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Kitesurfing, Kiteboarding - Aruba is the Place to Be
By Paul Terkers

The fastest growing water sport in recent years is kite surfing. The kite scene is a very special one but just as many outdoor sports it's also about the 'stuff' and the thrill of the separation from the normal world.

Worldwide Cabarete, Cumbuco, Hurghada, Isla Margarita, Fuerteventura are known for their ideal conditions.

Kite surfing in the Caribbean is growing fast and Aruba is one of the places to be.

History

Kite surfing is a Dutch invention. Back in the 19th century, kites were used to pull boats. In 1977 it was the Dutchman Bert Panhuis who used a kite to tow him standing upright on the water.

Eight years later two brothers designed a kite with inflatable sections so they were able to start right from the water. The materials are still being developed and redesigned.

Around 1996 the kite surfing pioneering began, especially in southern France and in Hawaii. A year later, the first world championships were held in Hawaii.

Structure

The True North Shore - Surfing in British Columbia
By Eric R Hughes

"Surfing expresses a pure yearning for visceral, physical contact with the natural world."

Matt Warshaw, Surfer

And if you asked Matt Warshaw, I bet he'd agree... the natural world doesn't get much more beautiful than Vancouver Island.

Many visitors to the province don't realize that beyond the big-city lights of Vancouver, past the quaintness of Victoria's Old Towne, far from the desert hills and placid lakes of the Okanagan... a whole different British Columbia awaits - a rugged stretch of coastline edged by forests and shrouded in mists. A remote, sparsely-inhabited sanctuary where the mighty Pacific Ocean sends wave after wave roaring along miles of sandy beaches - Welcome to Vancouver Island's West Coast.

Beginner Windsurfing - The Most Excellent Windsurfing Mast Support
By Ken Fink

It is now clear that the most essential thing in starting your windsurfing should begin from getting the preliminary lessons. As soon as you are through with these, you will be faced with making a decision on the type of equipment to pay for. The first item that you will have to pay for is the windsurfing board. There are so many feature that you should think of ahead of paying for this board. Your first thought should be on your weight. Remember that a normal windsurfing board will be able to accommodate a weight of about seventy to eighty-three kilograms. This means that if you weigh more than this, you will not be able to have complete enjoyment of the windsurfing as you should have gotten.

Windsurfing Basics - Selecting a Windsurfing Board
By Ken Fink

Before you decide to take on windsurfing, it is advisable that you go in for the best equipment. Remember that a windsurfing lesson can take a day or even weeks and months to be completed if you fail to use the correct equipment. Remember that the nature of the type of equipments you have will determine how fast and accurate you are going to be in your lessons. Also keep in mind that the facts that equipment is not good will first of all pull your attention to somewhere else.

Remember that you will have to go in for equipments that will be easy to be used, and that will have some learners kits attached to it. These kits will eventually have to be removed once you are through with the essential stages.

Surfing Vacations - Strategies For Scoring Waves on Your Trip
By Chris Warner

A surfing vacation obviously involves catching waves, but how do you narrow down all those potential travel spots to just one? A great surfing vacation can be different for every surfer. What makes it "great" is unique to every surfer and requires a balancing act between wave choice, cost, and travel partners. I have narrowed down these traveling surfers to three general groups.

Hardcore Surfers

Top Surfing Destinations
By Dr. Mark Clayson

Oahu, Hawaii-North Shore

Hawaii is the original home of surfing. The Polynesians began the sacred ritualistic sport here more than 500 years ago. Today, Hawaii is home to most of the Big Wave surfing and some of the most coveted breaks exist in this island paradise.

The North Shore on the island of Oahu has gigantic winter waves and is commonly referred to as 'wild water'. The North Shore covers almost 20 miles of beautiful, open sandy beaches that produce mammoth 20-30 foot waves from October to February. The most famous of these breaks is at `Ehukai Beach, known worldwide as the Banzai Pipeline. This ferocious tube breaks over a coral reef that bottoms out at under 24 inches and the waves are normally 10 feet high. This is the place were surfing legends are made and broken.

Hawaii Snorkeling Tips Part I - Gear
By Donald MacGowan

Coming to my island for a vacation? There are three things I always recommend the first-time visitor do. First, get in the air - seeing my island from the air is the only way to appreciate its vastness and diversity of landscapes-and it's the best way to see the erupting volcano.

Secondly - go to a luau - for people with limited time, you will not be able to discover much about the magic of the local lifestyle, and although canned and packaged for visitor consumption, a luau is a good place to get an introduction to it.

How Did Water Skiing Start?
By Wendy Pan

It is debatable exactly when and where water skiing got its start, however we do know that a patient was given to a Swedish manufacturer in 1841. Whether or not it was constructed successfully is unclear, however we do know that the Swedish word for water skiing, vattenskida, appeared in the 1921 edition of the Nordisk Familjebok dictionary. So, it would seem that the Swedes were water skiing by then.

Surfboards 101 - A Beginner's Guide
By Karene Dillen

Surfboards are measured by various dimensions: length, width, and thickness. The length of the surfboard will determine how easily you catch the wave. The longer the board is, the easier it will be to catch the wave. The width of the board will help you with balance. The wider it is, the more balance you will have out in the water. Finally, the thickness of the board will provide you with float. The thicker it is, the more buoyant you will be. You will usually find these dimensions measured in inches and written on the underbelly of the board on the stringer by the tail.