The Red Sea is a kitesurfer’s dream, and what better way to explore all the kite spots on offer than on a yacht? In this article, Joshua Emanuel takes us on board on his Egyptian adventure! Click here to read all about his journey!

After the windy season in South Africa ended, it was time to seek out wind elsewhere, and the spot at the top of my list was Egypt's Red Sea. Egypt is an amazing place with incredible kiting all over the country. Getting around is relatively easy with a few different flight options or long taxi drives. I don't particularly enjoy Cairo, but I've never been one for big cities. The smaller centres like El Gouna, Ras Sude, Dahab and Blue Lagoon are my favourite areas for kiting. They all offer beautiful flat water spots, no waves, and best of all, wind.

The airport was slow, and I struggled to get information while waiting over an hour for my board bags to arrive. The transfer to Hurghada was comparatively easy, and the crew at Wind Seekers arranged our transport to the port. We saw mainly deserts with mountains and abandoned buildings, and even huge hotels along the way.

The Red Sea was a welcome sight, with crystal clear blue waters, sunshine, and a steady breeze. And what better way to experience this gem than on a luxury yacht charter? 

This trip marked my second Kite Safari in Egypt with the Wind Seekers, and, spoiler alert, it wasn't a disappointment. The first trip was in August of 2021, and we had wind every day and non-stop kiting. I hosted a camp on that trip, and I was excited to return to see my clients' progression. And, of course, the first trip was so epic that I couldn't resist returning!

As soon as you leave the port, the boat becomes home base for the next six nights. The first few hours are spent getting to know your fellow passengers and making friends with like-minded people who have travelled from all over the world to go kiting in this exotic location. We had nine different nationalities on this trip, and by the end, we all knew each other pretty well. The Wind Seekers crew onboard were super friendly and always ready to help, and the chef is an absolute champ at what he does. Food is vital on a trip like this. When you're kiting six or seven hours per day, you need to keep your energy levels up!

The first spot we got to ride was a new one for me, one we never got to go to before due to too many boats crowding the area. But, this time, we scored, and it didn't take long for me to decide that this spot was my favourite of them all. It had so much to offer from being able to do big land gap jumps, cruising through the mangroves on the more upwind side and having perfect butter flat water to take off on, and a landing area that wasn't too shallow. In contrast, many spots have super shallow water, which is not ideal for big air. This is one of two spots that was the perfect training grounds for all levels.

Being on a boat gives you access to the peaceful, out of the way spots that are hard to reach any other way than by sea. We even explored islands several hours away from Hurghada. The boat cruises around to little islands around the Red Sea, and each offers its own unique experience.

There is nothing better than getting up at the crack of dawn. What gets me frothing is waking up to the sensation of the boat rocking from side to side and the whistling sound of wind nuking through your window, not to be confused with the kettle whistling for your early morning coffee!

As most guests and other boats start to arrive at the location at around 7:00 am, I always get up super early to get the spot to myself at sunrise. One morning, word got out on our boat that I was heading out on the dawn patrol, and to my absolute surprise, more than half of the boat was waiting in the lobby for me to get there! An even greater surprise was that the crew was keen to join me for this dawn session in nuking winds! We rigged up and went out on the small boat to park on the beach and knew it would be a lit session when we were pumping up with sand flying in all directions! Seeing the sun come up as we got on the water was an incredible feeling; I truly enjoy sharing sessions with others.

Over five days of kiting, two of those days had winds of over 30 knots, perfect for riders who wanted to learn loops or progress their loops. Most other days averaged between 15 and 23 knots. This type of wind is what you want when learning your first front and back rolls or even your first jump! When it comes to coaching, I believe there shouldn't be a limit in terms of your ability, but you should be able to ride upwind at least and be prepared to kite for several hours in a day. These basic skills mean that almost every kite spot we visit will suit all riders participating.

It would be hard to single out one success story from the coaching during this trip, as all the riders progressed so much. For most, it was the technique in riding and especially take off for jumps. Adam was a decent rider who had been more focussed on freestyle but wanted to get more into the loops. His timing was out initially, but it started coming together after just a few tips and attempts. Russel arrived ready to learn and always had question after question about what he could be doing better. By the end of the trip, he progressed from struggling to edge properly to flying upwind, beach jump start and his first jumps. Everybody on this boat was super frothed about kiting, and they wanted nothing more but to kite all day, every day.

One of the best memories from the Red Sea was watching and trying to teach the guys to do their first beach starts. They all saw that some of the guys were starting on the sand, throwing their kites to one side and just jumping straight into the water to start their session. For some, it seemed an extreme way to get on the water, but it was an absolute must-try before the end of the trip. There were some interesting attempts where people's boards stayed on the beach while they carried on flying into the air, but everyone persevered, and they managed to land their first beach starts.

Another hilarious moment was watching Mostafa attempt to dive off the boat after telling the guys it was the best way to jump in. As he jumped, he proceeded to go head first but didn't get enough of an angle, resulting in an impressive belly flop from the third story of the boat. All we heard was a loud thud as Mostafa hit the water, followed by an "ahhaaaaaaaa".

On top of scoring incredible wind almost every day, we also got the opportunity to see what lies below. Let's just say it's also pretty unbelievable, swimming down below with loads of different reef fish and even a pod of dolphins joining the underwater party!

If you plan to spend an extra night or two before or after the trip in El Gouna, I recommend it! I call it Little Europe as it has every activity you can think of from cable park, kite centres, golf, tennis, paddle, a motocross track, and a lot more.

This trip will have a place on the calendar every year - it's too good not to repeat! I see the Red Sea as a great learning ground for my students and the fastest place to progress. What more could you ask for?! After Egypt, it's off to Mauritius and on to Madagascar to keep chasing the wind. Down the line? More kite trips and coaching in locations like Mozambique, Mauritius, Kenya and others under my company, Fruitloops. Hope to see you on the water in one of these spots soon!

By Joshua.Emmanuel

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