The votes are in. Kitesurfing is hot, and it’s taking the world by storm! While people have been dabbling with kite-powered vehicles for hundreds of years, the rather mature and refined system used in kitesurfing has only been around for about 10 to 15 years.

Some of the main reasons kitesurfing is so popular is that there are no site-fees to pay (like downhill skiing), the kite can make huge jumps possible, and you don’t have to have surf-able waves or a speed boat to get pulled around on the water. Once you get learn to ride and get your gear, you can go whenever the conditions are good.

Now you can’t just fly any ol’ delta kite and stand on a longboard and expect to rock the waves. The kites used in the sport are specially designed and über powerful. They don’t sink or turn into sea anchors when you accidentally fly them into the water, they are steerable, and they have a sort of throttle control. You hook the control lines to a harness that distributes the pull around your chest or waist or hips, and you use a board that has foot straps to hold it on to your feet.