Just Kite It.

by Jessica Valenzuela

My simple rule when meeting people: have an open mind and let things flow. At the annual MaiTai 2010 I met a number of social network acquaintances who I knew via destinations like Facebook and Twitter with kiteboarding and technology as our common denominator.  While there were new friends I met simply by being at MaiTai.  This is how I met Erin Loscocco, a high-end electronics media entrepreneur, team rider for Ocean Rodeo and photographer.

What About Erin?

Erin jumping over the Golden Gate Bridge

I do not meet a lot of people who love the exact same things I do. It is quite strange (a funny strange) to find someone who loves hanging out at Asian grocery stores to peruse the interesting looking food items and packages, snacks on dried seaweed, drinks bubble tea and savors each squishy tapioca down the throat, can wolf mochi servings packed with red beans, loves Japanese cuisine and any Asian dish there is, goes out of his way for good wine and food from different cuisines, enjoys exploring new places, passionate about kiteboarding, travel and outdoor adventures, shares his love for the same through photography and music — not just any music. House music in particular. Somehow Erin loves all of the above and more.

Our difference? For one, Erin is way ahead of me when it comes to kitesurfing. He engaged in the sport in 2004 at Ocean Beach and learned with a crappy kite. A long-time surfer, adopting kitesurfing seemed second nature. He enjoys the big waves, while I get wobbly in 2 foot ankle “waves” which he kindly reminds me are more known as “chop.” Note to self, absorb the chop as if I were jumping a ramp in snowboarding.

Kiting the Bay Area

Erin kiting the Golden Gate Bridge photo by Peter Lyon

Discovering a place by living in it for a few months is very different from a week long visit to its hot spots. I’ve been to San Francisco a few times in the past, yet only know its famed wineries, rolling hills, great food and of course, the center of innovation and technology. Originally from New Mexico and currently a 15-year resident of the Bay Area, Erin kindly shares the little nook and crannies that tourists would not know about.

I’ve seen Third Avenue and attempted to kite it, but unfortunately the wind was too weak that afternoon. Then there is the almost always windy Sherman Island, which is an hour away from San Francisco. A spot I’ve had a chance to visit thanks to this past weekend’s KB4Girls event with Kristin Boese. Another kite spot that I often hear mentioned is Tuba. Known for it’s offshore wind yet clean, magical breaks. Then there is Ocean Beach and Waddell, kite spots am raring to see and ride once I gain better confidence in wave riding.

Erin kite racing in Crissy

At his suggestion I volunteered for race committee at the Cabrinha Race Series on June 10. It was my first kite race to witness real-time. I learned to set up downwind and upwind race marks, cast buoys, anchors and retrieve the same. It is not the easiest thing to do when you are getting tossed back and forth by chop in a tiny work boat (not a yacht as I thought at first), while the race marks are being blown upwind and downwind of the boat. It takes some practice. It was hard labor, yet a lot of fun for me and I have to thank Erin for the connection. By the end of it all I was famished and exhausted. At which, I was assured there were drinks and munchies at the Saint Francis Yacht Club. A member only spot, yet accessible to racers and the race committee during race day. Yay! Meanwhile, on non-race days, the community members gather for barbeques hosted by a brand or a potluck gathering. It is rather sweet, specially when you have the Golden Gate Bridge and Marin Headlands as your backdrop.

Starting line at Worlds Kiteboarding Championship, 2009

In New York kiters gather around a parking lot after a session for a quick beer and then head home. While in Cape Hatteras, we’d flounder into the rented house or condo after kiting and decide which tasteless restaurant to visit or boil some pasta and throw in jars of red sauce and call that dinner. Very backpacking and university style kiting that is a lot of fun in its own league. In kiting, it is rare that you find a nice blend of urban shorelines. Somehow San Francisco is easily accessible to both. Though as a New Yorker, I do miss the vibe and pulse of the City…well, I shall keep my big city musings for later.

Kitesurfing and Travel As Your Muse

Kiteboarding travel has brought me to places I’d otherwise not visit or intend to visit. Since embracing my love for snowboarding three years ago, the need to travel to mountains became an apparent change in my lifestyle. Kiteboarding has taken that to the next level for me. After meeting fellow kiters who have been in the sport years before my time, I am realizing that this must be the natural path of the sport. Though Erin kicked it up a million notches by creating a new hobby out of his kiteboarding travels: travel and kiteboarding photography. The magical images from his years of exploring and collection makes you want to pack your bags and jump in a plane. As an active member of the community, his presence on water and his expression of the sport through photography has influenced, encouraged and entertained fellow kiters in the Bay Area and places he has visited. Thanks to him and many others kiteboarding holds its place in the totally rad category in adventure sports. Check out Erin’s kiteboarding and travel photographs. You’ll probably recognize his photos from kiteboarding magazines and websites.

Kites out to launch at Crissy, photograph by Erin Loscocco

Erin has traveled to kite spots in Venezuela, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Thailand, Canada, Brazil, which he says the San Francisco Bay Area is probably his favorite kite spot of all.  “Kiting under the Golden Gate Bridge is perhaps one of the most amazing kite spots i have been to with tankers, yachts and boats passing through the channel.” He pauses with delight followed by an excited laugh “when we see tankers pass through we follow them and ride the wake.”

His next trip?  ”Wherever the wind blows me..  Maybe Spain, Morocco or back to South America”.  Why does he love kiteboarding? “You gotta love a sport that takes you to beautiful locations around the world where you meet lots of other like minded people.. its not just the kiting.. its the community”

I have to agree, each spot you visit is cherished with the fondest of memories and the kiteboarding experience. I’ve traveled in Asia and parts of Europe, I love them all, yet I don’t think I would make a home out of the visits, as I have in the United States for the simple fact that I know I won’t thrive in those places. Travel truly gives you a perspective of what you have and a big appreciation for that. Somehow, Erin agrees yet again.

Thank you Erin for helping me make wonderful kiting and non-kiting connections in the Bay Area! It has been awesome so far! 

Are you a pro-rider, team rider or soon to be? We’d like to feature your story. For an interview write to jessica@justkiteit.com.