Kitesurfing

Kites have been used since ancient times in the Orient to pull boats, land vehicles and sleds; in 1903 the first crossing of the English channel using kite power was made. From the 1970s up through the early 1990s, various designs for such 'traction kites' were being researched, at the same time that similar research was being done with paragliding equipment, with the latter influencing the forming and leading to the invention of the 'self-relaunching marine wing', and by the following decade kitesurfing (also called flysurfing and kiteboarding) was being publicized in global media and rapidly gaining popularity.

It is popular with wind surfers, wakeboarders, paragliders and traction kite flyers; in Greece it has been only a few years since it has attracted interest.

The wing is controlled by the kitesurfer with control lines that allow manipulation of the wing in strong winds to the point of lifting the surfer off of the water, with the option of gliding through the air for some distance (often at very high speeds) before landing again and continuing the ride on the water.

Kitesurfing is a sport that demands very good physical fitness, some serious training with a lot of practice in slow winds, and many precautions, including never using unapproved sites for this sport.

Approved sites are those where there is nothing for a kitesurfer to run (fly) into, whether it be other people, buildings or cliffs, or power lines, all of which can result in serious injury or death.

Weather conditions must be checked, and they must wear helmets and other gear, include footwear appropriate for landing.

Popular areas for the sport in Greece are in the Peloponnese, the Ionian islands, Paros and Naxos (in the Cyclades island group), Crete, and some beaches in northern Greece; in the Athens area it is practiced at Marathonas and at Loutsa.

Professional windsurfing championship races have also been held in Paros for some years (near the town of Dhryos); there are windsurfing schools in Paros which began operating during the early 1980s. Some of he island's top popularity with windsurfers derives from the fine and steady winds within the straits between Paros and the smaller adjacent island of Antiparos (pronounced Andiparos) off the southwest coast of Paros, though it is on the northeast side of Paros that the championship races have been held, at the Nea Hrisi Akti-Tserdakia site, where the northwest trade wind comes from the open sea all summer long, and at the perfect angle for windsurfing.