are a good option.

If there is no group available the lessons are changed into shorter private lessons. So the 2 hour group lesson becomes a 1.5 hour private lesson.

Lessons take place at Kite Beach or private lessons from a boat in the Bay of Santa Maria. 

Private Courses:

2-hours-1 clients-1 kites-1 instructor

For those wanting to progress faster, we offer private courses from land as well as private lessons from a boat in the Bay of Santa Maria. 

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For a full price list please email us at info@surfcaboverde.com or go to our price page

Example of Introduction to Kite Lesson

Windsurf Courses:

  • We offer Windsurf lessons from ages 7+ to what ever age you can still swim, float, and breathe without an oxygen tank. December to April the area in front of the Santa Maria Bay school is much easier for beginners. 

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  • Our goal with ALL of our lessons is for You to Learn, but to also have a good time in the process. All our instructors will make sure to teach you the basics and the “why” you do certain things, to ensure that you have all the tools to progress. We also want to make sure that no matter where you go in the world, you will be able to windsurf safely and come back to where you started.

 

  • For complete beginners, Surf Zone offers a 3 hour beginner course. After this course most people are at a point where they can rent and practice on their own. In the first lesson (1 hour), the goal is to make sure that you can go out, turn and come back. In the second lesson, the goal is make sure you can go out and come back to the same place. In the last lesson the instructor takes a board and sail and windsurfs beside you out of the Bay and into the open ocean (do not worry it is completely safe and a lot of fun).

 

  • If you have done some windsurfing before but are not sure if you can go out and come back to the same place, we are happy to offer a 1hour refresher.

 

  • For more intermediate windsurfers, Surf Zone windsurf instructors offer lessons in harness, beach start, water start and foot straps. The instructor will windsurf  with you.

  • For more advanced windsurfers wanting to learn  different jibes etc.. our advanced windsurf instructors will work theIr magic and make what you thought was really hard, into something effortless. Amazing what a little instruction can do for your jibe!

 

 

Surf Courses:

For those wanting to learn the sport there is a beginner surf spot beside the Surf Zone School in Santa Maria.  However, on certain days these same spots are home to waves that are even challenging for more experienced surfers.

 

Note: All the waves here are dependent on an ocean swell. Therefore there is no guarantee of waves. When the waves come in, they are great, but we cannot predict months or weeks before when there will be waves.

 

From November to end of May, there will be weeks with great beginner waves, however it is also the windy season so there will be days when there is too much wind to learn to surf, as the wind will just blow you off the wave. All wave spots here have rocky bottoms

Please go to the Prices page for Kite, Wind and Surf prices

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