The Kiteboarder Magazine Vol. 9, No. 3 by The Kiteboarder Magazine

VOL. 9 NO. 3 REDISCOVERING BAJA THE FEATURE FEATURE

KITEBOARDING EGYPT UNEXPECTED HONDURAS

$8.99US

Speed // Power // Boost

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

//FREERIDE//

photo: Erik Aeder location: Hawaii rider: Jason Slezak

//FREESTYLE//

//WAVES//

Jason Slezak, full of NRG, enjoying life as it should be!

Marina Chang, Publisher marina@thekiteboarder.com Paul Lang, Editor paul@thekiteboarder.com Shana Gorondy Art Director Alexis Rovira Editor At Large Gary Martin Technical Editor Amy Hunter Account Executive amy@thekiteboarder.com EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS Neil Hutchinson, Stefan Ruether, Rick Iossi, Toby Brauer, Brendan Richards, Matt Sexton, Kevin “Irie Dog” Murray, Kinsley ThomasWong, James Brown, Ginette Buffone, Maui Mike, Members of the Central Coast/Santa Barbara CKA

CONTRIBUTORS Jim Stringfellow, Damien LeRoy, James Boulding, Lou Wainman

PHOTOGRAPHY Quincy Dein, Nate Appel, REAL Kiteboarding, Jim Stringfellow, Damien LeRoy, Mike Minichiello, Dani Burianova, Nico Ostermann, Helen Trotman, Linn Svendsen, Matt Sexton, Mickey Roy, Evan Mavridoglou, Tracy Kraft Leboe, Lissa Noblett, Frederic Stemmelin, Carlos Moncho, Melanie Ernst, Carol Bolstad, Aiste Ridikaite, Lance Koudele, James Boulding, Manuela Jungo, Andi Witschi, Tim Smith, Tracy Joanna Kalaitzian, Rahel Lyons, Silvan Wick/Vela Archives, WeatherFlow, Sibylle Gauthier, Warren Davoile, Vanessa Milot, Cary Maures, Layne Mullard, Megan Kunish, Giacomo Visconti, Pedro “Cobi” Hernandez, Clark Merritt, Erik Aeder, Quincy Dein Thanks to all editorial and photography contributors for supporting this magazine!

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CONTENTS

Niccolo Porcella on Maui. Photo Quincy Dein

FEATURES: 12 THE FEATURE FEATURE 18 REDISCOVERING BAJA 34 THE UNEXPECTED HONDURAS 50 KITEBOARDING THROUGH A REVOLUTION 70 THE BUSINESS OF WIND

DEPARTMENTS: 10 FROM THE EDITOR 44 THE SCENE 46 PROFILED: JAKE KELSICK AND RACHEL CALLAHAN 62 EXPOSED 68 WISH LIST 76 15 MINUTES 78 TO THE MOON 79 ROOTS On the Cover: : Jason Slezak in Hawaii. Photo Erik Aeder

FROM THE EDITOR IT’S BEEN A YEAR SINCE WE DECIDED TO MAKE CHANGES AT TKB AND REFOCUS THE MAGAZINE ON LONG-FORM STORIES ABOUT KITEBOARDING. When we made that decision we weren’t sure if we’d actually be able to find enough new and interesting stories within kiteboarding to support that vision, but it has turned out that there was no need for us to worry. Kiteboarders are an adventurous bunch of people who always seem to be able to discover unique and unexpected places while searching the globe for reliable wind. Getting off the beaten path in Baja. Photo Jim Stringfellow

This issue we have three travel stories from places that most people looking for a vacation might normally avoid. Mexico, Honduras, and Egypt are all countries that often end up in the news for reasons that aren’t likely to make them sound attractive to tourists. Mexico is often highlighted because of the ongoing war on drugs that has killed more than 55,000 people over the past six years. Honduras has the highest per capita murder rate of any country in the world. Egypt went through a revolution in 2011 and is still politically unstable. When planning this issue we didn’t set out with the goal of finding stories of kiteboarders going to places that others might consider dangerous. We actually didn’t realize the common thread in this magazine’s travel stories until the final days of putting the issue together. While we don’t want to downplay the fact that each of these countries has real problems, all three writers told us that safety was a non-issue on their trips. In every country, even the ones considered to be dangerous, there are places that aren’t in line with the rest of the world’s assumptions. For those willing to look past a country’s reputation there are no shortage of new and unique places to find off the beaten path. As you’ll read in these stories, each of these locations holds an untold number of new kiteboarding locations. As some people long for the good old days and like to complain about how crowded their home beach has become, it’s refreshing to think that the world is full of places perfect for kiteboarding that still haven’t been ridden. Even a well-known place like La Ventana is still surrounded by a seemingly endless number of unknown possibilities for those willing to venture outside of the established areas and do some exploring. The past year has taught us that all of us as kiteboarders still have a lot of exploring to do. There are still more places to discover and more stories to be told. Last year I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to find enough interesting stories to fill the pages of this magazine. Now I know we’ll never run out.

Kiteboarding feature parks like the one in Hood River are fast becoming a widely accepted part of our sport. Photo Paul Lang

By Paul Lang

THE

FEATURE FEATURE

Over the past decade the kiteboarding park movement has grown from a fringe aspect of the sport to the point where two of the main North American kiteboarding competitions (The REAL Triple-S and the Ro-Sham Throwdown) are centered around parkstyle riding. Whether you like this style of riding or not you have to admit that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growing and is having a real impact on the sport in terms of being able to attract more young riders into kiteboarding.

Many people think wake and parkstyle kiteboarding is something new, but the truth is that it’s been around since the very early days of the sport. As REAL Kiteboarding’s Trip Forman said, “We’ve been doing this since the first time boots were popular.” The feeling is that rails and kickers are fast becoming a widely accepted part of kiteboarding and we thought it was a good time to talk to a few people about the history of the parkstyle movement within kiteboarding and where they feel it’s headed. Longtime pro rider Jason Slezak was just starting his kiteboarding career when REAL Co-Founders Matt Nuzzo and Trip Forman sat him down to ask what his plan was. “It all started when Matt and Trip asked me what I wanted to do in kiteboarding,” said Jason. “Coming from snowboarding and skateboarding I liked riding rails and that part of kiteboarding really didn’t exist yet. They agreed to help support it as much as they could. In the early days that was easy. All we needed were some 2x4s, PVC pipes, screws, and a place to build it. At the same time Lou Wainman, Elliot Leboe, and Mauricio Abreu were building stuff in Maui, but Maui’s a really poor location to try to have features in the water. Hatteras was a prime location and we started inviting people there.” According to Trip the first feature was “basically just two sawhorses with a PVC pipe on top. It was probably only 10’ long. Over the last 11 years they’ve just been getting bigger and better through trial and error.” On the opposite side of the country in 2003, Joby Cook was working for a kite school in Hood River and built a 40’ long flat rail and a kicker. Before anyone had a chance to hit the kicker they found out that having a park would entail more than just building something and putting it in the river. “The first time we towed the kicker out the Sheriff came up to us,” said Joby. “He asked, ‘You’ve got a permit for that thing, right?’ We were like, ‘What permit?’ Luckily we had someone that went through the permitting process but that lapsed after two years.” A few years later Joby and Forrest Rae created The Slider Project (www.sliderproject.com) for the purpose of organizing the scene in Hood River as a unified group. “It gave us the opportunity to work with the Port of Hood River,” said Joby. “By coordinating with them we also coordinated with the Oregon Department of State Lands and the Hood River Sheriff’s Office, so we’ve been able to get everyone’s blessing.”

Trip Forman also went through permitting challenges on the East Coast. “In order to put our park in the sound here we had to get a CAMA (Coastal Area Management Act) Major Permit,” said Trip. “It’s the same permit you need if you want to build a large commercial marina. Both CAMA and the Coast Guard require us to show architectural drawings and the footprint of each feature and we have to tell them what anchors we are using. We had to get the bottom of the sound surveyed by a CAMA Environmental Scientist. It was a major deal to get the permit. It’s all doable though and anyone should be able to figure out how to do it in their area, but it’s a lot more complicated than just building something and putting it in the water. Jason and Sam Bell have been our REAL Slider Park Rangers and have been responsible for pushing it forward.”

Modern features are now constructed from welded HDPE plastic. Photo Nate Appel

The infamous REAL Camel Toe. Photo Courtesy REAL Kiteboarding

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Coming from snowboarding and skateboarding I liked riding rails and that part of kiteboarding really didn’t exist yet…

Evan Netsch on one of the new all-plastic features at REAL. Photo Nate Appel

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Tom Court on the Liquid Force Dance Floor. Photo Paul Lang

Not all parks have to be permanent or go through a long and complicated permitting process. With Konnect Parks (www.konnectparks.com) Matt Sexton is able to set up a feature while avoiding the local authorities in Florida. “The system is three 16’ sections that can be set up in any configuration up to 48’ long. It can get boring riding flat water trying to do freestyle all the time. For me to be able to bring out a legit rail park that we can set up in 20 minutes really diversified our riding and has made it a lot more fun as we’re switching it up all the time. We can put it out for the day and then take it down so we don’t get the park rangers or any other authorities mad at us.” According to Slezak a lot of other kiteboarders at the beginning didn’t quite understand why anyone would be interested in building and hitting features while being pulled by a kite. “I remember when the board off freestyle movement was really big,” he said. “People just looked at us confused as to why we

would want to kite onto a solid object. We just all had fun doing it and wanted to introduce this element to kiteboarding. Personally it was something I wanted to see it in the sport.” From the early days until now the features themselves have evolved along with the abilities of the riders. “We started with PVC pipes and triangles of wood,” said Trip. “Then things went to being framed with wood with plywood sheathing topped with vinyl fencing or Trex decking on top. The Red Bull Fun Box was the first really big feature we did and it was literally as big as the original building at REAL. It was almost just like building a house. The John Wayne Cancer Foundation Rail was the first one built with an aluminum frame and HDPE sheathing. It was so much better than everything else in the park that it became the only thing people would ride. This year Joby came out and we rebuilt the entire park out of welded HDPE after losing everything in Hurricane Irene. The new features

are all plastic and as sturdy as anything we’ve ever built. They won’t warp or rot and the whole park can break down into pieces in case we have another big storm.” Jason said, “Now Joby designs features on the computer, but everything used to literally come from sketches on napkins we would draw up over a few beers. It was all trial and error. We would spend weeks building something, put it in the water, and realize right away that it was too steep.” In 2004 the crew at REAL built the infamous Camel Toe rail, which Jason broke three ribs and cracked a vertebrae on when he plowed into one of the uprights. “The Camel Toe was way before its time in terms of degree of difficulty,” said Trip. According to Jason the rail that literally broke his back was gnarly for a few reasons. “A big part of it was money,” he said. “It was a really spontaneous thing. A bunch of guys including Jeff Tobias, Stav Niarchos, Sam Bell, Moe Goold, Andre Phillip, and Bertrand Fleury came together and we all pitched in and put it together. It only cost a few hundred dollars compared to something like the Liquid Force Dance Floor that cost thousands. Part of why it was gnarly was because it was cheaper that way, but it was also because we wanted to show that we could hit something narrow and sketchy. I got hurt on it and that can happen in any board sport, but people getting hurt doesn’t really make it welcoming or encourage less confident riders to give it a try. If you look at the things that are being built now, what we want is more acceptance. We want people to get out and try it. It’s about having something for people to start on so they can start progressing. With something like the Dance Floor, even if you slide all the way across on your back, you’re just going to fall in the water and laugh. You’ll either try it again or you won’t but you’ll know whether it’s for you or not.” With the addition of safer and easier features like the Dance Floor, Joby has seen more riders open up to the possibility of riding in the park. “It’s like that movie Field of Dreams: If you build it they will come,” he said. “We’ve got 10-year old kids out there hitting features for the first time and we’ve got 50-year old dads out there shredding with their kids. The Dance Floor kind of opened the park up to people who maybe wanted to get into it but were a little scared to. That feature is super easy, super forgiving, and easy to learn. It’s all about having an entry point for people to get started, especially the kids. If you look at today’s kids who are interested in things like skating and snowboarding I think they could be interested in kiteboarding for the same reasons. If you make it viable and accessible to them they’ll get into it and their friends will follow. It could create a crowd that starts hitting rails from a young age and that’s when we’ll start seeing crazy progression.” The park in Hood River is open to the public and anyone is welcome to show up and ride. It’s free and you don’t need to sign a waiver, but that doesn’t mean that it should be taken for granted. “The park is here for everyone to enjoy,” said Joby. “Being that it’s a community effort, don’t be the guy who comes in and complains that something isn’t at the right angle. Get a crew together, ask us what needs to happen, and go take care of it. If you go to a skate park and the bowl is full of dirt and leaves, you don’t complain to all the other skaters, you go grab a broom and sweep it out.”

Recently Trip has begun to see a shift in the customers at REAL. “The traditional big part of the kiteboarding market has been people from ages 25 to 55,” he said. “Now there are a lot of kids as young as eight that are learning and these kids have entirely different goals compared to the

Eric Rienstra hits the Slingshot Kicker in Hood River. Photo Paul Lang

Construction of the Camel Toe. Photo Courtesy REAL Kiteboarding

Sensi Graves on the LF Dance Floor in Hood River. Photo Paul Lang

older students. They just want to learn how to go, how to jump, and how to hit rails. For them this aspect of kiteboarding is the sport and is why they want to learn.” Jason recently relocated to Hood River and is seeing something similar there. “Now you’ll find teenagers and 20-year old girls wearing helmets and charging in the park,” he said. “There are people of all different age groups and it’s been really accepted here. People are actually coming to Hood River just to ride the park.” Jason also brought up the point that the growth and acceptance of features is something that is not just happening in kiteboarding but is happening across all action sports. “As kiteboarding has evolved we’ve also seen the evolution of snow parks, mountain bike parks with features everywhere, and the creation of way more skate parks,” he said. “The progression of action sports in general has gone that way and it just happened to coincide with kiteboarding’s inception and growth. That progression has really helped the wakestyle/parkstyle movement in kiteboarding. Look at cable parks over the last few years. Within the lifetime of kiteboarding they’ve gone from having a few awkward kickers to having parks full of safe and creative welded plastic features. There are kids now who snowboard, skate, and kite and they ride parks in all of those sports. It’s the norm and it doesn’t seem awkward or weird to them. This is where action sports are going and it’s helping to push this side of kiteboarding.”

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot more to Southern Baja than La Ventana and Los Barriles.

Words and Photos by Jim Stringfellow

I’ve been to Baja a handful of times over the years and must admit that my first trip was my most memorable one. You only get to have one first experience and the novelty of going to a new place is hard to beat when returning to somewhere you’ve been before. With that in mind I was reluctant to say yes when TKB asked me if I’d be interested in doing a travel story on Baja. I thought to myself, “Haven’t there been enough Baja stories already? Won’t this just be the same as my past trips there?” Under normal circumstances I probably would have turned down the offer, but a few months earlier I had broken my leg and was still recovering from a major surgery. I was still months away from being back on the water and in desperate need of something to get myself out of the house. I agreed to take the assignment, worried that this would be just another typical Baja story. Then I started to get the details on the trip and it became immediately obvious that this was going to be something new and different and not just another trip to La Ventana.

La Bufadora, which means the blowhole.

I arrived at the airport in Seattle with plenty of time to spare only to find out that my flight had been delayed due to a broken seat on the plane. After a mechanic repaired the seat, it was then discovered that the passenger ramp wouldn’t retract leading to an even longer delay. A little concerned about what would go wrong next, I was finally off to catch my connecting flight in San Francisco. As we took off I watched a full moon sink below the horizon. It was snowing and 32° outside. As soon as the plane landed, I hobbled off and limped to my connecting gate with about a minute to spare. That afternoon I arrived at the San Jose del Cabo airport where it was sunny, warm, and the wind was blowing. Many who fly to this airport stay in Cabo San Lucas and most of the other travelers looked like the typical Cabo crowd with their straw hats and sportfishingthemed shirts. I didn’t see any kite travel bags at the baggage claim so I assumed there weren’t any kiteboarders among the crowd. It felt like it took an eternity to get through Mexican Customs and Immigration, but after getting my passport stamped I met up with a local family who had kindly offered to take me to La Ventana. We made a few stops along the way including an empanada and quesadilla pit stop in San Bartolo, a roadside town about halfway between San Antonio and Los Barriles. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving towards San Antonio before turning off for the final 20-minute journey through the desert to the Los Planes junction. The sun had set but a full moon helped us make our way to my first destination – Palapas Ventana. I met owners Tim Halter and his wife Jimena who showed me the palapa I would be calling home for the next several days. The evening air was so warm that there was no need for a jacket that night. Tim suggested I get a good night’s rest because we were hitting it hard in the morning at 5 am. The night was quiet other than a couple of beach dogs howling at the full moon.

It was still dark outside when Tim picked me up the next morning. Justin and Brittany from Kitemasters showed up minutes later along with Tim’s neighbor Norm. We piled into the Palapas Ventana Adventure Van then drove over to pick up Val, a Canadian who participated in TKB’s test week and then decided to stay in La Ventana for a few more months. We pulled up to a casa that was completely dark and discovered that Val has overslept. We

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There were whales everywhere we looked and they seemed as curious about us as we were about them.

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Tim Hatler somewhere near La Ventana.

woke her up and she was groggy as she entered the van. We loaded her gear and headed towards La Paz with the moon lighting up the desert enough that we could clearly see the endless fields of cactus. Tim drove us through La Paz and continued northward towards Ciudad Constitución as the fog became thicker and thicker. We eventually stopped for breakfast and then turned off the main highway down an unmarked dirt road that took us west towards the Pacific Ocean. It was very rough riding for about 45 minutes until we finally reached a fishing village where we were greeted by Captain Antonio, our panga captain for the day. We loaded our gear into his boat and headed to the whale breeding lagoons. During the journey we experienced pretty rough waters for more than 30 minutes that soaked us completely, but soon we found our reward when we had our first whale encounter. At the time I couldn’t take pictures because I’d packed all of my cameras into a waterproof bag buried deep under the other gear, but I wasn’t worried as I figured I’d have other opportunities throughout the day. Antonio then took us to a small remote fishing station on an island and told us that most of the local fishermen here were actually from La Ventana. This is where they fish during the windy season. Antonio pulled the panga into a calm lagoon where we had the opportunity to check out a number of different bird species including the magnificent frigate. It was also our first taste of paddleboarding in calm flat water next to the mangroves.

Justin Memasco outside Los Barriles.

We reloaded the boats, headed to the channel at the mouth of the bay, and explored this area by paddleboard. Here we encountered endless whale sightings! There were whales everywhere we looked and they seemed as curious about us as we were about them. They swam next to our boards and then lifted their heads above the water to check us out – this was definitely one of those bucket list things to do. The finale of the whale experience was when the mother brought her baby to the surface between our boats. It was an amazing sight to see these large creatures up close and personal. We then headed back to the island as the wind had picked up and we spent the remainder of the day kiting the bay. Eventually we had to head back to the village because of outgoing tides that would have made it too difficult to return. All of the other fisherman had finished work for the day by the time we arrived back at the village. We headed to Captain Antonio’s home to join his family and feast on a fresh catch of scallops. For dinner we enjoyed a ceviche dish called aguachile made up primarily of the day’s catch. After dinner we began our three-hour journey back to La Ventana to finish off the longest day trip I’d ever been on.

Tim Hatler has spent years exploring Baja and seems to know where all the best spots are.

The next morning I was wiped out from the previous day, but I found Tim and Norm SUP surfing at a spot near La Ventana where the wind swells had stacked up correctly and were breaking cleanly. They were paddling into head-high swell that was breaking in dangerously shallow water right on top of a sharp reef covered with urchins. Later that morning we met up with the rest of the team at Palapas Ventana for the beginning of the journey to our next destination of Las Cruces. It took about two hours to drive there with the final fifteen minutes being on a really harsh dirt road. We showed up and immediately saw the symbols of Las Cruces, the three crosses. We stopped and took pictures with the majestic backdrop of Isla Cerralvo and the Sea of Cortez behind us and then we set off for the resort. Las Cruces Resort was built in 1950 and it was only known by a select few for many years. It is now considered a private club. On the premises you’ll find some fascinating buildings and art and even a guitar-shaped pool. We had a delicious lunch in the resort dining room while we waited for the north winds to arrive.

The next morning I met up with Justin, Brittany, and Tim and headed south to Los Barriles, located between La Ventana and the Cabo airport. We arrived at the Kiteboarding Baja School which is owned by Dante Unzon and Nicole Eden who had been anxiously awaiting our arrival. Instead of riding in Los Barriles we decided to keep driving since the day was still young. Dante is very familiar with this area as he has spent his whole life surfing and kiting in and around Los Barriles. His thinking was if we traveled a bit further and conditions weren’t as good, we still had plenty of time to drive back and catch an afternoon session in town. We traveled more washboard roads and checked out all of Dante’s favorite stomping grounds, each one with slightly different wind and swell combinations. The roads were rough and the journey was long, but we rolled the dice, continued on, and finally arrived at a beach with amazing swell and steady winds. These conditions seemed perfect with great wind and swell direction and perfect lighting for shooting photos. Dante was the first to ride. He headed out on his twin tip and did some freestyle using the waves as kickers. Nicole headed out far enough to see whales and turtles. Everyone else chose their surfboards. We spent all day riding this spot and were joined by two locals who had the place wired and put on quite a show. It seemed magical as everyone was so stoked on riding such a fantastic spot. We left and stopped for dinner at a small fishing village, enjoying each other’s

company as we relived the day with stories over beer and tacos. Then it was off again for the drive back to La Ventana. Tim made the first part of this trip unforgettable. He set the bar high with daily adventures away from La Ventana. Even though we spent many hours on the road, not knowing what the outcome might be made for a totally new experience. Being from the Pacific Northwest, I’m pretty accustomed to having to drive multiple hours for wind, so it’s just a part of the overall experience in my opinion. If you can deal with a little driving, you can achieve quite the reward. These adventures made the week much different than anything I would had ever expected and really showed me how naive I had been when I assumed that I already knew everything this part of Baja could offer.

After my week at Palapas Ventana, I left and headed to La Paz to join Sandy Parker’s Kitopia Boat Trip. The boat crew Sandy set up the trip with has been doing Eco tours in the area known as the Mexican Galapagos for the last 25 years. Even if we got no wind, I knew we would have expert tour guides taking us to pristine snorkeling spots and on amazing hikes. Sandy had never done the trip before and the boat operator had never hosted a kite excursion, so neither knew exactly what to expect other than that we were traveling during one of the windiest months of the year for the area according to the ship’s logs. I met up with Lela, the Cruise Director for the trip, who then introduced me to Captain Martin and the rest of the crew: Jesus (Engineer), Omar (Chef), and Stacia (Lela’s Assistant). I then started meeting the other guests. James and Matt were already there. Resa, whom I met earlier in the week in La Ventana, had arrived as well. Sandy, Fred, Holly, Kevin, Karen, Steve, Beth, Vickey, and Doug were all delayed in Cabo and showed up a few hours later. We finally set sail at sunset and cruised through the marina. By now the La Paz cityscape was lit with streetlights, cars, and house lights. After an hour we were far enough away that all the lights seemed to disappear and the only lights we could see were the stars above. We drank margaritas and were served a nice carne asada dinner. As is typical in Baja, everyone was asleep by 10 pm. Martin’s plan was to take the boat north to Isla de San Francisco and drop anchor at around one o’clock in the morning. On our first morning we woke up to an amazing sunrise. We were moored in a protected bay which sheltered us from any hint of foul weather. The only sounds you could hear were the gentle hum from our boat’s power generator, the seagulls, and the waves hitting our hull. The colors of the sunrise were immeasurable. As the morning came, the colors were constantly changing and shifting from reds to oranges to yellows. We all watched as the sun rose over the hillsides. At one point it was difficult to tell where the sky stopped and where the water began. It turned out that this first sunrise was nothing special. This was a show that happened everyday and it’s something we all anxiously awaited as we went to bed every night. We were invited into the dining room for a breakfast of fresh fruit and yogurt followed by a delightful hot breakfast. We finished breakfast just in time to watch the dolphins. They were feeding on krill and began to play once they were done eating. Jumping into the air next to the boat, they followed us along our course. Soon after this show, we began our journey to a small

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fishing village on the island of Isla Pardito. There are only a handful of fisherman and their families who live here. An exemption with the Mexican government gives them the right to live on the island, which is protected land for as long as they continue fishing.

The island is small, primitive, and without electricity. This makes it essential to preserve the fish to prevent it from spoiling. After the fish are caught, they are cured in salt until they can be transported to the market. The fisherman primarily catch fish to feed their families and what they don’t need is sold or bartered for goods at the fish market in La Paz. At the end of our visit, we were given a huge yellowfin tuna for our dinner aboard the boat later that day. We left the island and headed north on a chase for wind. Our efforts were thwarted for finding wind, so we decided to use the panga boats to go wakeboarding. We rigged an anchor line with a makeshift handle and took turns using our twin tips and surfboards. Once done, we headed back to the boat where fresh sushi awaited us. Afterward we again motored around

Sandy and Fred kited right next to dolphins and the rest stayed close to the boat. looking for wind and found a blue whale instead. It surfaced, disappeared, and continued this pattern for about 30 minutes before finally swimming away. We ended our first day with a delicious tuna dinner but no wind. The next morning we found ourselves exploring Isla del San Jose. We hiked through an arroyo and checked out the many cactus species. The wind was much more solid than on the previous day so we made our way to a nice beach. Fred was first to launch and test the wind for everyone. He came equipped with the largest kite of the trip so he would find us turning to him whenever we needed a wind dummy! A few others also made it out for a session before heading back to the

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boat for dinner and a slide show of the day’s activities. The following day we found better wind. Everyone got the opportunity to kite and they all took advantage of it. Sandy and Fred kited right next to dolphins and the rest stayed close to the boat. It was an amazing backdrop with the mountains behind us. To me it looked like everyone was kiting in the Grand Canyon. At dinnertime the vibe was much different. After kiteboarders experience a great day on the water they are so alive and jubilant while reliving their sessions again with friends. The sunrises continued to amaze us. I woke up every morning before the sun was up to reformat my camera’s memory

Dante Unzon grew up in Los Barriles and knows how to get away from the crowds.

card and prepare for the magnificent show. I never got tired of this ritual. Later in the day we headed to Isla del Espirito Santo and visited the sea lion area. We could drive the pangas right next to them and they didn’t even get up. There must have been hundreds on this island with many more unseen underwater. The trip ended with a cruise along the island before returning to La Paz where we spent our evening together at a nice resort on the waterfront, ate an amazing dinner in town, and just enjoyed each other’s company. The next day we decided to head to Todos Santos to see if the wind was any good. This is known as one of the best areas in Baja for surfing. We spent a lazy morning just strolling around town and finally got to Cerritos Beach where there was a hint of wind. Some in our group felt they could make it work so they pumped up and launched right in front of the resort. Sandy was able to make it out in front of the famous hotel on the hill. A handful of souvenir vendors approached the beach goers along this stretch trying to sell their jewelry to the many tourists that come here from Cabo San Lucas for the day.

All and all, Kiteopia’s boat adventure turned out to be one of the most memorable weeks I’ve ever had in Baja. Being on a boat with other likeminded folks and doing things that really brought us together made this such a great experience. The crew made it so easy to have a good time. From my conversations with the other guests I know they are just as excited as I am to go back and do the trip all over again. Some have decided to bring along their significant others next year because they know it will be an enjoyable time for non-wind enthusiasts as well. One happy guest said, “The trip with Kitopia to the Sea of Cortez and its islands exceeded my expectations. Being on the boat provided other very interesting diversions. We visited a small island occupied by several fishing families, which gave us an appreciation for their way of life. An island hike provided an insight into the geology, flora, and fauna of the islands. Sightings of blue whales, dolphins, jumping rays, seal colonies, and birds (don’t you just love the Blue Footed Boobies?), fantastic sunsets, and

amazing food almost made us all forget that we came here in the first place to look for wind. This was a trip to be recommended to all.” We all know the saying “Never leave wind to find wind.” For many, that probably means most visitors to La Ventana or Los Barriles will never leave town to explore the potential of the surrounding area. If you’re down for an extended visit, want to experience the Pacific Coast, or just want to mix things up, there’s a whole other world for you to discover down in Baja. As I found there’s a lot more to Baja than most people realize and it’s all just sitting there waiting to be explored.

Starting this winter season, Palapas Ventana will offer coastal day adventures available to both resort guests and visiting kiters. Weather permitting, coastal day trips will also be part of TKB’s Discover Baja Week and Kite Test Week in January 2013. Palapas Ventana offers wifi, meals a daily downwinder shuttle, and an uncrowded launch directly in front of the property. Based on the success of the maiden Kite Adventure Voyage, Kiteopia plans on offering several Kite Boat trips this winter in partnership with Panterra and TKB. For more info, check out www. palapasventana.com, www.kiteopia.biz, and www.thekiteboarder.com/baja.

ESCAPE TO BAJA

WITH TKB

Want to be among the first to try the new 2013 kites? Think youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen all that Southern Baja has to offer? Join the TKB Crew in January 2013 for good times, epic downwinders, and more!

Looking for a little room this winter? Head south and join TKB in Baja. Photo Jim Stringfellow

Join TKB and help test the latest kites. Photo Paul Lang

TKB TEST WEEK: BE THE FIRST January 5-12, 2013 Join TKB as we put the new 2013 gear to the test in Baja! What kites have the best boost? Who has the cleanest control bar? Which one is best for unhooked tricks? Cost is from $799 plus tax/pp for double occupancy, limited to only 12 participants. Here’s what you get: • A chance to be the first to ride all the new 2013 kites • 7 nights 8 days accommodations at Palapas Ventana • Breakfast and lunch everyday • Kite support on the beach and a compressor to fill kites • Four dinners at Palapas Ventana • Transportation for one downwinder a day • One day trip to Isla Cerralvo (weather permitting) • Use of Palapas Ventana kayaks and snorkel gear • All you can SUP • World famous Hot Dog Tour To submit your application to be a kite tester, please see details at www.thekiteboarder.com/2012/08/tkb-test-week-2013

TKB DISCOVER BAJA ADVENTURE TRIPS Enjoy launching your kite just steps from your palapa. Photo Jim Stringfellow

January 12-19 and January 26-Feb 2, 2013 There are a ton of cool things to do in and around La Ventana. Let us show you! Cost is from $1025 plus tax/pp for double occupancy (not including shuttle transportation, booze, or tips). Each trip is limited to just 12 participants. Here’s what you get: • 6 nights at Palapas Ventana and 1 overnight trip to kitesurf on the Pacific • 3 meals a day - two dinners not included for people to go out in town • Launch and land support daily on the Palapas Ventana beach • Demo new 2013 gear • Daily shuttle for 4-mile downwinder • Two epic downwinders to test pilot routes for La Ventana Classic 2014 • SUP booze cruise on the Malecon in La Paz • One whale shark snorkeling trip, back in plenty of time to kitesurf • World famous Hot Dog Tour

Kiteboard on remote islands in the Sea of Cortez and visit the “Galapagos of Mexico.” Photo Jim Stringfellow

TKB BAJA BOAT ADVENTURE TRIP January 18-27, 2013 Explore the islands of Isla Espiritu Santo, Partida, San Francisco, and San Jose by boat. These amazing Galapagos-type islands offer a brilliant environment for wildlife viewing, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, and kiteboarding with winds blowing throughout the day. Finish your trip off by chilling for four days in La Ventana before heading home to share your amazing adventure with family and friends. Starting at $2,119 plus tax/pp for double occupancy. Limited to just 14 participants. Trip to be confirmed by November 1, 2012 as we have a minimum of 10 participants. Here’s what you get: • Five nights, six days on 110’ boat, all meals and drinks included • Shuttle transport from Cabo airport to boat provided • 4 nights at Palapas Ventana • Breakfast and lunch included • Kite support and use of the compressor at the beach • Use of Palapas Ventana kayaks, snorkel gear, SUPs For more information about all of the TKB Winter 2013 Baja Trips visit www.thekiteboarder.com/baja or call 805-459-2373

“...It’s a few notches above the rest in Theofmost delicious food terms the meals, the accommodations The launch and thebest whole casual but deluxe vibe.”

The easiest spot for beginners

or beginners, this is the ultimate “FThe most comfortable rooms learning spot. And the hot tub rules.”

The biggest hot tub Lots of alternate activities... t Ventana Windsports, we stayed “A

right ON the beach, and wow is the food good. What a relaxing and windy And it’s be allback right the paradise!” water! trip! We’ll to on kiters’

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The view from your room at the Hotel Guanaja. Photo Damien LeRoy

Photo Dani Burianova

By Damien LeRoy | www.damienleroy.com

Finding the Unexpected

in Honduras Most of us dream of our next kite adventure being to some untouched, far off destination with pristine waters and constant wind where you feel like the only people around for miles are you and your friends. A lot of exotic locations probably come to mind when you try to imagine this dream location, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pretty sure Honduras isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t one of them. At least not yet.

Photo Damien LeRoy

Photo Mike Minichiello

Photo Damien LeRoy

Located about 45 miles from the Honduran mainland, the small island of Guanaja might be very similar to that perfect remote location you’ve been dreaming about. Guanaja was Christopher Columbus’s first stop on his last trip to the New World in 1502 and was where he was first exposed to cacao (chocolate). Only three miles wide by seven miles long there are no cars on Guanaja and the only way to travel around the island is by water taxi. The people here have traditionally been fishermen, so Guanaja’s culture is very much linked to the ocean. Most people on Guanaja produce their own food through fishing, raising livestock, or growing personal gardens. Tourism is still in its infancy on Guanaja and if there are 50 tourists on the island at a time it would be considered very busy. Guanaja is part of Honduras but is really its own little place that feels completely disconnected from the rest of the country and in some ways the rest of the world.

Photo Mike Minichiello

Rising out of the beautiful crystal clear Caribbean water to an elevation of 1,500 feet, Guanaja is situated near the end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world. The island is covered in rich vegetation and is full of bananas, yucca, parrots, iguanas, wild rabbits, and more. It features some of the best fishing, snorkeling, and diving you’ll find anywhere. It also happens to be consistently windy here during the summer, which is exactly what we were looking for. Of course, there’s no such thing as the perfect place and I was a little concerned about some of the rumors I’d heard about traveling in Honduras. One of the first questions people asked me when I said I was going to Honduras was “Is it safe there?” Honduras is considered one of the most violent countries in the world due to its location on the drug transit route and has the dubious distinction of having the highest per capita homicide rate in the world according to the United Nations. The high murder rate can be a huge turnoff for many visitors, but the island of Guanaja is isolated enough that it isn’t

affected by this gang-type violence at all. Most of the crime happens in the three main cities of Honduras – Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba. Guanaja itself has a crime rate that is lower than most small towns in the US. William “Buddy” Thomas is a local legend who has lived on Guanaja for over 25 years. He said, “This island is a unique place that is very different from the rest of the country. It’s completely safe and is very much off the beaten path.” In the past there have been a lot of political problems in Honduras and Central America in general with multiple civil wars and lots of violence. It was only three years ago that Honduras went through a mostly non-violent coup which resulted in the former President being arrested and forcibly exiled to Costa Rica. Along with most countries in the region Honduras has stabilized in recent years, but there are still two very distinct and separate groups of people in Honduras. On one side are the wealthy people who own large tracts of land and on the other side are the poor laborers. There is an ongoing discussion here about how much the government should do to help its citizens, bringing about the traditional arguments of socialism versus capitalism. Protests are common in the larger cities in the country. Guanaja is isolated, but this is very much a real part of life in Honduras. Guanaja is also not the easiest place to get to for people coming from the US. You can only get here by plane or boat and there are no direct flights from anywhere outside of Honduras. Even though the large airports are modern and convenient, only small local airlines fly to Guanaja. These small airlines can be a bit of an experience for people that are only used to the large jets that are common in the US and other countries. The small airlines are safe, but the little planes add some adventure to people’s travels. There are three international airports in Honduras offering a good number of connecting flights to Guanaja. By flying in to San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba, or Roatan (only 14 miles away from Guanaja) you can easily arrange a flight to the island on Lanhsa or Sosa Airlines. My good friend Mike Minichiello of The Sweet Spot (www.gotothesweetspot.com) had invited me here and organized the trip for our group. Mike lives in the Cayman Islands where The Sweet Spot is also based and first visited Guanaja in January of 2011

Photo Damien LeRoy

The “special” drink at the Green Flash. Photo Damien LeRoy

Photo Damien LeRoy

after hearing about it for a few years. A promising sign was that he heard that the fishermen in Guanaja were always complaining about how windy it is. It turns out the windy season in Guanaja is actually the opposite of the windy time in Cayman so now he chases the wind back and forth even though the islands are only about 300 miles away from each other. Mike talks to a lot of people about traveling to Honduras and said many are reluctant about coming here at first. “Whenever I talk to people there is always some initial concern about the travel, the language difference, and the potential for crime, but once they arrive all those concerns evaporate into the amazingly beautiful landscape,” he said. “It’s the kind of place that as soon as you leave the airport you are stunned by the spectacular green hills rising out of some of the most beautiful turquoise water you’ve ever seen. Time stands still here and it is very tranquil. Most people think it is one of the most beautiful places they have ever visited. I’ve fallen in love with the scenery and the people who have been extremely helpful and friendly.” Arriving at the Guanaja airport all we found were water taxis and other boats where you would normally find the cars, buses, and taxis at an airport. The airport is very small and is not connected with any roads. It is one of the few airports in the world where you have to board a boat when you get off the plane. I arrived with Mike and Dani Burianova, Curt Palermo, and Virginia Savoia, friends and clients who were ready for our Honduras kiteboarding adventure camp. We grabbed our bags, walked down the row of boats, loaded up, and headed off to our destination for the week – the Hotel Guanaja

Brandon Bowe enjoying the clear flat water of Guanaja Island. Photo Mike Minichiello

and The Sweet Spot Honduras Kite School. Just a few weeks before our trip Annabel van Westrop, Brandon Bowe, and Jan Lucas had explored Guanaja and had told us a little about what we could expect. Brandon said, “I didn’t know places could be packed with this much beauty and interesting things to do yet be so simple.” When I asked Annabel what she thought about her time here she said, “It really was a little piece of paradise. I just never wanted to leave once I got there. We didn’t have great wind every single day, but we enjoyed ourselves the entire time.” After a short boat ride from the airport we found ourselves at the Hotel Guanaja which is perched on the side of a mountain along the water. As I checked in I realized I could hear the sounds of the wind and waves moving through the rafters of the hotel. No matter where I went at the hotel I could hear the ocean. Just outside of each room there are hammocks overlooking the beautiful blue waters. This is where I would end up spending much of my downtime and I found really hard to leave to get in bed each night. As I swung in my hammock I could see a number of the smaller islands that surround Guanaja just off in the distance. It is truly a relaxing and beautiful location. The Bay Islands, of which Guanaja is one of, are much more connected with the Cayman Islands than mainland Honduras. In colonial times, England ruled over both groups of islands as one territory. I’ve been to the Cayman Islands a few times and it was really surprising to me to discover this close connection between the Bay Islands and the Cayman Islands. Most Bay Islanders speak English with a very similar accent to the English spoken in the Cayman Islands. The Caymanian accent is really distinctive and unique, so it was almost shocking to hear the same accent in an area where I had assumed I would mainly be hearing Spanish. Also, there is a strong family connection between the two groups of islands with many similar family names shared between them. Almost everybody I met in Guanaja had a family member or friend that lives in Cayman. From my trips to the Cayman Islands I knew the people there to be extremely helpful and friendly and I found the same traits in Guanaja.

Photo Damien LeRoy

Photo Mike Minichiello

Fighting the urge to take a nap in my hammock I decided I needed to get in the water. I was able to walk out my door directly onto the beach and rig my kite right there. I’ve spent quite a lot of time in different places around the Caribbean, but the water here was some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. The riding in front of our hotel was unreal as you can ride behind some of the smaller islands off in the distance for completely flat water riding. The bay in front of the hotel is like a big playground as far as you can see. The water is so clear that I had a hard time telling how deep it was. A few times I caught myself just staring down past my feet looking into the water below. It felt as though I was riding on the fishes’ backs. After our evening session we cleaned up and had a very nice local fish dinner at the hotel as we talked about the week’s adventures to come. Any concerns I had over traveling in Honduras were long gone. The forecast was showing unusually light winds so we decided to capitalize on the conditions in the mornings while leaving our afternoons free in case the wind came up. The next day we loaded paddle boards and snorkeling gear into a boat and headed off to the reef. Here we got to see a healthy live reef that was full of life in crystal clear water. We swam through caves and got up close to rays, lion fish, lobsters, tarpon, and many other sea creatures I don’t know the names of. In the afternoon light wind began to fill in so we rigged our big kites and worked on new tricks. Our guests started to learn back rolls, front rolls, kite loops, grabs, and more. We also took the time to explore the pristine area around the islands just to enjoy the scenery.

GUANAJA TRAVEL FACTS KITEBOARDING INFO: The Sweet Spot Honduras: www.gotothesweetspot.com

PLACES TO STAY: Hotel Guanaja: www.hotelguanaja.com Graham’s Place: www.grahamsplacehonduras.com La Giralda: www.bayislandhotel.com East Eden Beach Boathouse: eastedenbeach@yahoo.com

HOW TO GET THERE: Find a flight to San Pedro Sula (SAP), La Ceiba (LCE), or Roatan (RTB) and book your connecting flight to Guanaja on Lanhsa (www.lanhsa.com) or Sosa (www.aerolineasosa.hn) airlines.

Photo Mike Minichiello

PLACES TO EAT: Manatee Bay: German food with a relaxed atmosphere Graham’s Place: Seafood, steaks, chicken, island food La Giralda: Gourmet food. Homemade Pizza night on Wednesday, Paella on Friday The Green Flash Restaurant: “Special” drinks and you can jump out the window into the ocean

GOOD TO KNOW: The power is 110V with American plugs. Currency is Lempiras, currently $1 US is about 19-20 Lempiras. Most people on Guanaja speak English and Spanish.

Annabel van Westerop goes old school in Honduras. Photo Mike Minichiello

On one day we took a trip over to Graham’s Place. Located right on the water we just relaxed while enjoying a few of the local Salva Vida beers and watching what I could only describe as a marine zoo of sorts. From our table I could look down and see lobster, baracuda, stingrays, all types of turtles, bonefish, tarpon, different types of jellyfish, and more. We also happened to be in town for The Festival of Conch, an annual event that spans nine days and has parades and parties at a different location around the island each day. A festival queen is crowned and there are small parades down the beach. There was a lot of music, dancing, and, of course, drinking. Compared to other carnivals the one here is pretty small, but for the islanders it’s a big party. We visited two of the events, but unfortunately we were too busy kiting to go see more of the festival. Also, since there are no roads you have to navigate your way home by boat at night, and after a few drinks that can get a little interesting. Later in the week we had another windless morning so we took a boat over to the leeward side of the island for a waterfall hike in the jungle. I’m used to hikes where you set out on a marked trail, but that wasn’t the case here at all. This hike was literally off the beaten path and surrounded by pristine green jungle. After finding our own way to the top of the first waterfall we found ourselves at the base of the next one. We climbed to the top of that one only to find another one above it. We were completely surrounded by dense forest and it was reassuring to know that there are no poisonous animals on this island to worry about. When Christopher Columbus landed here he called this place the Isle of Pines and it’s easy to see why. After climbing back down the waterfalls we stopped at the Green Flash, a cool little restaurant on the water. One of our guests was convinced that he needed to try the special local drink of the island. Not really knowing what he was getting into until after downing his mega shot, it turns out this special drink was actually a mixture of alcohol and cannabis. Besides the drink specials the Green Flash is a two-story building situated over the water on pilings and customers are actually encouraged to jump out the windows of the restaurant into the ocean below. That afternoon we took a boat ride into the main town of Guanaja, downtown Bonnacca. It was a crazy sight as the town basically consists of a bunch of houses built really close together with narrow little walkways and canals between them. It is built literally on the water and there are no roads at all. There are only a few grocery stores, a handful of small shops and restaurants, and a bank. Since there are no roads people use small boats that they push along the canals instead of cars. To me it looked like a small tropical version of Venice.

During our week-long stay in Guanaja the winds averaged from 15 to 25 knots most days. According to the locals, this was a little light for this time of year, but we still managed to ride almost every day we were there. For learning or working on new moves this is a great destination as you have a massive open water area with no one else around. The downwinders are magical as you can tuck in

behind islands to play in the slicks or stop at Graham’s for a quick beer and then keep on cruising along the chain of small islands while looking at all the reefs and different water colors. During our downwinders it really felt like we were explorers in an unknown area. Towards the end of the trip we went on a hike at a spot near Sandy Bay. As we climbed through the luscious forest with gushes of water coming out of the ground all around we saw lizards and iguanas running everywhere through the bushes. At the top of the mountain we had a great view overlooking the barrier reef in front of us. Each of the hikes we went on was a unique experience in itself. On our way back we stopped at a place called Manatee Bay Pub at Sandy Bay. We enjoyed a couple beers, played a little pool, and threw a few darts. The nice couple managing the place told us stories about Hurricane Mitch of 1998. It came through and rocked the island, demolishing almost everything in the area. The photos they showed us of the destruction were unreal and the stories they told about the storm and the rebuilding process almost sounded like folklore. When it was finally time to go home I thought back on our week’s activities as I packed my bags. Guanaja has so much more to offer than just kiteboarding including diving, fishing, snorkeling, stand up paddling, hiking, and just relaxing and taking in the beautiful scenery. The whole time it felt like the people in our group were the only ones around experiencing this majestic and beautiful place. The kiteboarding in itself was incredible and the feeling of freedom was amazing as it really felt like we were very far from the real world. Despite my initial concerns I didn’t feel unsafe at any point of the trip. I know if I ever have the chance I will be coming back here.

Photo Mike Minichiello

We have 2 Sweet Spots

Grand Cayman

Guanaja, Honduras

Looking for the perfect spot?

* Perfect Conditions! * High Quality Lessons!

* Flat Water and Waves

www.GoToTheSweetSpot.com

THE SCENE

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1. Alec Dektor, strapless at Waddell. PHOTO NICO OSTERMANN 2. Cameron Maramenides is definitely beginning to take after his dad. PHOTO HELEN TROTMAN 3. Jeremie Tronet, wakestyle one-footer. PHOTO LINN SVENDSEN 4. Damien LeRoy explores the possibility of combining a kite, waterskis, and a rail. PHOTO MATT SEXTON 5. Tandem kitesurfing in Baja. PHOTO JIM STRINGFELLOW 6. Olivia Maramenides gets extra style points for this crash. PHOTO MICKEY ROY 7. Kitesurfing in a pool. PHOTO EVAN MAVRIDOGLOU 8. SF Bay Area secret spot. PHOTO EVAN MAVRIDOGLOU 9. Sky Solbach finishes up a session in Maui. PHOTO TRACY KRAFT LEBOE 10. The Kitesurfari crew at Belmont Shores. PHOTO LISSA NOBLETT 11. Fiona Stemmelin and Shawn Richman relaxing on Maui. PHOTO FREDERIC STEMMELIN 12. Sam Medysky. PHOTO CARLOS MONCHO 13. Maya Ernst , a kiteboarder in training at two years old. PHOTO MELANIE ERNST 14. Nicole Corbett and Patreek Einar get creative on a no wind day. PHOTO CAROL BOLSTAD 15. Welcome to Oregon. PHOTO PAUL LANG 16. Julien Fillion rigging in Hood River. PHOTO PAUL LANG 17. The peanut gallery at the Hood River Spit. PHOTO PAUL LANG 18. Jim Stringfellow takes to the high ground for a new perspective. PHOTO PAUL LANG 19. Eric Rienstra AKA the Predator ready to ride. PHOTO PAUL LANG 20. Mantas Gilys checks out the scenery in Greece. PHOTO AISTE RIDIKAITE 21. Val pumps up in Mexico. PHOTO JIM STRINGFELLOW

If you have a photo you would like to see in The Kiteboarder Magazine, send it to editor@thekiteboarder.com. 7

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PROFILED

Photo Lance Koudele

TIPS:

• Never forget your passport on international trips. • Weigh your bags before you check in! • Keep a tool kit handy with a few spare parts and the tools you may need to get out and shred.

Jake Kelsick AGE: 19 YEARS KITING: 8 FAVORITE SPOTS: Antigua, Dominican Republic, Cape Hatteras SPONSORS: Antigua & Barbuda, Tona, Ozone

GEAR

BOARDS: Tona POP 138, Tona Driftwood Kite Skate KITES: Ozone C4s HARNESS: Cabrinha Waist Jake grew up in Antigua, probably best known to most kiteboarders as the stomping ground of pro rider Andre Philip. His father started kiting when Jake was around 10 years old and he would spend hours at Jabberwok beach watching him ride. When he saw riders like Dre doing things he didn’t think were possible on a kite he was sold. His dad ended up getting him his first kite from Dre and he was kiting at only 11 years old. When Jake is not busy traveling he’s kiting at home and helping out at Kite Antigua, the local kite school.

You’re really involved with Kitescoop. com. What’s that site all about? Kitescoop is a wakestyle kite site and forum where anyone who is interested in wakestyle riding can find info, post videos, talk smack, and connect with other like-minded kiteboarders.

It has quite a range of members from core guys who have been into wakestlye since the beginning to people who are just starting to get into it. Basically it’s where people can go to get their daily dose of wakestyle goodies. Why do you think wakestyle is important to the progression of kiteboarding? I think wakestyle and park riding are important because they show another side of kiting. Kiteboarding has a lot of different styles which influence different people in different ways. I believe this style of riding is really going to help progress the sport by getting more kids involved. When younger kids see someone throwing down in a park they think that’s cool and that makes them want to learn to kiteboard. Do any other sports influence your kiteboarding? Snowboarding and wakeboarding are big influences when it comes to my riding. I watch a lot of videos from both sports and try to incorporate tricks from each into my own riding. Rumor has it that you are an aspiring videographer and photographer. Yeah I really dig videography and photography. I haven’t shot much video yet but I’ve been editing for a few years now. Right now I’m still just playing around with it but it’s definitely something that I’m going to continue to do. I really like how you can add your own style and flavor to a video.

What do you wish more kiters would do or think about? That’s a tough one. What do kiteboarders think about anyways? A lot of kiteboarders have started to get little crews together and are building rails and kickers which is awesome. I wish more kiteboarders would do that. What are you currently working on? I’ve been working on toeside backside 180s to blind. The challenge comes from trying to stop the rotation of the backside 180 to go back the other way and get the blind landing. What is something you do outside of kiteboarding that other people wouldn’t know? To be honest right now I don’t do much besides kite. When I’m not kiting I’m either lost in Premiere Pro trying to learn more about editing or keeping my eye out for cool pictures. Photography and video editing are what I like to spend my time doing when I’m not kiting. What is your favorite place to kite? Antigua is my favorite place to kite for a few reasons. For one it’s home and for another when it’s good here it’s really good. What is your most memorable kiteboarding experience? Probably attending the REAL Triple-S in 2009. It was my first competition and also the first time I kited anywhere outside Antigua. It’s also where I got to meet a lot of the big name kiting pros for the first time, so it was definitely one to remember.

PHOTOS BY JASON WOLCOTT AND LANCE KOUDELE

IT’S ALL ABOUT

THE RIDE. STYLE + POWER

WE SUPPORT RIDING. THAT’S IT. SURF, FREESTYLE, KICKERS, SLIDERS, CROSSOVER, FREERIDE CRUISING, WHATEVER. WE’RE JUST STOKED YOU RIDE.

PROFILED

Photo Carol Bolstad

TIPS:

• Travel is the only thing you can spend money on that makes you richer. • Just send it! • There is a lot of luck in kiteboarding. If you want some good luck, launch or land someone’s kite before your session, local or not. We need to help each other. • Never get old and old will never get you!

Rachel Callahan AGE: 25 YEARS KITING: 5 FAVORITE SPOTS: La Ventana, New Zealand, Rum Cay, Stevenson, South Padre Island SPONSORS: Pro Leezure, Slingshot, Transcend Apparel, Swish Suits, the Bolstads

GEAR

BOARDS: Slingshot Shredtown Wakeboard KITES: 2013 Slingshot Fuels HARNESS: Pro Limit Pure Girl

Growing up near Yosemite National Park, Rachel began her adventures at a young age. She believes her time at the Waldorf School helped her develop an open mind, become an individual, and really focus on the artistic side of life. Rachel also attended San Diego State University where she studied music composition before moving to San Luis Obispo to attend Cuesta College. It was here that she met Sarah Wilson, and later the Gormley/Bolstad family, who would change her life forever.

When, where, and why did you start kiteboarding? La Ventana in 2007. I moved there with the Pro Leezure crew and had no idea what kitboarding was or how it could change a life. Drinking Negra Modelo on the beach and watching everyone else ride got

old, so there was only one thing to do and that was learn to kite. Thank you Shannon, Grom, and Sarah! You’ve listed Pro Leezure as a sponsor. What is Pro Leezure? We are a group of people that enjoy living at the speed designed for ultimate happiness. It’s a lifestyle that is meant for everyone, but one that not everyone is meant for.

You’ve been heavily involved in events this year, winning the KB4C 6-hour relay and helping behind the scenes at Bridge of the Gods and the SPI Kite Round Up. How does being behind the scenes compare to being a competitor? Being behind the scenes has helped me be a more calm and understanding competitor. As a competitor I know I’m going to have a blast, put on a show, and just give it 100%, plus I get to hang out and chill with all the amazing riders. Being involved back stage is well, completely the opposite. There are riders that need answers NOW, music that needs to be played 20 seconds ago, announcers that need names for heats that already started, and other tasks too weird to mention. So I guess either way you look at it, being part of the show kicks ass. What are you currently working on? Boots are so in right now and man-o-man, they

rock! Boots are a fun new way to work on super powered, low wakestyle tricks. The real trick is sticking the passes while being so powered. What do you think of racing? Do you think kiteboarding in the Olympics will have an impact? Racing highlights a whole new aspect of kiting. An Olympic gold medal now dangles in front of us all, but there’s a real question that nobody is asking – Will there be boardshort regulations? If boardshorts are the preferred uniform what will they look like? Shiny gold and silver American flag boardshorts would rock! Although I think Bernie would look great in a speedo... What is your favorite style of riding? Nothing beats an overhead wave day in warm crystal-clear water on a 7m Fuel with your best friend, arguably lost in the middle of nowhere. What is something you do outside of kiteboarding that most people wouldn’t know? I’m a violinist and I love jazz music. Where’s your dream destination? It’s not about the destination, it’s about the trip. The planning, the travel, the new people, it’s all so exciting. With that said the dream destination is wherever we’re going this year ‘cause it’s going to be epic.

Slingshot

Cabrinha

Slingshot

Cabrinha

Pump to Ride. Ride to Live.

Wainman

RRD

Core

Crazyfly

Ozone

Sensei

Richard on the maiden U.S. voyage for the Ozone REO

Greg enjoys the blue skies and great wind

Liquid Force

Liquid Force Flysurfer

Over 12 years of kiteboarding experience We’ve been kiteboarding since the beginning, and that’s all we do. There are a lot of great watersports out there, but we love kiteboarding. We love it so much that’s all we’ve done for years, and now we work with more kite brands than any other shop in North America. More experience, more brands, and better service. Kiteboarding is our passion.

RRD

Ozone

Crazyfly

Slingshot

Cabrinha

F-One

Airush

Airush Jeff showing off for his cheap date

Naish

Jeremy throwing down with Crazyfly and a GoPro on a pole

Flysurfer

KITEBOARDING.COM

Patrick Daugherty preparing for a winter session

Wainman

F-One

Sensei

Egypt has been in the news a lot in recent years, but this is the side of Egypt that you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen yet. Photo James Boulding

KIthroughTEBOARDIa revNolutiG on By James Boulding

SIX YEARS AGO I HAD MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH EGYPT WHEN I DECIDED THAT I WASN’T READY FOR A NORMAL WORKING LIFE. After three years of intensive studying at university I was in desperate need of a change. I decided that becoming a kiteboarding instructor and taking a position teaching kiting in Egypt for the summer would give me the chance to both improve my riding and get a well-earned break. I vividly remember a phone call I received from my mom just a month before I left. “Turn on the news,” she said. This was in 2006 and a terrorist attack had just happened in the famous Egyptian windsurfing town of Dahab. Three bombs had gone off in the middle of town killing 23 people and injuring another 100.

I remember first thinking that maybe I hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t made the best decision. Dahab is very close to Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, so in my head I was able to put the whole thing down to civil unrest between the countries. I decided to go to Egypt anyway and ended up in Soma Bay, one of the best kiteboarding areas in the country. Soma Bay is located on the Red Sea and was a long way from the troubles in Dahab. That first year I stayed and worked for five months and spent virtually the entire time at the Palm Royale Soma Bay Resort. Many of the resorts in Egypt are set up to provide everything you need. This, combined with the fact that many of the resorts are located nowhere near other attractions, means that most people who travel to Egypt to go kiteboarding stay put in one place. This is fine for a week or two, but five months was a lot of time to spend at one resort and kitesurfing center. Keep in mind that most of the land in Egypt is empty desert. Only four percent of the total land is cultivated and permanently settled with most of the population living along the Nile River Valley. I definitely felt a little restricted, but at the time there were very few visitors coming to Soma Bay. The kite center I worked for was the only one open then and I felt like the master of the bay. For me it was a chance to kick back, kite every day, and forget everything I had learned over the previous years of studying. I had almost nothing to do except to go kiteboarding and it was the best training experience Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever had. Today things are much different in Soma Bay. Tourism has definitely grown in the area and you can now find throngs of Russian and European tourists on the beach. The hotel is also the home of a large marina and there are a lot of dive boats offering trips out to the nearby reefs that are thick with underwater life and beauty. Even still, the local hotels only fill up a third of the rooms at their busiest times, but due to the cheap labor and the high rates charged to guests these places seem to be able to get by just fine.

Photo Manuela Jungo

Photo James Boulding

Photo Manuela Jungo

f“ chance or me itot waskickaback, kifotrgee etverevyerday,ythinandg ithehadprleevaiorneusdyeovearsr of studying. ” Photo James Boulding

During the summer the water level drops in the Red Sea and on a low tide there is a long sand spit that appears in front of the main kiteboarding center in Soma Bay. Over my first summer there I think I developed a bit of a love affair with this piece of sand and the butter-smooth slick it created. Back then I was often the only kitesurfer in the area. The marina also used to be empty, so there was nothing upwind of the sandbar to block the wind. Now times have changed a little and the growth in tourism has led to more boats being in the marina, affecting the wind slightly. It’s a little frustrating for me to ride here now since I know how good it once was, but the wind is just as steady as it used to be once you get about 200 yards away from the beach. There’s still plenty of great riding to enjoy in Soma Bay and there is now another kiteboarding center upwind of the marina offering the steadiest possible Egyptian wind and more open space than you’d dare to enjoy. Both Soma Bay and Hamata, another great kitesurfing town located south of Soma Bay, are basically in the middle of the desert so life is all about activities on and in the ocean. There are other places to ride in Egypt that

Photo James Boulding

Photo Andy Witschi

offer more activities and more of a nightlife, but they don’t offer riding conditions that are as good or consistent. I’ve been back to Egypt every year since 2006 for trips of different lengths. Some of the reasons I keep going back are the guaranteed sun, consistent wind, and amazing colors and backdrops for photos. For us in Europe Egypt is a quick and easy flight away. Given the amount of tourists that flock there every year for their one to two weeks of sunshine, you are guaranteed to find some cheap holiday flights. Most travelers tend to book all-inclusive deals for their Egyptian vacations. A lot of European tourists looking for their annual fix of sun worshiping time like things easy and organized. Almost every kite center in Egypt is operated out of a waterfront hotel and this can be both good and bad. Staying at a hotel with a kite center will leave you free to kite when you want as you’ll be able to be on the water in a matter of minutes but these places aren’t always the best choice if you don’t want to spend your entire time at your hotel. My advice is to always speak to the kite centers or kite tour operators before you book your trip as they will know the hotels best suited for the kite spots and know which ones are best for your budget. Flying in from another continent isn’t quite as cheap or easy as it is for people in Europe, but I really do think the trip can be well worth it if you are looking for a new kitesurfing experience. Also keep in mind that Egypt is home to the only still-standing wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It’s the only place where you can check out the Great Pyramids of Giza and go kiteboarding on the same trip. Over the last few years there has been a huge amount of media attention focused on the problems in Cairo, the change in the country’s leadership, and the unrest of the citizens on either side of the divide. The funny thing is I have never felt any type of danger in all my travels there. There has always been a high level of security presence everywhere I’ve been in Egypt, but most of the people holding guns give me the impression that they might have to think for a minute or two about which end the bullets come out if they ever had to use their weapon. In six years I’ve not noticed any change in security at all, even with all the current changes the country is going through. At each of the same checkpoints I recognize the same guards with their heads slumped down still sitting there enjoying a nice snooze.

Photo Andy Witschi

Photo James Boulding

Outside of Cairo it feels like you are actually in another country far away from the problems we see and hear on the news. To be honest the rest of the country is very different from Cairo. A trip to Cairo is a very different trip compared to visiting a kitesurfing resort on the Red Sea. Having talked to a lot of Egyptians that have become close friends over my time visiting their country it’s clear they think the same way too. In Cairo you will notice an especially strong presence of armed security, and this is designed to keep the tourists there feeling safe. This year I was in the country during the elections. Every night we would watch the dramas that were unfolding in Cairo from our hotel and every morning we would head out to kite without a second thought. In my opinion the news tends to make events feel a lot closer to you than necessary. I’m not saying there is no danger at all, but I feel Cairo is about the same as any other big city. If you go to the wrong part of town at the wrong time looking for trouble you’ll have no problem finding it. The kitesurfing spots are nowhere near Cairo so you really feel separated from the big city atmosphere. Sharm-el-Sheiq and Hurghada are cities themselves and offer up a range of things to do when not kiteboarding. They are very touristy places though, so I’ve always stayed clear unless I’m on a nighttime party mission or looking for new food to try. This summer I resisted my urge to go straight to Soma Bay and opted to first spend a few weeks in Hamata with fellow Liquid Force team rider Manuela Jungo. Manuela has developed a similar love affair with kitesurfing in Egypt and has spent a lot of time far south in the Red Sea near Egypt’s border with Sudan. Here you really are completely in the middle of nowhere, but the kiting conditions and backdrops are impressive. Varying sand colors turn the sea into a kaleidoscope of different colors during different times of the day. During the afternoon, don’t be surprised to be riding in water that resembles milk in color, as this is normal on a typical afternoon. The shifting and glowing colors synonymous with Egypt make it a beautiful place to kitesurf. One of our goals for the trip was to gather new media for The Hi-Fi X, Liquid Force’s new C-kite. I knew this task would be made easy by the beautiful conditions. I’ve been to many places over the last few years for photo shoots and one of the great things about being a professional kiteboarder is that you quickly build up a database in your mind of memorable conditions and locations.

EGYPT TRAVEL FACTS VISA: A passport and visa are required to visit Egypt, but tourists can obtain a renewable 30-day tourist visa on arrival at an Egyptian airport for a $15 fee. WEATHER: Egypt has two seasons: a mild winter from November to April and a hot summer from May to October. Temperatures can easily get over 100° F in the summertime. The best time for wind depends on the spot. LANGUAGE: Egyptian Arabic is the commonly spoken language. FOOD AND DRINK: Egypt is a fantastic place to sample a unique range of food. It’s usually not too spicy and nicely-flavored with herbs. Most of the hotels offer international buffets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with different specialties each day. Don’t drink the tap water. Alcohol is prohibited by Islam, but there are social drinkers in Egypt and lots of tourists, so many restaurants serve beer and wine. SAFETY: Egypt is a safe destination with low crime rates. Violent crimes against tourists are rare. Protests are still common in the capital city of Cairo. Check the news for the latest updates before you plan your trip. TRANSPORTATION: Most cities have a bus system, but it’s much easier and safer to travel by taxi. OTHER ACTIVITIES: There’s plenty to do here in case you have the unlikely misfortune of not finding wind. Egypt has very nice diving and snorkeling, quad tours, camel rides, wakeboarding, tennis, golf, and beach volleyball.

Photo James Boulding

Photo Manuela Jungo

With Egypt there isn’t much variation in the conditions from one day to the next, but if you, like many visitors to Egypt, are searching for year-round sunshine, this is as safe a bet as any kite destination on the planet. For shooting photos and videos it is one of the only places where middle-of-the-day light generates some unique and beautiful conditions. Shooting in waist deep water you can find enough light reflecting from the glowing water that your subject is bottom lit, almost like a natural permanent flash. One piece of advice I’ll offer is that if you’re heading there with a camera, buy a polarizer. It will really add something special to your photos and will help you capture all the unbelievable colors that show up throughout the day. After two weeks in Hamata we were ready for a bit more civilization so we packed our bags and headed up to ride with our old friends in Soma Bay. This was the first time I’d seen this part of the coastline and on the four-hour journey north I was astonished by the amazing potential of the empty coast. The Red Sea spans the entire length of the country and offers miles upon miles of kiteable locations. There are endless places just waiting to be explored. We arrived in Soma Bay where you can head upwind to find butter-flat conditions or head farther from shore to find reefs offering more flat-water riding. It’s definitely worth making the effort to get away from the masses as you will quickly find yourself alone while enjoying some of the finest kitesurfing conditions possible. Here there’s plenty to do if you find yourself wanting to take a break from kiting. You can also go stand up paddling, wakeboarding, sailing, or take a trip out to the various reefs to snorkel. The spots in Egypt tend to get their best wind around midday and early afternoon. The wind then normally drops off in the evening so you can have a nice relaxing evening after a full day on the water.

Photo Andy Witschi

Photo James Boulding

EGYPT KITEBOARDING LOCATIONS There’s a range of locations to kite in Egypt and having kited at these five locations myself I would say I’ve sampled what Egypt has to offer. If you asked me which one was the best I would really have trouble choosing as there are a lot of variables. DAHAB: A cool funky town with a good variety of accommodations, but the kiting is not the best. The small lagoon is only kiteable on high tide and gets crowded with just a few kiters. For a mix of windsurfing, kiting, and good fun when not on the water, it’s a great destination.

Photo James Boulding

HAMATA: Some of the best kiting Egypt has to offer. In the peak summer months there’s very limited space during high tide. It’s perfect in the winter and ideal for learning with no reef. Hamata is in the middle of nowhere so expect little excitement outside of your hotel. The main school and riding spot is at The Kite Village (http://www.kite-village.com). For a great place to stay check out the Wadi Lahmy Azur Hotel (http://azur.travel). HURGHADA: Good nightlife and a choice of hotels. Average kitesurfing conditions with a good flat water sandbank at Colona Watersports.

While we were at Soma Bay the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi won the presidential election and I asked my longtime Egyptian friend what he thought. “Cairo and the Red Sea are two different worlds,” he said. “A new president won’t mean much since the military already runs the country. Without tourism, Egypt would go bankrupt so they will always look after and protect the kitesurfers!” It’s hard to really say how much Egypt’s tourism has been affected by its revolution and political issues, but on this last trip it was easy to see that tourism has really slowed down recently. The financial problems in the Eurozone have definitely also had an effect as many tourists look to travel closer to home to save money. Egypt is still a cheap place to travel and the tourists who come here are finding they can have an amazing vacation on a budget. There’s no denying that Egypt is a strange place, and people who visit the country seem to love it or hate it. There will be certain things that annoy you, but they’re similar to problems and hassles common in all third-world countries. Go there with an open mind and you will return as a better kitesurfer with a new look on a country that has been heavily in the news for all the wrong reasons.

SOMA BAY: An hour south of Hurghada with not much to do outside of the hotels. At the Palm Royale Resort (http://www.palmroyaleresort.com) you can stay at 5-star hotel and kite right next to your room. The Big Dayz kitesurfing center (http://www.bigdayz. com) is based at the Palm Royale. The kitesurfing is good and there are options for boat trips to other spots. Good flat water during low tides in the summer and the riding is good for all skill levels. Big wind days here are in the 25-30 knot range. SHARM EL SHEIQ: Crazy European party scene. The kite spot is good and is run by a friendly British couple. It’s not the nicest looking town, but if you want a wild nightlife for your kitesurfing trip this is a good option. EL GOUNA: A few kite centers to choose from and a variety of accommodations. No big nightlife, but there is a new marina where you can find good food choices at a few restaurants and supermarkets.

buIlt fOr purpOsE.

check out the results of our testing

We build for purpose. It sounds obvious, but behind the scenes of every product is an exhaustive history of use, abuse and dissection. We start from a need, then we round up potential fabrics and start exploring design solutions of every product we make. Our fabric lab tests materials and provides crucial data, but the next step is the most important: We send prototypes to our athlete ambassadors who live and play in varied conditions around the globe. such full-on testing exposes details that might otherWise be overlooked. Explore the rest of our line by searching surf on patagonia.com

Clockwise from top left: Erik AEdEr, Erik AEdEr, BryAn Elkus, HEnning sAndstrĂ&#x2013;m

61 ÂŠ 2012 Patagonia, Inc.

EXPOSED

THE EMERALD ISLE Ryan Coote is getting ready for another winter of chasing big cold-water waves and high winds on the west coast of Ireland. Photo Tim Smith

EXPOSED

KITE SURFING Sky Solbach helping to expand the limits of what can be done with a kite and a surfboard. Photo Tracy Kraft Leboe

DETERMINED Take one look at the expression on Sam Medysky’s face and you’ll know that he landed this move. Photo Paul Lang

EXPOSED SIGHTSEEING Dimitri Maramenides checks out the scenery on a recent trip back to his home country of Greece. Photo Joanna Kalaitzian

KITEBOARDING WHERE WHERE HIGH HIGH TECH TECH MEETS MEETS PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE

67 AVAILABLE IN FALL 2012

WWW.AXISKITEBOARDING.COM WWW.AXISKITEBOARDING.COM || INFO@AXISKITEBOARDING.COM INFO@AXISKITEBOARDING.COM || DESIGNED DESIGNED IN IN NEW NEW ZEALAND ZEALAND

WISH LIST

Scan for the TKB Review

2. DRYCASE

1. AIRUSH

Scan for the TKB Review

4. ION

3. ELEVATION KITEBOARDING

5. LIQUID FORCE

1. AIRUSH AFT TEAM PADS AND STRAPS — Easy entry and quick adjustments for different foot shapes. $200 www.airush.com For the TKB review, visit www. thekiteboarder.com/2012/08/review-airush-aft-teampads-and-straps or scan the code.

2. DRYCASE DRYBUDS SPORT — Utilizes an over-ear clip that keeps the buds in place in almost any situation. $39.99, www.drycase.com

3. ELEVATION KITEBOARDING BEACHDOG — High

performance kite-specific skimboard with a solid wood core, 3D deck pad, ABS walls, concave bottom, and tip to tail rocker. $495, www.elevationkiteboarding.com For the TKB review, visit www.thekiteboarder.com/2012/08/ review-beachdog-kite-skim or scan the code.

6. L IQUID FORCE

4. ION STRIKE SEMIDRY 4.5MM — Eco-friendly materials and S-Seal seams for those who seek outrageous performance merged with a mature progressive look and feel. $289.95, www.ion-essentials.com

5. LIQUID FORCE STYLER BOARD SHORT HARNESS — Fully adjustable harness system with a 1 mm removable liner to create LF’s most comfortable and supportive board short harness to date. $179.99, www.liquidforcekites.com

6. LIQUID FORCE CPR CONTROL SYSTEM — One piece uni-body float and winder design, ergonomic bar grip, non mechanical push away CPR safety release, and new Auto Spin swivel. $449.90, www.liquidforcekites.com

7. MYSTIC

8. PATAGONIA

10. PRO-LIMIT 9. O CEAN GLASSES

11. SLINGSHOT

7. MYSTIC MAJESTIC FRONT ZIP FULLSUIT — Packed

10. PRO-LIMIT FX WAIST HARNESS — A comfortable, flexible, with all the Mystic high end bells and whistles including a and supple kite waist harness with an integrated floating Polygiene anti-microbial interior, 100% M-Flex superstretch pillow and neoprene belt. $179.99, www.prolimit.com neoprene, S-Seams, and Teddy Prene thermal lining. 11. SLINGSHOT SPACE PICKLE SURF SUP — An ultra-wide $319.95-$369.95, www.mysticboarding.com thumb tail design that’s sure to take your SUP wave riding to 8. PATAGONIA R1 LONG-SLEEVED REVERSIBLE TOP — the next level. The Space Pickle is SS’s SUP carving machine. Rated for water temperatures from 65–75° F this $1,149 - $1,199, www.slingshotsports.com handmade 2mm reversible top provides crucial full-length warmth. $119, www.Patagonia.com/wetsuits 9. OCEAN GLASSES TIERRA DEL FUEGO — Features interchangeable polarized lenses, non slip rubber arms, and nose pads. $79, www.oceanglasses.com

You have probably never heard of Buck Lyons, but you most likely use something he helped create. Photo Paul Lang

THE BUSINESS OF WIND The Buck Lyons Interview

By Paul Lang

You probably have no idea who Buck Lyons is, but if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re reading this magazine you probably spend way too much of your time checking and rechecking your local wind conditions on iKitesurf.com. Ikitesurf is a part of WeatherFlow, a company founded by Buck in 1999. A decade earlier he had walked away from a traditional business career to start Vela, a windsports resort company catering to windsurfers and kiteboarders. Buck sat down with us to talk about the history of Vela and WeatherFlow and filled us in on recent and upcoming changes at both companies.

When and why did Vela get started? I founded Vela in 1988. I had been on a very traditional business path working in finance and then management consulting. Windsurfing was still a young sport especially in terms of travel and I saw an opportunity there. I mean, who wouldn’t think that would be a fun business to get into? On my own trips I’d never seen anything remotely resembling a windsurfing resort. I pictured the experience being much better for everyone if there was a facility where you could have the equipment right there on the beach ready to go.

This station in Jacksonville, Florida, is designed to survive and record weather data as a hurricane makes landfall. Photo Courtesy WeatherFlow

In the process of creating a plan to find the perfect spot to develop some giant resort I settled on what I thought would be an interim strategy of opening windsurfing centers in front of existing hotels. These wouldn’t be our own windsurfing resorts but would allow us to provide the resort experience by working with others. Because of the way the market developed we ended up fine tuning this strategy instead of building our own resorts. What was the reaction of people around you when you said you were leaving the business world to start a windsurfing resort? A lot of people totally misjudged that decision and assumed I was choosing lifestyle over business. In my mind it was all about creating something new that I could sink my passion into. Maybe I was a little naive but I thought I could create a big business out of it. Some people thought I was crazy while others totally got it. Where was the first Vela center? From scratch we developed a center in Aruba that was very consistent with my vision of a hotel acting as a windsurfing resort. At the same time I found a place in Baja that was already consistent with that vision. In Los Barriles Jay Valentine had a place in front of what is now the Playa del Sol Hotel. He was really a pioneer in terms of this concept. Los Barriles has seen a lot of development, but the experience really hasn’t changed much over the years.

How did you decide on places to develop Vela centers? We looked at wind maps and listened to people who traveled. We also looked for places with resort facilities near an airport. If you look at where we’ve been successful, for the most part it’s been in places that are reasonably easy to travel to, but our dream was to find something really special off the beaten path. To a certain extent, Brazil has been like that. It’s not that close to a major airport, but the conditions are so good people are willing to put in the effort to get there.

Punta San Carlos, a loose Vela affiliate, is another example. That spot is in the middle of nowhere, but it’s special enough that people are willing to travel there. How difficult has it been to operate a business in multiple countries? Where do I begin? We’ve had a lot of horror stories over the years. We’ve dealt with everything from having equipment confiscated by corrupt customs officials to fines that were totally unjustified. It was a very tricky and difficult learning experience. What was your view on kiteboarding when you first saw it? I saw Cory Roeseler on waterskis in the Gorge and just thought it was wacky at first. A few years later when people started using relaunchable kites and I saw that a number of people really knew how to do it well, that’s when I first realized it was a legitimate sport that would fit in perfectly with what we did. Most of the centers embraced kiteboarding right away but some managers put up a little resistance at first. I decided I wanted to learn to kite about five years ago, but I never felt like I had the time I wanted to dedicate to it. About a year ago my girls, who are 13 and 16, decided they wanted to learn, and that

was all the excuse I needed to get started. I was amazed by how little time it took to experience the feeling of being pulled very fast across the water on a kite. It’s just an incredible feeling. Unfortunately I was badly injured in a road bike accident earlier this year and that has really set me back, but I’m looking forward to getting back in the water soon. Why would a kiteboarder book their vacation through Vela instead of on their own? Vela resort centers offer a kiteboarding or windsurfing club experience. Some people think they aren’t going to a Vela if they book their travel on their own, but that’s not really the right way to look at it. The centers are very integrated into the different scenes. You may not book your vacation through Vela or even plan on visiting a Vela center until you need a smaller kite, stop by to get food and a drink, or maybe someone in your group decides they want to take lessons. Our booking and marketing services have always been just a part of Vela. Often times the way to get the best price is to book through Vela, but some people want to book the hotel on their own. We’re indifferent to how people book their vacation. If you get a Vela catalog that promotes Cabarete and you show up on the beach in Cabarete, we consider that a win whether you

Buck spending a little time away from the office in Punta San Carlos, Baja. Photo Clark Merritt

The Vela Cabarete crew circa 1995. Photo Silvan Wick/Vela Archives

Photo Paul Lang

booked through us or not. The chance of you visiting our facility once you’re there is high. The whole point is to get people to travel to these places. Have you seen more kiteboarders considering renting gear because of baggage fees? We are seeing more interest, but I think it’s because kiters realize their vacation is a good time to try something new. Also, some people just like to travel without gear. In windsurfing rental gear was necessary for most people. In kiting we see it more like skiing or snowboarding where most people bring their own gear, but there’s still a large minority that prefers to rent. What’s your favorite Vela center? The business savvy answer is that each of the places has its thing that makes it special. Honestly, I do love spending time at all of them. The non-political thing to say if I have to choose is Punta San Carlos. It’s the combination of waves and the peaceful remote atmosphere. At first sight the camp there looks like something out of Mad Max but it actually has everything you could need. I just love it and make every effort to get down there once a year. I understand Vela just went through a major change. What does this mean for the company? The Vela brand

was just purchased by the Pryde Group, the owners of Cabrinha. Karl Williams, Vela’s Managing Partner, will remain the brand manager, so the changes won’t be dramatic. We will still have the latest gear for students while having more rental gear for experienced riders to demo. We expect there will be more Vela franchises for kiters to visit in the future and you’ll see more cooperation between Pryde Group and Vela. This means more events and clinics with Pryde and Cabrinha team riders, more Pryde Group dealer meetings, and hopefully more group trips led by local Cabrinha dealers. Ever since we helped pioneer kiteboarding in Cabarete in 2001 the sport has been the driving force behind growth in our business and we expect that trend to accelerate. I know Karl and Kent Marinkovic, the Pryde Group Americas President, are really excited about Vela’s future and are looking forward to expanding the number of kitesurfing resorts. You also founded WeatherFlow, the company behind iKitesurf. How did that start? For 8 to 10 years Vela was my main job. I was very satisfied to have created Vela, but I don’t think I’m especially good at the day-to-day running of a business that isn’t in the process of evolving substantially. I feel like my forte is creating a business, so in the mid-90s

I began to feel it was time for me to put my energy into something new. Since then I’ve worked with several businesses as a founder or consultant and one of the companies I co-founded was WeatherFlow in 1999. I had been following Call of the Wind, which provided wind information by pager here in California. Jim Martin, the founder, realized people would want wind information without having to call in and listen to a recording. Using the pagers was his idea. He was a visionary and a super hard worker, but he knew he wasn’t the person to take the business to the next level. I had a vision to create a new company and Call of the Wind was just going to be part of it. At the beginning we absorbed Call of the Wind and Wind Hotline, which was based in the Northeast. Both Jim and Phil Atkinson (the founder of Wind Hotline) remain partners in WeatherFlow and Phil is still the technical genius behind our network. David St. John created the first Call of the Wind website and is still a partner in charge of all our web development. The original goal of WeatherFlow was to create a series of internet portals for outdoor sports. One of the things that would make it unique was going to be really good forecasting, weather data, and

the other brands. I can understand why it’s confusing. We’ve made errors in our branding. The reason we have different names in the first place is we decided it would probably be bad to have a website for kiteboarders called iWindsurf. The content is different on the two sites and it will get more different over time to better cater to the different groups. That’s even more so with Sailflow, our brand that caters to the sailing community. In a sense WindAlert is a temporary solution. We had a technological direction we thought was going to be much better, but it needed to be developed while being used by people. Everything took a lot longer than we anticipated, but what we expect to see in the future is that the best things about WindAlert will be integrated into the other sites without getting rid of the best things about those sites. Buck enjoys a little time with his daughters in Aruba. Photo Rahel Lyons

condition reports. The craziness of the internet boom caused some acquisitions we were looking at to be swept away from us and the subsequent internet crash kind of put a damper on our original business plan. We had an elegant business, but it was likely to stay small if we only catered to windsurfers and kiteboarders. We realized we had a great deal of expertise and decided to use it to pursue opportunities with businesses and government related to weather data and meteorological services. In addition to having a passion for windsports many of us are also geeks who like data and mathematical models. It took awhile to get going but it’s been a great success and really fun along the way. Today about a quarter of our business still comes from our consumer websites. While it’s a small business by itself, it’s still a good one and I’m very optimistic about the future of kitesurfing and iKitesurf.com. In terms of real participants, enough new people are coming in and staying in kiteboarding to generate steady growth. What are some of the projects WeatherFlow has worked on? We work closely with the federal government because we can provide information in the coastal zone that helps them forecast and watch for severe weather. This is data that fuels meteorological models. What we provide is complimentary to their own data network and is a much better value compared to them installing more weather stations. If anything, current budgetary pressures are forcing them to have fewer stations, not more, and we have a network that compliments theirs.

What are the challenges of maintaining a network of weather stations? Quite frankly it’s a brutal challenge. It’s extremely difficult and expensive to keep a network like this up. For us to reach an uptime that would satisfy everybody all the time would be massively expensive. The cost to access the sites would have to be ten times higher, and that isn’t going to happen. We’re not always perfect, but our team is very good at what they do. Our uptime is better than any kind of comparable network. Keeping the network up isn’t a part of what I do, so I really want to thank the team at WeatherFlow for the incredible job they do in maintaining it. How large is the WeatherFlow network? We have many thousands of weather stations we gather information from, many of which are not readily available. We have just under 500 stations that we own. Some of these are SODAR devices that send out a sound wave and can measure wind speeds in a column of air more than 200 meters high. We also have about 100 stations that were put in specifically to gather data about hurricanes. You hear about a hurricane’s wind speeds on the news, but the truth is there’s very little measuring going on as they reach shore. We now have a network that does that. These sensors provide information that is very valuable in understanding the damage caused by winds. WeatherFlow recently launched WindAlert and I think some people are confused about how it fits in with

iKitesurf has almost become famous because of how little the site has changed over the years. The home page still features a photo of Teiva Joyex on a 2-line kite. I think you mean infamous. That’s a perfect illustration of what we’re working on. We’re guilty as charged in terms of some of the oddities on the site. Part of the reason is that we’ve been focused on business clients, but we’re also just in an awkward in-between phase. iKitesurf and iWindsurf are definitely dated while WindAlert doesn’t quite satisfy the needs of everyone. This will change soon. Just recently I completed work on some other businesses and I’m now very focused on all aspects of WeatherFlow, including updating the consumer sites. I’m looking forward to the next step when everything will fit together more elegantly and users should start to see changes this winter. I think everyone will be excited about what iKitesurf.com will offer very soon.

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15 MINUTES

Charles Jarry scores a beautiful evening session in Cape Hatteras. Photo Sibylle Gauthier

This issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winning photo (above) takes home a Patagonia R1 Reversible Top. Send your photos to editor@thekiteboarder.com to get your 15 minutes of fame and a chance to win something from Patagonia. The Slider Projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Joby Cook enjoys one of his creations. Photo Paul Lang

Mantas Zemgulis throws spray at Prasonisi Beach in Rhodes, Greece. Photo Warren Davoile

Philippe de Jaeger enjoying himself in Dakhla. Photo Vanessa Milot

Frederic Stemmelin grabs above Third Avenue. Photo Cary Maures

Matt Cooper cruises through the Squamish estuary in British Colombia. Photo Layne Mullard

Jeremie Texier carving around Hood River during the 2012 Ro-Sham Throwdown. Photo Paul Lang Marcus Gonzales in front of the Lanai shipwreck. Photo Megan Kunish

Freddy Zamora in Puerto Rico. Photo Pedro â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cobiâ&#x20AC;? Hernandez

TO THE MOON

Photo Giacomo Visconti

By Lou Wainman

At the moment I am in Tarifa and I can tell you without a doubt that the kiteboarding scene here is huge. I mean like 1000% bigger than any scene in the U.S.A. There’s a real loose attitude here and everyone kites together like clowns in a VW. It’s awesome everywhere you look. New kite shops are popping up like Starbucks. Now I’m not sure the sport looks cool enough in the U.S. Someone asked me what advice I’d give an aspiring pro rider, so I came up with a list: 1. Don’t talk about kite tech at the nightclub. 2. Don’t complain about anything even if you’re totally right. People will notice and respect it. Life isn’t fair from day one and you are like a red headed circus midget compared to the real issue which is selling cloth and foam. 3. Learn the tricks of how to travel. Invest in good looking travel clothes, techy electronics, and make sure you have a good look at anything put in front of you to sign. 4. C ommit to tricks like you’re robbing a bank. If you get caught in the middle, go out like Scarface. Do not hesitate. Not with the handle pass or the girl at the bar who keeps looking at you. 5. I f you get to a point where you’ve slapped your nuts on the water one too many times grab your surfboard and learn something new so you keep the stoke. Incidentally, the Europeans are way behind the U.S. in strapless riding. Go Jason Stone! 6. Think before you speak, eat before you drink, always have an exit, don’t eat the yellow snow, and learn things that can save your life. 7. P ay for your magazines and videos and always bring enough stuff for your friends too. Share whatever you have. 8. I f you’re invited to a Red Bull party try not to lose your mind, or at lease wait until all hell breaks loose to get crazy. 9. Only drink Red Bull at 33° F.

10. Rig your lines downwind, always deflate your kite, and don’t sell your used gear with a sponsor’s logo still on the thing. 11. Lick your pump nozzle, it will save your valves. 12. Slow down to speed up and remember everybody is watching. 13. Get a girlfriend or boyfriend who already kites. 14. Have a credit card and health insurance. 15. Visit Maui at least once in your life as well as Leucate, Tarifa, etc. Hell, visit all the spots. 16. Find your own shaper if you don’t shape and remember those guys are really into it so don’t mention numbers or what you think works. If you have to advise your shaper you are paying too much. 17. Smile when you ride. It’s impossible to be angry if you smile, scientifically. 18. Learn to type fast. 19. Answer all your emails. 20. Don’t wear rings unless they are designed to work with your bar. 21. Remember that once you get off the beach you are truly free, but on the beach anybody can approach you. Have fun and stay safe out there! Aloha!

ROOTS Words by Rick Iossi | Photo Courtesy Red Bull

In this photo Neil Hutchinson leaves Key West for Cuba on his Hana Crew twin tip and 13.5m Naish ARX kite. In 2001 kiting was growing in popularity, gear was improving, and riders were looking for new challenges. Five kitesurfers left Key West on December 21, 2001. Eight and a half hours later three arrived in Cuba after traveling 98.3 nautical miles, earning the first official kiteboarding distance world record. The riders were Kent Marinkovic, Neil Hutchinson, Fabrice Collard, Paul Menta, and Oliver Butsch. They faced 20 to 30 knot winds and 10 to 17 foot seas, creating a challenge for the riders and their support boats. Neil and Kent were overpowered the entire time. Fabrice selected the ideal smaller kite and a larger directional board making his crossing more manageable. Determination got them to Cuba as skill alone wasn’t enough. Neil claimed he would make it to Cuba either “on his board or in a body bag.” Paul was being treated for a stomach virus in the hospital and was still not well when he checked himself out to join the crossing. He kited 50 miles before passing out and was unconscious as he was drug by his kite before rescuers could catch him. Oliver’s kite ripped in two after striking one of the support boats near the start. The rest finished the crossing, made kiteboarding history, and helped to evolve kiting into the sport we know today.

SK Y SOLB AC H :

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