McKenna Beery
Staff Writer
Science teacher Dan Bartlett’s bond with both his board and son is admirable. Not only is kiteboarding a relatively small water sport, chemistry and physics teacher, Dan Bartlett, is the only teacher to participate at Mira Costa.
Dan Bartlett picked up the sport kiteboarding two years ago with his son, Sean Bartlett, who is 21. Bartlett and his son taught themselves how to kiteboard by first buying their own kites off of Craigslist.
“Teaching ourselves how to learn was so dangerous,” Bartlett said. “We bought a trainer kite and flew that first, we were flying it in the sand, thinking we’ve got this down, but the first big wind we got the kite picked me up launched me on my back 20 feet and dragged me up the hill.”
The sport kiteboarding is riding on a modified surfboard while holding on to a specially designed kite, using the wind for propulsion. Kiteboarding began in the 1990’s, and is known as the fastest growing water sport. It will even be an extreme sport in the 2016 Olympic games.
“Ripping the water by yourself, controlling and harnessing the air, leaning with salt water in my eyes, hanging on for dear life; all this comes together and you feel pretty good,” Bartlett said. “You feel like you are the only one in the world who can do it, it gives a sense of individualism, just me and my board against everything else.”
There are many disciplines of kiteboarding such as old school freestyle, new school freestyle or wakestyle, waveriding, course racing, speed and air style. There are also different types of kites that can be used, including leading edge inflatable kites, the “c” kite, foil kites, delta kites and hybrids.
“Freestyle kiteboarding is the style I prefer and my favorite kite type that compliments the style is a “c” kite,” Sean Bartlett said. “It is the most exhilarating thing I have ever done in my whole life and is my passion, so any chance I get to bring awareness to the sport I will.”
Kiteboarding is a dangerous sport, and there have been many fatal accidents. According to Bartlett, the sport is unpredictable, the wind could change directions and the kite does not have a heart, it will pull and launch you and even the board could hit you and kill you. No one wears any flotation either.
“As a surfer, I totally agree that all these water sports are dangerous, but I think it is very cool that the Bartlett’s do it anyways,” sophomore Nash Hale said. “Being a student of Mr. Bartlett, we usually get to hear a lot of his life threatening and exhilarating stories about kiteboarding, and it inspires me to go out and try sometime.”
The main reason Dan Bartlett started was to spend quality time with his son and share a father-son experience. According to Bartlett, he feels he is too old to be doing this, but his son motivates and inspires him.
“I would have never thought kiting was going to be so influential in both of our lives,” Sean Bartlett said. “The sport is so addicting, not a day goes by without us checking the wind radar for any anomaly in the weather within a 300 mile radius, basically we just wanted a new hobby to do together.”
Bartlett and his son have several places they like to go kiteboarding. One of them being On-Shore Breeze in Hermosa, Leo Carillo and Nicholas Canyon in Malibu. Pismo beach and Belmont Plaza, near Seal Beach, are also great spots to kiteboard.
“We like kite-boarding in Hermosa beach because it is home, but all of these beaches have different wind patterns and conditions, which is fun and unpredictable,” Bartlett said. “If you do not have an ‘oh shoot’ moment every day, then you probably are not living.”
Dan Bartlett has taken his love for kite-boarding to another level, he wants to build a hydrofoil to kiteboard on. A hydrofoil is a boat whose hull is fitted underneath with shaped foils that lift the hull clear of the water to increase the boat’s speed.
“I want to actually make these things and currently I am working on that,” Bartlett said. “Riding on hydrofoil might look stupid, but it could also be very fun because I want to keep learning how to go faster and faster and a hydrofoil could solve that problem.”
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