How many windsurfers do you think there are that regularly sail in the North West?

Why do people leave windsurfing to do kitesurfing? Is it a large proportion?

Two difficult questions there..... I would be surprised if there were more than a thousand sailors in the whole north west area but that is pure speculation based on the fact that when I go anywhere and see anyone else sailing I have normally seen them somewhere else before!!
The second question I can't answer... tried kitesurfing a while ago. But could not justify buying all the toys involved (couldn't afford it!!) It does seem possible to launch a kite in far more varied conditions though, ie the kiters are fine in a force 3 on massive kites.....again pure speculation...

I would agree with Slim (Hi Slim - how ya doin') that it is very difficult to assess how many windsurfers there are in the North West, but I too would have put it at about the 1000 mark - maybe more - ???

On the subject of why do windsurfers start kiting....

Well, it is a form of mental illness and like most mental illness' there are varying degrees of incapacity. We have all watched with great sadness the likes of Darkside lose this battle completley. Shawn battles manfully (a loose term for a mancunian) to this day but appears doomed based on his latest postings. Big K on the other hand showed all the symptoms at one point but appears to have made a full recovery. Medical science improves daily however and I'm sure that these tormented souls will one day be freed of the shackles of requiring two people to launch, having strange handles on their harnesses and the edge,edge,edge,turn,edge,edge,edge,turn mantra which seems to plague their lives....

Hiya Slim & Ernie!!! & Happy New Year to everyone!!!

I think Ernie has hit the nail on the head. Kitesurfing is possibly the most ridiculous sport ever invented , what with the risk of getting dragged accross roads, buildings and hedges - and the high chance of chopping off assorted body parts of anyone in the vicinity - to make matters worse, they all seem to want to wear short over their wetsuits (i cant bring myself to do this yet)!! Still, I can't seem to help myself ... Whilst I am not planning to stop windsurfing, theres a few reasons why I've been kiting so much...

Wider range of venues and hence more time on the water - especailly in winter - i'm too girly to sail on the lake in winter, its fecking freezing (literally, it seems!) - the sea is far warmer - so i stick to that... If the tides low at kirby, that means a 2hr drive to rhossy usually... whereas with kites I can drive for uner an hour to ainsdale, blackpool, or fleetwood where the tide is always within easy reach even at low tide.

Holidays - 1 bag not much larger than a suitcase will cover all conditions.... compared to the huge pile of stuff for windsurfing which is a mare at any airport.

Not saying I prefer it - its just a nice change for the time being. I reckon I'll still be on my windsurfer on the good big tide days at kirby

Hello all, hope everyone has had a good Christmas, apart from the fact it's been friggin freezin and no soddin wind.

Just my take on the whole Kitesurfing thing,
I initially tried it , as many windsurfers do, as a light wind alternative. Only to become completely hooked by :

1, The kite is 100 ft away so you can see whats going on more and your less likely to get a face full of mast and boom when you wipe out.

2,one kite will cover the range of a several sails, so no need to keep re-rigging in those dodgey West Kirby winds.

3, you can sail in shallower water,so opens up the venues

4, it does make sailing in waves a lot easier, because you can jump over them when your timings all out.

Saying all that I did really enjoy windsurfing and blasting down the wall flat out and overpowered , just for the rush.

The whole shorts over the wetsuit thing, well when you've been dragged down the beach and over mussel beds a few times, the shorts do protect your wetsuit and save a few £.
Just watch most kiters and they do sit down in the shallows to start off dragging their arses behind.

Saying all this tho, each to their own and I've enjoyed both and very glad that I have.They're both great sports.
It's just great to be on the water and Kitin gets me on the water more.

Kitesurf for show, windsurf for pro!

I do both, but more windsurfing. To be honest thats down to the fact that I can get my windsurf board more into the pocket of a wave (where the fun starts) than I can kiting, but thats purely down to me being not a very good kiter in the waves.

Kitesurfing is more fun at West Kirby (tide obviously - I'd never kite on the lake haha) when its onshore, but get proper waves and down the line and in my eyes theres no contest... windsurfing anyday. Mind you, get one of those freak NW days at West Kirby and some good fun sized ramps, and windsurfing is hard to beat again. I reckon kitesurfing is a lot easier to learn and pick up than windsurfing, but that initial start up learning time is longer than windsurfing. I also found that learning tricks kiting is not as rewarding as windsurfing, but learning tricks windsurfing can be a lot more frustrating than kitesurfing! For example something like a vulcan can take... well, years. A "loop" kitesurfing, in my eyes more like a forward roll or backward roll can take 2 hours to nail.

Both sports do compliment each other well, but if you do both you're obviously not going to learn as quickly just doing one sport. Never understood the shorts over the wettie thing, as most kites don't really drag you up the beach anymore. Maybe Darkside is part of a secret gang?! Happy Xmas to you too darkside! Haven't seen you out in ages?

Kiting does buy you more water time, which at the end of the day is what its all about... each to their own but as long as its fun, who cares?!

I also reckon its less than 1000 regular windsurfers. In the winter "regulars" probably goes down to 100, in the summer maybe 500-600? Interesting compared to surfing (admittedly you can take much colder temps surfing than windsurfing) when you go to Hells Mouth, which is the premium spot round these parts, you can struggle to park up in the Christmas holidays on some days.