"The most amazing instructor, highly recommend, will teach you how to be safe and ride stand up in no time. He teaches you like you are family. Really cares about you being successful. He also has a boat so when there's no wind you can practice wakeboarding to help you with your kiteboarding. He’s got a lot of people trying to get lessons if you can get in you will be golden"
We offer kiteboarding, kite-foiling, wing-surfing and wing-foiling lessons in South Florida -predominantly in the Pompano area.
"I'm currently learning how to surf and I'm getting much better at it! I decided to take a lesson on kite surfing to see if I like it. It's very very different from regular surfing and what I learned surfing isn't very applicable to kite surfing. I'm not very good at kite surfing, but the lesson was really fun and the instructor was really nice and extremely patient. I had a blast. There's a lot you can do to practice at home if you'd like to improve. Perhaps I'll take another lesson one day!"
The water sports lessons we offer in South Florida include:
We also specialize in rentals, sales & repairs of kitesurfing equipment.
Graham Goodwin, owner and principal instructor of Fort Lauderdale Kitesurfing, started giving kitesurf-instruction courses as early as 1999 earning him the reputation as the most sought after kitesurfing instructor in South Florida, espcially the Fort Lauderdale area.
Kitesurfing / kiteboarding is the most fun and exhilarating sport that can be enjoyed by anyone in reasonably good health. If the sport is approached with knowledgable training, judgement and suitable gear it is safer than many other sports.
Kiteboarding can be done in flat waters similar to wakeboarding and water skiing or in waves like surfing with the ability to jump and fly. Some pros achieve heights of 60 feet and 100 yards in distance. Gear is light, compact and easy to store or travel with. Wind is free.
Kitesurfing is a mixture of paragliding, wakeboarding, surfing and windsurfing, so it appeals to a really large target group. All you need is a board that is just two metres long and weighs between 3 and 5 kilos, a kite that folds up to rucksack size, and a control bar and kite lines.
Novices can learn the basics in courses of 4 to 10 lessons. You start with an introduction to powerkite flying to get used to the kite’s power and the technique of handling it, and at the end of the first course unit you should be able to control the kite and cope with its tremendous pull in every situation, and to manage a safe start and landing.
Next you go on to the real kite, which has even more pull. You do all sorts of exercises with it on the beach, and practise bodydrags on the water. And once you’ve completed this part of the course you’ve done the groundwork for becoming a successful kitesurfer.
From now on you’ll be in the water: you’ll learn to do a waterstart in case you fall in, and you’ll have your first go at standing upright on the board. Kitesurfing is a sport which you can learn really quickly, because all the maneuvers can be simulated on dry land. It may look like a sport for top athletes, but in fact it’s easy to learn for anyone with average ability.
Of course, if you’re already a windsurfer or wakeboarder or do any of the other board sports, then you’ll take to kitesurfing even more readily - but it’s not necessary to have any previous experience.
By the end of the course the new-born kitesurfer is in full control of the equipment, and you’ll have done some planing in the foot straps and maybe even tried your first gybes. Whatever you do, don’t try kitesurfing via the "do it yourself” approach. It’s absolutely essential to take part in a course in order to be aware of the potential dangers - and above all to know how to cope with them. Be smart and get taught properly! A kite that’s out of control is a danger to people on the beach as well as to the pilot.
Welcome to Greater Fort Lauderdale!
"Great lessons. Took two, 2-hour lessons. The first lesson was all kite work on the beach. You should definitely understand coming in that you'll need to get work on the kite before getting in the water. I've flown a trainer kite for a couple of years, but lesson #1 was my first time flying a full-size kite. By the second lesson Graham had me in the water, but only for a short time. I felt like I learned a ton in the lesson and now have the skills I need to continue practicing with my own kite and to get in the water on my next trip to the beach. I wanted to be in the water in the first 10 minutes, but I'm pretty sure I would have just died :-) Graham does a great job of being patient with his teaching, but just know that it's a sport that requires some time investing! Super happy with my lessons!"