A Kitesurfing Travel Dream
In the spring of 1992, I watched a short movie named "North Bound" from North Sails Windsurfing capturing the antics of Ian Boyd and his crew of professional windsurfers as they traveled up the California and Oregon coast. The repeated watching of their tweaked wave sailing style in the coastal conditions elevated them to a legendary status in my mind. However, as a 17yr old windsurfing grommet living in Toronto, Ontario (Canada), it all seemed so unreal as I could barely afford a few pieces of gear let alone a trip to the west coast, so I left it squarely in the 'fantasy category'.
Twenty-five years later, I committed to learning how to kitesurf as I was on a mission to get myself back onto the water. It was all going so smoothly on my little twin tip and used kites for a few seasons until one evening, bored....two beers in....I keyboard stumbled onto Airush Kiteboarding's "Sessions" video featuring Oswald Smith and Kiko Torres tearing up waves around Cape Town, South Africa. After watching this video with its groovy music infused stylish kitesurfing, I found a new mission. In my usual amped up fashion, I messaged my equipment guy and planned my acquisition of the same board, bar and kite from the clips. If I can't be a wave sailor, I'm certainly going to do my best to look the part and channel my inner Ian Boyd.
Destination Santa Cruz
When I set out for California in April 2023, I had two spots in mind that I really wanted to visit: Sherman Island in the San Fransisco Bay Area and Waddell Creek in that Santa Cruz area. In my last post "Chasing The Wind: Kitesurfing Sherman Island", I highlighted that MACKiteboarding's Destination's video on Sherman Island and sure enough, MACKiteboarding also has a great Destination's Episode on the Santa Cruz and Bay Area to help prep for Waddell Creek. The web episode clearly outlines that Waddell Creek is a spot for experienced kitesurfers (check!) and it's as pure a wave spot as it gets on the West Coast (yes!). I have a strong desire to become a proper kitesurfing wave rider and I'm chasing after the surfing 'drop in' feeling, that moment where the wave takes over the powering of the board and I was certainly prepared to drive a long distance to try it.
One thing that popped in my mind.....did they mean experienced wave riders or would experienced kite surfers new to waves suffice? Only one way to find out.
Camping In Santa Cruz
I found some tent camping at the Santa Cruz North KOA/Costanoa just south of the small town of Pescadero, CA. This place is a very cool nature reserve/glamping spot which has some high end RVs that are way above Cousin Eddie's pay grade. The tent camping is located in a really nice fenced grass area like a goat pen, so the RV'ers get watch you with curiosity as they walk past you with a drink in hand. I discovered that during dinner time, if you pop your head above the fence line when spectators are close and bleet the Canadian phrase 'Out and About', the travellers will approach you with interest but will adhere to the strict site rules of don't feed the animals. I was hoping that perhaps an expensive steak might be flung at me, but no such luck.
Anyhoo......after arriving, I set up camp and quickly got back onto Hwy 1 to go see Waddell Creek and was happily greeted by that awesome site of kites in the air when you bending your neck in awkward ways to get a look at the wind on horizon from your car. I pulled into the parking lot, hopped out and was rewarded with that wonderful blast of wind accompanied by the sound of breaking waves. As I watched the kitesurfers work the break, I realized that this was the real deal and I will admit that I was for the first time in a while, severely intimidated by a new spot. With a couple of deep breaths, I knew I had to get to basics by talking with the locals.
Always Learn From The Locals
I can't stress enough the importance of talking to the locals about the nuances of a kitesurfing spot before you head out. You will be surprised how much you can learn and improve your session's outcome while potentially saving a lot of money on avoided equipment damage ie fin ripping rock gardens you can't see. At Waddell Creek, there is an incredible group of epicly smooth wave sailors with two of the nicest young rippers who took their time to help me understand the break, the hazards, the lineup and getting launched.
After the spot coaching, I strapped a helmet onto my noggin, got my kite launched, picked up my board, walked to the water's edge and pretty much froze. The swell size was 4-6ft and moving fast, so I could not see any opportunity to easily get past the break. First attempt, my board was ripped off my feet and sent back to the beach. Second and third attempt--same result. I adjusted my foot positioning, curbed my outgoing speed and got over the first wave only to get launched into the sky while going over the second. I body dragged back to the beach remembering the warning not to drag for too long as there are sharks in the water. I retrieved my board (again) on the beach and did the upwind walk of shame.
Eventually, I made it over the breaking waves, into the swell and began tacking my way up wind to get into the line up at the top of the break. As I got closer to the break, I was so busy twisting my head around watching out for the other kitesurfers, that I did not notice that my kite was now just inches off the water and that I was moving with too much speed. I threw my kite up at 12 o'clock hoping to slow down but all of sudden I started moving even faster. Fear moved in, what the hell was happening?
Well, what I came looking for happened. I dropped in on a 4 ft wave and my board was picking up speed. Yahoo! The joy was short lived as I then realized that Waddell is a right breaking wave and I'm a goofy footed skateboarder. In plain language, I'm riding a powerful force on my wrong side. I kept my cool and just let the wave and board do its work but the shore was coming up fast so I had to gybe back out. As I tried to bottom turn and I was promptly rewarded with the board being ripped off my feet again. Basically, I did not read the wave properly and tried to turn back out as the wave was closing out on me. My board simply went to the beach and I'm doing the walk of shame for the fourth time that day.
That night I could not fall asleep despite a nice dinner at the resort's restaurant and some fireside beers. My mind was replaying the entire day's events over and over in my head and I wanted the next session to be smoother. I grabbed a pen and paper and basically downloaded everything, tucked into some sleep and went over my notes the next morning while sipping some coffee. It did the trick as the next day was a much better session with getting all the pieces together and thankfully only one walk of shame.
Wave Kitesurfing Lessons Learned
As I mentioned before, wave kitesurfing is a dream of mine and I love my enthusiastic nature but my body and brainstem remind me that I'm in my late 40s and you can't just acquire immediate expertise. This goal of mine will take some time, patience and reflection, so here are a few things that stuck with me:
Kite Control is critical especially if you change your sailing environment. Start simple and really focus on the smooth application of power.
Be mindful of your board speed while going out over the break. In flatwater and chop, I have always sailed with a bit of a 'load and go' mentality and because I was not checking my board speed, I was either getting my board taken away from me or I was in the air without it.
Good situational awareness will never let you down. I was so focused on the other kitesurfers that I ignored what was happening under foot. It seemed that waves added a new dimension of speed and energy management to my sessions.
Focus on smooth sailing. I needed to breath more and focus on deliberate movements while constantly checking on the position of my kite.
Start with small waves as a lot is happening and some things are not as intuitive as you may think.
Learn from the locals. Spot tribalism is real and like it or not, you are a 'proverbial' guest. Talking with them will keep you out of trouble and more importantly out of their way. When you fall into their rhythm, the after session parking lot talk is more about session stoke vs. mysterious problems with your car.
Resources to Help You Learn
I should have done more homework on the topic of wave sailing instead of just trying to find information on Waddell Creek and simply giving it a go. After getting back home, I did some resource review and I wish I had spent more time studying the following resources on YouTube:
Flukes Kitesurfing. Lovely simple instructional videos to get you started on putting your wave sailing ambitions together.
Tom Fuller Kiteboarding. These videos provide a lot in depth learning and information, so sit down with a coffee and notepad.
Wave-Duotone Academy. These videos are short but sweet and you can easily download them to have in your pocket if you want to reference them at your session.
One Last Thought
Waddell Creek is such a beautiful spot and I will certainly go back next season. Like any other spot after a good session, it is such a great feeling to share some stories and enjoy a beer as the sun comes down. This particular post session was most memorable as inevitably the topic of sharks came up. I inquired if the internet information was accurate and received a prompt reply that "sharks...yeah they're here. One swam through our line up with a dead seal in his mouth. He didn't care about us, he's just having his lunch." I laughed, perhaps the locals appreciate having new blood visiting the spot because you will most likely be the shark food from losing your board.
Hitting the road and learning new things is my favourite part of kitesurfing, so go chase the wind, it's an adventure.
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