Karen Lang / Aqua Sports Maui General Manager
Certified Level 2 + USKiters Level 2 Certified Kiteboarding Instructor
The early part of Karen’s life was taken up with many fun sports, skiing , cross country skiing then snowboarder back in the beginning of the sport. Also mountain biking, hiking, just about anything outdoors.
She started windsurfing in 1980 in Lake Tahoe, The Gorge and Rio Vista, then came to Maui to windsurf and surf in 1990 and never went back home. Spent many fun days sailing and surfing her favorite spot, Ho’okipa. Later a friend gave her a kiteboarding lesson and she was hooked!
Work History:
Neil Pryde and Cabrinha Design Center: Sailmaker, Kitemaker, AutoCad Technician: 15 years
Working with the legendary windsurf sail designer Barry Spanier, Karen was responsible for making the prototype sails for the company as well as the personal quivers of the top sailors of the time, 13 time world Champion Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Laird Hamiton, Josh Stone, Jason Polakow, Jason Prior and many more. When Cabrinha joined NP, got to work with Pete Cabrinha building kites.
Goya Sails: Sail Designer: 5 years:
Karen spent 5 years designing windsurf sails with world champion wave sailor Francisco Goya (one of the nicest people on the planet) for his new company “Goya Sails”
Level 2 Kiteboarding Instructor : 9 years
Karen’s love of kiteboarding led her to take the Course to teach kiteboarding, she says:”I love teaching kiteboarding! This is such a fun sport , the students are really stoked and it’s very gratifying”.
Northshore Kite and Sail Repair: Owner : 15 years
Karen started Northshore Kite and Sail Repair over 15 years ago. She has a great niche business here on Maui. “I get to meet almost every kiter sooner or later, either I give them lessons and teach them how not to crash their kite or if they don’t take lessons I get to fix the kites they break while they are trying to learn”!
Best trick / Move: riding waves and going for big air
Visit Karen at one of her many blogs:
http://northshorekiteandsail.blogspot.com
http://kitebeachcrew.blogspot.com/
Front Page of the Maui News January 21, 2010:Karen and her student Margeaux made it on the front page of the Maui News today!! Here is what they had to say: Harvard student Margeaux Oliva of Lubbock, Texas, tries not to be pulled off her feet as she receives a kiteboarding lesson from Maui Instructor Karen Lang on Wednesday at Kanaha. Oliva said she was getting her feet wet in the sport while her boyfriend was out riding the wind and waves at Kanaha. “It’s fun,” she said
Here’s just a few of the many comments about Karen from her students:
John A:“Karen’s friendly enthusiastic style makes learning kiteboarding easy, I had 3 lessons with another school before I met Karen, and I learned more from her in 3 hours than the other instructor in 3 days, I would highly recommend her!”
Kathy K, Cardiff by the Sea, CA “Karen is an amazing kitesurfing instructor. Not only is she super friendly, but her easy-going nature and her knowledge of this sport really helped calm the butterflies in my stomach while doing this sport. She gave me tips and techniques that allowed me to master flying the kite, instead of the kite flying me. Thank you, Karen,for giving me the stoke of learning this sport”!
Brian G : Great, easy tips to accelerate the learning curve. Really enjoyed the day
Jody P : Karen was very good at explaining eveything we were going to do beforehand and never got irritated with me. Very relaxed/ fun atmosphere
Todd C : Very knowledgeable and technical about all aspects of kitesurfing and very good about communicating that information and teaching it to the student
Jessica A : Karen was thorough, encouraging and positive. She made sure I was proficient and confident in my basic survival skills before anything else. She was clear in communication and made me fell confident while encouraging me to challenge myself. I will recommend her to all my friends who wish to get into kiting!
Shaun S : Karen took the time to teach me safety first and self rescue. Some great tips to do things properly and to break some of my bad habits!
Amanda C : Very attentive, lots of great tips that fined tuned my efforts, friendly and encouraging, highly recommended!
Isabelle T : Great teaching skills, a pleasure learning with you and keep learning this great sport!
Andy L : Excellent instructor, detailed, step by step instructions. Focus on safety but still makes it fun
Marius T : I had lots of fun because Karen has great teaching skills and always has a smile to cheer you up!
Brian G.: Great, easy tips to accelerate the learning curve. Really enjoyed the day
Jody P : Karen was very good at explaining eveything we were going to do beforehand and never got irritated with me. Very relaxed/ fun atmosphere
Jaap N: The best instructor ever!