lessons for girlfriend

Hi all. After reading many similiar threads I think it would be better if I didn't try and teach my partner and kept our relationship strong. I am planning a trip in April somewhere where my girlfriend can learn to kite and I won't have to teach her and I can have fun in some waves and be warm. My girl would like a female instructor and we are very flexible on our destination. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I gave up on my girl ever kiteboarding when i realised how un-cordinated and un-driven to actually do it she is. She looks better sunbaking on the beach and looking after my stuff anyway.
Its a shame, but reality is, it would cost an absolute fortune in lessons for her to get going.

If you wait until July you could go to Cocos Islands with Zephyr Kite Tours & she can get some lessons from Jen. The learning curve is fast there because you can get lessons & kite constantly in shallow super flatwater and the lagoon is huge. Oh hang on, you wanted waves.... There's a pretty sweet lefthand reef break to surf but I think it'd be too rocky to kite there. It's damn windy there though... Your body gives out before the wind does. It's also a wicked place and the Zephyr Kite crew are loads of fun

Darren is a good option but might not be much wind then ....

Teaching your girlfriend can be done ( I have done it :) and survived ) , it just takes a lot of patience and you need to be very careful to not push them into doing anything until they are really ready

Nice warm water , steady wind and some shallow water for at least 4-5 days is a good start .

It also helps to make really sure they understand how everything works ( not just nod their head LOL ) and ALL the emergency stuff , cause you know who they are gonna blame when it all goes wrong :)

I went as far as buying a new kite with a great safety system .

New Progression Beg DVD is a worthwhile investment as well .

Good luck .....

Hi Strapped,

Finding someone to teach your girlfriend is a good idea. I have seen couples come to blows when teaching each other. A partner is more liable to use you as a reason for their failings in learning and their frustrations get shot at you like bullets in many cases.

People tend to "behave" better when being taught by professionals as they cannot use the emotional blame game. They also learn faster from professional schools/instructors who teach all day everyday. It is their craft and is what they have learned (to teach) rather than just someone who knows how to ride and has no idea on teaching.

Pro's will also have the tools and equipment to make learning easier. We get very quiet in April due to the lack of winds which happens to about 90% of the country as the seasons change.

Good luck and make sure your girlfriend wants to learn for her own reasons and not just to keep you happy, it will make all the difference in the long run.

Cheers,

KH

Cocos & Jen at Zephyr Kite tours. Jen's awesome, Cocos is great for learning, warm shallow water and plenty of wind. Jen taught my girl now she's addicted, can stay upwind and is talking bout trying jumps. Plenty of encouragement and let her pick it up at her own speed.

New Caledonia, Ilot Maitre (just a short boat trip out of Noumea). Almost 2 square kilometres of waist deep flat water on the windward side of a coral island marine reserve.

I was lucky enough to spend about 6 weeks here and had several solid weeks of kiting. Lots of flat water, especially at low tide when the fringing reef completely blocks any swell/chop. There's a school that operates there and they'll ferry you across every day from Noumea for a reasonable price even if you're not having lessons.

http://www.noumeakiteschool.com/spip.php?lang=en&var_lang=en

No idea on prices of fares/lessons/etc, I was bumming around on a yacht so didn't have to fork out for anything much except the odd bagette.