How to cope with windsurfing friends leaving !
 

When most of your old windsurfing buddies is leaving windsurfing and go to kiteboarding , it is tough.
Any advice how to cope with it mentally ?

Get a kite too?

Hate to tell you, but your buddies never were true windsurfers. Majority of people have a 'herd' mentality, windsurfing was popular/new and cool 20 years ago, so that's what they did, kitesurfing is flashier, easier and less physically demanding and 'new' kid on the block, so they moved on to that, tomorrow will be something else. Windsurfing in it core is a very special, magic thing ... but not for everyone.

Many of my old windsurf friends also went kiting.
Some of them are still doing both.
My advice is, give it a go yourself and then decide wether you like it or not.
I've tried it. From the very first moment, I knew it was nothing for me.
No regrets. No hard feelings towards kiting nor to the friends who are kiting.
We just don't sail together anymore. That's all.
In the mean time a lot of new friends who like windsurfing !

It's like sergio said, you have to do what you like to do and not what others push you into.
Soon enough you'll know if you are a true windsurfer.

pray for them, so the might see the light again!

feelings
 

i agree did the same, just no the same feel , it was like wakeboarding,

shredulato

Relax
 

Relax and wish them good luck. Just in California, in the last 3 months, there have been 2 deaths and a scary number of VERY close calls.

Like windsurfing did, Kiting will have a huge popularity upswing until people experience on their skin the main problems associated with the sport. For windsurfing it was mostly the difficulty of the sport, maybe the expense. For kiting it will be space, that is already prompting beach closures, and very real danger.

Personally, I'd never put a kid on a Kite, injuries are very common, and, at least in the Bay Area, the coast Guard picks up Kiters daily, with occasional rather massive rescues (a month ago 8 kiters floating out of the Golden Gate Bridge).

Windsurfing is doing fine. There is a large number of new sailors, thank you freestyle, and there are actually a good number of people coming back to windsurfing.

if they really are your friends, ge out there with a knife attached to the top of your mast, and shop their lines pretty far off shore!!
that will be a good laugh!!!
And they are gonna need your rescue, and will realize how shitty is to depend on a kite...
auhauha

Thanks for the response !
 

What I am doing is to encourage and train more youngster from ex -raceboard team to shortboarding
as they retire from the team .
Thanks !

Another kiter dies in Belgium
 

We had a fantastic two days on friday and saturday.
23 - 33 knots. B&J conditions with 4.7 sail.

A man of 35 together with his girl friend were practising with their kite on the beach.
Suddenly a gust launches the man 4 meters in the air. He falls down with his head in the sand. Very sad. Condoleances to the family.