W

hen you think about it (too much), strapping yourself to a small plank of wood while a huge kite pulls you through the water is probably bonkers. But then again, they said similar things about snowboarding, too – and look how much fun that is.

Kitesurfing is one of the newest board sports, having only emerged in the late Nineties, but action sports aficionados claim that it’s now more popular than windsurfing.

If you fancy finding out what all the fuss is about, why not head down to Hayling Island in Hampshire, where one of the sport’s pioneers, Chris Bull, runs the UK’s longest-established kitesurf centre.

Open since 1999, the Hayling Island Kitesurf School (HIKS) is one of only three British Kitesurfing Association (BKSA) National Training Centres in the UK, and runs sessions for beginners, experts and those of us in between.

One of the perks of coming here, of course, is that you get to hang out on the beach at Hayling Island – rated as one of Europe’s best kitesurfing destinations – where the school has dedicated teaching areas in shallow, sandy water – significantly reducing your chances of a experiencing a “kitemare” (that’s a ‘wipe-out’ to the rest of us).