A month after I lost my grandpa and a close friend, I was struck by a visceral urgency to live right now. I revisited a list I had locked away for a while: my bucket list.

I have managed to see and do a few things in recent years: Go back to Palestine (2014), work in Afghanistan (2015), walk across Spain (2016) and see India (2018). But those are destinations. What about other bucket list boxes pushing us to do things we don’t know how to do?

One thing I know nothing about that is still equal parts scary and tangible is kiteboarding. This idea to be brave and do the thing I have never done surged to the surface in mid-December. I began watching a lot of videos, in awe of riders’ abilities to control a kite the size of a Volkswagen with four 24-meter lines hooked to a bar harnessed to them… while they’re strapped to something a lot like a wakeboard skimming over not-tranquil water.

I’ve fallen many, many times on my kneeboard in perfectly calm water. Me? Kiteboarding? Bananas.

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Believing I had to leave to find it, an occasionally flawed approach I often employ, I searched “kite vacations.” It would mean going to Greece’s Adriatic, the Brazilian coast, or Zanzibar to pick up the sport amid consistent wind. When I told my mom I found a school in southern Spain, she promptly informed me I was being foolish.

“Go to Fond du Lac,” she said. “You can learn there.”

As with most things in life, my mother was right. Wisconsin is, actually, a kiting destination. In fact, Fond du Lac will soon host the World Ice and Snow Sailing World Championship.

Athletes from all over the world will be there to compete and catch wind at the foot of the lake. The event, Feb. 4-9, includes racing and freestyle competitions. 

For a look at kiting, or a jump-start on your own bucket list, come by to feel the rush and meet someone new from a different country or two. Spectators can watch from heated shelters on the ice or from shore. Enjoy bonfires, live music and fireworks — all to celebrate wind sports on the water (err, ice).

As for me, I have since abandoned leaving again, instead resolving to stay and learn closer to home. On the lake road to Taycheedah, opposite Sunset Supper Club, is Wind Power, a windsurfing and kiting center. I go down once or twice weekly to test the patience of owner and instructor Kevin Gratton as he teaches me to pilot a kite larger than my Honda.

Turns out winter is the best time to learn. Take away complications like water, waves and current, lessons become much simpler. Although, learning to fly on the ice means traction cleats on my boots, keeping ice picks close, donning a BMX helmet and sporting a chest protector meant for motocross racers. All of those things are necessary precautions: I have fallen down, been pulled and dragged.

First the kite scared me. Now it just intimidates me. I respect its power.

This is an extreme sport. Labels on all my gear warn of its inherent risk. Because I am starting from scratch, I have to be careful and pay attention. I also need to relax in order to sense the kite behind the bar (if I had a nickel for each time people told me to relax…). I need to know when to let the bar go so the kite can climb — and when to snatch it back to give the kite, and me, speed and power.

For the first time in a while, I am learning to problem solve on my own again. My self-esteem reemerges when, after failing to launch the kite, I pull the right lines the right way to let it take off. I love watching it soar.

Confidence that comes from a good day outside on the ice, frankly, makes me want to bust a move. More than anything, my titan of a teal kite has restored my faith in me. For the first time in a long time, I am trusting in my ability to start over, just as I am.

For more information, visit windpowerwindsurfing.com or stop by Taycheedah to take in the 2019 World Ice & Snow Sailing World Championship, Feb. 4-9. To volunteer at WISSA, email Kevin at info@windpowerwindsurfing.com.

Bethany Lerch is from Oshkosh.

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