Kitesurfing in Winter?
How to become a cold water siren

Two real Cold Water Sirens - Our BIG BLUE Girls Lucy & Jule are kiting in the baltic sea all year long.

The winter in Europe is here and with it the off-season for lots of kite surfer. But wait, in winter there‘s wind as well, no? In some areas the winter brings really strong winds. So you can follow your passion all year long. And there’s one big advantage too - empty kite spots! 

»The important is not if it IS cold, but if you FEEL cold«

Are you a Warm Water Mermaid or Cold Water Siren?

Warm turquoise water, palm trees and kiting in your bikini or lycra is your thing? Well we can tell for a winter kite session you will need some more than that. But what is needed to become a cold water siren? Here are our tips for you:  

Equipment

• well fitting 5/4mm wetsuit (or more if needed)

• Wetsuit Hood / Wetsuit Top with Hood (whatever you choose, you need a hood)

• 4 mm Gloves (if you get cramp in your arms, try open gloves)

• 5 mm Booties (if you loose your board easily, try booties with toe separator)

• Old rain jacket or wetsuit hoodie (prevents you from the wind chill)

• Your bikini / sport underwear (bikini, lycra and leggings are a good choice)

For sure there is more than one equipment list for a perfect cold water session. We recommend to test what’s best for you as sensation of cold is different between everybody

Kitesurfing in Winter - Find out which equipment works best for you.

Layering

It’s all about the right multi-layer principle or onion-principle.

1. Layer -> Your sports underwear, bikini, lycra, leggings…

2.  Layer -> A wetsuit top with hoodie

3. Layer -> Your wetsuit

4. Layer -> Old rain jacket or wetsuit jacket  

Special Tip: Never use a lycra as last layer. It is not blocking the wind but chills you down even more. When it is wett the wind will chill down even more going through. Always wind block material or rubber as last layer, nothing that get's wett. 

BIG BLUE Girl Jule after a nice winter kitesurfing session in Germany

Changing clothes

Starting your winter kitesurf session with cold feed isn’t a good idea. You won’t warm up anymore and your session won’t be fun at all. Dress at home already or in the heated car to stay warm till you hit the water. A small mat or towel on the floor prevent your feed from cooling down if you dress up at the beach.

Warm Up

A proper warm up routine should be done before every kite session, even in summer. It will prepare your muscles for the upcoming session as well prevent you from injuries. We recommend the short but gold warm up from our BIG BLUE Girls Sylwia.

Try this short but effective winter kitesurfing warm-up from BIG BLUE Girl Sylwia.

Energy & Skin care

Your body needs a lot of energy in this conditions. So make sure you fuel it before kiting with warm tea and some snack.

Your face and hands will be grateful for some extra treatment with a slightly greasing nourishing cream. Apply it before and after your session to prevent your skin from getting
too dry.

Kitesurfing in Winter brings you one big advantage - empty kitesurf spots!

Winter sessions are mostly shorter than during the summer but not less fun. It won’t be the best season to learn new tricks since you might fall too often in the cold water, but the extremer conditions will be a challenge itself. But afterwards you are going to feel the same stoke than after a tropical warm water session.

Do you need some personal tips for your winter kitesurfing session?

Our BIG BLUE Girl and cold water siren Jule is happy to answer them! Get in contact with her via Instagram @wind_sea_salt  

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