Kiteboarding & Windsurfing on Cape Hatteras National Seashore - Buxton NC Weekend Getaway

Preview: Wind is a dominant and driving force at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It shapes the islands and the trees and changes the disposition of the water, the air, and the humans every time it switches direction. Wind affects the quality of the day for everyone on the Outer Banks who does anything outdoors. This is why kiteboarding and windsurfing are so popular here. With just a kite or a sail, you can harness that ever-present wind and let it work for you. Kiteboarding and windsurfing are part of the culture on Hatteras Island. If you look toward the sound on any windy day, you’ll see kiteboarders and windsurfers in action. Colorful crescent-shaped kites hover in the air above the water, while bright triangular-shaped sails zip back and forth on the water’s surface. Kiteboarding is all the rage in the wind-sports world and its popularity has soared on the Outer Banks in the past couple of years. Just how happening is Hatteras Island kiteboarding? When Good Morning America did a segment on kiteboarding in July 2002, the riders of Buxton’s REAL Kiteboarding were featured and interviewed. Kiteboarding has eclipsed the sport of windsurfing, inspiring the bumper stickers “Windsurfing Has Been Cancelled.” Of course, windsurfing is still practiced by a lot of people, but the up-and-comers in the sport are kite-only and many windsurfers are trading in their sails for kites. The benefits, kiteboarders say, are that the equipment is less cumbersome and can fit in your trunk, that jumps and airtime are way easier, and that kiting requires less wind. Therefore, a kiteboarder can go out on more days than a windsurfer. The waters around Hatteras Island are widely regarded as the best kiteboarding destination in North America, and some say this place beats all others in the world. The island ranks high with windsurfers as well. What makes Hatteras Island so perfect for kiteboarding and windsurfing is the warm shallow water, wide-open with few obstructions, steady winds, plenty of access points to the water (thanks to the undeveloped areas of Cape Hatteras National Seashore), and the presence of kiteboarding and windsurfing devotees. Wind fanatics are drawn to Hatteras Island like zealots to mecca, and many of them make their living teaching others how to do the sports.
© Copyright Molly Perkins Harrison published by Falcon Publishing all rights reserved.


Best Time to Go: Year-round
This travel guide comes from:
Exploring Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores Guide Book