I’ve brought my kite equipment to Tanzania, so I can do some kiting over on Zanzibar in a couple of weeks. Originally I didn’t plan to kite on the mainland. But when visiting the beach in Kigamboni, I was happy to realize that it was somewhat windy.
I didn’t see any other kiters or wind surfers though, and I wasn’t sure, if the wind would be enough. I’ve only brought a 12m² kite, and I’m still struggling in low-wind conditions. So I watched the forecasts for a couple of days, and waited for the best opportunity.
That finally came last week Monday, with side-on wind at about 12 knots. So I grabbed my kite stuff, and went to Mikadi Beach Club (whose manager had told me that he hadn’t seen any kiters during the past 2 years). I met Mo — one of the guests whom I had got to know the night before — and asked him to help me launch. Since the beach is rather narrow and somewhat busy at Mikadi, we walked south-east (close to Tanzanite Beach Resort). I began to setup my stuff and explained to Mo how to help launch a kite…
Here’s some footage:
Overall a great success, though I didn’t stay on the water for long, since it was getting dark soon. I also pumped just too little air into the kite, which made it somewhat unstable during quick turns. My brand new board worked fine though.
The next day, I tried it again, yet a few meters down the beach (close to Malaika Beach Club). This time without a camera woman. And without anyone helping me launch. My first self-launch worked, though I felt very unconfident. And unfortunately the wind was just a little to weak this time. I drifted downwind, and had to give up and walk back on the beach.
Let’s hope for more wind once I get back to Kigamboni in about 2 weeks. And later on Zanzibar…
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