Throw caution to the wind with kitesurfing in South Jersey

 A person can see amazing feats standing on the beach at 41th Street in Ocean City here when the weather conditions produce gusty winds and high cresting waves.

Kites can be seen flying as high as 90 feet in the air. Flying lines extend down from the kite to a control bar being held by a harnessed rider. With the riders feet attached to a kiteboard with straps or unattached as if riding a surfboard, you can see practitioners flying into their air, doing flips and riding on top of waves.

"It's the most fun you could ever have with you clothes on," joked Chris Doyle, the owner of Leading Edge Kite School, based in Ocean City. "It's the most fun water sport I can think of, for sure, the most dynamic."

Kitesurfing, also known as kiteboarding, is the most extreme activity a person can do out in the ocean. You simultaneously control the kite above you and the board beneath your feet. You are at the mercy of the winds blowing all around you and the waves underneath your feet, but for people into the sport, the high that comes from doing it beats surfing, water skiing, wakeboarding, windsurfing or Hobie racing or sailing.

Kiteboarding is getting more media attention and becoming mainstream during the last decade, saidMarina Chang, the founder and publisher of The Kiteboarder Magazine. References to it are showing up on Billboards and in print advertisements, and more kiteboarding locations are opening up, she said... [Read More]