AsiaLIFE

If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, try kitesurfing lessons from Frank van Zoggel in Kampot. Mai Lynn Miller Nguyen sets out to take flight.

The wind is one of the most incredible forces of nature. During Australia’s Cyclone Olivia in 1996, the wind speed of 408km per hour set the world record. That’s enough to carry trees, lorries and houses across considerable distances. And I was about to harness myself to that power.

Perched on the tip of a speedboat hurtling down the Kampot River, I was headed for my first lesson in kitesurfing. The wind speed I would be dealing with would be only around 30km per hour, but that was still enough to raise a worry or two.

Kitesurfing, also called kiteboarding, is one of the newer extreme sports. Though attempts to use kite power date back centuries, modern day kitesurfing developed over the past two decades. A campaign to incorporate it into the Olympics is gaining momentum.

Whereas windsurfing operates by a sail planted on the board, kitesurfing consists of a harness leashed to a kite, which generates pull to carry the rider on a board across the water—requiring less wind for movement and allowing for greater boosts into the air.

For extreme sports enthusiasts eager to try out kitesurfing in Cambodia, Frank van Zoggel is your man. He reckons he is the only instructor in the country giving formal lessons.

Through his degree in sports management, van Zoggel was introduced to a variety of sports. It was kitesurfing that got him hooked. He gained a teaching certification from the International Kiteboarding Organization (IKO) and started offering classes in his native Holland.

On a visit to Kampot, van Zoggel realised that the wind conditions allow for year round kitesurfing. While boating around the point where the Kampot River spills into the Gulf of Thailand, he stumbled across the ideal site. A sandbar creates a shallow depth that is just right for launching a kite.

“It’s a very safe spot, one of the best spots that I’ve ever seen,” van Zoggel tells me. “If you learn on a beach, the kite can go into the trees or wash you up. It’s much easier to learn here, you have the space to go where you want to go.”

Around twenty minutes after setting off from Villa Vedici, the exquisite guesthouse that van Zoggel runs, we arrived at this very location.

The setting is spectacular—the view spans Bokor Mountain and Kep, giving a glimpse of Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island in the distance. Standing in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by placid water and the vast sky arching overhead, I felt the journey had already been worthwhile, though I had yet to pick up the kite.

The lesson began with the basics of steering. Before I could get into the water, I was handed the training kite, a small frame attached to a handlebar.

With my instructor holding firmly onto the back of my harness, I made my first effort at containing wind power. Sliding in the mud, I struggled to keep my stance against the vigorous tug.

As I pulled back on the handlebar, the kite soared up into the air. It stayed suspended for two seconds, then veered down to the right and crashed into the water.

Failure.

Van Zoggel offered a few words of encouragement, “You decide what you want to do. You can feel what the wind can do, but you control it.”

After further advice and a few determined attempts, I quite literally got the hang of it and could manoeuvre the kite in figure eights. Having missed out on the pastime as a child, I could see why flying a kite is considered so much fun.

Vietnam and Thailand have a higher concentration of kitesurfing schools, but in Kampot, you don’t have to worry about colliding into other untamed first timers. With the exception of an occasional passing boat, you have the water to yourself. Another selling point is the lower cost. In Mui Ne or Pattaya, hourly rates range upward from US$50. Van Zoggel charges from US$90 for a full-day course.

Van Zoggel has five different-sized kites, ranging up to 15 metres in length. The appropriate model is determined by level of ability and wind conditions. With the equipment provided, all a student needs are some swimming skills.

The first day of a kitesurfing course focuses on reading the wind, knowing how to guide yourself using the bar system, setting up the kites, and going over the safety requirements. Van Zoggel emphasises the importance of these.

“I would never recommend people to learn kitesurfing from friends,” he advises. “With a trained instructor, you are much safer.”

Like any extreme sport, there are a few risks. After all, that’s part of the allure. Anxious beginners like me will be glad to know that van Zoggel explains the steps for depowering and disconnecting should your kite go wild.

To test out the wind, van Zoggel took a trial run. After a minute of getting his kite aligned, he lifted off, skidding across the water. At his level, he engages in controlled flying, hopping on gusts of wind high above the water’s surface.

“You can ride along on the water, steering slowly and just enjoying the view,” he had explained before. “Or, you can go aggressive, trying crazy jumps and backflips.”

He demonstrated some of the latter. Seeing him gliding in the air with such expertise, I felt humbled. My meagre achievement of standing on the sandbar and controlling a small kite was just the bunny hill.

Van Zoggel says that everyone can learn to kitesurf. “By the end of the standard course, you can manage to make a water start on a board and travel 20 or 50 metres downwind. Sometimes people are making 100 metres. Some are airborne after just two or three days.”

Our lesson cut short by an approaching storm, I didn’t have the chance to see how far I could go that day. Yet after watching the rush that van Zoggel had from his stint, I was keen to try my luck again soon.

We returned to the boat, fleeing the dark clouds racing towards us. Seated again at the bow, I felt the force of the wind on my face, the very wind that I hope to conquer.

Kitesurfing Courses are offered at Villa Vedici, Kampot Province. Tel: 017 291 782, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.villavedici.com.