Dan's Papers - June 29, 2007 - Let A Kite Fly You

On any given day, you may look out at the ocean and notice what appears to be a parachute hovering in the air. Then, after a little bit more focus, you'll notice that it is not a parachute but a guy using it as a sail to jet across the water on a wakeboard at lightning fast speeds. "Cool," you might say.

It is cool, it's called kite surfing and it's one of the fastest growing sports in the country. The sport is also sweeping the Hamptons, as more and more instructors come out here with a truck, some gear and a love of the sport.

One such teacher is Jon Modica, a twenty-year old from Florida whose family summers on Shelter Island, and who seems to live and breath the sport of kite surfing. A kite boarding company called Cabrinha sponsors Jon, and he has been "flying" all over the world.

I met Jon for a lesson and it was quite the experience. My first impression of Jon was "surfer dude." His dress consisted of board shorts and a Quiksilver t-shirt. He drives a white Tahoe that is filled with video equipment and his curly, beach-zapped, long hair jets out in all directions. But when we started talking about kite boarding he sounded like a weatherman. He talked about wind speed, direction, gusts, storm patterns, high and low tides, pressure systems and water temperature. Quickly, I learned that Jon isn't just a kite surfer, but also a highly respected sailor. In 2004, he won the 420 National Championship.

Jon had an impressive teaching method. Meet him at Shelter Island and he'll pick you up and drive you to his speedboat. Hop on board the speedboat and travel to the North Fork, where he brings you to his secret spot. "I have kite boarded all over the world and I have to say that this little spot I've found is my favorite place to go to," he told me.

We stepped out onto the beach and Jon showed me how to rig up the kite, and then he launched it into the air with me attached. The first half hour or so was spent just trying to keep the kite under control and to prevent it from dragging me all over the place. At first, controlling a kite feels like trying to tame a rhinoceros. But Jon is an expert and he guided me on every move that I made.

After learning how to drag myself along the beach using the kite, Jon rigged me up with a board and I found myself in the water, not standing but getting dragged around. It was a little overwhelming at first, as you constantly have to adapt your movements to the wind and to the kite. If you stop paying attention, the kite will fall into the water, overpower you or take you in a direction that you don't want to go.

Finally, I managed to get up for about five seconds, which according to Jon is very rare on a first lesson. It was a gusty day, so I found myself rocketing across the water and then crashing pretty hard as the kite continued to drag me underwater. I just wasn't born with the gift of coordination. Jon reassured me that he almost never lets a person out on a board during the first lesson and he's never seen anybody get up on their first lesson either. "Let me give you a demonstration," he said as I hopped onto the speedboat and he jumped in the water.

Within seconds Jon was flying across the water, jumping twenty feet in the air as the kite powered him through the sky. It was really amazing to watch someone that is so familiar with the wind operate in their element. His subtle movements made it look easy, and for him it probably is. "You'll get there one day," Jon laughed.

Like magic, Jon controlled the kite as he glided back onto the boat, which was still being driven by his eighteen-year-old assistant. How he was not pulled off the boat while still attached to the kite, even as we motored back to shore at full speed, was beyond me.

Kite surfing is definitely a sport worth getting into if you like the water. Unlike other water sports, you can't just buy or borrow some gear and jump in, so be sure to get a lesson from somebody who knows what they are doing, because the last thing you want is to get dragged into rocks or a boat.