[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Wind, Sand and Stars

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Wind, Sand and Stars
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1177795186.shtml


   I walked down to the beach at Tel Aviv to take some sunset photos and
   found a group of kitesurfers enjoying the waves.

   [1]kitesurfers 

   If I'd brought my camcorder I could show you how kitesurfing works,
   but I didn't, so I'll have to make do with this wikipedia definition:

     Kitesurfing, also known as kite surfing, fly surfing, and
     kiteboarding, involves using a power kite to pull the rider through
     the water on a small surfboard, a wakeboard, or a kiteboard.

     A kitesurfer uses a board with foot-straps or bindings, combined
     with the power of a large controllable kite to propel himself and
     the board across the water. However, this simplicity also makes
     kitesurfing challenging. A kitesurfer's body is the only connection
     between the kite and the board. The kite is piloted in the sky
     while the board is steered on the water.

   Kitesurfing looked like a lot of fun, but the combination of the
   'kite' (a modified parachute), wires, high speed boarding plus the
   unpredictable nature of waves indicated that it would take a lot of
   time and practice to do right.

   [2]kitesurfing 

   According to the kitesurfers I talked to, some hours of lessons and
   lots of practice were needed to perfect the tecnique of combining
   flight over water. Snowboarding is difficult enough - imagine
   combining that with kiting and surfing.

   [3]avri_tel_aviv 

   One kitesurfer, Avri, demonstrated this jump (click on photos to see
   larger images)

   [4]avri_jump 

   It would take a lot of time and effort to learn how to soar like that,
   but it would be worth it.

References

   1. file://localhost/files/whataretheysaying-kitesurfers.jpg
   2. file://localhost/files/whataretheysaying-kitesurfing1.jpg
   3. file://localhost/files/whataretheysaying-avri_kitesurf.jpg
   4. file://localhost/files/whataretheysaying-avri_kitesurf5.jpg