Kitesurfing Magazine - Fall 2019

GIRL WE COULDN’T GET MUCH

Volume 5, Issue3, #14 Display Until: January 31, 2020 $8.99

FINDING NIRVANA : THE MARSHALL ISLANDS 90 MILES : CUBA UNCOVERED TESTED : THE OLYMPIC DREAM MEETING : NORTH RELAUNCHED

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GEAR PREVIEW ALL NEW KITES AND STUFF THAT YOU HAVE TO TRY OUT

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5 STRUT FRAME INTELLIGENT ARC SHORT BRIDLE SYSTEM CORE INTELLIGENT TRIM SYSTEM (CIT) FASTER TURNING SPEED SPEED PUMP SYSTEM SPEED VALVE 2

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ANDRE MAGARAO

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Learn more today at SLINGSHOTSPORTS.COM kitesurfingmag.com

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OFF THE TOP LOCATION: Columbia River, OR RIDER: Vetea Boersma PHOTOGRAPHER: Richard Hallman “Vetea Boersma; this kid is heralding in the next generation of power riders. Vetea’s father is local waterman Jan Boersma; he named his son after big wave Tahitian surf legend Vetea David who was charging Teahupo’o back in the day.

It’s only fitting for this kid to carry on that tradition of extreme watermen. Looking forward to see what this kid does moving forward.”—Richard Hallman

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OFF THE TOP LOCATION: Cape Hatteras, NC RIDER: Craig Cunningham PHOTOGRAPHER: Toby Bromwich “This project was not only super special to me but to the whole KPL and park riding community. For years the top park (not wake style) athletes have been held back by the features we were riding. Don’t get me wrong, the rooftops, flat bars and A-frames have their place in the park but after hitting them for years and years we had pretty much done all the possible tricks. We were teching out to the max. In comes Duotone and with the brand launch this past year we had the marketing power to pull out an idea I had kicking around for over three years. It was a signature feature (the first in kiteboarding) that I had designed with a plethora of options and lines; basically the dream. Transfers, pipes, step-ups, stairs; this new feature has it all and has helped breathe a fresh breath of air into the park riding scene. Everybody is hyped to have a feature like this and although the lines are tough and egos have been crushed, order and stoke have been restored and the possibilities for the coming years are going to be endless. Can’t wait to see what goes down on this in the future!”—Craig Cunningham

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Check out the 2020 Gear Preview on page 76. Bergeron photo

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VOLUME 5 // ISSUE 3 // NO.14

FEATURES 48 2019 TRIPLE-S SEQUENTIALLY CAPTURED Ryan Osmond reports from the Wind Voyager Triple-S and his trigger finger captures some of the best action.

54 NORTH KITEBOARDING REBORN Behind the scenes of the relaunch of North Kitesurfing by the North Technology Group. Kitesurfing Magazine travels to Dakhla, Morocco for the 2020 importer meeting, and the unveiling of the all new North Kitesurfing lineup.

62 FINDING NIRVANA IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS Moona Whyte, Reo Stevens, Keahi de Aboitiz and crew hit the Marshall Islands for some serious fun and barrel hunting.

68 PEER PRESSURE: AIRTON Really good athletes are often known by a single name. Airton is one of those athletes, but he’s not beyond answering some questions from his peers.

76 2020 GEAR PREVIEW A sneak peak at the best new surfboards, surf kites, foils and accessories for 2020.

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Ewan Jaspan tweaks it at the 2019 Triple-S in Cape Hatteras, NC. Read the full story on page 44. Bromwich photo

UPFRONT

DEPARTMENTS

10 OFF THE TOP 18 EDITOR’S INTRO 22 ON THE COVER 24 UPFRONT 28 WHO’S THAT: Jack Reider 30 REP 411: Rich Sabo 32 TRADE SECRETS: Aluula

34 COMPETE: Olympic Format Tested for 2024 36 TRICK TIP: Tail Grab 3 38 GROM SEARCH: Brazil 40 REHAB: Maintaining Balance 42 DESTINATION STATION: 90 Miles to Cuba

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Learn more today at SLINGSHOTSPORTS.COM kitesurfingmag.com

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Tommy Kogut photo

FIELD NOTES

Bucket List: Dakhla, Morocco. CHECK! One of the biggest perks of publishing a kitesurfing magazine, apart from deadlines and massive printing bills, is getting to travel. In 2007 I had to pass on going on a trip to Dakhla, Morocco. A crew of riders from Quebec were looking for a photographer to go, and I sent photographer Alex Jowett. Alex may have been the first professional photographer to shoot kitesurfing at Dune Blanche, and also have them published in a North American magazine. Alex Jowett’s, “You Don’t Need to Be a Pro to Go to Morocco” article in SBC Kiteboard had many of us drooling. His photographs of the dunes of the Sahara desert disappering into the Atlantic Ocean with riders ripping in butter-flat water were captivating. Dakhla, Morocco would remain at the top of my bucket list for more than a decade.

When Matt Aiken and the new North International Kiteboarding crew announced they would be launching the North brand in Dakhla, Morocco this summer, I knew I needed to clear my schedule.

Dakhla didn’t disappoint. 30 plus knots of wind everyday, secret butter flat riding locations, 30 foot sand dunes, hundreds of camels and uncrowded wave riding locations

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were only the start of what made the trip so epic. The local Moroccan kitesurfers that worked at the kite center were as amped on kiting as their guests. Their big smiles and friendly vibes were infectious to everyone on the trip.

An epic 22-mile ocean downwinder with Tommy Kogut from Real, the crew from Mac kites, Matt Aiken and Mike D is one I will never forget. Not so much for the waves, but the 100 foot cliffs staring back at us for the entire journey downwind. My heart still pumps faster just thinking about it.

The food at Dakhla Attitude (another highlight of the trip) had us fueled and ready to ride for multiple sessions every day. Moroccan tagines now have a new place at the top of my required dining staples. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to recreate the complex seasoning of their dishes, so I guess I will need to go back for more than just the amazing kiting.

My only regret? Not making this trip sooner.

John Bryja Editor/Publisher

Light as Never Support as Ever

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MASTHEAD VOLUME 5 / ISSUE 3 / NUMBER 14 PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JOHN BRYJA ART DIRECTOR DAVE AMOS TEST EDITOR SHANE THOMPSON COPY EDITOR COLIN FIELD WEB DESIGN KAI HULSHOF & ERIC FEQUET CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CRAIG CUNNINGHAM, LAUREN HOLMAN, EVAN HEFFERNAN, EWAN JASPAN, SAM LIGHT, PAUL MENTA, RICHARD MYERSCOUGH, RYAN OSMOND, AXEL REESE, JACK RIEDER, ERIC RIENSTRA, RICH SABO, BRANDON SCHEID, CHRISTOPHE TACK, MOONA WHYTE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

MARIO ARIAS, VINCENT BERGERON, JAMES BOULDING, TOBY BROMWICH, KEAHI DE ABOITIZ, DAMEA DORSEY, NICOLAS FERAUD, RICHARD HALLMAN, CHUCK HARLAN, OLIVER HARTAS, THOMAS KOGUT, DAVE MARSHAL, PAUL MENTA, RYAN OSMOND, AXEL REESE, YDWER VAN DE HEIDE

Kitesurfing Magazine is an independent publication published three times per year.

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by Kitesurfing Magazine Inc. STONG MIND, STRONG BODY:

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Kitesurfing Magazine Inc. Copyright Kitesurfing Magazine 2019, All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any materials published in Kitesurfing Magazine is expressly forbidden without the written consent of the publisher.

Printed in Canada Disclaimer: The athletes and activities described andillustrated herein are performed by trained athletes and could result in serious bodily injury, including disability or death, do not attempt them without proper supervision,training and safety equipment. Kitesurfing Magazine Inc, and the publisher are not responsible for injuries sustained by readers or failure of equipment depicted or illustrated herein.

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ON THE COVER | AIRTON

PHOTOGRAPHER: AXEL REESE

“Airton loves to give kitesurfers a show on his home island of Sal in Cape Verde. He likes to jump one or two floors higher than his direct competitors. No one jumps a strapless board higher than Airton. When he saw me sitting in Ponta Preta with my camera equipment, he was motivated to jump higher and higher. Normal down-the-line waveriding is great to shoot at the world class wavespot Ponta Preta, but to get jumps like this not-grabbed huge Backroll? Only Airton Cozzolino.

The 24-year-old strapless professional loves the power and risk factor in strapless riding. The conditions during those days in Ponta Preta were incredible.

The wind was blowing 25 knots side offshore and no one spends more time on the water in good conditions than Airton. With low wind conditions he grabbed this SUP waveboard and scored waves like no one else.

Airton is in a class of his own.”—Axel Reese

LOCATION: PONTA PRETA, CAPE VERDE

“WITH GREAT POWERS COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.”–SPIDERMAN 22 - KITESURFING MAGAZINE / VOL 5 / ISSUE 3

“I get the chance to travel all over world. REAL and Watermen’s have the coolest setup I’ver ever seen” — 3X Red Bull King of the Air Kevin Langeree

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UPFRONT | NEWS

LIVE FROM AWSI TRADESHOW Kitesurfing Magazine will be streaming live from the AWSI tradeshow in Hood River. We will be checking out the latest 2020 new releases at the show, interviewing designers, pro riders and North American sales reps. Be sure to check out the latest live streams on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/kitesurfing.magazine).

We didn’t expect to see this! Freestyle (wakestyle) World champion Carlos Mario (right) gives strapless freestyle a spin against specialist Mitu Monteiro at the GKA event in Tarifa. Ydwer photo

BEST OF THE WEB / AARON HADLOW TWENTY

The must see kitesurfing movie of the year! 2019 marks 20 years since Aaron Hadlow first flew a kite. Aaron teamed up with filmmaker Laci Kobulsky traveling to multiple locations, meeting up with his friends and finding the best conditions in order to deliver you this full-length kiteboarding movie. Check out TWENTY at kitesurfingmag.com/twenty

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S T E A LT H B A R SPREADERBAR

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M Y S T I C B O A kitesurfingmag.com R D I N G . -C25 O M

UPFRONT | NEWS DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR Matt Aiken and the North American Mystic crew won distributor of the year at the annual North Action Sports group sales meeting. The prize included $4000 in additional marketing budget, ironically the same amout Aiken spends annually on ice for his Yeti cooler at industry tradeshows and beach demos. Congratulations to Matt Aiken, Mike D, Rob Chayter and crew.

Maio Arias photo

QUOTE OF THE ISSUE “I didn’t care what the plan would be for tomorrow. I knew I’d like whatever the islands gave us.

Small waves, big waves, wind, diving… Let’s just wake up and see!”—Moona Whyte

MUST HAVE VIDEO GAME / KITEBOARD HERO

Looking to supercharge your kite flying skills from the comfort of your livingroom? Then this is the video game for you. It has been out for a couple of years, but everyone at the Kitesurfing Magazine office recently got hooked during a spell of no wind.

Our Mega Loops have never looked better. Available for download on the Apple App store for $3.99.

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WHO'S THAT | JACK RIEDER

NICKNAME: J-Ride HOME-TOWN: Squamish, Canada YEARS RIDING: 4 years KITES: Airush Razor (9, 11, 13, 15) BAR: AP Bar (5-Line) BOARDS: Livewire 140x42 BOOTS: AK Boots HARNESS: Mystic Majestic X (Hardshell)

“Once I hit the kicker I try not to think past spinning, grabbing the bar and landing smooth.” Bromwich photo

PHOTOS BY TOBY BROMWICH You’ve only been kiting four years, yet you finished second at the Canadians last year and now made it to the Triple-S finals. What’s your secret? Other sports crossing over?

I grew up with a love for sailing and snowboarding, so when I started kiteboarding the two merged together quite well. I had done a handful of wakeboarding, but never had a personal boat to train with.

What’s your approach to training?

I decide on a trick that I want to learn, whether that be from watching another rider or seeing it in a video, and I will re-watch the trick to understand the motions. From there, I go out and start trying. It may not be the friendliest approach for my body as I learn the technique through many hard crashes, but at some point it clicks and I begin to land the trick occasionally, then eventually become consistent.

Do you enjoy a lot of different styles of kiting, or are you staying really focused on freestyle and park riding?

From the day I started kiteboarding I was extremely interested in freestyle and that’s where I found my niche in the sport. As I progress I have learned to enjoy big air and foiling occasionally.

Recently I found park riding and it gives me

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the same excitement I had when I first started freestyle riding. Going forward I want to keep pushing the sport in freestyle and park riding.

allows me to train in other spots. While Squamish may not be windy year round, I would say it has been a key part of my progression.

What influence has Sam Medysky had on your pro career?

Sam Medysky was a rider that I looked up to from the day I started kiteboarding. He began to influence me when I first met him after he had moved to Squamish and introduced me to the world of professional kiteboarding. We went on trips to the key places together such as Hood River and Cape Hatteras, where he helped me develop an understanding of what is expected from a team rider. Sam continues to push me in my riding, and in how I position myself in the sport. I have huge appreciation for Sam Medysky for helping me to get where I am today.

What tricks were you working on leading up to the Triple-S? I arrived in Cape Hatteras a couple weeks before Triple-S to work on my park riding and knew the standard for the event was to have 7s off the kicker consistently. In the two weeks leading up to the event I managed to dial in Heel Back 7s, Toe Back 7s and Moby Dicks.

Has being based in the Vancouver area been a blessing or a challenge to becoming a top level rider?

During the summer Squamish is one of the best kiteboarding locations on earth. Riding flatwater and steady wind all summer at home is definitely a blessing that allowed me to progress quickly. The winter slows down progression but encourages me to travel to warmer locations. I believe winter travel is a good balance as it

Now that you have seen how close you are to the top, what are your plans?

Triple-S made me believe that I can compete at the kite park level and I want to focus more on my park riding. I’m going to train in Hood River this summer and visit cable parks over the winter in order to progress for the coming KPL stops.

Any interest in the 2024 Olympics?

I grew up racing sailboats competitively, so I do believe it could be a natural progression.

At the moment I am very focused on freestyle and park riding but I am certainly going to explore the possibility.

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REP 411 | RICH SABO

FAVORITE TRICK? Back Mobe and Backside 540s with any grab.

I can’t do any grab, but it’s still my favorite trick.

Global sales director for Liquid Force, Richie “Bap” Sabo in action. Vincent Bergeron photo

NickName: Richie Bap / Age: 32 What do you rep? I rep Liquid Force Kites.

Pretty damn hard these days.

Where is home? Hood River, OR. Best part of living in the Gorge? Multiple activities is the best part about living here, duh.

Favorite board and kite: Back in the day, Underground FLX was my jam! Now it’s the Echo + NV v9. The ultimate shred quiver.

Best kite memory? Getting stuck in the pier at Rodanthe with Nick Baines. I was in the ocean, in a dry suit, super kook status.

I almost drowned. Ok, maybe that was my worst memory.

Worst moment? Oh we mixed it up, my worst moment is above. My best kite memory is doing my first 720 in the Triple-S about three years ago. All my friends were lined up along the Slick and shouting at me to throw the 720. So I did and I nailed it and it was the best feeling ever. I repeated this trick only one other time in my entire kiteboarding life so far.

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Kite heroes? My best friend Brandon has to be the ultimate kiteboarding hero.

Have you seen him ride? Yeah, he can do everything. Other than him, the list is deep.

Andre Phillip, Jason Slezak and Alex Fox are at the top.

Favorite riding spot? My slider park here in Hood River. Other than that I would say anywhere where the water is clear enough to see the bottom and warm enough to wear board shorts. BVI is pretty hard to beat.

Ride with? Your friends and don’t take any of this too seriously. It’s kiteboarding, that’s all. Please stop taking it seriously. It’s fun.

Dream hookup? This is a trap, I’m not biting.

Breakfast spot? If I want lots of food and I am hungover, we go to Betty’s that’s for sure. If I am trying to care a bit about what goes into my body, then we go to Egg Harbor.

Best Lunch spot? Twin Peaks Drive Inn for a delicious grease burger. Or Rinconcito Express for a cheap but massive burrito.

Best trip? First time I went to Cape Town.

Furthest I have ever traveled and the destination was insane. If you haven’t gone to Cape Town, it is a necessary part of any kiteboarder’s journey.

Bucket list? Jump out of an airplane. Have a pet. Have a kid. Wait, same thing? Also, travel to Hungary and Prague.

Music? Spotify me, you’ll find the definition of eclectic music taste. Taylor Swift to the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. Low Fi Beats has been killing it in the work place.

Drink of choice? Sadly it’s a bottle of Coke!

If it’s beer, get me any IPA made by pFriem Brewery and we are gravy.

Props to? Anyone who is trying to make a living in the kiteboarding world. It isn’t easy.

Also to all my compatriots who pee in their wetsuits. The other people are nuts.

Last words? Too depressing, not answering.

visit us at oceanrodeo.com or follow us on

kitesurfingmag.com

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TRADE SECRETS | ALUULA Kitesurfing Magazine: What is Aluula?

Richard Myerscough: A Canadian composites company, founded by a passionate team of outdoor enthusiasts who are also highly experienced chemists, mechanical engineers and entrepreneurs.

KM: How did Ocean Rodeo first get involved with the Aluula material?

RM: Both Ocean Rodeo and Aluula are based in British Columbia. We know each by crossing paths over the years at business functions and a few of the Aluula team also kite and are keen Ocean Rodeo fans.

Aluula was actually sparked into being by a simple question at a business meeting five years ago; can a lighter, stronger material be made for kites other than the current status quo? Five years, with many ups and downs.

Here we are. Aluula!

KM: How much lighter are the kites made with Aluula?

RM: We have cut the weight in about half. A three-strut, ten meter classic fabric kite comes in at about seven-to-eight pounds.

An Aluula three-strut ten meter can range from 3.5 to 4.5 pounds depending on the design and composites used.

INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD MYERSCOUGH PHOTO COURTESY OF OCEAN RODEO

A revolutionary, new lightweight kite material is being introduced by Ocean Rodeo in two kite models this fall. We caught up with Ocean Rodeo CEO Richard Myerscough to find out more about Aluula.

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KM: How has the lighter weight influenced the design of the kites?

RM: Like most brands, we have made and tested several variations of one-strut and no-strut kites.

They do have their sweet spots in just the right wind and can be great to ride, but we found the loss of control in varied conditions not ideal or right for Ocean Rodeo.

There is now no need to compromise performance by removing struts to achieve light wind bliss.

You can now ride a three-strut in ultra light wind and continue to use this same kite with control as the wind ramps up.

The Aluula air frame works amazingly well on current kite designs. It puts them into hyper drive; more power, faster turning, immediate trim response. The biggest changes in design may be coming due to increased air frame stiffness and the option for smaller diameter leading edge tubes and

struts, which reduces weight and increases efficiency yet again.

Having said all the above, the stiff light Aluula frame would also deliver great improvement to the handling of one-and-no strut kites.

Still to be explored.

KM: Do the stretch characteristics of Aluula present any design challenges?

RM: I don’t see design challenges as much as design opportunity.

Think about the shift from wood frame tennis racquets to composites in the mid ‘70s; in five years wood was gone as the composites allowed for new easy-to-use racquets with giant sweet spots.

I sense Aluula represents a similar shift.

We’ve been using materials developed in the 1950s for yachting.

Refined yes, however adding a thread here or there is not changing much from the kites we made way back in 2001. Has Dacron, Ripstop and PU Film allowed us to find the true limits of our sport? No! Most kite designers understand material properties well, and know the tricks of the trade when dissimilar materials are directly connected. We see this now on kites where you have a stiff Dacron sewn to a stretchy ripstop. You have to design for this.

Aluula works well as a direct Dacron replacement without major modifications to a current modern kite design.

KM: What models will be made in the material and where do you see the biggest advantages?

RM: Ocean Rodeo is launching two kite models featuring Aluula air frame technology.

Roam Black is a freeride foil/surf kite. The ultra light weight and responsive Aluula frame delivers a new realm in kite drifting, precision handling and control in the lightest winds, right up to storm force.

The Flite Black is a freeride light wind kite. A light wind beast for all riding styles. The Aluula airframe drastically reduces weight pushing the light wind riding threshold into new territory. More power, faster turning, precise handling.

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COMPETE | OLYMPIC FORMAT TESTED FOR 2024

WORDS BY EVAN HEFFERNAN / PHOTOS BY OLIVER HARTAS

As the Formula kite fleet looks towards the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 the race format has been a pressing topic. Luckily at the 2019 Pascucci Formula Kite World Championships, we got the chance to test out the official format of a Mixed Kite Relay combining a girl/guy team into one Olympic medal.

No, there is not a baton or a handoff. The way it works is one sailor races the course and sails towards the changeover area. This is a defined zone where your teammate is waiting to start. When your teammate crosses the line you are clear to start. At first attempt, it proved a little challenging as I was over the line before teammate Daniela Moroz came into the changeover. With an OCS (On Course Side disqualification) it was going to be a tough battle as the day went on.

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With 22 national teams entered it was a very competitive format and a huge change for the fleet. In the past we have seen a lot fewer girls competing, however the 2019 world championships almost tripled the number of girls entered from the prior year. France, Great Britain and Poland each had four teams registered as they push to get more girls involved with their federation since the chatter about kiting as an Olympic event. This allowed for many of the top riders to compete in the test event. We saw multiple heated changeovers where three-to-five riders were finishing within seconds of each other. At the end of the event it was awesome to see the top five all finishing within four points of each other.

We were unbelievably stoked to come away with the win after a rough start to the day, however we know this was only a test event and there is a long road ahead with many teams close behind.

For me, it was an amazing experience to be able to team up with Daniela as she is a great teammate and the defending four-time world champion of the female division. A big credit goes out to her for making my job that much easier.

As this was a test event the focus was on getting feedback from all the sailors and on the water coaches to see how the format could be tweaked and improved. We ran a split fleet in a round robin format, so each race had 11 of the 22 teams in it. I think it would make sense to combine the fleet into a single heat allowing more competitive racing and more racing in general from a time standpoint. Daniela Moroz said, “there was a lot of positive feedback and I think all the riders are pretty excited to see that format in the 2024 games. It will be interesting to see how it evolves from here as there will definitely be some changes made, especially when it comes to the changeover area, but it will be exciting to see that format more often as we move into the new quad.�

With five years to go until the games, I know everyone in the kite world is super excited.

Evan Heffernan rounds the leeward mark.

MEN 1 Nico Parlier (FRA) 2 Olly Bridge (GBR) 3 Connor Bainbridge (GBR) Women 1 Daniela Moroz (USA) 2 Elena Kalinina (RUS) 3 Breiana Whitehead (AUS) MIXED KITE RELAY 1 USA (Daniela Moroz/Evan Heffernan) 2 FRA (Alexia Fancelli/Maxime Nocher) 3 RUS (Elena Kalinina/Denis Taradin)

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TRICK TIP | BACKSIDE 3 TAILGRAB

WORDS BY ERIC RIENSTRA PHOTOS BY NICOLAS FERAUD

Spins and grabs have been the cornerstone of boardsport tricks ever since the first skateboaders took to the air. Since then snowboarders, wakeboarders and now even surfers can be seen tweaking out huge grabs with floaty spins. Kiteboarders have always been able to grab and spin but the unhooked, grabbed handlepasses took a bit longer to master, with only a few riders on the Freestyle World Tour adding them to their contest trick list. On the park side of things though, grabs have always been a focus, with pioneers like Andre Philip, Mauricio Abreu, Jason Slezak and the rest of the Autofocus crew throwing them down since day one.

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Before you try your first Tail Grab Backside 360 you will want to have Backside180s and 360s dialed in and also be able to do a Tail Grab in total control. Then you want to get Tail Grab Backside 180s landing blind down before going for the full 360. For doing them off a kicker you will need to have a finless board, preferably with boots.

Make sure your kite is also trimmed for unhooking.

Using a shallower kicker will also make things a bit easier and you can go a bit slower.

STEP 1: When approaching a kicker for a flat spin trick it’s easier to come in further upwind and fully let off your edge to take away as much bar pressure as possible. Make sure to go full speed and not slow down. If you are slowing down as you hit the kicker it will increase the bar pressure.

STEP 2: As you’re about to connect with the kicker, lean forward and extend your arms so that the bar is as far away from you as possible.

STEP 3: Use your upper body and arms to blast the bar in to accelerate yourself up and off the kicker as well as initiate the spin. The key here is to be moving faster than your kite to get slack. Also imagine pulling the bar to your side like a bull fighter rather than straight into your hip, this will help get more momentum behind your spin.

STEP 4: Drop your back hand as you leave the kicker and reach for the grab. Make sure you keep strength in the hand still on the bar, keeping your elbow as close to your body as possible. Let the momentum of your spin naturally wrap your arm behind your back.

STEP 5: Once your arm is behind your back, let go of the grab and go for the pass. If you have too much par pressure to make the pass your kite is too high or you didn’t go fast enough off the kicker.

STEP 6: As you catch the bar make sure to continue to keep strength in your catching arm, keeping your elbow as close to your body as possible.

STEP 7: Pull the bar into the front of your body to finish off the last 180 as you extend the landing gear.

STEP 8: Stomp it and roll out!

COMMON MISTAKES A common mistake many riders make when trying grabbed spins off the kicker is going too slow. If you are not accelerating off the kicker faster than your kite then you will get bar pressure and not be able to pull the bar in one-handed. Also not initiating the spin before going for the grab leads to having to force the spin with the bar which is very hard.

NEXT STEPS Once you have the Tail Grab Backside 3 down you can try going off a bigger kicker and holding the grab longer. Then you can add other, more technical grabs like Indy or Nuke or add spin. You can also go for grabs after the handlepass, which I will cover later in this series.

California’s Eric Rienstra is one of the top park style riders in the world. He started doing boardsports as a little kid, starting with windsurfing, skateboarding and snowboarding.

Kiteboarding seemed like the perfect way to combine all three. He is sponsored by Core Kites, Dakine and Real Watersports. kitesurfingmag.com

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GROM SEARCH | WITH CRAIG CUNNINGHAM

WHY WAS IT THE RIGHT TIME TO LAUNCH THE GROM SEARCH? Craig Cunningham: With the rebranding of the former company into Duotone we had an opportunity to continue down the same path or cut out a new identity. Of course our followers and customers still associate us with everything we did in the past, that’s a good thing, and we’re proud of that, but we also want to create a new vibe around Duotone, something fresh, something organic. Basically at the end of the day we’re going to do things slightly differently and the Grom Search is one of many projects we have in the pipeline. We picked Caiupe, Brazil for a reason to do our first ever Duotone Grom Search and that’s because a lot of talent has come from this area over the years. The province of Ceara and specifically the town of Cumbuco has produced some of the best freestylers to ever pump a kite and is the home of the current world champion.

In a place where most of the locals are struggling to eat daily meals, or even have a roof over their heads, kiteboarding is a way out! For these kids becoming a football player is no longer the only dream!

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WHAT WAS THE VISION BEHIND IT? CC: We are looking for a world champion but we are also looking to develop the local scene. It seems that a lot of the locals (and kids trying to get on tour) are dropping out of school to focus on kiting and to me that’s crazy! You can only kite so many hours in a day, so why not use your free time productively? We wanted to show that at Duotone we’re not only interested in the riding level but also academic potential. We don’t want to sponsor a kid who can do all tricks but can’t properly read or write.

For the Grom Search we wanted to go to the beach with an open mind. No heats, no competition. Just get out there and do your thing. The winners would not only get supported with Duotone gear but English lessons as well. We’ll stay in contact with their English tutor and if they complete their monthly schooling and keep progressing their riding they’ll get new gear the following year when the team returns. Then they’ll have the opportunity to give their old kit (that we gave them this year) to a local shredder of their choice. And the cycle starts! Hopefully this will set the tone with the locals so that they understand that staying in school, speaking other languages and being able to be an ambassador to the brand is just as important as the number of tricks in your bag!

ALTHOUGH YOU’RE NO GROM, WHAT WAS YOUR JOURNEY ONTO THE DUOTONE TEAM? CC: Yeah, I guess I was never really a kite grommet, I was studying power engineering when I first discovered the sport and took it up as a hobby. Pretty quickly kiteboarding took over my life. I was addicted and I met some new friends who were already traveling. Then I started using all my free time to travel and kite. When I finished school I worked a normal job for six months until my good friend Sam Medysky convinced me to quit and come to Brazil with him and a few others. From that point on I started doing a lot of odd jobs to continue traveling but didn’t really have any aspirations of going pro, I just wanted to cruise around and live the good life with my best friends. I had however surrounded myself with some of the best riders in North America at the time like Sam, Brandon Scheid and Eric Rienstra. Not long after Liquid Force started flowing me kites and a little travel budget. Fast forward four or five years and Duotone (North at the time) was searching for a rider from North America. I had a lot of content coming out at the time with the NA Blend crew and I just had a few good results in some park events. I had also just won the Rookie of the Year at the Triple-S invitational to put the cherry on top. Long story short Boards & More (the parent company of Duotone and Ion) offered me a contract that I couldn’t refuse and the rest is pretty much history. The Boards & More family threw me a ball and I took it and ran.

Seven years later I’d like to think I’ve had a pretty successful career as a kiteboarder and it’s still going! Plus now I’m super thankful that the marketing team has given me the opportunity to work behind the scenes and recently this past March I got the position of team manager of the twintip team as well as creative director for special marketing projects like this.

WHAT MAKES A STANDOUT GROM? WHAT IS THE BRAND LOOKING FOR? CC: Someone who’s always smiling and spreading good vibes. That’s a must. If you’re one of those too cool for school, unapproachable superstars that just lets the riding do the talking you had better be on a whole different level. What we really want is someone who shreds just as hard off the water as on it. If you can manage to be the best or one of the best athletes at the spot and also be friendly, compassionate and cool, it’s going to go a long way. kitesurfingmag.com

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LIFESTYLE | MAINTAINING BALANCE Maintaining a balanced lifestyle is the key to happiness.

WORDS BY LAUREN HOLMAN / PHOTOS BY JAMES BOULDING

There are two things I know for sure: I love to kiteboard, but I can’t kiteboard all the time. So, how do you find that balance between doing what you love as much as possible, while also accomplishing other tasks and working toward other goals outside of kiteboarding? Does that balance exist? Am I giving up valuable time and opportunities on the water every time I pursue a task outside of my sport?

I’ve been asking myself these questions for the past two-and-a-half years now, as I work through my bachelor’s degree in commerce, with a specialization in finance and marketing. As I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel approaching (my graduation), I’ve put together some conclusions that I’ve realized over the course of my degree.

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WHEN YOU DO TOO MUCH OF ONE THING, IT CAN GET STALE. (No grab pun intended). Jokes aside, it’s true. Of course, this is different for everyone and you may totally disagree with me. But, from my experience, I need more than just one thing in my day. Kiteboarding for every hour of every day for six weeks in a row (Brazil) is not only physically exhausting, but it can be mentally exhausting as well. Extended periods of time in a classroom have motivated me to make the most out of every session more than ever. School has given me a sense of productive urgency to learn something new every time I go out because I don’t want to waste the valuable time I dedicate to progressing.

KITEBOARDING ITSELF IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. There’s so much more underneath that you don’t see. Learning new tricks, getting media coverage, producing content; all of these feats have tons going on behind closed doors. How you present your content, how you visualize new tricks, and how you prepare for a session all have a great impact on your all-around success as a rider. Certain courses that I’ve had the opportunity to take in school, like digital media research or consumer behavior, have complimented my kiteboarding career immensely.

I think that taking in these concepts has made me a more well-rounded rider.

THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY AND RIDE. One of the best things I decided to do over the course of my degree was to enroll in a semester-long exchange program. Of course, my decision of what university to study at was very much impacted by kiteboarding conditions. I had my eyes on Australia from day one, as I’ve always wanted to do a trip to the iconic Safety Bay in Perth, Western Oz. The delayed semester start down under gave me two months off after my December exams in Canada, so I had a solid two months to ride and train in one of my dream spots.

My semester is currently running from March until June and I am studying at the University of Melbourne.

Living in Saint Kilda during their summer months has also been ideal, as I can just walk down to the beach for a session after class. This combination of studying and kiteboarding has been a perfect balance for me the past four months.

WHEN IT ALL COMES DOWN TO IT… I’m really happy that I’ve had the chance to study.

And I’ll be even happier once I’m done. Kiteboarding has been with me long before I started my degree, and it will be there long after I’m finished. Maintaining balance in my life has become even more important in the fast-paced, modernized world we live in. There’s no right or wrong answer about which is the best way to sustain balance in your life. Our bodies and minds respond in different ways. The key thing is that you’re focusing on the right aspects of your life and getting the right balance for you. I’m content with the balance I’ve found between ‘computer work’ and kiteboarding.

And as I polish off this article, I’m more amped than ever for a session this afternoon.

Lauren Holman.

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DESTINATION STATION | 90 MILES TO CUBA Paul Menta fits in like a local.

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY PAUL MENTA

Over my 20 years of being a sponsored kiteboarder I’ve met some amazing people, traveled around the world and learned so much. To celebrate this milestone I went back in time to Cuba.

I kitesurfed to Cuba back in 2001 and I can tell you sailing there this time was much easier. Sailing on an old topsail boat, the Scooner Wolf made it more epic as besides kite gear we had her loaded down with my legal rum which I make in Key West. This was a bucket list trip; as I will be the first rum-runner to Cuba.

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and away we went on a misson to get wind. The first area we went to was Playa del Estes, where we met up with local kiter Jesus with cubakitevillage. com and did a downwinder. This was a great way to see the whole North Coast. Some other locals joined us for a session as Jesus hit Handlepasses and Loops. They all cheered him on and tried what we were doing. Kites were somewhat new and any repairs done to them were far better than I ever have seen. Wages in Cuba are humble but the people are rich with life, friendliness and stoke. Jesus told us about lot of other spots that have a range of flatwater, waves and even

where to kite in Havana. Best bet is to have these guys guide you as you won’t waste time. Cuban short cuts are not for gringos and driving at night is dangerous. The cost of a driver is the same price as renting a car. After kiting all day we hit Bodega del Medio, Ernest Hemingway’s place for mojitos.

I brought the Key West rum and the mojitos flowed. They were so happy that they took me behind the bar and taught me their mojito secrets.

We hit a small place to eat called Havana 61 and left with full bellies, kite happy heads and only spent 15 dollars.

We road tripped all night to the eastern part of Cuba; watching out for cattle on the highways and horses going the wrong way. We made it to Caibarien, Cuba to meet Reninier Munguia; a local kiter, dive master and teacher to all locals who want to try kiteboarding for free. This area is all fisherman and was really hit hard by Hurricane Irma. The crazy thing was that as beat-up as things were, they welcomed us like family, and I realized they actually had so much more than we did. As we waited for the wind to come up, we swapped stories and had some pork that was amazing. Of course with some of their rum and mine.

We walked through town and saw people who can fix anything (and I mean anything), like broken kites from 2007. The local art and vibe was really great and we went out to a Cayo (island key) that was pretty remote, and not like your normal secure all-inclusive. We took turns doing tricks, switching kites, trying new things, and just having a real soulful session until sunset. The sun went down and we went back to our hostel where Jauni the owner and his son showed me how they were making the night’s dish. The food was amazing, with soups, beans, fish, rice, plantains and so much more.

A lot of the spots we rode with Reninier worked for the different wind conditions. These are all secret spots. Going on your own you will never see the charm and camaraderie of the locals, plus they know where to kite each day.

As we were leaving I left a kite and so did my wife, plus a foil board. Kites were for the women and kids to learn on, and the foil was to hopefully see one of these kids in the 2024 Olympics as they are good! We headed way out west past Vinales to find the real famous pina colada in that area, but found a cigar farmer Benito who loved rum and liked to tell stories of the area and where the winds blow best. We laughed the whole time, rolled cigars, drank his local two dollar rum and learned more about this area and the local traditions and foods. The kiting worked there on the third day and it was just as magical as the cigar farmer said.

Last night of the trip Roberto’s father cooked cuban BBQ for us and that was the best meal I had all across the island.

Did I leave a lot out? Of course. You need to go on your own adventure. We sailed back healthy from the food we ate and our livers were just fine from all the rum. Sailing to Cuba was stepping back in time to the 1950’s we didn’t have all the touristy conveniences, but I think we had it better and cheaper. It was always safe. We brought home so many stories we could write a book.

On top of all that, the wind is great November through April and it’s warm. Hook up with the guys at cubakitevillage.com or contact me at paulmenta.com and I will give you all the hook ups.

Here’s to another 20 years of kiteboarding.

I can’t wait to meet you somewhere out there! aloha

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COMPETE | 2019 WIND VOYAGER TRIPLE-S INVITATIONAL Chris Bobryk grabs one for the people.

WORDS BY RYAN OSMOND / PHOTOS BY RYAN OSMOND AND TOBY BROMWICH

2019 was the 14th year of the most anticipated park style competition on the planet; the Wind Voyager Triple-S Invitational. A week long event located in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and hosted by Real Watersports.

From the very beginning Real has led the charge when it comes to pushing park style riding, grooming some of the top riders like Brandon Scheid, Eric Rienstra and Sensi Graves. Originally the format included a freestyle element and a surf element, but in 2012 Real saw the potential for park style to grow and focused the event strictly on features.

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As stated by the name, The Wind Voyager Triple-S Invitational is a predominantly invite only event, however there are two ways to secure a place in the competition.

The first is through a wild card video contest, and the second through entering and winning the Wind Voyager Triple-s Open two days prior to the main contest.

Each year the bar is raised, bringing something new and exciting to the table, and for the first time in it’s history, 2019 saw equal prize money for both men and women with a combined prize purse of $70,000.

The week started out with the Wind Voyager Triple-S Open. The event was able to run despite challenging side off conditions. Hometown hero Aaron Roberts took home first place (a welcome return after he got knocked out of the contest last year).

Nadja Bianchet who proved that she was a more than capable candidate with some serious skills on the sliders took the win for the women.

After managing all the media output for past events, sometimes editing video until seven in the morning, it was a welcome relief that my job this year was to capture photos alongside industry legend Toby Bromwich. Tom Court, Vincent Bergeron and Jeffrey O’Neil took care of the video side of things coming up with some awesome BTS content.

The announcement of the open winners also marked the start of the main contest and a week of insane parties the first of which was hosted

by Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys and world champion DJ Cubert.

Despite a questionable forecast in the run up to the event, this year turned out to be great for conditions with wind almost every day, creating the perfect playing field for competitors to battle it out and allowing for some incredible riding, And that’s what we saw.

Key players from the past few years have been Sam Light, Ewan Jaspan, Brandon Scheid, Aaron Hadlow, Colleen Carroll, Karolina Winkowska and Christophe

Tack. People like Sam, Ewan, Brandon and Colleen have all taken the top spots on the podium on numerous occasions, so it was exciting to try and figure out what combination would make it this year and if there will be any wild cards to steal a spot from the big names. Each year, people like Alex Maes, Ramiro Gallart, Izzie Von Zastro and Noe Font quietly creep up the ranks putting pressure on the big guys.

One person who wasn’t likely to be fazed was Brandon Scheid. Brandon started out in the event as a young up-and-comer only to go on and win the event more times than any other competitor, pretty much remaining on the podium ever since. The past few years though, he has watched his stronghold on first place be taken by Sam Light multiple times and Ewan Jaspan in 2017. He did manage to secure it back last year.

With perfect conditions this year his chance at retaining the title was better than ever and it was obvious from the start that he wanted it. Just being on the spectators’ dock and hearing the oo’s and ahh’s you knew it was likely coming from Brandon pulling off one of many highly technical manoeuvres with twice as much speed and power than the rest of the pack. It was really a spectacle to watch and I got an incredible sequence of him going huge off the Wind Voyager Kicker.

Other stand outs were people like Annalous Lammerts who was raising the bar when it comes to technicality and power. Something that in years past hasn’t really been associated with womens’ riding. This year it was clear that she had been putting the time in and wanted to secure a top spot on the podium.

With exciting days on the water, the evenings brought OBX night life to a whole new level with bands and DJ’s every night leading up to the grand finale and awards party.

The final night was one to remember and filled with anticipation as everyone made

WOMEN’S FINAL RESULTS 1. Annelous Lammerts (Belgium, Cabrinha) $12,000.00 2. Karolina Winkowska (Poland, Slingshot) $7,500.00 3. Issy Von Zastrow (Kenya, Ozone) $5,000.00 4. Colleen Carrol (USA, Duotone) $3,000.00 5. Sensi Graves (USA, Liquid Force) $2,000.00 MEN’S FINAL RESULTS 1. Brandon Scheid (USA, Liquid Force) $12,000.00 2. Ewan Jaspan (Australia, Naish) $7,500.00 3. Christophe Tack (Belgium, Liquid Force) $5,000.00 4. Ramiro Gallart (Argentina, Liquid Force) $3,000.00 5. Sam Light (United Kingdom, Slingshot) $2,000.00 6. Alex Maes (Belgium, Cabrinha) $1,500.00 7. Noe Font (Spain, Duotone) $1,200.00 8. Eric Rienstra (USA, Core) $1,000.00 9. Chris Bobryk (USA, Slingshot) $800.00 10. Aaron Hadlow (United Kingdom, Duotone) $600.00 11. Jack Rieder (Canada, Airush) $500.00 12. Artem Garashchenko (Russia, Nobile) $400.00

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COMPETE | CONTINUED Ewan Jaspan slides into second and $7500!

their guesses as to who would make it onto the podium. I think regardless, it was clear from the action in the finals that Brandon, Ewan and Sam would make it into the top 5, but the exact combination and the other two podium placers were somewhat of a toss up.

As for the women, both reigning champ Karolina Winkowska and Annelous Lammerts had been battling it out along with three-time Triple-S winner Colleen, so it was looking like some combination would make it to the stage. When the results were announced, it was exciting to see Annelous took first place and Izzy Von Zastro, who got injured one week prior narrowly scraped past Colleen by .43 of a point for

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third place. Colleen came in at fourth place and Sensi Graves took fifth.

With the hype from the Dubplates playing in the background and the anticipation of The Roots concert, the men’s results were announced. It was a bit of a surprise to see four-time champ Sam Light take fifth place but exciting to see Ramiro Gallart made it to fourth leaving just three spots left. One of which was soon taken by World Champion kiteboarder and the first person to land a 900 off a kicker in a contest, Christophe Tack. So it was down to two. Would Brandon Scheid come back to take the win for the second time in a row or would Ewan Jaspan take it for the second time after his win in 2017?

Second place was announced for a prize purse of $7,500 and the check was written to Ewan Jaspan, meaning Brandon Scheid would take home the win for his second year in a row and fifth overall time winning the Wind Voyager Triple-S Invitational.

Once again, this year’s Wind Voyager Triple-S Invitational was more insane than ever with incredible action and entertainment both on and off the water.

It was so cool to shoot the event and capture some of the insane action alongside Toby Bromwich. Definitely one for the history books.

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TRIPLE-S SEQUENTIALLY CAPTURED PHOTOS BY RYAN OSMOND

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Rider: Brandon Scheid Trick: Moby Dick 540 “Brandon’s monster Moby 5! This thing was huge, we were all watching from afar as he sent this Moby 5 to the moon. He kite looped half way through the trick, I remember thinking in my head, surely he’s not going to blind, and sure enough he throws it to blind last minute and sealed his win there and then.”­—Sam Light

Rider: Brandon Scheid Trick: KGB

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Rider: Ewan Jaspan “Competing and riding with Ewan is always a treat. He pushes me to ride harder and try new tricks. It really is a healthy competitive relationship, one that I think helps both of us be better kiteboarders. This particular sequence was really an important one for Ewan in the contest, it was his last hit on this feature in the final and he did not have a score yet. You not only need to have a hit, but a really good one to be contestable for the podium. Ewan doing what he does best, under pressure, when it matters.”— Brandon Scheid

Rider: Christophe Tack Trick: Toeside 270 Back Tail to 90 out

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Rider: Brandon Scheid Trick: KGB “You can see how much risk Brandon takes doing his kicker tricks; the distance he travels is absolutely insane. He’s a strong guy and if you see him muscle around his tricks you know it’s powerful and big! It’s always a motivation to ride hard when Brandon is out.”

—Christophe Tack

Rider: Sam Light Trick: Moby “I’ve had a ton of great sessions with Sam over the years and he is one of my favorite kiteboarders.

He has such a laid back approach to some of the hardest tricks in kiteboarding. This particular trick was one of the biggest Mobys I’ve seen Sam throw and I’m sure he was feeling the altitude midtrick. That’s one thing about Sam, he’s not afraid to send it in the moment. That makes him one of the toughest competitors on the water and one of the most fun to ride with.”­—Brandon Scheid

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North sales rep Mike Duhaime tests out the North Orbit freeride kite and Atmos board at Dune Blanche in Dakhla.

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Kiteboarding Reborn WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JOHN BRYJA

The relaunch of North Kiteboarding is unquestionably the most anticipated event in the kitesurfing industry this year. With Boards & More rebranding their kitesurfing division to Duotone, many industry insiders assumed it would be a matter of time before someone licenced the North name.

The North Technology Group chose a separate path; hiring a team of kite industry veterans to start their own company and North Action Sports Group was born. North then purchase M Brands, the owners of Mystic. In less than a year, North Action Sports Group had put together a team with all the resources needed to compete, if not dominate, the kitesurfing industry.

This past summer, the North Action Sports Group hosted their first ever distributor meeting in Dakhla, Morocco launching

North Kiteboarding. Brand manager Mike Raper spent the week delivering the plan differentiating North Kiteboarding.

Engineered, refined and intuitive; the buzz words. It was on the water that the 140 plus distributors in attendance really came to understand the huge feat this group was able to accomplish.

North Kiteboarding started with a completely blank slate, giving the product team of Pat Goodman, Uli Sommerlatt and Hugh Pinfold a totally fresh start.

The design team spent the better part of a year rethinking everything kiteboarding, and how they could do it better. Kitesurfing Magazine publisher John Bryja attended the meeting and had a chance to speak with the key personalities behind the rebirth of North Kiteboarding.

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New North team rider and big air master, Nick Jacobsen Kiteloops the well-named North Orbit kite at the speed spot in Dakhla.

BEHIND THE KITE DESIGNS WITH PAT GOODMAN Kitesurfing Magazine: Most consumers might assume the new North Orbit big air freeride kite might be similar to the Switchblade or another kite in the Cabrinha line that you designed but it’s not. It’s a fresh new design. Tell us a little about the starting point of the North Orbit.

Pat Goodman: We definitely wanted to have a kite in the same genre as the Switchblade, but I really wanted to start from scratch, and set ourselves apart from what we were doing in the past. I really went into depth and redid the entire outline and platform. A lot of refinement went into the profiles, it’s a much leaner entry than the profiles I’ve used in the past. A lot more curve carried through the entire profile.

It has turned out to be nice and slippery through the sky, extremely lifty. Combined with the flattened arch shape, two-stage arch design. The central region is an open arch shape, that’s wide but not unnatural, then the tips are pulled in a little bit to help with the steering and stability. All combined it’s a boosting machine.

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KM: Are there any drawbacks to having a flatter arch?

Pat Goodman: If you go too far there are stability issues. I think we are as far as we can go comfortably. I think we nailed it. It’s not only the boosting but the big hangtime that benefit from this big footprint in the sky.

This shape gives you the biggest relationship between the actual kite area and the usable kite area. It’s the most efficient kite in the range.

KM: The Orbit has a really short bar to achieve full depower. Is this because of the flatter arch shape?

Pat Goodman: That’s mostly done with the bridling. We put a lot of focus this year on trying to keep the sheeting range of the bar roughly the same for all our kites. There is a huge dynamic difference between a big kite and a small kite, but having the same kind of feel in the bar from fully sheeted in to fully sheeted out takes a great amount of work.

KM: What do you do bridle-wise to achieve that?

Pat Goodman: I can’t tell you (laughs).

It’s about the dynamics of the bridle and balancing. In the smaller kites the bridles are more powered up and in the larger kites it’s more powered down. Each kite is individually tested, each kite is different. No two sizes are a scale of each other. There is some change throughout the entire range.

We design and test every single one of them. It’s not a formula, but I definitely have enough experience to know where to go when I drop down in size or jump up. I know what direction to head with the bridle, so we maintain roughly the same feel.

KM: How much of it is mathematical equations and how much is an artform?

Pat Goodman: Bridling is a very hands-on thing. It’s experience, a lot of testing and hard work. I would like to say it can be figured out on a computer but it’s not true.

Although the software is parametric.

Once I have a logic, I can apply it to the next size kite and have a starting point that is really close. But there is usually a lot of fine tuning.

KM: On the bridle front, North made a very conscious decision not to have any pulleys.

What brought that about?

Pat Goodman: Having no pulleys has always been my dream. Having no pulleys allows you to use thinner bridle line. It doesn’t have any moving parts or wear factor going on. We are using a small diameter control line and spacing in connections. We measure and produce them under load so that they are very accurate.

Conventional bridle line is usually a Dyneema core with a polyester cover. The polyester cover wreaks havoc with shrinkage. It’s there for durability only. If you have pulleys, you have to have this, but it really shrinks a lot. It’s amazing how much a bridle can change. It changes in relation to the length of the line. So, if you have a couple percent shrinkage over time then the larger section of bridle is shrinking more than the smaller sections. It changes the dynamic and the bias of each cascade completely. Having a very stable bridle line was one of the reasons we wanted to move away from pulleys.

It’s a lot more work from a design point of view. Every time you change the bias of the cascade it affects the other cascade. Nothing is self leveling like you have with pulleys so it’s a lot more work. But the end result is lower drag, more dynamic, the feeling in the kite is very direct and sporty feeling. I like it a lot.

KM: Back in the day the Globe Kite was one of the first to have an O ring. Then the Best Waroo and also the Cabrinha Crossbow came out around the same time with pulleys.

Pat Goodman: We had six pulleys in some of the older kites for years. And then down to four.

We made the primary cascade a fixed point and then it ended up just two. We actually started the North development with pulleys earlier this year. All the King of the Air kites you saw Nick Jacobson and Jesse Richman on had pulleys in the bridle. Just two, one on each side.

We were able to work it out. We actually like the end result better.

KM: Do you start the design process on one size first?

Pat Goodman: I start with a few central sizes usually. You can’t rely on the wind being perfect nine meter weather. I usually start in the middle.

I usually start with 7’s, 9’s and 12’s.

KM: How much of the design time is spent on the shape of the kite and how much is spent on the bridle?

Pat Goodman: In the beginning there is a lot of both. As time goes on, when we have got where we want to be with the arch shape and the profiles, when we are getting the behaviour we are after, then the final handling is a lot going on in the bridles. You can change the kite a thousand ways with the bridles. It’s amazing.

KM: The North Carve surf kite sits deeper in the window. How in the design process do you get it to sit deeper?

Pat Goodman: It’s a combination of the profile.

The leading edge diameter and the attack angle the profiles are sitting in the wing itself. The whole kite is sheeted in a little bit more, so it tends to sit a little bit further back in the window.

KM: Is it more challenging to design a kite to sit back in the window and still have depower?

Pat Goodman: It is challenging because they

Pat Goodman.

Blake Olsen and Hillary.

Maio Arias photo

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Speed spot. Bryja photo

Bruna Kajiya. Maio Arias photos

Nick Jacobson.

Jalou Langeree.

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don’t want to fly forward as easily. We kind of took a middle ground on that. We didn’t want to make it too hardcore down-the-line, because that’s a very limited dream for most of us. We chose the middle ground on this because it is for strapless freestyle as well. And everybody is going to use it for freeride as well. There are some complaints that if you have a too hardcore, down-the-line design they don’t go upwind very well. But the other thing too is if they do sit back in the window a reasonable amount they do foil really well. A lot of people use these wave kites for foiling. The Carves do drift, they have a nice and pivoty turn but they don’t struggle to go upwind.

But like you said if they sit back in the window it does affect the depower. One of the things I have done to overcome this problem is with the larger leading edge diameters.

I’m able to use less curve in the canopy. So, we end up with a profile that is roughly the same thickness, producing the same kind of power but with less canopy deformation and blow down at lower attack angles. By having less curve through the canopy and a bit more leading edge diameter it helps the kite fly forward when you sheet out. When you sheet in it will sit back when you want it to, and when you sheet out it will fly forward.

KM: Let’s talk a little about inflation pressure.

Pat Goodman: It’s directly related to leading edge diameter.

Not necessarily the kite style. Since the North Carve has a larger leading edge diameter for its size it may be the case where a 7 meter Carve has the same inflation pressure as a 9 meter Orbit. We supply a recommended inflation pressure on every kite. It’s different for every kite size and model.

It’s a good starting point. You should still do what we call the bend test. Bend the leading edge over and make sure it springs back. Make sure it has a nice recovery. We have also found in the heavier winds here in Dakhla you should pump up one PSI higher. Inflation pressure impacts the steering and the stability.

KM: What are the challenges of designing a freestyle kite that has good slack and pop like the North Pulse?

Pat Goodman: It’s a combination of things. In the design itself, it has a more upright design, and a higher aspect ratio, which helps it fly forward and more of a C-shaped arch. We try to get the kite to fly off the wingtips as much as possible so that it has a more familiar feeling to a C-kite, but it has to depower still. So, it’s never going to have the slack of a true C-kite, but we have a very happy middle ground.

KM: What kites are you using for foiling?

Pat Goodman: Primarily I use Carves.

KM: How about on lighter wind days?

Pat Goodman: I am using the larger foils, so I never use anything bigger than a 9 or a 10. I don’t jump personally. I’m not a booting foiling guy, I like cruising around. I find that the 9 and the 10 Carve work fine. I know that Hugh and some of the other guys that like to boost use the Orbit in the larger sizes (12 meter). When it gets to the smaller sizes, they prefer the Carve. We all use relatively small kites for foiling. Jesse Richman was testing with me and was riding a Carve 10 in about 8 knots and flying all over the place.

KM: Over the years how many kites do you think you have flown?

Pat Goodman: I make it a personal goal of mine to ride everything that I have ever designed. Every single prototype.

It’s got to get past me first.

KM: How much input do the team riders have on the designs?

Pat Goodman: Each and every kite had the team guys involved. The Orbit was the first kite that we put a lot of time into because we knew we were going to have Nick Jacobsen involved. We were considering a slightly different direction for that kite, but because the first event he was going to was the King of the Air we decided to make it a five-strut kite for stability. There are a lot of popular three-strut kites, but this

week in Dakhla no one has come off the water and asked why we didn’t do a threestrut kite. Everyone has come off the water and said, “OMG the Orbit is so much fun.”

It really is like the dark horse; they weren’t expecting it to be so much fun.

Getting back to your question, we had Nick and the entire internal team working on the Orbit. Then Jesse Richman came on. Coming from C-kites, he had a week to get used to the Orbit before the King of the Air and he got on the podium, winning best trick. It just goes to show you how natural and easy it is to get used to that kite. Everyone has told me they feel right at home once they hop on it.

Jesse Richman and Bruna Kajiya have been a really big help with the Pulse.

KM: What sort of feedback do they give you?

Pat Goodman: When I am there working together with them it’s amazing because they are after something so different from the kite than what I can get out of it. They push

it to such a different level. I’ll get it feeling to what is as close to what I envision, they then get on it and help me massage it into the final product.

KM: Kites now do a much better job of catching riders when they loop them than years ago. What was the change over the years that’s made that happen?

Pat Goodman: It’s refinement in the overall designs and bridles. The King of the Air was interesting to watch. It’s a little unusual to me to see these guys doing such huge Mega Loops on basically the freeride kite.

I noticed the freeride kite has a slightly different style of loop. It turns really fast and then there is a bit of a hesitation on the upstroke. Once you leave the water you have no resistance against the kite, but since it’s got a bigger footprint in the sky when they start the loop it goes really fast and then hesitates a little bit. But since they have so much hang time it always catches them in time. But on the Pulse when they lay into it there is just a touch of a delay at

the top and then it goes whoow. It’s always there for them. It’s super cool to work with these pros.

I think we have a really solid foundation.

I’ve got a great team surrounding me. Not just the pro riders. Hugh Pinfold is our engineer, Uli Sommerlatt is our product manager also doing all the foils and assisting in the production of the surfboards and twintips. And of course, Mike Raper on the marketing side. It’s like a dream come true.

In the beginning, the North Technology group approached me and said they were interested in doing this project. When they said everything is a clean slate, and you can do anything you want, you can use the materials you want, you can be involved in the decision-making process in what kites we offer. Even on the graphics side. You can have total involvement, as a partner basically. I said count me in!

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Blake Olson sand slide at Dune Blanche.

KM: How has the fresh start influenced the supply chain? The materials you’re using, the factories, all the things you have been sourcing.

Pat Goodman: It’s influenced everything!

We have taken our production to Sri Lanka instead of in the past we have done it all in China. Not to say the China factories weren’t fantastic. In my previous set up the parent company actually owned the factory, so I had a little bit more freedom in there.

The factory that we joined forces with in Sri Lanka has an amazing team. It’s not new but they keep all of their equipment in top-notch shape. The team of people that work there have the same passion for excellence that I do.

KM: How did the fresh start influence the materials that you use?

Pat Goodman: I have worked with Teijin in the past and really enjoy their products and their consistency. Even the factory that we are working with pointed out that the materials from Teijin are the most consistent

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that they have worked with. They lay flat on the table; they don’t have irregularity issues.

We put a lot of testing into the options that we had. We had access to everything, we tested everything in the lab and in the field.

We found that the Teijin Techno Force D2 that we are using had the best strength to weight ratio. And also, the best behaviour in the kite. It has good elongation control over the warp and web directions and on the bias its nice and soft but with really good recovery. It gives the kite a really dynamic feeling in the steering. We found that some of the other ones locked up the kites and they felt stiff in the steering, in addition to being heavier. Tear strength in the end wasn’t any stronger. I also prefer the Teijin Techno force Dacron that we use in all the inflated parts for a similar reason.

I like some softness on the bias. These kites twist a lot for steering, and they can’t be too locked up. You want to control your elongation. It’s really nice to have some movement on the bias as long as you have

recovery. Teijin has the magic formula for the recovery. It really does spring back.

KM: What are your thoughts on V height and why did you choose to use a low V on North kites?

Pat Goodman: It’s interesting because we used to work with a higher V in the past. It was primarily there for the safety system; it wasn’t there by choice. We got a lot of resistance from importers that they wanted the V low, they felt the kites felt more direct and faster in the steering and they also liked for teaching that they could pass the bar through the lines if the kite summersaulted. We did a lot of testing on this.

The low V definitely makes the kite more direct feeling. I don’t know if it’s fair to say faster. We have recently done some testing and found that the high V, if the bridle is designed for it, can get a more pivoty turn.

But with a low V you get a more direct turn and less lag in the steering. There are pros and cons to both systems. But you really need to design the bridle to match the low

V or high V. If you put a kite designed for a low V on a high V bar, it will pull the tips in. It makes it faster, but it makes it misbehave. It loses a lot of power and it gives it a bit of a strange behaviour. At this point we definitely feel that there are more pros to having the V low. The safety system is also much cleaner with a low V. With a high V you either need to have some sort of bungee management system that’s flying airborne, unless you don’t mind having the landing line swinging in the wind. We really hated this. We wanted to have an internal landing line with the bungee system inside the depower mainline. We also found with a high V that the safety system was less dependable when there were more raps in the lines.

KM: How involved in the whole bar design were you?

Pat Goodman: Hugh and I are like brothers. We spend hours per day when we are together. I didn’t do the technical stuff, but I offered a lot of feedback on the control system. Hugh and I work together endlessly. We are the technical side of the kite and the control system. We spend at least an hour per day on Skype discussing projects and problem solving.

KM: You should be congratulated. The three new kites in the line and the bar have turned out amazing.

All the dealers and the importers have been really impressed. The feedback from everyone has been top notch.

So, congratulations.

Pat Goodman: Thanks.

North importers.

HUGH PINFOLD DIRECTOR OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING Kitesurfing Magazine: We had a chance to use the Navigator Control System that you designed. It’s got some sick new features. Can you tell us a little about them?

Hugh Pinfold: One of the exciting features we have on the new bar is the Connect control system. Click. It’s as easy as that. To release simply pull the red handle up. To reconnect it’s a straight push in. No need to raise the cover to reconnect. We wanted it to be super easy. Our whole philosophy is think less, ride more. All you really have to do is push it in the vicinity and it’s done.

To compliment that we have what we call the Interloop system. It’s a tooless replaceable harnesss loop system. All you need to do is remove the lock guard, then it’s a push, twist, pull. The bar comes standard with our freeride loop, and you can easily swap out the different styles of harness loops. With our short freeride loop, and standard loop you can remove the finger as well if you want to.

Another unique feature on this bar is our Custom TPU tubing. With standard tubing and an elasticized landing line we found more often than not that it deploys well, but the reload can be quite difficult. We have made the landing line hole completely symmetrical. It releases and reloads without a glitch every time. We tested quite a few different tubings, the one we are using we sourced from Germany. It doesn’t give you any of that blackening on your hands.

KM I noticed riding the bar yesterday that the tubing slides smoothly through the bar even when turning the kite. How much of that is the big opening and how much is the tubing?

Hugh Pinfold: It’s a combination of both, but the high quality tubing makes a really big difference. We won’t give away exactly what [the tubing is] but we are really happy with it.

One of the things we have been able to do because all of our kites have a super short depower stroke, we have been able to shorten up the amount of throw that the bar has.

People with shorter arms, in combination with the short freeride loop will find it really easy to reach the trim handle.

I believe we are the first on the market with an over moulded trim handle.

Mike D!

Hugh Pinfold. Arias photo

Blake goes big.

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s d n a l s I l l a h s r Ma YTE IZ WORDS BY MOONA WH EY & KEAHI DE ABOIT RLAN, DAMEA DORS PHOTOS BY CHUCK HA 64 islands make up point, less than 10 feet. eamed from her seat, are miles. In fact, scr squ a 3.7 rian of Ad a k!” are d loo , “Chuck a total lan y grabbed ckl qui gest sliver of She . lon ent the s item wa bouncing with exc our landing strip rted sta and for one lane. d ugh ban eno the camera from her hus ground, and just wide usted window.

I’d ever t-cr ort sal airp the st alle ugh sm thro the ay at snapping aw We landed were We on. to catch lt on tbe nt sea we her and s, Reo warned her to put seen, found our bag py landing. bum a ht. for in flig e ting com nec to about our con at 3:45 a.m. to be met up with five more Earlier that morning, By this point we had all rsh Ma the to y rne the camp. Together we exact, we began our jou kiters who were joining de Aboitiz, hi Kea , two per row, filling s, raft ven airc t Ste nex Reo Islands for boarded our Harlan, uck Ch , yte was last to board, shufWh hi ner Richard Whyte, Tan most of the plane. Kea all two our into ffed tarmac so they would Adriana Harlan, and I stu fling board bags on the de it on, s and ma bag he rd ally boa h Fin d. wit hol ded go pickup trucks loa fit in the tiny car a hurry. off in our AC-less flying left the North Shore in sweating, and we took est larg and ital cap the , juro .

Ma sky to We flew bus into the nds; highest elevation atoll of the Marshall Isla kitesurfingmag.com

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The view was epic. Atolls and lagoons floated by in a sea of dark blue below us. Excited chatter fought the drowning hum of the propellors.

Suddenly, palm trees filled the windows (hence the zealous cries from Adriana). Rounding the corner, we saw our next landing strip; nothing more than a stretch of grass and gravel this time. The whole plane was rattling. We held on tight, frantically glancing through every window, palm trees on one side, aqua blue water on the other, even straight through the open cockpit, until finally, touchdown.

We rolled to a stop, and then literally stepped off the plane into paradise. Palm trees everywhere. One single shack sat just off the runway. Ok, this was the smallest airport I’d ever seen. Two local men helped us load gear into the back of a truck. Then we grabbed our backpacks and headed into the coconut forest.

Local children greeted us with smiles. Women wearing mumu dresses seemed to escort us on their beach cruisers. Shy pups followed behind.

At the end of the path, we spotted our ride anchored in the blue water before us. It was the Indies Trader I, the original exploration vessel of Martin Daly, discoverer of the Mentawais.

Once all gear and passengers were aboard, we cracked a couple coconuts, munched on Kirkland tortilla chips and salsa, and oohed and ahhed at our surroundings. Seas were rough, but we were distracted by one coconut-clad island after another; the kind of islands you daydream about being stranded on. I could see why Martin had chosen to do just that as we made landfall on his own private slice of paradise.

Adriana had taken a photo of it from the plane.

It was the only island with a visible structure, a dock and boats. It was also shaped like a heart.

Seemed fitting already.

Eager to hear the plan before surrendering to our beds for the night, we asked what the conditions would be like in the morning. Martin didn’t see any prominent swell to rush out for, but denied us a solid plan and said, “Let’s wake up and see!”

Coming from our digital, know-all-now world, we seemed to slam straight into a brick wall that read, “slow down, you’re on island time now.”

A combination of a two-hour time difference and thoughts of big blue barrels racing around my head got me up at 5 a.m. It was quiet, except for a steady, strong breeze through the trees.

The ‘forecast’ proved true so the house woke up slow. Reo gave a lesson on riding surfboards, and then we gathered our gear to go for a kite.

We hopped on the Indies Surveyor this time, a gunmetal grey, 62-ton tank of a ship. It motored us up 30 minutes to another pass. Finally, our first kite in the waves!

It was about 1-to-2 feet and a little messy. We launched kites off the boat and traded a few waves. It was slow and cloudy, but the water was warm and inside the reef was a long stretch of white sand and palms as far as you could see. We couldn’t wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

Day 2. I woke up before the sun again. It was nuking at the house. Martin was up, rolling his heavy duty telescope on wheels around the deck, positioning it in just the right spots to view the distant reef breaks through the trees. We

64 - KITESURFING MAGAZINE / VOL 5 / ISSUE 3

Camera batterys... check!

atoll, had a surf and wind report, but in this I learned that you still never know what you’re going to get. The slightest swell feet direction shifts can translate to several and size Tide t. heigh swell in s difference y rate of change turns a wave from glass n, perfection to slop in an instant. Even Marti ent resid r surfe only (and lifetime surf guide an acin the atoll) can’t confidently give you that was news good The . ction predi curate the boat could take us to whichever break was working best that day. sur Now that the boss had a chance to , vey the indicator breaks around the island t’s “Wha tion. ques the pop to safe it was the call, Martin?” A few of the guests had ng been wandering around the deck sippi on was tion atten all now their coffee, but Our him. “I reckon The Bowl will be the go!”

Reo, guru, wind Our en. spok had surf guru

one I was excited to find some barrels. No nice assured us that The Bowl would be a a plan, of course. Island for n Marti d aske tion. direc sideshore right with this wind time, remember? rest Half the group downwinded and the Day 3. Something was different. The past t, coas the down followed on the boat palm fronds were calm for the first time the to one motu, then the next, until we got since we got here. We could see big walls y first pass. Overhead waves wrapped tightl of whitewater from the house, grinding the on ed around the reef shelf and bowl s. down the reef between the tree trunk inside, proving its name. We helped the ana.”

“Nirv , word one Martin said guests get on and off the boat with their As we approached the pass everyone one kites. Last was Adriana, and then every h gathered on the side of the boat to watc . started to come in for their lunch break it did, it As reef. the the first swell hit top Time for a girls’ session! Starting at the level, seemed to fold over, going below sea our for wind ore onsh sidewith reef of the ct perfe w, hollo a into up ed open and then perfirst turn, we’d hit the bowl section with each other, unsure at d looke all We l. barre a with fect side-shore wind, and finish it off d if we could surf a wave like that. We turne st last side-offshore turn, with the wave almo zinc g cakin dly hurrie i around to see Keah it facing the opposite direction of where ge on his face. Knowing the tide could chan to size some have to good was It d. starte our d waxe up, d suite we ent, it at any mom the waves, but there were rumors of the . surfboards, and paddled out into the glass and swell picking up even more tomorrow, kitesurfingmag.com

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Three time world champion, Moona Whyte, shows winning form as she lines one up.

I knew once I got out that this was already the best trip of my life. We surfed with no one else around, not one boat threatening to appear on the horizon. In the best surf I’ve ever seen. The conditions held for most of the day and the only reason to go in was for one of chef Angus’ fresh fish tacos, and to reapply sunscreen. Nirvana.

I was careful not to let that presumptuous name get my hopes up that morning but man, Martin hit the nail right on the head with this one.

The next day the island gifted us with wind again. We decided to check Amnesia. Already completely content with our session yesterday, I was happy to accept whatever we found there as icing on the

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cake. As we got close, we saw big walls of water marching towards the reef, and white spray peeling off their backs. We raced to set up our kites while Martin secured the Surveyor inside the break. There was a shallow reef shelf just off the beach, and then an immediate drop to 140 feet, where the mooring was attached. It put us right in the lee of the island with this wind direction.

As we stood on the transom, we could see the wind line at least 100 meters away, and it was glassy at our feet. Big, round barrels teased us in the distance.

Keahi went first. He pumped up and set his kite in the water. The current carried it out, and once he saw the lines were straight, he hooked in and jumped in the

water with his board. The current swept him away out to sea. He sat on his board until he hit the wind line, launched the kite, and tacked upwind to the wave. That wasn’t so bad! One by one we followed his lead, jumping in the water with our kites like sitting ducks in the deep, blue, 140 foot channel. Like a conveyor belt, the current swept us away from the boat. By the time I hit the white caps it was probably only a few minutes, but felt like 15. Feeling tension in my lines, I launched my kite and joined the rest of the crew.

The waves were the perfect size for barrels, and the tide was right, whatever it was. Reo pulled into a big blue cavern in front of me. Keahi did the same on the next

ded smaller waves, one. The rest of us tra trying to remember and hunting for barrels s. I got onto a big set some of Reo’s lesson in towards the reef. It it ed ow wave and foll ld tell this one was was bending and I cou the reef and walled hit it As l. rre going to ba as possible before g lon as up, I tried to wait ’t wait any longer, tucking under. I couldn up in front of me. I ng wli bo this thing was forward, crouching d set my line and shifte ew over. I was a thr lip the e down in cas couldn’t slow down I and second too early, sline, trying unsucces now. I flew down the it went like felt It l. rre ba the fully to stall for t the camera, and felt on forever. I flew pas

ough. I set my kite up, I was just deep en r e Th lip. the gh ou gas and tucked unde my lines start to cut thr low, stepped on the ched for rea ly ick . qu I ion as vis e ick fac qu smile left my the lip for a kite to safety. I flew petered below the my bar and steered my Too soon, the sun s wa It d. the sca un ve, to end the session wa had the of we d and en out the horizon, s too far wa I w kne I t re for. Faces were bu he h, ed rus an adrenaline we had all travel to t ou ck ba ed ad he I iles were contagious. in front of the barrel. beaming and the sm d to make it ed min ter re had. We all wante de we ve, ves wa r wa find anothe Many good my ls but saw rre o ba Re se e. tho tim at this nce m inside the blue roo to have another cha . Our computers told quick tip to me over attempt and yelled a the swell was dropping w, ho me d. So win the I didn’t care what . of too nd ht, sou the drowning us the wind mig od go r the ano into tomorrow. I knew I’d ked on the next tack I luc the plan would be for the reef, and d un s gave us. Small aro nd isla ing nd the be s one. It wa like whatever l stil e st’v mu e diving; let’s just alin d, ren win was smaller. The ad waves, big waves, r ge lon r hai a ited I wa been kicking because wake up and see! as the wave stood than the last time, and

tide was right, the d an ls, rre ba for e siz t fec per the e wer ves The wa nt of me. Keahi fro in ern cav ue bl big a o int d lle pu o Re s. wa it whatever aller waves, huntsm ded tra us of t res e Th . one t nex the on e sam did the Reo’s lessons ing for barrels and trying to remember some of Moona Whyte tucks in.

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Buggies are a must to get your front row lagoon parking spot.

COMPILED BY AXEL REESE

No one has shaped strapless freestyle like Airton Cozzolino has in recent years. The professional from Cape Verde with an Italian passport influences all riders in the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup. Nobody else invents so many new strapless tricks and his rivals are marching behind, or rather, leaving the World Cup events inspired by him to train.

The three-time World Champion loves to offer kitesurfers a show on his home island of Sal. He likes to jump one or two

floors higher than his direct competitors. When asked why he would n’t incorporate a stylish Double Shove-it into his show, we only reap a seconds-long uncomprehending expression and the subsequent sentence, “I wanna go hard!”

Airton loves the power and risk factor of strapless riding.

At the spots on his home island, when the conditions are good, he’s often the last one off the water. “It was just so much fun!”

He is well known on the island. In Santa Maria, we sit in a café, where he is repeatedly approached, asked for a ‘selfie’ or just asked, “give me five.”

The kitesurf professional was only known to a small number of kitesurfers just five years ago.

What is behind Airton Cozzolino? The 24-year-old faces the questions of other riders from the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup.

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Arsenio Dias: I´m a young rider from Sal, like you. What do I have to do to be successful?

Airton: Arsenio, follow your dreams. ‘Train’ every day, but always remember to put passion in it to improve yourself.

KIKO ROIG TORRES

SANDRO PISU

Kiko Roig Torres: What were you thinking when you have made the 19 second jump in Fuerteventura?

Airton: It was like in a dream. During that long time I tried to focus on what I was doing but not focused on landing.

During the 19 seconds I made ten kiteloops with nine rotations, combined with three gusts, and it was the most crazy thing of my life.

Sandro Pisu: What are you doing to be the best rider every day?

Airton: I´m going on the water only to have fun. That’s the truth. Not to train on a new move but do what I love most. Otherwise I would lose motivation. Philipp Becker (marketing manager from Duotone) had the idea that I could coach strapless riding, make clinics, but I´d like to have only fun on the water and then everything comes together. I´m ‘only’ a rider.

Kiko Roig: What is your process to create new tricks?

Airton: Believe it or not, all the new tricks I have invented were mistakes. For example the Backroll Tic-Tac; at the Big Air Session, Kite-Surf World Cup on Fehmarn in August 2017, I lost the board during a high Backroll and grabbed it moments later. This was the birth of the Backroll Tic-Tac. On the other hand the most important thing in strapless freestyle is kite control and for sure the landings, which are the most difficult part. Furthermore, when I was young I was playing with a 2 meter kite on the land five hours a day. This is probably the secret to my kite control!

Kiko Roig: What is the new trick you are trying/thinking about?

The Flat 5. It´s a Double Handlepass on the strapless board and one day it will happen.

Sandro Pisu: How many times have you been injured?

Airton: Only one time so far. It happened on a twintip board.

Sandro Pisu: What is your best support you get from your sponsors? And how important was this help over the last years?

Airton: Duotone is like a family for me and they push me with the travels and to follow my dreams. And if I damage something I get a new one three days later. Furthermore Duotone has developed their leading wave, freestyle board range with a perfect flatwater freestyle board, the Pro Voke. Another example? With the Curv harness from ION I have the lightest, hardshell harness on the market. It’s all perfect for me.

TONY CILI

SABINE BEUKELEERS

Tony Cili: The conditions at the contest in Ponta Preta were really hard for me. How were the conditions for you?

Airton: It´s true. Sometimes it can be really hard; it’s gusty, offshore, big waves, but at the same time it makes it so much fun. So it’s hard and fun at the same moment or let’s say, it’s fun and not easy.

Sabine Beukeleers: What other job you would you do if you couldn’t be a kitesurf professional?

Airton: Probably I would be a fisherman. Why? When I was young I was very often in Santa Maria on the pier and I was fascinated with selling fish.

Tony Cili: You always go big, perfect cutbacks and airs and beside this some freestyle on the wave. How can you do it?

Airton: To be honest, I like to have fun and create some fun for the crowds/spectators and to show them big air.

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Sabine Beukeleers: What kind of gym/physical training do you recommend for high jumps?

Airton: You don’t need physical training to make higher jumps. For strapless high jumps you need a big kite and just the right technique. For the pop you have to push the backfoot hard and to control the nose of the board. The front foot has to go in the direction of your chest to get the nose of the board into the sky. I try always to fly to the moon! That’s it.

Not just big airs... Vertical top and bottom turns define Airton’s riding too.

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Sandro Pisu: What’s your physical training?

Airton: Sometimes, if there is no wind and no waves, I use the ‘day off’ to go to the gym. I use the ‘Bulgarian bag’ a lot. And I don’t look for the girls there.

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Airton enjoying a classic down the line day in Punta Preta.

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JAMES CAREW James Carew: How does it feel to be one of the top strapless riders on one of the biggest brands in kitesurfing?

Airton: It feels amazing and now, James, you are one of my inspirations too!

James Carew: Why do you always disappear at parties?

Airton: All the riders of the GKA Kite-Surf World Cups have got smiley faces, are going together to the parties. But you James, you’d like to get me drunk, so I have to disappear!

James Carew: If you could live anywhere for free where would you live?

Airton: In Santa Maria, Sal, Capo Verde. Because here is where everything started.

MITU MONTEIRO Mitu Monteiro: When you were starting 12 years ago, could you imagine your life could change like this?

Airton: No, I thought I would never, never be here having the life which I have now. Also the fact of who I am now.

Mitu Monteiro: What do you think about your future?

Airton: A good question. Hmm, having a healthy life and giving my passion to my family. To give them a great passion for sure and to do simple Kiteloops.

Mitu Monteiro: What is kitesurfing for you?

Airton: My life!

Mitu Monteiro: I gave you the first steps in kitesurfing and then it was a dream for you to be on the World Tour. Could you imagine beating me? And how does it feel?

Airton: You have given me a lot of tips! I remember when you were teaching me in 2008. The first twintip Handlepasses and then in 2011 at the KSP wave event in Mauritius, I was competing against you in the final and I was beating you. I’ll never forget this and never expected that. And before you ask me, three days ago in the final against you I lost. I was happy to lose against you.

SEBASTIAN RIBEIRO Sebastian Ribeiro: I know Airton really likes and does a lot of sports, but I have just seen water sports. Is there a different sport out of the water you like to do?

Airton: As I’ve said I go to the gym. And yes, I go sometimes with friends snowboarding in Italy. And I go skateboarding and fishing with friends.

Sebastian Ribeiro: Airton, we just spent three weeks in Australia shooting for Duotone. We drove a lot and were looking for new spots or the best conditions.

Do you like this kind of trip, looking for the best, even knowing we can get no conditions?

Airton: Yes, for sure. I liked this trip with you and Matchu and Pedro Matos, even without the conditions we were looking for. It was a really fun trip with a lot of good memories.

Sebastian Ribeiro: When are you gonna learn how to drive and come to Rio? Airton: It’s a dream to come to Rio one day and ride the beach break you guys have there. And I’ll bring my Ferrari, too. (Airton is laughing.)

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Airton has Strapless Airs bigger than most riders Mega Loops.

Jan Marcos Riveras: Where do you get this extra energy to go harder and higher?

Airton: I like when riders copy my moves and I don’t like to copy other riders’ moves. Beside this I wanna push the sport and every year is different because it develops so much. kitesurfingmag.com

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AIRUSH COMP V3

AIRUSH AMP V3

CABRINHA S:QUAD

CABRINHA X:BREED

Sizes Available: 5’6”, 5’8”, 5’10” Fins: AK Thrasher Suggested Retail (US$): $1099 True to the name, the Comp is Airush’s competition and down-theline performance oriented board. The high rocker allows you to edge into even the steepest of waves, whilst the narrow nose and tail open up the full turning abilities and top to bottom riding. The progressive flex, bamboo sandwich enhances the durability and lifespan of your board while maintaining flex.

Sizes Available: 5’2”, 5’4”, 5’6”, 5’8” Fins: AK Thrasher Suggested Retail (US$): $1349 The AMP is Airush’s legendary allaround surf shape that combines a flat rocker for high speed and control, with a higher curve outline for optimal drive and manoeuvrability. The fuller nose aids the low wind performance, while the single-to-double concave absorbs chop effortlessly. The AMP sets a new performance standard in smaller wave and strapless riding.

Available in both the Reflex Bamboo and Carbon Innegra constructions, the progressive flex bamboo sandwich enhances the durability and lifespan of your board while maintaining flex. The Reflex Carbon Innegra is the lightest in construction innovation without compromising durability.

Sizes Available: 5’7”, 5’9” Fins: Quad Suggested Retail (US$): $899 The S:Quad has a narrow outline which makes it great for riding fast and pushing hard in the turns. It’s ideally suited for down-the-line waves in side shore or side-offshore wind conditions.

Sizes Available: 5’1”, 5’3”, 5’5” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $899 The X:Breed offers solid surfing performance and exceptional freestyle abilities. The X:Breed crosses seamlessly between surfing and freestyle.

The twin nose and tail shape draw a straighter rail line than a board of the same size. This means that the board has the feeling of a longer board in a shorter, more compact package.

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CORE RIPPER 3

CORE 720

DUOTONE PRO FISH

DUOTONE PRO WAM:

Sizes Available: 5’8”, 5’10”, 6’1” Fins: FCS II Suggested Retail (US$): $869 The Ripper 3 is Core’s super smooth riding custom glass surfboard. The revised tail shape, tucked under rails, and slightly reduced width may induce endless woohoos in just about any waves. Core built the ultra comfortable, Ripper 3 all rounder to feel right at home on big, messy, wind driven lake swell and the super smooth reefs of Mauritius and Maui. A handcrafted, glass shortboard for all your road trips, wherever they may take you. Your next all round surfboard-slash-kite, surfboard-slash-lightwind weapon.

Sizes Available: 4’11”, 5’1”, 5’3” Fins: FCS II Suggested Retail (US$): $869 Experience a new-school, strapless freestyle rocket for stick-to-your-feet awesomeness. The 720 brings a whole new level of style with its short, compact shape that practically glues itself to your feet on big, explosive aerials. But don’t be fooled. The 720’s wave pedigree is still intact with plenty of rocker, a tail designed for snappy off-the-lip aerials, and the smooth ride you expect from a glass custom board. And it’s just as comfortable in the flats, fakie style.

This fast planing, lightwind machine will even have you woohoo-ing in your sleep!

Sizes Available: 5’2”, 5’5” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $1049 The Pro Fish is brand new to the lineup for 2020 and arose out of the need to have a board that excels in small mushy waves and lighter wind.

But don’t be fooled by the name!

The fish is not a cruisy, retro board, but rather a high-performance mush machine that carries speed with ease through the flat sections and gives you a boost of acceleration out of your top turns. The Pro Fish’s performance is accessible for riders of any skill level. Once you ride the Pro Fish you’ll be spoiled forever.

Sizes Available: 5’3”, 5’5”, 5’7”, 5’9”, 5’11” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $1049 The Pro Wam has been completely redesigned from the ground up to remain on the cutting edge of high performance surfing. Slightly shorter and wider than its predecessor and with more width and volume under the front foot, the Pro Wam is the embodiment of the high-performance, squash-tail kite/surfboard. At home in everything from small onshore waves to pumping down-the-line surf, the Wam is the go-to, high-performance kite-surfboard for the Duotone team riders competing on the GKA world tour. The new Wam is noticeably faster, more lively and agile than the previous models thanks to a slightly narrower tail and rounder outline, giving you a dynamic and exciting ride no matter the conditions.

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ELEVEIGHT CURL PRO CFT

ELEVEIGHT ESCAPE CVC

F-ONE MITU PRO CARBON

F-ONE SHADOW

Sizes Available: 5’7”,5’10” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $999 The Curl Pro is based on a proven high performance surfboard shape.

Pro series boards are hand shaped in Portugal using Eleveight’s CFT (Carbon Flex Technology). By using medium density foam, Carbon/inegra vector grid, carbon stringer, and polyester resin, Eleveight are able to deliver a true surfboard feel with added durability. The board has an aggressive outline, single concave and a squash talil which make it fast and agile. The perfect companion for high-performance wave riding in any conditions.

Sizes Available: 4’11”, 5’1”, 5’4” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $949 The Escape is the perfect choice for strapless freestyle, as well as small-to-medium surf. Constructed using CVC (Composite Vacuum Construction) Technology, the Escape is both light weight and extremely durable. Featuring a bamboo top deck as well as a full carbon bottom, enables the board to sky high and come down in one piece. With a moderate rocker and short outline, the Escape quickly generates speed and releases from the water with ease.

Sizes Available: 5’2’’, 5’4’’, 5’6’’, 5’8’’, 5’10’’ Fins: THRUSTER Suggested Retail (US$): $1379 (without fins) The Mitu Pro Carbon is available in five sizes and makes the most of its ultra-light carbon construction creating the ultimate strapless board with a crazy potential where the light weight of the board will bring your tricks and surfing to a whole new level. Taking advantage of an improved rocker line where the single concave is combined with a smooth and rounded kick accelerating towards the tail. This new tail rocker provides a more intuitive entry in the turns and a better hold when putting the board on the rail. The unique combination of planing, stability and maneuvrability make the Mitu Pro Models so special and so versatile.

Sizes Available: 5’4”, 5’6” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $1049 The brand new Shadow is a surf kiteboard, designed to enjoy all sizes of wave with an outstanding fluidity and an excellent manoeuvrability. Unlike a Mitu, it is not made to jump or land freestyle tricks. However, thanks to its light weight and reduced volume, it is fast and precise on the wave.

The bottoms are as easy as they are incisive and the momentum towards the top turn has never been so good.

The Shadow enhances riders’ surfing skills. The width, the volume and the outline of the tail differ to suit the different riders and conditions.

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NAISH SKATER

NAISH GO-TO

NORTH CHARGE

NORTH COMP

Sizes Available: 5’0”, 5’2”, 5’4” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $999 The Skater has been totally redesigned for 2020. Collaborating with Gustavo Arroyo, the Skater has been made to be the dream board for any strapless freestyle kiter while still being able to rip in the waves. It’s ultra compact with new sizes and a parallel rail outline, perfect for strapless tricks, learning transitions and also provides an insanely fun, loose and playful ride in the waves.

Sizes Available: 5’5”, 5’8” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $915 The Go-To remains Naish’s versatile waveboard for 2020 with a few tweaks in the shape to give it even better performance in a wider variety of conditions. We’ve moved the wide point a little further up the board, providing more volume under the front foot to help carry momentum through flat wave sections. The tail has also received more width to help give more drive through your bottom turn and throw buckets off the top. Coming in a 5’5” and 5’8” the Go-To covers a wide range of wave conditions from mushy onshore sandbars to powerful, down-the-line reef breaks.

Sizes Available: 5’7”, 5’9”, 5’11” Fins: FCS Suggested Retail (US$): NA A fast, dedicated performance surf shape with smooth turning and loads of projection, allowing a powerful vertical attack in down-the-line waves. Developed for surfing and engineered for kitesurfing, the Charge rides like a high performance surfboard. Turning hard in the pocket and releasing on demand, it has fantastic upwind drive for onshore riding, and is versatile enough to pop strapless freestyle tricks with ease. The Carbon Innegra Futurelite system maximizes strength without compromising flex or responsiveness. Our full deck grip with front and rear kicks give maximum comfort and control.

Commit to the wave and have the confidence to charge.

Sizes Available: 5’0”, 5’2”, 5’4” Fins: FCS Suggested Retail (US$): NA Progressing the strapless freestyle movement is at the heart of this dedicated freestyle performer’s DNA. A fast and responsive ride that blends the line between surf-style carving and skate-style strapless riding, the Comp is designed to stick with you through manoeuvres and to load and release on demand. Compact in size and very grabbable, the Comp has outstanding speed and edge control in a range of conditions, with a unique three-stage rocker that combines speed with aggressive pop, and adds forgiveness for easy tail first or off-axis landings. The contoured double concave deck with toe bump and rear wedge kick maximizes traction and control when powered up, allowing you to take to the air without straps. Push your limits with the Comp, your competitive edge.

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OCEAN RODEO CREEP

OCEAN RODEO JESTER

SLINGSHOT SCI-FLY

SLINGSHOT CELERO FR

Sizes Available: 5’1” Fins: Thruster Suggested Retail (US$): $899 Designed by GKA World Tour competitor Reece Myerscough, the Creep has already delivered multiple top ten finishes. The Creep’s rocker has been fine-tuned to handle the cross-offshore winds and hollow waves of tour locations like Ponta Preta, while still offering competition-level strapless performance. Carefully tuned for balance while spinning, the Creep rotates through Shove-its and other technical moves with precision and control. A subtle single concave serves up effortless 360 opportunities, with contoured finger grooves down each rail for controlled no-slip grabs.

Sizes Available: 5’1” Fins: Thruster or Quad Suggested Retail (US$): $899 25 per cent lighter for 2020, the Jester is even more hyperactive, twitchy and fun while remaining ultra durable!

Built for riders of all sizes who crave a light and lively ride, the Jester is also ideal for a lighter weight rider who will appreciate the thinner volume and outline. Commonly featured in the 2018 and 2019 GKA World Tours, the Jester remains a favorite for the Ocean Rodeo pro team as a weapon of choice in strapless freestyle competitions. The Jester’s flatter rocker profile combined with a deep concave allow our riders to get up and riding while others remain bogged down.

Sizes Available: 4’8”, 5’0” Fins: FCS Suggested Retail (US$): $899 New for 2020, the Sci-Fly is a modern short board designed for aerials and powered-up, progressive freeriding.

A parallel rail outline helps with edging and load/pop off the water, while relative high rocker helps soften landings, helps prevent nose diving and gives the board a looser, skate-like feel. To aid in mid-air manoeuvres, the Sci-Fly has top and bottom grab rails for easy grip and a chopped nose that reduces swing weight. A winged diamond tail gives the board plenty of back end grip and a clean exit when releasing from the water.

Sizes Available: 5’0”, 5’6”, 5’10” Fins: FCS Suggested Retail (US$): $899 The Celero FR is entirely new and rebuilt. Designed for versatility and reliability in all conditions, from underpowered and mushy to shore pound, rolling, river swell, high-speed down winders and overhead man eaters. New for 2020, Slingshot updated the rails for a slightly more parallel outline, which translates to a bit more upwind drive and pop for aerials. Updated squash tail gives the Celero FR more lift, low-end drive, and a looser feel. This is the best all around, one board quiver in the lineup. For 2020, all Slingshot surfboards feature new construction that makes them significantly lighter and gives a more connected surfboard feel while maintaining the durability needed to stand up to the sport of kitesurfing.

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AIRUSH WAVE V9 Sizes Available (m): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): $1419.25 Designed to deliver smooth power and high performance, the Wave is your go-to for wave and strapless riding. Customizable fixed or pulley bridles allow you to pick between a more direct steering and an on-off power delivery, or a smooth and progressive gust response with lighter bar pressure. Whichever you choose, the Wave offers you direct steering, agile turning and perfect drift capabilities, allowing you to enjoy the most the surf has to offer.

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ELEVEIGHT V3 Sizes Available (m): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): $1289 The V3 is designed to be a true extension of the rider. It provides a fast, smooth and direct pivot turn that is both precise and forgiving. The V3 features a new five-point bridle, as well as a refined arch and sweep. These changes have increased the overall wind range of the kite, enabling you to adjust the turning axis. Adjust the axis outward for a more powerful turn, or inward for a tighter pivot.

Eleveight has also added their dynamic Super Seam to the leading edge, upgraded to the latest XT fabric, refined the trailing edge diffuser and redesigned the 3D bridle deflector.

CABRINHA DRIFTER Sizes Available (m): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): $1459 The Drifter has been specifically designed for waves and strapless freestyle. Its unique onshore and offshore attachment settings allow users to change the flying characteristics of the kite. The onshore setting maximizes the amount of drift, beneficial for onshore/cross shore conditions. The offshore setting caters for side and offshore winds by facilitating a better upwind ability, which in turn allow for easier cutbacks. The Drifter’s ability to engage and disengage power on command is what makes it such a popular wave kite. Fresh for 2020 is Cabrinha’s new Nano Ripstop canopy material which makes the Drifter even more indestructible in the surf.

CORE NEXUS Sizes Available (m): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.5, 15, 17 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): $1499 Meet the state-of-the-art Nexus. An athletic kite that is never too cool to learn a new trick. Whether it’s on your favorite surfboard or twintip, the Nexus brings incredible versatility to wave and freestyle riding. Amazing things happened when Core spliced the genes of the GTS and Section into the Nexus. Take for example the Nexus’ CIT, the fancy acronym behind the kite’s adjustable handling modes. It lets you fine tune the kite’s power and turn radius. The wave mode makes it turn faster, increases depower and doesn’t pull you off your strapless board. The freestyle mode increases your turn radius, stabilizes the kite for easier freestyle moves and provides a little extra grunt. The Nexus comes out of the bag in all round mode which provides excellent depower, grunt and hangtime. kitesurfingmag.com

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KITES OCEAN RODEO ROAM Sizes Available (m): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 Suggested Retail (US$ for 10m): $1369 Suggested Retail (US$ for 10m Black): $2299 Powered by Aluula, the Roam’s ultra lightweight and deep foil profile in combination with a moderate arc, provide sharp responsive turns, maximum drift and low-end hover. Perfect for freeride foilboarding, or when drifting down the line. New for 2020, together with Ocean Rodeo’s Flite lightwind kites, the Roam now comes in two builds: Roam: an ultra lightweight build with conventional kite materials. The threestrut Roam is lighter per square meter than most competitors’ one-strut kites.

The Roam Black is powered by Aluula Composites’ exciting new ultra-lightweight materials, the 2020 Roam Black is half the weight of any other similarly sized kite on the market today.

F-ONE BANDIT S Sizes Available (m): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): NA For the first time, F-One is launching a surf version of the legendary Bandit: the Bandit S; a specific kite designed for surfing and strapless riding. The Bandit has always had tons of depower but the Bandit S goes one step beyond and works wonders. Stable, it has an excellent drift. Cancelling the power of the kite releases the pressure from the board and enhances your surfing skills. Its fantastic manoeuvrability makes it effortless in the turns.

Naturally ahead of all turns this kite will allow anyone to enjoy the purest instants of surf. It is also the perfect strapless freestyle kite thanks to the progressivity in the power delivery and pull control.

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NAISH SLASH Sizes Available (m): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): $1,320 The Slash has established itself as Naish’s premier wave kite, providing incredible down-the-line drift and stable flight, perfect for park-and-ride style kitesurfing. It has amazing sheet-in/sheet-out power to allow you to dump power when not needed.

The Slash also has great low-end which allows for smaller sizes to be ridden and provide fast turning speed. For 2020 the Slash continues to have the strongest construction of any wave kite out with the Quad-Tex canopy, HT Plus and now featuring the Sure-lock valve and single point inflation for rapid inflation.

SLINGSHOT SST V5 Sizes Available (m): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): $1349 The SST is the kite of choice for surfers, foilers, directional riders, downwind fanatics and general freeriders who value down-the-line drift, through the window speed and immediate reaction as their kite’s most important flying characteristics.

Think tow-in surfing. The SST delivers the power and performance to get you into position, drifts like a feather as you ride down the line, then reengages with the flick of a wrist. These same qualities make the SST the perfect choice for foiling, when you want full feed-back and responsive steering no matter how powered you are or what direction you’re riding.

OCEAN RODEO CRAVE Sizes Available (m): 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): $1369 The all new Crave has been designed to meet the demands of GKA Pro Wave riders. Producing a signature down-the-line drift while having been fine-tuned to drive back upwind quickly for the next set. Fitted with Forward Swept Tips (FST) the Crave delivers crisp, nimble and controlled kiteloops while maintaining lightning quick water relaunch for those critical moments when the kite is down. Built to be incredibly lightweight while maintaining a robust ability to take a beating in the surf.

NORTH CARVE Sizes Available (m): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 Suggested Retail (US$ for 9m): NA Powerful, reactive and controllable, the Carve provides instant drift with the flick of your wrist, allowing you to power on and off instantly, stay in the pocket for longer and out of the critical impact zone. Featuring a sensory pivot turn for control and huge depower range, the Carve gives you the confidence to focus on surfing, in onshore to offshore, and anything in between, while strong surf-freestyle characteristics let you throw down strapless freestyle and perform lofty jumps with ease. Compared to the rest of the North range, the Carve sits further back in the wind window and enhances down-the-line drift, perfect for carving and tucking into a barrel. Three time Kitesurf World Champion Jalou Langeree’s kite of choice.

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AK URF FOIL LARGE

AIRUSH FREERIDE FOIL

CABRINHA CARVE AND VARIAL

New to the AK Foil range, Airush have developed the Surf Foil Large, specifically designed as a surf foil, to perform in small-to-medium sized waves or, for heavier riders (over 200 pounds) in all-around surf or light wind kite foiling. The intermediate aspect ratio wings, with updated profiles provide the perfect balance between manoeuvrability, speed and pumping.

The all-new Airush Freeride Foil features a new generation, low drag monocoque design that offers incredible stiffness and high-speed performance without losing the ease of use for intermediate riders. The intermediate aspect ratio front wing features new generation profiles for higher speed.

At speed, the longer mast gives you more time to react, and additional clearance for the rear anhedral wing. Suggested Retail (US$): NA

Cabrinha has introduced the Carve and Varial medium and large foils into the foil ecosystem.

The Carve is a modern, high-lifting wing set that is incredibly manoeuvrable and stable at low speeds.

It’s easy to fly and requires little input from your kite to get flying. The extra lift comes into play when carving turns, pumping through lulls and simplifies your tacks and jibes.

The Varial wing sets are leaner than the Carve and have been designed for both prone surfing and kiting. The fast profile produces an efficient blend of lift and drive. Both Carve and Varial wings come with the new rear wing and fuselage offering the ability to adjust the rear wing forward or backward for a customized ride.

Suggested Retail (US$): NA

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ELEVEIGHT HCS FOIL

NAISH KITE PERFORMANCE

NAISH JET FREEMOVE COMPLETE

The new Eleveight foil line represents what Eleveight feels the vast majority of the market is looking for: easy access to performance and quality at a fair price. They realized that foiling is a very important segment in the market, but wanted to wait until they had the right product before releasing a setup. Both wings feature modular construction with interchangeable parts. Using a mixture of aluminum, carbon composite, and G10 they have provided a durable foil line that is lightweight and extremely stable. Quick Connect Technology makes for easy assembly and breakdown.

Naish’s 2020 Kite Performance freeride foil continues to perfectly blend a user-friendly platform with high-end performance. The front wing still has its exceptional stability with added early take off thanks to the anhedral center section. All new for 2020 is the fuselage design and redesigned stabilizer which makes the foil more intuitive and responsive to rider input. The ground-breaking Abracadabra now comes standard on all complete foils and also comes complete with the all new Torx head hardware for better leverage when assembling. For kiters who like to have fun and go fast, this is a great foil.

The Jet Freemove is the perfect package as the, “one foil to do it all.” Kite, surf, wake, whatever you want to do, the Jet Freemove can. This package comes complete with the Abracadabra plate, a 75 centimeter mast and Jet 1050 wing with Stabilizer 320. Naish continues with the modular platform which makes changing components quick and easy; all you have to do is turn a couple of the new Torx hardware and you’re good to fly.

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FOILS

NORTH SONAR FOIL AND BOARD LINE

PROGRESSIVE RISER

PROGRESSIVE TRI FOIL

Focused on performance, durability and rider comfort the Sonar Foil series sets a new benchmark for modular foil systems that crosses disciplines with ease, whether you’re kite foiling, wake foiling, foil surfing or SUP foiling. All Sonar Foil parts are interchangeable so you can customize your ride with North’s fully modular system. All three carbon front wings (850, 1150, 1650) are compatible with their single fuselage and composite stabilizer. A range of masts (40/70/85cm) offers further flexibility. North’s proprietary Geolock offers a secure, durable connection from mast to fuselage and the Sonar Mast to Board Adaptor is a lightweight secure connection between mast and board. The North foil board program offers a simple collection.

The Chase is a surf/foil convertible board, the Sense is an affordable snowboard construction freeride board and the Scoop a high-end, composite construction performance board.

New this year in the Progressive board line is the Riser. Riser is a 4’ x 18.5” foil board for wake foiling and kite foiling. The Riser is just the perfect size to get any rider out of the water and up on a foil. This is a super easy board to ride with its compact size, turned up bottom rails and easy touchdown bottom design. Designed to be just enough board to get up and going but minimal board once off the water.

A multi-purpose carbon and aluminum foil.

It will work well for all around SUP, surf, windsurfing and light wind kite foiling. The 60 centimeter mast is a good compromise for learning and adequate wave clearance. The low aspect foil is very friendly and allows rapid progression. This model is available in both a deep Tuttle box and a four plate attachment system.

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AK GLUE ON INSERT PAD The Glue On Insert Pad takes any of your AK surf traction and converts it into a footstrap set.

These unique insert sets feature a low-profile stainless steel M6 threaded insert, within a flexible nylon contact pad, that conforms to the shape of the top deck. This pad is connected using 3M VHB adhesive tape to create an effective bond to your board.

Suggested Retail (US$): $104

ELEVEIGHT OS KITE

NORTH NAVIGATOR CONTROL SYSTEM

Sizes (meters): 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 Suggested Retail (US$ 10m): $1249 Eleveight’s brand new, dedicated foil and freeride kite, the OSeries, redefines durable and sturdy build quality with a feather-light design. The one-strut Open-C Hybrid design with a medium aspect ratio and medium swept wingtips takes off in the lightest breeze and allows riders to hit the water in well below ten knots. The OS is extremely fast but at the same time, is easy to tame as it is very responsive and has a smooth power generation. Furthermore, we eliminated backstall and made it remarkably stable. We spent more than three years on the development of the OS and are very proud of the result.

CABRINHA MODULAR QUICK RELEASE The all new Modular Quick Release system allows users to easily customize their connection method to perfectly match their style of riding. There are four connection options which can be changed fast and easily without the need for tools. All Cabrinha 2020 control systems come with Cabrinha’s new Overdrive system offering 8 centimeter’s of adjustability. The operation is easy and can be adjusted on the fly.

Overdrive Modular Recoil $549, Rope Slider connection $30

The Navigator Control System raises the bar in kite safety, connecting you intuitively to your kite so you can think less and feel more. Naish took the latest technology, premium materials and applied simplified ergonomic design for precise performance with ease and comfort.

Sensing your kite’s position just became second nature. Reconnect one-handed with their patented North Connect Quick Release, and change quickly between disciplines with the Toolless Interloop, their no-tools-required modular harness loop replacement system.

Suggested Retail (US$): NA

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EXTRAS CORE UNION PRO 3 PADS AND STRAPS Core’s new Union Pro 3 Pads and Straps feature an articulating split strap, and ridiculous customization options. Core’s engineers split the strap to give independent form-fitting adjustability to your forefoot and midfoot. Each half of the split straps is independently micro adjustable with its own set of velcro. You can adjust the angle of your feet 11 different ways to lock in your preferred stance and move your pad closer or further away from the board edge. The strap also sports two centimeters of pad adjustability fore and aft to accommodate all foot sizes.

Suggested Retail (US$): $279

DAKINE FOIL WING CINCH COVER Five millimeter foam padding protects your hydrofoil’s front wing, stabilizer and fuselage. Quick and easy on/off cinch closures make using the cover a snap. Available in two sizes to fit up to 58 centimeter wings and up to 74 centimeter wings.

Suggested Retail (US$): $50

DAKINE RENEGADE TRAVEL LIGHT The new Renegade Travel Light features Dakine’s Curve Composite Flex Shell. The non-water absorbing construction lets you ride the day of your flight home and not gain any unwanted weight. It also won’t soak your clothes when you’re traveling with one bag. Lightweight and packable you won’t need to resort to wearing your harness onto the plane because it didn’t fit in your bag.

Suggested Retail (US$): $160

DAKINE PANCHO CHANJO Soft cotton poly blend 50/50 towel fabric is ultra-absorbent and quick to dry. Generous fit for easy changing and a drop tail for added coverage of your behind. One size fits all.

Suggested Retail (US$): $80

DUOTONE INSTRUCTIONAL APP Have you ever wanted to have the best riders in the world as your coach? Now you can with the new Duotone App. It’s releasing this fall and will feature 150 free trick tips from the Duotone team.

Free

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SLINGSHOT RAPTOR V1 KITE SIZES: 6,8,9,10 & 12 NEW to the Slingshot lineup for 2020, the RAPTOR is a hard charging, high flying, big air freestyle/ freeride crossover. Built with the stiffest & strongest material in the market, 4x4 Canopy Tech, is combined with 5 struts for maximum rigidity. The Raptor is designed for riders who want big time boostability and high performance versatility. A Hybrid Open-C canopy and familiar Slingshot DNA gives the Raptor a pro level top end performance without sacrificing the safety or user friend ly feel that appeals to broad range of riders.

Suggested Retail (9m $USD): $1443

NAISH APEX XL People with big feet rejoice, the Apex binding is now available in XL. This binding offers the plethora of adjustment options that the normal Apex binding does, but now in a larger footpad for riders with foot sizes from 9-15, or kiters who wear booties and need a larger footpad to accommodate them.

Suggested Retail (US$): $205

MYSTIC STEALTH BAR The Stealth Bar is the result of 3D computer modelling and countless hours of on-water testing. Mystic’s new molded fiber-injection construction provides an unprecedented strength-to-weight ratio while the Stealth Bar’s slim, ergonomic design combined with the new integrated Fender-Shield minimizes pressure points. The Stealth Wing keeps the bar held securely in place. The Stealth Bar offers a truly unrivalled level of fit, support, comfort and performance.

Available in a fixed hook bar, or in the unique two rope surf version, the Stealth bar is compatible with any harness on the market that has double skinny straps and a waistband.

Suggested Retail (US$): $99

SLINGSHOT MISFIT NAISH SWITCH The Switch is a brand new twintip offering a whole new world of range as a 2-in-1 board. On one side you have a 142, on the other a 138. This is an ideal board for people who cover a wide range of wind and may need a bigger board from time to time or a board that can be shared by people needing to cover multiple sizes.

Suggested Retail (US$): $545

The 2020 Misfit features a new outline as well as a new tip and tail profile. This profile reduces board drag and will give you a smoother release from the water. Riders will experience less spray in the face and more forgiving landings when learning new tricks. Still featuring the space-age hybrid Koroyd and wood core, the new 2020 Misfit is rewriting the formula of the progressive freeride twintip. It’s beginner-friendly, freestyle friendly, upwind, downwind, flatwater, chop and big air friendly. An all-conditions board with enough tech and performance built in to stand up to its reputation as one of the best all-around twintips in kiteboarding.

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Stuff We Like What’s Hot For 2020

SLINGSHOT DUALLY The 2020 Dually platform has been rebuilt from the toes up. It’s lighter and has more all-around foot comfort. Combined with the new variable-density footbed inserts that slip in underneath, you get some serious customized shock absorption. With the updated four-point, dual-zone closure system all shapes, and sizes of feet will get a firm hug. The overall result is better grip, leverage and board control with more reactive handling and happier feet.

Now offered in two sizes.

Suggested Retail (US$): $199

PROGRESSIVE FLOW Sizes (meters): 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 Suggested Retail (US$): A kite that offers the rider a high-performance ride at a very competitive price. It’s very quick through the air but it is so predictable that beginners will progress quickly on it. And it’s really user-friendly since it is so easy to re-launch. The kite offers enough performance the advanced rider will appreciate the smooth power and pop. One of its main attributes is the tunable turning speed, even in the larger sizes. You’ll enjoy the lower end of the wind range with this kite as it generates power when the wind backs off. Powered up it pairs great with a foil.

In the higher wind ranges you can anticipate some big air to perfect your bag of tricks.

Mystic Voltt The new Voltt is the warmest suit Mystic has ever made. This new, fully-taped 100 per cent lined suit features Mystic’s new Flaremesh lining through the core and in the hood.

Flaremesh is a soft, extra warm, quick dry lining that is four-way pre-stretched for maximum comfort and stretch. Flaremesh has a carbon backing that offers heat reflective properties. Like all high-end Mystic suits it comes with Velcro ankle straps and Mystic’s Aquaflush ankle drains that ensure water drains out of the suit. The Voltt is available in a 6/4/3 hooded model and a 5/4/3 non-hooded model (women can have all these features in the new 6/4/3 Gem).

Suggested Retail (US$): $449

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CORE XLITE Sizes (meters): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Suggested Retail (US$): TBD The all-new XLITE from Core’s specialized division is a one-strut foil kite that’s designed to perform exceptionally well with your favorite hydrofoil. The development team fused the power of the Nexus all-rounder and the drifting of the Section wave kite into a package that’s 20 per cent lighter. CoreTex adds support and power to the one-strut canopy.

ExoTex Light brings similar strength as their current ExoTex leading edge dacron, yet is more than 10 per cent lighter. Core developed thinner, anti-snag bridles that further reduce weight and improve water relaunching.

WMFG GROOVED TRACTION WMFG’s new Grooved Traction is a thin pad with a subtle corduroy pattern. Available in any color you want (as long as it’s black or white), the new Grooved pads are available in Classic or Stubby Six Packs (front, middle, back) or the Front Foot configuration (front or middle). While offering a little less shock absorption than WMFG’s traditional diamond pattern, the new Grooved Traction pads offer a more direct ‘wax-like’ feel and have the advantage of being useable for paddle-in surfing.

Suggested Retail (US$): $84

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•NAISH •DUOTONE •LIQUID FORCE •DAKINE •FIREWIRE

SURF SHOP sauble beach, canada est 1996

www.jacknjillssurfshop.com

Windance Boardshop (open days a week) Free shipping on orders over $$$ www.windance.com

Felix Haase, an employee of CORE on the island of Fehmarn/Germany.

Axel Reese photo

The Best 2020 New Releases go Head-to-Head World Tour Wrap Up Best of Barrels 2020 Foil Guide

Coming February 2020

Plus: Destination Station, Tool of the Trade, Shapers Corner, Trade Secrets and More

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N A V I G AT O R CONTROL SYSTEM

Think Less, Feel More.

In designing the all-new North Control System

Sense where your kite is in the air, move without

we asked ourselves: how can we re-engineer one

thinking, switch gears without losing time. When

of the most important pieces of equipment in

you’re in harmony with your gear, that’s when

our sport? How can we craft and refine it to feel

you’re truly free.

intuitive, while performing at the highest level?

Engineered. Refined. Intuitive.

The touchpoint to your kite and to the elements, our Navigator Control Bar with Toolless InterLoop and

@ N O RTH K I TEB OAR DI N G

Single Action Reload raises the bar in kite safety.

N O RTH K B.CO M

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R ID ER : JALOU L A N G E R E E P H O TO G R AP H ER : YD WER VA N D E R H E ID E

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20

YEARS OF INNOVATION,

AND WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED. Keahi de Aboitiz J. Boulding

VISIT CABRINHAKITES.COM TO SEE THE 2020 RANGE