VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

I'm going to Tofino to surf this weekend, Sunday the surf looks abysmal (1.5ft @ 17 seconds) but they're calling for 15kt winds. Anyone know how much oomph you need to get going on a skimboard in shallow water? (or if this is asking for a broken something) My trainer is a 3M

I might take up my full size gear, but its a lot of extra gear to bring up

I tried it once when I could still one-step a skimboard into waves and with a 2m. I wasn't an experienced kiter at this point though. No luck.

Trainer kites pretty much only make power dead downwind. And you'll probably need a running start. My biggest problem was dropping the kite. Unless you have a closed cell, you pretty much can't crash the kite more than once in the sandy shore break.

Good luck and do bring the trainer and the skimboard to the beach, and have fun with them. No matter what, the experience will make you a better kiter.

you should go to San P saturday morning... I'm up there for a morning session then to Port A for a afternoon or evening session.

why are you going to Tofino when there aint gona be any surf?

There will be decent surf Sat aside from it probably being a bit sloppy due to the wind. We already booked the campsite when the forecast was looking awesome, and Tofino is always good times so we'll make something happen. I wanna try to hit San P or PA next weekend followed by Mt Washington (they're open for snowboarding fathers day weekend) though

The verdict is it works, kind of. Tried it in the 35kts at Long Beach on Sat.

Shallow water you get going really really fast straight downwind, and you can't really edge hard enough or you touch the bottom and the board stops.
In deeper water it works great until there's a lull or big gust since you dont have the same control as a real kite.

Its tough too since the trainers are so twitchy, and then you crash the kite into a wave during a lull while you're busy trying to surf the wave on a skimboard. With a little practice it could be fun though.