New York Kiteboarding

This review is for the Plumb Beach location and the instructors names are Nina, Olga and Natasha. I have taken 7 lessons so far over the course of two months. Warning, kiteboarding is addicting.
I have tried to get kiteboarding instructions with other (lol.companies) previously either while on vacation or while living abroad to no avail. One time in Hong Kong I showed up and there was no wind. I was still charged. The other two times while in Bali and while in Maui. Either they didn’t answer my phone calls or they flaked out. I have literally called them and asked, «Don’t you like making money? Aren’t you a business?»
I bring this up because for some reason unbeknownst to me, it is very difficult to find a reliable, qualified, motivated, and (dare I require) passionate instructor in this sport.
So, you can imagine how surprised and elated I was when I found three great instructors.
My initial and primary instructor is Nina, but they always come together and I have seen the other two doing tricks and coaching other riders. They also ride by and grab your board when it floats away or they will give you pointers whenever they are in ear shot distance. They are really nice and really know how to kite.
What my experience has taught me/​why I still take lessons.
— Kiteboarding is completely dependent on wind and weather conditions, So, planning ahead is almost impossible. To help with this reality, I give Nina my available days and she txts me the day before or sometimes day of to meet on the beach.
— A simple google search will tell you just how expensive this sport can be. The harness, the bar with lines, the board, the kites; They all cost a lot of money. Never mind the fact that you need multiple kites and boards for different wind conditions. Nina brings all this! The only thing you need to bring is a wet suit and some booties.
— The kiteboarding community as a whole is really inviting, helpful and the kiters come from a very wide range of professions and cultures. They seem to have a respect for the other kiters who are just learning and are generally polite. I have fallen in love with the sport and the types of people who practice it. I mention this, again because I cant say the same for golf, tennis, surfing, wake boarding, or skiing. It’s hit or miss with those.
–The instruction is top notch. I have nothing to compare it to… but I’m riding… so, I’m happy.
— Finally, Nina and her crew did the little things that made me learn faster and more importantly enjoyed my time while learning. The first day I forgot water, they brought some. The second time I forgot my wet suit, somehow they had one for me. And on several occasions I was helped by Natasha and Olga who were not even my instructors.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
–Be patient
–Buy surfer booties, specifically those types. Not the cheap water shoes you see in stores. They get filled with shells and sand and it sucks
–You are strapped to a thin board and harnessed to a powerful kite. You will attempt to hydroplane on an uneven surface (waves, swells) while controlling lol… this giant kite. It sounds crazy and in many ways it is. The reality is you will fall on your face and get dragged through the water over and over. You have to get back up and try again…
–Eventually you will learn. Like riding a bike.
**********RANTS*************
–This is a highly niche, very technical sport. You want fun without thought, go ride a roller-​coaster.
–A LOT CAN GO WRONG. You want safe, go play video games.
–For some reason, there aren’t a lot of instructors, it’s really hard to teach. Education is expensive. For these reasons it’s expensive. If you want a cheap sport,…go play basketball. Lawyers are more expensive per hour than hiring an instructor for this sport and I can name 20 of them I know personally. Name some kite boarders. Exactly. It’s relatively expensive to other sport lessons, but most sports are boring as hell compared to this. The closest one I have done with many hours is wakeboarding and you need a boat. It has to come back to get you when you fall. It’s exhausting. Thats life. You want to learn something really awesome, it costs money. Honestly, I would pay twice as much to learn what I can do now.
In closing, it’s really fun. It’s seasonal. It’s worth it.

Total ripoff that left me with a bitter taste.
After an OK-​ish lesson (they don’t have jetskis or any other motorized equipment — neither on land nor water — so you’ll spend quite some time walking with your kite), I ended up having to bargain for an hour about the price… they were actually trying to charge me more hours than the total time that we had spend together. I ended up paying the $ 200/​hr rate for every single minute spend with the instructor, be it me carrying the gear on the way to the spot or waiting on the parking lot…
Hopefully my mistake will save you some time… and money.