grant

If you have a good wetsuit and have a decent 5mm pair of gloves your hands should keep nice a warm. Im in Aberdeen and have never been cold wearing my winter gear. My wetsuit is 6-5-4 Realm V8 semi dry with built in hood. You probably dont have a great wetsuit so your hands will get cold even with the best gloves due to the rest of your body losing heat rapidly. So invest in a good wetsuit and you too can be so toasty warm in 0 degree water that you have to let some water in to cool down..

yeah timing is the secret. I went in april last year, not a breath!!! And the flagbeach webpage was saying it was windy, dont trust it. Another thing I would like to point out is that flagbeach is overcrowded and crap for beginners as there is rocks that you could get dragged into. Go to the other locations around the island, best locations are south east.

A windsurfer has a bit more boyancy that a little mutant, thefore alot easier and it has 3 footstraps compared to 2 of a mutant, Quickness is the key and practice, in choppy conditions I generally dont even bother trying and ride it backwards. Another option is jumping and whip it 180degrees and putting it back on you feet.

One of the main reasons for the pros use waist harnesses is that they allow tricks to be carried out more easily ie going blindside etc. Which is a bit more difficult if you have a seat harness. But I would suggest a seat harness, as it offers way more support and also is far comfotable when walking up the beach etc. A waist harness is only comfy when you are out actually kitesurfing, the rest of the time it a pain.

OK a LEI kite for J. There are plenty on the maket that fit your need. I think for a good alround kite go for a 12-14m sq kite thats actual area not projected. Now for the type of kite. Dont go for a high aspect ratio advanced kite please, it will ruin your fun and you really only should get one after 2-3 years kitesurfing. I have naish X2s, great kites but my 12m can really kick my ass when trying new moves when jumping. Its not a fun kite for a beginer, especially the smaller kites (12m and below). A guy who was just starting bought one recently and can hardly do anything with it, he stuggles then get his ass kicked, not wise. Naish is good make and last years Aero 2 kites seem to be going cheap, might be a good idea to get one of those. The aero is an intermediate kite so you wont grow out of it quick. Actually that statment is not really true cause alot of experts will use it in gusty winds instead of the X2. They are top kites slightly lower aspect ratio than the X2 makes them more stable, better in gusty conditions and far more usable but also able to get good high and floaty air.

I Learned to kitesurf on a blade 4.9 about 3 years ago. It was a bit tricky learning on compared to a stable relaunchable inflatable. I would have to say try and get an low aspect LEI, you can pick them up cheap as second hand. Sounds like you dont have too much cash though at the moment, so might as well start learning on the blade. Try not to crash it though or you will end up swimming in with a soaking kite. Oh and if you are using handles, try and not get them crossed when putting the board on.