I used to be an athlete - baseball, basketball, football, boxing - but injuries from yearly, excessive weight gain have hindered my performance of late.

On Wednesday, when I tried my hand at kite surfing for the first time, I had a glimpse of my younger (and lighter) days as a sportsman.

Could it be that a sport that straps your mid-section to a 13-metre kite, your feet to a hydrodynamic board, and flops you around the water like a rag doll is the equivalent of the Cayman Islands’ fountain of youth?

A Pirate’s life for him

When I showed up to Barker’s beach in the cool February morning, I met a modern-day buccaneer.

He was a tall, slender man with sun-bleached, dread-locked hair and a gold tooth (which is exactly what I’m going to do now with a tooth I need to replace - he was my inspiration).

Paul Rogers’ enthusiasm for the sport of kite surfing is really unmatched.

He’s a former corporate attorney who spends summers in England, winters in beautiful Cayman, and is a character who’s passionate about the sport that he teaches to tourists, travellers and burly journalists.

“The best thing about teaching a beginner to kite surf is being able to instil the same passion I have for kiting in someone brand new to the sport,” Rogers says. “At first, the beginner is nervous - wouldn’t be human if they are not. They dare not take their eyes off the kite and grip the bar as if their life depended upon it. After a short while, the student starts to look around and by the end of the lesson they are holding the kite in one hand without even noticing. It is that transformation of confidence and ability in a student in a lesson which is the real buzz for me as an instructor.”

He works with the legendary Jhon Mora, who Paul considers the best kite surfer on the Island.
When initiating a beginner, Jhon and Paul spend a good amount of time explaining the safety parts of kite surfing and describing the parts of the kite and gear.

Feel for the kite

In no time, I was grabbing hold of a bar that was attached to a learner’s kite - a smaller kite that allows beginners to get a feel for the wind and movements of the wind.

It’s then where I started to not just look but feel.

“You can read all the books and watch all the videos, but it is no substitute for the real hands-on experience of flying a kite,” Jhon says. “We encourage our students to take a very hands-on approach with the sport. The whole kite surfing experience is all about relaxing your body, having fun and feeling and controlling the power of the kite. It is all about anticipating the pull of the kite which, at first, may feel unnatural and unnerving, but very quickly becomes second nature and great fun. It is at this point that you realise that you are already hooked on the sport.”

Surprisingly, I was quite good and carving figure eights through the sky and holding the kite at 12 o’clock.

Swallowing water can be a blast

In a flash, I was in the water attached to a big kite - but with shorter, training lines - practicing the same movements.

I would let the kite lightly drop into the water, then use technique to pull it out of the water again.
When I mastered this part of the lesson, Paul stepped in the water to show me how to body surf using the kite.

He told me that the kids who get to this part of the lesson are fearless. They’ll grab the bar and just tug and launch their bodies across the water.

So I decided to do just that. I really went for it, manhandling the lines, scraping my heavy body across the top of the water, swallowing a pint here and a pint there, and laughing the entire time.

Rogers told me: “You did great out there. The transformation is amazing from the first unsure steps into the water to completely ripping it up on the body dragging. Your reaction and huge smile said all I needed to know about your kite surfing experience. Great progress in just a couple of hours.”

Paul clapped for me and told me that’s exactly how it’s done. Perfect. I felt young again, if only for a fleeting moment.

Next level

After a quick attempt at standing up on the board - which I couldn’t do properly because of my heft - Paul and I wrapped the lesson and headed to the beach to watch Jhon.

This was when I saw a master at his craft.

Jhon isn’t a kid anymore. He’s weighs a little more than a “bag of sugar.” (That’s the way Paul described their 17-year-old protege)

But he’s such an expert that he makes it look easy.

He cuts across the water with style, then launches himself 15 feet in the air, does a flip, swings the bar around him and catches it behind his back.

His landing back in the water is soft and perfect, and in no time he is racing through the waters again, kite held perfect at 45 degrees in the sky.

Jhon says: “Kite surfing is very much a large part of my life and has made many things possible. There are so many dimensions of kite surfing that really appeal to me, from riding the big waves in Peru, speed racing in competitions, nailing new tricks and practicing old ones or just taking it easy and floating on a big jump. The one thing I love to do at Barkers is to jump high and look over the tree tops to the water and houses on the other side of the bay; that is a big rush. The great thing about kiting is there is always something new to learn every time you go out no two times are the same.”

It’s then that I remember that he’s also a teacher, a trainer. He can do it, but he also knows how to help people get to that point. Or close.

I went back to my car with a much-needed workout, a lot learned, and the knowledge that I spent the better part of a day on the water kite surfing.

Life doesn’t get much better than that. For these guys, that’s every day.

If you’re interested in lessons, contact Jhon Mora at 916.KITE (5483) or visit the website kitesurfcayman.com.

The beginner’s course is a total of eight hours - four two-hour sessions, with one-to-one lessons to enable fast progression.