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| For many motorists, driving back to key Biscayne after a busy day in the city of Miami or in Coral Gables, can be a very slow process. Rickenbacker Causeway is surrounded by water and when the wind is strong out of the West , Southwest, windsurfers and kite borders fill the Waters and skies. The sight of multicolored sails and over-sized kites filling this sky and horizon is truly spectacular. Many tourists and even those of us who had lived here for extended periods of time pull off of the causeway just to take it all in. | ||
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| Kite boarding is a relatively new sport
when compared to its older cousin windsurfing, and is the logical next
step in extreme watersports. Kite boarding uses a board approximately
4 feet in length, that is similar in design to a wake board. Wake-boarding
requires to be pulled behind a boat to get the highest possible jumps.
Kite boarders are pulled through the surf and sky by riding the wind
and manipulating a massive kite in the shape of a wing to skim the
water's surface at high speed.
One moment the board is on the water's surface, and the next moment the boarder is hang-glideing over boats. Many different sizes of kites are available and are chosen in relation to the ever changing local wind conditions . It is not uncommon to see riders launch into the air and soar to heights exceeding 20 feet above the water's service. The official www.key-biscayne.com photography vessel has several markings from miscalculated jumps. Key Biscayne is ideally situated for the sport of kite boarding. When the winds are in one direction, the boarders will access and launch from Crandon Park Beach and ride the ocean on the windward side of Key Biscayne, and when the wind is from another direction all those participating in the sport will launch their boards from Virginia Key or the sandbar on the west side of Key Biscayne. Experience the thrill and adrenaline pumping sport of kite boarding either on the board or watching from the beach. One of my personal favorites things to see, outside of watching somebody jump 25 or 30 feet into the air and land back into the water five or six seconds later, is to watch somebody skim across 10 inches of water at 40 mph 15 feet away from where people are standing on the shore. It is a great sport for the whole family. Children and adults alike watching, so when you see the sails in the sky, it is worth taking a few minutes to 'check it out'. Be forewarned, if you try it, (we reccomend getting lessons from Miami Kiteboarding)(link below) you will be praying for wind every weekend. |
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Check out the kite board photogallery >>> Get kiteboarding lessons right here on Key Biscayne (link) Stay up to date on all the latest Key Biscayne News (free online newsletter) |
