Kite surfing is a very, very young sport. In spring 1999, there are probably only a few hundreds kite surfers in the world. The population of kite surfers is growing rapidly to around 80,000 kite surfers world wide in 2005. The idea behind kite surfing is very simple. A kite surfer stands on a board with foot straps or bindings and use the power of a large controllable kite to propel him and the board across the water. This simplicity also makes kite surfing challenging. Your body is the only connection between the kite and the board and you have to control them both at the same time: piloting the kite on the sky and steering the board on the water.

Windsurfing (also called boardsailing) is a sport involving travel over water on a small 2-4.7 meter board powered by wind acting on a single sail that is connected to the board via a flexible joint. The sport is a hybrid between sailing and surfing. The sail board might be considered the most minimal version of the modern sailboat, with the major exception that steering is accomplished by tilting the mast and sail rather than with a rudder. Windsurfers can travel over flat water as long as there is enough wind; they can also cut into breaking waves and perform spectacular stunts.