Surfboard vs. Twin Tip

When I started kiting, many folks were using directional boards - small surfboards with straps. Just as I stepped on the learning curve, I was excited to see the move toward twin tips - one less thing to deal with as I never had to 'jibe' and could ride heel side all the time. But it's time for a change - back to basics.

To commemorate the MaiTai Kite Camp, Jimmy Lewis made me a cool 5' 6" small surfboard with straps - and for further encouragement, kiting pioneer Lou Wainman stepped in to give me pointers on how to set it up for my stance. It was an honor for met to meet the man who has been in more kiting videos than any other waterman I know of.

Surfboards are fun to ride with a kite. A smooth, curvy, floaty, ride. Upwind performance is awesome. These pictures compare surfboard and twin tip sessions on days with identical wind and tide conditions.

The first snapshot is the path I rode with my surfboard, and the next is a ride on my twin tip. One picture is wider for obvious reasons. A click on either pic will take you to motionbased to 'follow the little red dot' of the actual ride tracked by GPS that day.