Anyone can do it!

It’s the season for kite surfing

Looking like a mythical birdman Xavier heads for the water.

The dry season is here! And with it, the perfect wind conditions for kite surfing. Extreme sportsman Xavier Dauge teaches kite surfing at Playa Coronado and says that for the next five or six months the northern winds will provide the ideal conditions to try out this exciting sport.

At Punta Chame on the Pacific Coast just over an hour from Panama City, these winds come in from the north, creating an ideal 45 degree angle that allows kite surfers to safely practice their sport with total confidence that the wind will always pull them back to the shore. This perfect condition is called "side on shore wind."

Sportsman Xavier Dauge performs an aerial ballet.

Dauge says that people of all ages and nationalities come to try kite surfing. He recently had a 56 year old North American up and going after just six hours of private instruction. "That's the minimum," says Dauge, "Only after a careful study of the sport can students expect to be up on their board, propelled by the wind pulling their kite."

Students start training on the beach with a small kite especially for beginners. They to learn to control the kite for different degrees of pull. Then they graduate to bigger and bigger kites, eventually embarking on the waves strapped to a kite powerful enough to lift them up on the board as they learn to ride atop the waves of Playa Coronado.

Moving along with a steady wind.

Dauge says that skills like surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding come in handy when learning to kite surf. He was a windsurfing instructor himself in his native Belgium before he was drawn to Panama three years ago by the good weather and chance to practice kite surfing in tropical waters. He has been teaching kite surfing for one year in Playa Coronado and speaks English, Spanish, French and Dutch.

Through his school, Kite Surfing Panama, Dauge takes care of equipment rental, sells new and used gear, assists with airport transfer and even provides lodging. "The golf resort is expensive for people to stay, so I started inviting students to my house," he said.

Kite surfers can stay at the school (Dauge's beach house) in private or dormitory rooms, starting at $28. The instructional packages start at $110 for 2.5 hours of private lessons. For more information visit www.kitesurfingpanama.com, write kitesurfingpanama@yahoo.com or call Xavier Dauge at 6689-1262.