Andres Larin's blog

Safety signs & signals

When communicating on-water or over a distance, wind and wave noise will drown out almost all verbal communication. So it is necessary for kiteboarders to use visual communications to signify their intent, and especially useful is using hand signals. There are a specific set of hand signals that are in wide use, and are widely understood. To be a responsible kiter, you should learn the kiteboarding hand Signals listed below. Understanding these basic hand signals will improve the level of safety for you and others.

Rescuing others

You can use your kite to rescue others, but it is very important to not become part of the problem yourself. You can render assistance to and rescue other water users if required, including swimmers, boaters, sailors, windsurfers and other kitesurfers. Someone with one or both hands raised above their head and waving requires assistance - this is a distress signal.

CAUTION: Only kitesurfers with advanced skills should attempt to rescue others. If a less experienced kitesurfer attempts a rescue and gets their own kite lines tangled, then two people require rescuing.

Snowkiting, The Ultimate Winter Boardsport

Ever wish you could snowboard wherever you wanted, including across snow covered fields and frozen lakes buries in powder? How about up hills as well as down? With the power of a kiteboarding kite and 10 miles an hour of wind or more, you can. Snowkiting is the ultimate new sport for powder-hounds, freestylers, and snowbound wakeboarders. Combining all the elements of snowboarding with many of those from wakeboarding plus the freedom of backcountry snowmobile access, snowkiting takes winter to the next level.

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