Kite Surfing: The Sky’s the Limit

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Pensacola, FL -
Pensacola beach is enjoying a new extreme sport and lots of people, both spectators and participants, are taking notice…way up in the sky! It’s not a bird or a plane…but the wildest new water sport in years…kite surfing! It’s super cool…and so is the kite that’s attached to a man or a woman-guy or girl-bloke or chick…balanced on a surfboard…and gliding on the water. Get the picture? Funny thing is…and extreme as it is, it really isn’t new at all! Kite surfing dates back to the 13th Century Chinese when kites were actually used as a simple mode of transportation. If you understand physics, you understand why kites will fly!

We’re seeing more and more kites above the emerald green water of the Gulf, but kites have been propelling man-made vehicles across the ground, snow and ice for years.

OK, no one understands physics (well, almost no one), so here goes a simple explanation: we all agree a kite is heavier than air, right? To fly, it must produce a force to compensate for gravity…and that force is called lift. The wind or pressure against the kite results in a perpendicular force to the wind itself…and bingo…cruising altitude is achieved! That’s pretty basic stuff, but this is Pensacola and we don’t want to get too serious on the Emerald Coast. Pensacola has always been about FUN…and that’s why kite surfing fits right in-it’s fun!!

We’re seeing more and more kites above the emerald green water of the Gulf, but kites have been propelling man-made vehicles across the ground, snow and ice for years. Regardless, no matter where or what…the first order of business is getting your kite off the ground! And once in the air, kites manufacture their own wind creating a higher rate of speed for “whatever” vehicle (or person and thing) is attached. Before this exciting new sport was perfected, kites had a hard time launching a second time after getting soaking wet in the salty water. Eventually a few companies wised up and began marketing water launch kites in the 1980’s. Radical surfers and wakeboarders in Hawaii were quick to realize the extreme sport opportunities and a new, thrilling sport was born. No pun intended, but kite boarding has skyrocketed as one of the fastest growing water sports in years…and apparently…the sky’s the limit!