I live near the Potomac River in Maryland. Some parts of the river are just shy of 1/2 mile wide. There are rocks in the river but it is deep enough unless you are within 10 or 15 yards from the shore. Some days, the wind can be around 20 miles an hour. Trees and large hills line the sides of the river, so I don't know if that would produce dangerous gusts depending on the direction of the wind. Would it be possible to kitesurf there and have fun without getting killed?

critical site selection should be appropriate for skill level

clear spot enough to launch and land or water launch within reason.

heavy current with obstructions = no, only with supreme skills and float plan that won't get you killed.

trees and rocks, nothing good in kiting comes from either. that would be another no

if you can swim out and back about as far as you ride and return to the same spot is a good test, but if it looks challenging with a deadly ending= no

fully understanding conditions of a spot is a life preserving step.

if you ride you should be able to look at it and tell without much guessing. skills to jump on a tight spot with rocks and trees, gusty wind and absent knowledge of general wind tendencies would need to be advanced but mostly brainless.

i have scouted several spots with the right wind are doable but different times of the year they are deadly.

caution advised

go to hatteras more fun and(this is the best part) ...want get you killed

i'm sure there is a kiting scene better keep looking

You need to contact Ragden and LeeBrian on this board and hook up with them. They hit up Dewey Beach all the time.

http://eastkb.com/blog/

Here is another site that will be of assistance, what part of the Potomac are you on? My son and I are from the Point Lookout area.

I am on the lower part of the Potomac, right where Sycamore Island is, I think its mile six. I was thinking of kiting below Sycamore Island and above the Little Falls Dam. You think it would work?

Quote:

Originally posted by power I am on the lower part of the Potomac, right where Sycamore Island is, I think its mile six. I was thinking of kiting below Sycamore Island and above the Little Falls Dam. You think it would work?

Please again contact some people that know the area at http://eastkb.com/blog/

I have never been on the water yet; Phree offered some very important information and I can only put you in contact with people that have been in that area before.

Contact these people and see what comes up.

Ditto on the eastkb guys. They should be able to hook you up with info. If your just learning dewey beach is a little hatteras. Perfect for what you need.

This is the spot I was thinking about kitesurfing at.

http://localkitespots.com/vmap.aspx?site=1199119348040&z...

Does anyone know if there are any restrictions on kitesurfing here or anywhere on the Potomac River? There is some boat traffic, but not too much. I would love to get into kitesurfing, but if I cant do it here, I would have to drive three hours to the nearest beach.

Do not kite there you are 1.4 km from Regan International...........aj

Yeah, you'd likely be in trouble trying to kite surf there. Even flying on the point has it's issues. It's in the helicopter landing path, so anything over 100 ft is forbidden. I realize that most of us fly on lines that are slightly shorter than that, but it still tends to make the helicopter pilots nervous.

That's what I thought you guys would say. How about the Chesapeake Bay? Like right where the bay bridge crosses it? Is it possible to kitesurf there? I have never even tried it or seen anyone do it, but I would love to get a lesson so I could try it out without buying all the gear. Do they give lessons there?

There are quite a few good spots on the Chesapeake. They all have funky nicknames that do nothing to describe where they are. Brownies. Terrapin. Scary Point. Mayo. Stuff like that. Not that I'm trying to sound like a broken record here, but I really have to echo the information Todd is giving you. Check out eastkb.com/forum. They have a little post that is full of spots that are local. Listed with prefered wind directions, and level of difficulty to ride there.

If you are just learning, there are quite a few things you need to do BEFORE hitting the water. This is probably the most dangerous of all the kiting disciplines because of the different water safety aspects that HAVE to be considered. I would be more than happy to help you learn, but the absolute best thing you can do is get a professional lesson. I cannot stress this enough. Instructors are trained at teach you what you need to learn so that you are not a danger to yourself, or other kiters. They are also generally adept at matching up gear to your body size, and style of riding so you can get what will work best for you.

I drive out to Dewey almost every weekend, and you are more than welcome to join me. Please feel free to drop me an e-mail or u2u and I will provide you with more information. Please let me know what I can do to assist you. Best of luck to you.

Thanks a lot ragden. Here's the thing- I really would love to try kitesurfing, and yes, I would definitely get a lesson first, but I don't want to drop 1000+$ just to start out. Especially when I don't live close to any kitesurfable water. This wouldn't be something I could do everyday, maybe once every few weeks. How should I go about getting involved with the sport?

If you dont have any kite experence come on out to the njbuggybash in wildwood nj on oct 2,3,4. We can get you pointed in the right direction.

Gosh that would be great. I do have some kite experience, but not much (I've only been flying for a couple of months, Peter Lynn Twister II 4.1). I live about 3.5 hours from Wildwood. Do some people just drive up there and drive back in the same day? Or do they rent a hotel or something like that?

A motel generally, check this thread --> http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=10577

Power, where in the DC area do you live? Sounds like you already have kites and know how to fly them. I can give some pointers and help you move along. No worries bud. Most people are staying in Wildwood for the weekend. I am driving up thursday night and will be staying until Sunday. I've done the one-day drive thing... not for me. Way too much driving for one day. Though, I take day-trips to Dewey almost every weekend (if the wind is blowing that is), and thats a 3hr drive, one way. :dunno:

This coming weekend is looking pretty busy for me right now. Saturday in PA with some friends. Sunday I will be heading down to Assateague, winds permitting, of course. You would be welcome to join me down at AZT if you want to make the trip, but its a long drive if you arent hitting the water. There is some room to practice water skills, if you have the right gear... Drop me an e-mail if you are interested and we can discuss in more detail.

I live just outside of D.C. (2 minutes by car) in Bethesda, Maryland. I just got into powerkiting over the summer and I only have one kite, but hope to acquire more this winter. I am not sure if I'll be able to make it up there this time around because I'm not sure if my parents want to do the one day drive or rent a motel. But we'll see. I certainly don't have any water gear, but I'd love to come up to meet people, see a bunch of different kites and try out some boards and buggies. What kind of gear can you demo?

At the buggy bash, there will be lots of stuff for you to play with. Most people are pretty generous about letting people try their gear. As you might notice from my signature block below, I have quite a few kites. I'm normally pretty keen on letting people try stuff. Especially the fixed-bridle kites, since I dont really fly those much. I am a little hesitant to let people try the depower kites as they are very powerful, and dangerous in the hands of the unskilled. I dont mind showing people how to fly them, but sometime a less aggressite kite is a better start than some of the stuff I have, and fly.

Playing around in the water is a different story. You would need your own harness before doing anything. I would seriously recommend taking lessons from a certified instructor. I can teach some stuff, but I'm no instructor and I'm bound to miss/forget something important. There is at least one instructor in the DC area, and a couple in Delaware. They arent cheap, but they are excellent instructors and will teach you what you need to learn. They can also point you in the right direction for your first set of gear if you plan to ride in the water.

With the "end of the season" on top of us, there are lots of good deals on kitesurfing gear. Plus the new gear is coming out, so last year's stuff is going for cheap. Another thing you can do is pick up some of the learn-to-kitesurf DVDs out there. Real's Progression DVDs are supposed to be top-notch, thogh I've never seen them...

Hope that helps...

Right now, I'm not planning on getting too inolved with kitesurfing, just due to the fact that I would like to have more flying experience and that we're moving towards winter. About that instructor in D.C. though-could you tell me a little bit more about him? How can I contact him?

Get in touch with the folks on this website: http://ospreykitesports.com/. I've rode with the guy a few times. Good guy, very nice. Knows his stuff. Also a certified instructor. You can also contact the folks at H2air.com, and the folks who work at East of Maui in Dewey Beach area.

The other thing I can say is just get out there and fly. Nothing helps kite skills like flying. Ride in a buggy if you can, that will help you learn how to work the kite while moving.. which is a lot different from static flying.

What helped me most in the water was riding on snow. We are always going ot to ny to snow kite. Hopefully the farmers are right this year and we will get some good snow around here

Its nice to see that there is at least some powerkiting going on in Maryland. I would love to get a lesson, but with ospreykitesports suggesting 2 lessons, that more than doubles the cost of getting into the sport. I do agree that a lesson would probably be the best thing to do to start off the right way, but I can't afford that. However, I can certainly get out and fly. Winds are supposed to be good for D.C. this weekend, so I should get lots of hours in then. As far as a buggy, I don't have anything but a kite and its accesories. I'm hoping to borrow a landboard from a friend pretty soon, but he has to ship it to me. Are there any other local places I can get a lesson for cheaper? Or is there any way I can avoid a lesson altogether?

All the different disciplines will help your kite skills which translates to helping everything else. Buggying helped me get into snowkiting, which in turn made me a better buggier and helped me get started in the water faster.

Well, in regard to lessons, bear in mind that the goal is to take someone who has not done any kiting and get them to riding safely. If you already have kite skills, and understand the fundamentals, you could probably get away with one lesson. But you'll want to work on your kite skills before you take that lesson so you can get the most out of it...

I'd be happy to let you futz around in my buggy this weekend if winds are favorable. Depends on what is going on...

Keep me informed rag

will do.

I would love to buggy this weekend (winds permitting). If you're going to Dewey, I can't make it. But if your going somewhere relatively local, I might be able to come. Is there anywhere close to D.C. thats good for buggying?

Not really... There is a park in central DC, Colmar Manor, but this time of year, people are out using the ball fields... so doesnt always work out. If winds are right, I'll be in Dewey... but predictions have been all over the place.. so hard to call...

Thats fine. Just keep me posted if you end up being available.

Let me know too, I might be willing to show up somewhere and help out.