Saba Rock, North Sound, Virgin Gorda…Sunday, 27 February… 4 kites are in the  gorgeous waters of Eustacia Sound by 11:30 in the morning, jumping up to about 30 in the afternoon at the BVI Kite Jam 2011. The kiteboarders are ripping through the water at high speeds, and sometimes taking to the air.

I marvel at how they can avoid each other, and not get their kite strings tangled. Must be like skiing on a crowded slope…everyone follows their own path.

I’m trying to figure out what body type you need for kiteboarding, and I sense that it’s a forgiving sport…I see slight people, bulky folks, and older people as well. Seems to be a sport for 17 to 70, although clearly most of the competitors are in their late 20s to early 30s.

From my observations, I can see that the kite is doing most of the work (unlike windsurfing where you have to have a strong upper body), and the human has to maintain balance and stance, so some quad is involved.

Later in the week, the competitors raced around Necker Island (Richard Branson’s private preserve), and then headed over to Anegada Island where they had a moonlight race, and two days of fun. Today they are headed back to the gorgeous, turquoise North Sound, for more fun in the sun. The winds have dropped today, after holding around 20 knots all week. Hopefully, they’ll pick up again tomorrow, for the last day of this year’s Kite Jam, sponsored by Billabong.