Flying with the boys

Where there is wind, there are kitesurfers and where there are kitesurfers, there are at least one rose among the thorns, (no offence guys).

Umdloti’s Caroline Kay-Hards Helfer aka Caro is one of the few women in South Africa who have mastered the art of surfing waves with wind power.

“My husband, Philip, and I got addicted to kitesurfing when we first went for lessons at Langebaan, while living in Gauteng about six years ago,” said Caroline, who moved to Umdloti in 2012.

When the independent travel consultant, wellness coach and training nutritionist was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, kitesurfing and a drastic diet change kept her joints limber.

“Kitesurfing is great for my body and soul. Being out there is so peaceful, it is like a church for me. You do not have to go fast and do tricks. You can just mow the lawn (cruise up and down the waves) and watch the resident turtles, rays, little hammerheads and of course dolphins.”

Caro had an unexpected, close encounter with a whale once, that came up and breached next to her, which she said felt “like a massive building coming out of the water”.

Kitesurfing, however, remains a male dominant sport, which Caro said is mainly because of two reasons.

“Kiting had a reputation for being an extreme sport (still does). It was seen as really dangerous and the safety features were not great. This has changed enormously. I think girls are put off, because they look at the guys going really fast. They make it look like you need a lot of upper body strength, but you don’t. I cannot even do one pull up! It is all about balance and core strength. If you are relatively fit, a decent swimmer and you have common safety sense, you can kite surf.”

The other reason is that most local shops seldom supply gear for women, which means shopping in Cape Town or even overseas.

Regardless, Caro loves the sport, which she said is not at all like surfing.

“It is more like sailing than surfing. The kite is like a sail and the board is basically a rudder.

“There are flat boards with straps, similar to wake boards, which are great for doing tricks and getting height. Purists use strapless boards, which is more difficult. The idea is that you surf and use the kite to get back to where you want to be. I only go strapless in small surf and I only go out as far as I am willing to swim back.”

She said the size of the kite depends on three factors – the wind speed on the day, the type of board you are using and your body weight.

There you go ladies, now there are no excuses not to hop on board.

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