The Kiteboarder Magazine Vol. 18, No. 4

CASUAL DISCIPLINE Noè’s Artistic Approach

GALICIAN PILGRIMAGE A Simplifi fie ed Surf Mission

FREESTYLE GOES BIG Guillebert’s Brave New Win

F R E E S T Y L E C A T E G O R Y

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The world of windsports is no longer binary. With the introduction of cross-discipline equipment and emerging categories, we must all make more difficult decisions about how to fill our time on the water.

Having delved deeply into the dark arts of wingsurfing in 2019 and 2020, this year I found myself routinely breaking free of the wing’s seduction and scoring incredible sessions back under the pull of my kite.

When I started wingsurfing here in Santa Cruz, it was a lonely affair as my kitesurfing friends watched, first with fascination, then with indifference as I hammered through the challenges of getting a wing and a hydrofoil past relentless shoulder-high shore-pound in onshore conditions. Persistence always paid off, and during those first two years, my personal kites largely collected dust while the fresh challenges of an unwritten learning curve fed my endorphin machine’s insatiable demand for more.

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There were days where I should have been on a kite, and my kitesurfing friends dutifully pointed that out. It took two years, but eventually my rapid progression slowed and my condition appetite for wingsurfing narrowed. This was when I rediscovered my fundamental love for the grip of a control bar in hand, 21-meter lines in the air and the art of attacking the critical section of a top to bottom wave. Having re-tapped the progression in kitesurfing and the benefits that arise from a board with a rail and fins, I try not to warn fresh wing addicts about the boomerang effect and the laws of diminishing returns; there’s really no point in harshing someone’s wing high.

Have I dropped wingsurfing completely? No, it still remains an essential windsport that fits nicely into a puzzle filled with revolving kite and foilsurfing sessions. Each one of these disciplines excels in specific conditions that have a time and a place. So, if you’ve lost some friends to the inflatable boom, don’t sweat it, they’ll probably be back. If there’s a voice in your head that’s just a little curious about the wing thing, go ahead and try it, but don’t sell your kites just yet.

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The pull of the kite is incredibly dynamic in ways that will undoubtedly keep kiteboarding at the apex of adrenaline dispensing windsports for years to come. The gravitational force for both new kite recruits and veterans remains strong, and as new materials and innovations continuously improve our kite equipment, the attraction will only become more powerful. Having been to the dark side and back, and despite all the speculation and hearsay, I am confident that kiteboarding is here to stay.

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Casual Discipline

Our interview with the prolific filmer and professional rider Noè Font reveals an impeccable eye for creating video sequences that thread emotion, grit and the legitimacy of kiteboarding into masterpieces both short-form and long.

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From the Editor

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Frontside

Flysurfer’s Marie-Eve Mayrand draws us into a tight circle of elite backcountry snowkiters who have pioneered the deep snowkiting terrain buried in the expanses of the Canadian Rockies.

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Profile:

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The Path to the Peak

The Real Holland

In his quest to showcase the authentic Netherlands experience, Dutch kiteboarding prodigy Stig Hoefnagel shares with us the good, bad and ugly of Holland’s customary wind chase.

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Sardinia’s Grand Slam

The racing event by which all others are measured; on the southern shore of Sardinia, the old-world town of Cagliari opens its arms to kitefoil racing, the emerging Olympic class and the future of kiteboarding spectatorship.

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Cab Design Works

Going Big with Arthur

Presiding over the debut of a new big air format combined with the historically pure technical Freestyle World Tour, Arthur Guillebert rides the fascinating shake-up to the 2021 World Championship Title.

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Galician Pilgrimage

Noting that memories are stronger when you remove a little comfort, Paul Serin spins stories of pared-down travel with the Manera team in the upper left corner of the Spanish Iberian Peninsula.

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Chasing the Next Dream

Profile:

Peri Roberts

The Year of the Hustle

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Exposed

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Forecast

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Baja's Premier Wind Magnet

Method

Kiteloops with Janek Grzegorzewski

With a culture of authentic watermen back in the ownership seat, Cabrinha opens a new chapter with an augmented R&D program that melds talent and resources with the quest for innovation.

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Hunter Becker

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Wish List Viewpoint

Making of the Machine

Roots

20 Years of Flysurfer

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On the Map

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Parting Shot

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50 100 26 40 80

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On the Cover

Lukas Stiller slows down the shutter and skillfully tracks the

action to capture the high-speed motion of Lucas Arsenault ’s impressive butter slide. // Photo Lukas Stiller

CASUAL DISCIPLINE Noè’s Artistic Approach

GALICIAN PILGRIMAGE A Simplifi fie ed Surf Mission

FREESTYLE GOES BIG Guillebert’s Brave New Win

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Brendan Richards, Editor in Chief brendan@thekiteboarder.com India Stephenson, Designer / Editor india@thekiteboarder.com Alexis Rovira, Editor at Large alexis@thekiteboarder.com Gary Martin, Tkb Ambassador gary@thekiteboarder.com Marina Chang, Publisher Emeritus CONTRIBUTORS Noè Font, Marie-Eve Mayrand, Ian Hardgrove, Janek Grzegorzewski, Mike Godsey, Joe Winowski, Paul Serin PHOTOGRAPHERS Lukas Stiller, Xander Raith, Michal Hrk, Julia Barnes, Stan Mah, Ray Schmidt, Edwin Haighton, Stephen Otero, Svetlana Romantsova, Robert Hajduk, Gwen Le Tutour, James Boulding, Gregor John, Samuel Cárdenas, Tyrone Bradley, Nicklas Nagel, Paul Ganse, Craig Kolesky, Thomas Burblies, Matt Georges, Miriam Joanna, Steven Akkersdijk, C.J. Coetzee, Frankie Bees, Eric Duran, Johannes Hols, Toby Bromwich Visit us at: thekiteboarder.com twitter.com/the_kiteboarder • facebook.com/thekiteboardermagazine • instagram.com/the_kiteboarder ADMINISTRATIVE/ADVERTISING OFFICE 849 Almar Ave, Ste C131 Santa Cruz, CA 95060 SUBSCRIPTIONS orders@thekiteboarder.com • store.thekiteboarder.com Have you got an idea for an article you would like to see in The Kiteboarder Magazine? Send your submission to: editor@thekiteboarder.com © 2022 Tkb Media LLC. All rights reserved.

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FRONTSIDE

Duotone’s partnership with Porsche is leading to interesting developments in and out of the office. What does a 4x Kiteboarding World Champion do with the keys to a shiny green Taycan? Mikaili Sol builds a mobile park and lays down a stylish hand drag. // Photo courtesy Porsche Brazil

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FRONTSIDE

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, Steven’s drone snaps a photo of Willow-River Tonkin ducking a section before charging down the line. // Photo Steven Akkersdijk

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FRONTSIDE

Airush’s Victor Hays proves that a perfectly executed transition air with a boned-out tail grab can be just as stylish, if not more fluid, than a double handlepass. // Photo C.J. Coetzee

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FRONTSIDE

Born and raised far from the water in Warsaw, Poland, Helena Brochocka ditched a junior career in alpine ski racing to follow the pull of kiteboarding.

Spending the bulk of her year traveling, Helena stops off in Maui to sample the latest Naish goods and drops a classic crail grab on the S26 Alana twintip. // Photo Frankie Bees

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FRONTSIDE

Kylie Zarmati is up for just about anything.

In between creative film work, bottling hot sauce and casually storming the podium at the latest freestyle kitefoil event, Kylie sneaks in a trip to northern Peru, sliding by the camera with a slick dropknee rail grab. // Photo Eric Duran

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CASUAL discipline An interview with Noè Font

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Photos by Lukas Stiller Words by Brendan Richards 27

witty hints of mainstream criticism, Noè’s work routinely re-frames kiteboarding’s well-worn paths with novel camera work, progressive sequences and the highest standards of kiteboarding action.

In a quest to learn more about the man behind the camera, I catch Noè on a paragliding trip during some downtime in Mexico City. He’s taking a breather with his dad, casually sending 50km crosscountry paragliding missions, which to anyone who follows this crossover sport, 50km is no small feat. Paragliding relates to kiteboarding in so many ways, except that it is aviation; it happens in the sky, over hard land and the consequences are often fatal.

I mentally mark another notch of respect in the Noè file: impeccable freestyler, edgy filmmaker, accomplished aviator.

ABOVE: Noè uses many tools both sophisticated and simple to create moving pictures that stimulate the pleasure receptors in most kiteboarding brains. // Photo Xander Raith TOP RIGHT: Noè’s approach to riding has less to do with the difficulty of the trick than what you do with your resources: the location, obstacle or spot. // Photo Lukas Stiller BOTTOM RIGHT: Having cut his teeth on the European competitive scene of his youth, Noè has used his impeccable style to carve out the kind of highly admired freekite career lusted after by younger generations. // Photo Lukas Stiller

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n his quiet but pioneering way, Noè Font has earned universal respect across the kiteboarding landscape. Noè is both a creative force behind the video lens while also staking out progressive kiteboarding riding in those very same frames. The demanding role of camera operator and backend producer often derail athletic careers before they start, yet Noè Font has remained an innovator of style both in his riding and in the films that he has produced.

What strikes me the most about Noè is the way his riding and creative work lands at a level of perfection, all while seemingly casual and relaxed. With an idiosyncratic perspective layered with retro textures and

We often watch kite prodigies storm the scene as if they just learned last year, but it’s more often the case that pro-caliber riders have been training for much longer than we collectively acknowledge. Noè’s generation was coming into the threshold of kitable age just as the first rounds of commercial kiteboarding gear were being released into the market. When I type Noè’s hometown, Empuriabrava, into Search, rather than zeroing in on a town, the map pins in on a giant marina on the Mediterranean Sea tucked up on the northeast coast of Spain.

As Noè explains, his hometown was built in the 1970s from scratch. Basically, it was a swamp before a friend’s grandpa developed the biggest residential marina project in Europe, to which Noè points out, it’s only the biggest if you don’t count Venice. As he describes it, every house had a street on one side and a canal on the other; it was mostly high-end, big bling second homeowners, but for the few local families that lived there year-round, there was no shortage of things to do. Noè spent his marina-rat days messing around on friends’ boats, and ironically, this is where he first learned to surf. Long before wakesurfing became a popular upper

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“The strict lens that he employs to view his life and his interests are inspirational and are manifested through his riding, film-making, surfboard shaping and pulse on the world’s creative m a s t e r m i n d s t h a t h e d r a w s i n f l u e n c e f r o m .”

— Xander Raith

LEFT: Posing behind an open jail cell door; perhaps a metaphor for the selfinflicted pressures of creativity, or just Noè horsing around. // Photo Xander Raith CENTER: Miscellaneous lifestyle from the lens of Noè Font. RIGHT: As a cameraman, Noè knows which tricks look best from what angles. Riding within these self-imposed restrictions can sometimes feel like baggage. // Photo Lukas Stiller 30

bourgeoisie pastime, seven-year-old Noè and his friends discovered shoulder-high waves behind the bloated wake of a fishing boat on the Mediterranean Sea.

custom bar with an improved safety system, and since he was so small, he would swap his 21-meter lines to a shorter pair of 17m lines when the wind climbed over 16 knots.

One of the biggest influences in Noè’s early years is clearly his dad, a pilot by trade who used to fly over Spain’s seasonally packed beaches while pulling giant sky billboards.

Noè recalls his dad flying a lot for aerial photography, but that was in the days before drones. Font senior had an appetite for adventure, flying microlights and hang gliders, and when kiteboarding arrived, he operated a school with a friend for a couple of years. Noè recalls learning to kite at the age of six or seven. “I can still remember the 5m Windtech; it was made by a Spanish paragliding company and the brand had a funny logo of a falling man.” His first kite was a convertible—a relic that existed between the abandonment of two lines and the innovation of four-line depower; you could roll up the pointed wingtips, secure them with zip ties and attach a second set of lines to get four lines and a negligible amount of depower. Noè’s dad built him a

When asked about the transition from a childhood filled with kiteboarding to his status today as a career-track kiteboarder, Noè explains that it was a natural transition guided by a simple rule, “I’ve always done what I enjoyed doing.” Like a slippery slope, Noè points out, “first you go to the Junior Nationals for fun, and all of a sudden, you are nine years old and standing at the top of a podium. Then the autopilot flips on, and the next step is the Europeans and the Junior Worlds; the path seems really obvious and natural when you are doing it for fun and getting better. You’re just doing your thing, competing and nothing else counts.” Despite his early climb through the European contest scene, these days, Noè has earned revered status among his peers for his riding outside the confines of competition. While he has long abandoned the freestyle tours and has made a significant name for himself in the park riding scene

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“ In my eyes, Noè will always be the cool new kid in kiteboarding. No longer a grom and not bothered by what other people are doing—Noè finds his inspiration outside of the sport and it shows in his riding and filming. Noè can be quiet for long periods at times, yet highly influential and effective, even while doing the opposite of ‘what’s trending.’”

— Craig Cunningham

Noè looks for inspiration outside of the kiteboarding industry. Domains like skate and snowboarding are not just mere sports; these disciplines are driven by a distinct deep-seeded culture that pushes progression. // Photo Lukas Stiller 32

and freestyle progression, Noè’s success is as much about his riding style as it is his creative kite-centric videography, which turns my questions toward his gravitational pull towards filmmaking.

Given the sophisticated textural layers of Noè’s video work, I had always assumed he grew up watching the kiteboarding classics, films like Elliot Leboe’s Ten4 and early Tronolone movies. But Noè’s dad wasn’t the kind of fanatical kiteboarder that obsessed over the latest DVDs and culture.

Instead, Noè was heavily influenced by a personalized YouTube diet, devouring every video from the UK’s Freeride Project featuring Aaron Hadlow, Tom Court, James Boulding and Sam Light. He watched everything from the North American scene to whatever Yuri and Pastor put out. As Noè noted, “Kite videos were cool. I wanted to be like what I was seeing in the videos, and I wanted one of myself.” As an isolated young gun far from a major kiteboarding hub and without much money, Noè asserts, “You can’t just hire someone to make a movie, so you do the next best thing; save up your money and buy a crappy camera, start filming and start learning how to edit on Moviemaker.” From the beginning, for Noè, it was not just about showcasing his riding; he was also driven to make videos that were interesting to watch. Noè recalls his goal was never a conscious thought like, “I am going to get a camera to make videos and get sponsored.” Rather, he explains, “When you are young and having fun, nothing can stop you except for school and a rigid schedule,” so instead, he was guided by unconscious goals, like ‘what would be fun today’ or ‘this summer.’

I asked Noè about his first video of note, and he pointed to his inaugural trip to Brazil’s Taiba lagoon. Growing up in a seasonal kiteboarding town, Noè would progress during the summer’s three months

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of steady wind, and then winter would come and shut everything down. “As a kid watching all the videos, it was obvious that Brazil was where you needed to go. It was simple: people go to Brazil, get really good, make a video, and that is what you do.” For his first trip back in 2012, Noè worked with a friend, trading off behind the camera, and from those days came a series of three videos that Noè labored to cut separate edits that were more than just a bunch of tricks. Looking back at that video, Noè notes, “Maybe you see it if you watch it, but maybe those videos hold the spark that started the rest of it.”

Often the athlete that has creative skills ends up spending more time behind the camera at the expense of their personal riding. Yet, in Noè’s case, he’s been prodigious in his video output while his riding progression has remained equally impressive. When asked, he attributes his progression to a simple fact. “I’ve always tried to do what I have enjoyed the most in the moment.” According to Noè, “Although kiting and filming are two completely different things, they are parallel in that I can justify both of them as productive activities that are working towards an objective.” After extended stints behind the camera, Noè often finds inspiration to push himself on the water, and because the physical demands of freestyle riding can wreck your body, he can break that up with filming. If Noè is having a rough day on the water or the conditions are bad, he doesn’t feel the need to beat his head against a wall to land a trick. Instead, he can pick up a camera and it can feel equally rewarding. “When you have two things that complement each other, you never feel guilty; either of these things works,” he says.

Noè has been a creative force within the freestyle movement, always aiming to push kiteboarding in the direction of the original boardsports. Taking inspiration from surf,

skateboarding and snowboarding, Noè’s contemporaries often find that the core boardsport disciplines within kiteboarding are underrepresented, or worse, diluted by excess coverage of what they consider ‘average riding.’ Noè is quick to remind me that we do this sport to have fun and that he doesn’t see the various disciplines as warring factions. Instead, he insists, “We all want the same thing, to be a bigger and better sport with more people,” yet Noè would prefer the world be exposed to the best and most skilled versions of kiteboarding rather than low-grade viral videos and silly social media stunts.

TOP LEFT: Exhibit A: “Getting creative with what the spot has to offer.” // Photo Lukas Stiller BOTTOM LEFT: Noè enjoys collaborating with other photographers like Vinny, Toby and Laci. According to Noè, “There’s a lot of back and forth, throwing ideas around and working together.” // Photo Lukas Stiller FAR RIGHT: Noè is a capable filmer above and below the water. // Photo Lukas Stiller

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FAR LEFT: A smattering of posters from Noè’s favorite video projects: Always Sunny in Rio, La Dolce Vita and KF/ CPR. CENTER: Noè is equally accomplished in the park and on free-range jib hits as he is in technical freestyle. // Photo Lukas Stiller TOP RIGHT: Noè focuses in on framing for a sunset session in La Ventana. // Photo Xander Raith RIGHT: The DVD jewel case from Noè’s feature-length film The Bubble.

FAR RIGHT: Screen grabs from Noè’s African Mixtapes.

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With Noè’s creative work distributed through platforms that stamp every video with a statistical view count, he knows very well that AI algorithms pander to click bait material. In a commercial world where the obsession with micro-targeting rewards virality rather than creativity or authentic boardsport culture, Noè laments, “There are a lot of people that deserve so much more credit than they get because they’re doing all the right things that matter, yet the world we live in won’t let them shine.” Noè makes a fair argument for more contrast, more inclusivity among underrepresented groups and ultimately more niche riding and core boardsports culture in kiteboarding media.

When you begin deconstructing success or achievement, the big question is ‘how does both an athlete and a creator handle motivation, self-criticism and the quest for perfection?’ Perfection, or the pursuit of something close to it, often comes from passion, and while by all appearances, Noè takes a kicked-back approach to life, I suspect his success falls somewhere between effortless natural talent and insanely hard work. Reflecting on his workflow, Noè admits, “I’m pretty hard on myself during the process; I always fixate on the frustrations in the filming or the editing, but then once it’s out there, a couple of months go by and I tend to see it with different eyes.” It’s as if all the

little imperfections like missed hits and the moments that could have been logged but weren’t recorded weigh on the creative mind toiling in the trenches. Yet eventually, with some time and space, those limitations can be forgiven, and the filmmaker can judge the work by what it is rather than what it is not. It’s clearly a labor to get to the endpoint, and as Noè points out, “selfcriticism and learning is part of the process; hopefully ‘you only trip on the same rock once.’”

When I ask about the tools and his approach to creative work, Noè lists off a couple of cameras which include 8mm and 16mm film bodies but admits a general gravitation

towards low-tech cameras that capture crap image quality. “I’m always trying to get my hands on anything that looks different, whether it’s a lens that has a weird flare, or maybe it looks like absolute shit, but you can always find a place for it in certain videos.”

With the race towards high resolution having long surpassed the small screens that the average Joe views the bulk of their video content on, Noè seems to suggest that endless super slow motion and insanely crisp shots can inject a monotony that takes away from the value of what is being watched.

“Maybe for National Geographic you want to see animals nesting in 8K or whatever, but when you are capturing something funny or trying to get certain feelings across—

“N o è i s o n e o f t h e m o s t creative people I know—he doesn’t travel to a spot and think, I hope to see what all those people who have come before me have.

He approaches every new situation with fresh eyes and the ability to always do s o m e t h i n g s p e c i a l w i t h i t .”

— Colleen Carroll

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ABOVE LEFT: Screen grabs from Summer Retreat; a mandatory 14-day quarantine in Turks & Caicos that streamlined Noè and friends’ entry into the USA summer season. ABOVE RIGHT: One of Noè’s key strengths is exploiting new perspectives. At surface level, he attributes the kite’s helpful ability to explore the world from new angles.

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you don’t need an expensive camera to tell a good story.” Noè aims his sights on finding contrasts across his subjects by using music selection, camera handling and color-correction styles to amplify the visual experience. Speaking about the importance of ‘leaving your mark,’ Noè assaults the idea of originality in creative works; “No one invented anything,” he says, “Yet, you shouldn’t copy what others are doing; you can take a little bit from here and there and always make it your own. For me, that has always worked out.”

As the conversation winds down and we hang up, I’m left thinking about how Noè has made an indelible mark on the freestyle and park disciplines, using his unique perspective to showcase and preserve the roots of boardsports culture within kiteboarding. Turning to the riders of tomorrow, I undoubtedly believe there will be a future generation inspired by Noè’s vision, and with any luck, the next crop of Fonts will continue to set the visual bar higher, even if social media remains hellbent on lowering it.

RI D E R : ADR IA A N LOUW

PH OTO: SA MU E L CA R DE N AS

THROW IT DOWN E xperie nce the U nio n .

AI R USH.C OM

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Photo Michal Hrk

The

Path to the Peak Words by Marie-eve Mayrand

On a cold winter’s morning in Calgary, the alarm rings at 5:30am. It is dark outside. The dawn won’t come for another two hours. Not many people stir from their beds— except for the few passionate snowkiters like me.

Setting a pot of coffee to brew, I warm up the car engine to face the sub-zero temperatures and circle back to my computer for one last check of the conditions. Refreshing the tabs on my browser, I revisit Mountains-Forecast and iKitesurf before checking the weather and avalanche report to size up any changes. With the wakefulness of a full dose of caffeine, I deliberately strap on my avalanche transceiver before moving any closer towards the door.

The transceiver is the most critical safety device in avalanche terrain and must never be forgotten at home.

My backpack includes one 11-meter single-skin kite (based on the wind forecast), a thermos of hot water and some energy-rich food; these items will be well-earned treats at the top of the mountain.

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ABOVE: Sunshine Meadows is a great spot if you don’t mind skinning uphill for two and a half hours. The chairlift at Sunshine Village Ski Resort will get you most of the way, but you’ll still need backcountry gear to get the goods. // Photo Michal Hrk

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he popular snowkiting backcountry spots in this part of Canada are in Banff National Park, Icefield Parkway and Jasper National Park, all within a 2 to 4-hour drive from Calgary. Most often, we choose less-frequented spots with familiar conditions where we have a better chance of scoring untracked powder, wind and diverse terrain. When we are in a more adventurous frame of mind, we travel to coveted virgin spots, hoping for favorable conditions, the privilege of exploration and the possibility of etching a new riding zone on the map. The snowkiter’s philosophy is to see what else is out there and survey the unknown.

The spirit of exploration is the main thread that pulls together the pioneers of the Canadian Rocky Mountains snowkiting family.

My core group of backcountry friends has pushed me to explore the mountains in a different way. To name a few, the legendary Patrice Bance learned how to snowkite in the backcountry, having realized he could get across the terrain faster with a kite than with only just his skis. Patrice is probably one of the most important players in our crew, having discovered the bulk of the snowkite backcountry spots that we know to be operable in the Canadian Rockies. Another local hero and good friend, Jay

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Kilgannon, formerly a snowkite instructor at Rocky Mountains Snowkite, is by profession a firefighter. He used to teach outdoor survival classes with a formal organization in Alberta and is an incredible resource for winter camping and survival skills. Most notably, Jay has put some notes in the methodology for avalanche and crevasse rescue related to snowkiting. Ray Schmidt’s career with the National Parks puts him at the top of the list with his uncanny ability to name just about any nearby peak and its history.

Ray leans towards solo adventures and is known for a successful 21-day snowkite expedition on the Northwest Territory’s Great Slave Lake, ultimately reaching the soaring granite cliffs of Thaidene Nene, Canada’s newest National Park. Finally, David Steele, the young blood of this snowkiting group, has energy like no one else, oftentimes skinning up or summiting mountains in record time. Dave is a professional rope access climber and offers a toolkit of essential skills for glacier travels. Interestingly enough, Dave lives by the one kite rule: he rides his 8m Flysurfer Peak in every condition.

In Europe, famed destinations like the Hardangervidda mountain plateau and the Varanger area in the Norwegian Arctic allow you to park your car, walk a few meters, set up your kite and begin snowkiting immediately in spectacularly large mountainous areas without much of a human-powered approach. Down in the US, the Big Horns in Wyoming and the town of Jackson, Montana, offer plenty of access to fun, hilly riding and vast terrain with fairly easy access. Here in Calgary, we have our easy-to-access kite spots on the Canadian prairies, which provide snowkiting access close to the city, but these spots offer primarily flat riding conditions. This is great for the less adventurous or those seeking to fit a quick snowkiting session into their work schedule. I frequently use these sites on weekdays to put in a quick and easy hour after a long day of work. It is not as thrilling as snowkiting in the mountains or glaciers, but it helps you build important kiting skills on flat ground, which makes you stronger in the mountains. On the flats, you can become intimately aware of every piece of gear (kite, skis, harness, etc.), the precise tuning of the kite and develop kite handling skills for all kinds of wind conditions.

ABOVE: Backdropped by Peyto Glacier, Marie-Eve and David Steele use their single-skin Peaks to traverse the deep backcountry. March and April are the best time to avoid deep crevasses, yet Marie-Eve cautions this kind of terrain is solely for experienced riders with professional crevasse rescue and avalanche training. // Photo Stan Mah BELOW: Marie-Eve rolls up her Sonic kite for the long ski home. // Photo Julia Barnes

A major challenge for snowkiters in Western Canada is the difficult access to mountainous terrain and untracked powder.

For those interested in exploring the Canadian Rockies, my favorite starting spots with easier access are Ptarmigan Lake and Sunshine Meadows. However, to access the best conditions, it requires significant knowledge of the area and planning to reach the desired big mountain riding areas. Complex weather systems and avalanche potential have to be tracked several days in

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LEFT: The best part of the experience is removing your climbing skins and getting down to snowkiting business. // Photo Julia Barnes TOP RIGHT: MarieEve lays out the Peak 5 which features a new single-skin design and cutout bridle tabs for decreased weight. // Photo Michal Hrk BOTTOM RIGHT: The Peak is known not only for its extremely light weight, but also for the B-Safe system that offers instant safety depower in crucial snowkiting situations. // Photo Michal Hrk

advance, and you’ll have to check the availability of teammates; I have found that the ideal group consists of three to four skilled, enthusiastic and early-waking snowkiters.

For me, a typical day starts before first light to accommodate the drive from Calgary, but sometimes I opt for a night drive followed by van camping in the mountains to avoid the morning commute.

Because our mountains have deep forests, we have to hike above the treeline or stay in the open meadows to access clean wind. The ascent to open terrain above treeline requires skinning up through the alpine forest for several hours before getting to the potential snowkiting zone. Aside from the snowpack safety concerns, it is important to read the wind conditions and carefully pack the right kite. Many times, a 3-hour uphill ski trip has ended with no

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kiting due to unsuitable wind. With the invention of single-skin kites, I can stuff two different sizes into my backpack without adding much weight. With two kites, there’s a better chance of selecting just the right amount of power, and this is what makes snowkiting pure bliss. However, the duration of said bliss must be diligently managed on day trips, as it is best to ski down the mountain during daylight hours. Sometimes things can go wrong and you have to be prepared to descend with a headlamp. Skiing back to your car in the dark can be more complicated and timeconsuming. It’s always important to be mindful of the exhaustion of a full-day trip. When you combine the initial climb with the time you spend exploring behind the kite, you will find no better workout—and this sometimes warrants extra care on your way down and an additional day to recuperate.

TOP: Ira Carson photographed at Sunshine Meadows. Ira is known for his affinity for exploration and stylish airs. // Photo Michal Hrk BOTTOM: Marie-Eve scores an early November session with a surprising level of snowpack given the lack of snow in town. // Photo Michal Hrk

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LEFT: David Steele draws a clean line down Wapta Icefield. During this trip, group members Marie-Eve and Ray Schmidt scored some of the best conditions in the Canadian Rockies. // Photo Ray Schmidt TOP RIGHT: Grinning ear to ear, Marie-Eve and David Steele pose after a long day of snowkiting. // Photo Ray Schmidt BOTTOM RIGHT: Charging across an undisclosed remote icefield with significant crevasse risks, some locations are better left off the record. // Photo Ray Schmidt

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When we want more snowkiting time, we plan a two or three-day trip with some winter camping thrown in. My backpack includes a tent, a -20˚C sleeping bag, a cooking stove and some dry food for overnighters. For these kinds of trips, everything requires more planning. One of my favorite multi-day destinations is the Wapta Glacier, where you will find the backcountry Bow Hut on the summit. With access to a hut, you can stay overnight more comfortably, and with good wind conditions, you can access the Peyto Glacier and ascend Mount Rhonda or Mount Gordon.

There’s a vast amount of terrain you can explore from this location, but it’s important to note that glaciers have their own unique challenges. For one, skiers can fall into crevasses hidden under snow, making it crucial to bring all the safety gear required for crevasse rescue and come prepared with the skills to use that gear. Any glacier kiting day always starts with a crevasse rescue refresher for our crew to ensure the entire team is informed and prepared.

When the conditions are right, the kiting is magnificent with breathtaking views, and on a good day, we can cover over 50 miles of terrain. By backcountry standards, the kite is an incredibly

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The conditions on Healy Pass can be fickle, but having scored two perfect days, Marie-Eve climbs with unbeatable scenery as her backdrop. // Photo Ray Schmidt

efficient tool for exploration, but you have to be able to read the terrain and the constantly changing conditions at all times.

Unique to our adventures on the Wapta Glacier, we always look forward to the evening congregations at the Bow Hut at the end of a long day, which is typically packed with ardent backcountry skiers who are eager to share their day’s stories. As snowkiting in the Canadian backcountry is still a niche sport, we get lots of questions from the skiers about choosing the right gear, the cost of equipment and how to learn snowkiting the right way.

While deep backcountry snowkiting brings incredible rewards, it’s not something you can dive into headfirst. Aside from the initial equipment choices you make and basic kite handling skills you can develop on flat terrain, avalanche training is essential, and you’ll need to assemble the full toolkit for backcountry survival. Every snowkiter has to rely upon their backcountry partners for support and lifesaving decisions when things go wrong, so I highly recommend that you find a peer group with the same goals and develop this knowledge base together. There are backcountry programs that can help you learn these skills, and kite schools are a great place to find a guide that will familiarize you with new terrain. The backcountry community lives by its 48

own code of independence, self-responsibility and pride in safety skills, but once you lay the groundwork, you will find the core practitioners of snowkiting in the Canadian Rockies to be an incredible resource for exploring the backcountry by kite.

During the Calgary snowkiting season, the days are short, and the real adventures always run long. Whether you end your day in a snow-covered tent on top of the mountain or warm and safe back at home, kiting on snow will always test your skills, endurance and appetite for adventure. Writing about the big mountain or deep backcountry snowkiting experience always runs the risk of downplaying the natural barriers that exist between your parked car and the peak above. While addressing a general audience, it’s quite easy to over-simplify the skillset and necessary experience that serious snowkite athletes have assembled over years of backcountry outings. Yet, at the same time, it’s difficult to undersell the attraction of gliding across expansive terrain and exploring the unknown powder stash and clean lines that lay beyond that next ridge. The path into the backcountry is often long, technical and time-consuming, but reaching the top is almost always worth the dues paid along the way.

Proud to Be Neoprene-Free.

This is Moona: Once a tutu-wearing kid, now a wind-harnessing woman. She knew the dangers of limestone- and petroleumbased neoprene manufacturing and gave up traditional neoprene wetsuits a long time ago. Moona’s joined the fight against the dirty neoprene peddler, opting for Yulex® natural rubber* wetsuits that leave a lighter impact on the natural world. Moona was last seen flying her kite while wearing her R2® Yulex wetsuit. Moona made the right choice. Will you? *85% Yulex ® natural rubber/15% synthetic rubber by polymer content. The natural rubber is from sources that are Forest Stewardship Council® certifi ed by the Rainforest Alliance.

This undisclosed wave has never been kited. Here, Moona Whyte harnesses her handle, the wind and the uncanny power of this spinning African slab. James Boulding © 2021 Patagonia, Inc.

Words by Ian Hardgrove | Photos by Edwin Haighton

Glancing at the roster of professional kiteboarders that have risen out of Holland, you’d think the northern European hotspot would have a steady wind pattern with picture-perfect conditions that can’t help but routinely pump out Dutch kite freaks like Ruben Lenten, Kevin Langeree, Steven Akkersdijk and Annelous Lammerts. Yet, the Netherlands’ latest kite prodigy, Stig Hoefnagel, has gone through some serious pains to paint the real picture with an honest assessment of the good, bad and ugly sessions of the Dutch windy season.

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“The best days are frontal driven with the direction and wind strength variables dancing like a moving target.”

Kitesurfing in Holland is a mission. According to Stig, “It’s never easy—the conditions along the southern stretch of the North Sea are always changing.” With frontal variations that range from ferocious winds, sometimes accompanied by snow and blinding rain, to clear and sunny, light wind foilboarding breezes, Holland’s coast and waterways subject its kiteboarders to a little bit of everything. Stig points to kite destinations like Brazil or Cape Town, where the wind comes from the same direction every day and blows in long, predictable cycles and contrasts that against Holland, where the best days are frontal driven with the direction and wind strength variables dancing like a moving target. Always in the pursuit of wind, finding the best conditions requires a quick study of the wind flow maps and an eager willingness to drive from spot to spot and swap kite sizes like the olden narrow-range C-kite days. The frontal-hunting kiteboarder is a very different animal than its much lazier thermalharvesting counterpart, and this basic difference is perhaps why so many Dutch athletes are exceptionally resilient, talented and endlessly driven.

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“It’s never easy —

the conditions along the southern stretch of the North Sea are always changing.”

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Having grown up kiteboarding in the Netherlands’ diverse bays and heaving ocean swells, Stig is a capable operator in every discipline. From technical wake-oriented freestyle to big air megaloops and jib-style freeride, the Stig abides. He spent his early kiteboarding days focused on the insanely technical details of flat water freestyle and has since shifted gears in recent years by making a name for himself in the European big air scene with appearances at the Megaloop Challenge, Cold Hawaii Games and Big Air Kite League competitions. In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, his most recent video collaboration with The Stoke Farm, Stig capably showcases every discipline, but his megaloop sessions in monster seas with tempest conditions pounding against breakwaters are what stand out the most. If these are the conditions made famous by Ruben Lenten when he invented the megaloop, Stig carries that torch while looping over monolithic jetties, nailing each massive jump with amplitude and casting severe kite angles in the most difficult and unruly conditions.

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Photo Nicklas Nagel / Red Bull Content Pool Photo Craig Kolesky / Red Bull Content Pool

Photo Tyrone Bradley / Red Bull Content Pool Photo Paul Ganse / Red Bull Content Pool

Photo Nicklas Nagel / Red Bull Content Pool

The King of the Air has always been a beacon of fixation for Stig, who recalls watching KOTA YouTube videos on repeat as a young kid. After submitting entry videos for past events, this year his entrance edit was finally accepted.

When the Cape Town spectacle fired off in November, Stig landed himself on the podium in third next to fellow Dutch kiteboarder Kevin Langeree in second and Marc Jacobs in first. The field of competitors was remarkably thick with talent which makes Stig’s third-place podium an achievement in its own right. Reflecting on the state of big air competition, Stig identifies a growing trend towards introducing technical tricks to big air. As a proponent of overall jump height and the critical angle of the kite during loops, Stig notes that he would prefer to see riders rewarded with points for whipping themselves above their kites at the highest altitudes possible rather than scoring high for technical board-off additions at half the intensity. Judging critical riding first and technical riding second is Stig’s preference, but he also acknowledges that having three big air events on the schedule allows for diversity of styles in the field. Whatever direction big air kiteboarding ends up going, Stig will be one to watch with his The Real Stig video parody and confident style of riding ranging from savage megaloop storm front sessions to flat water freestyle behind protective dikes. One thing is for sure—the real Stig will always represent the real Holland.

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PROFILED

Of all the people dreaming about flying airplanes for a living, Hunter Becker is no longer one of them. Addicted to the foil, the gregarious Hunter is pursuing his love of kitefoiling as the new West Coast technical rep for Airush. // Photo Stephen Otero

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HUNTER BECKER CHASING THE NEXT DREAM Santa Barbara, California

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can get out on a fart,” says Hunter Becker with a grin, commenting on the legitimacy of his light wind skills. Santa Barbara born and raised, Hunter’s kiteboarding career has been defined by lackluster wind, yet this significant limitation has in no way diminished his obsession with the sport. “You do what you can with what you have,” and in his case, that translates to big megaloop airs on his foilboard in just about every condition imaginable.

Baked into his tall, muscular frame is a fearless approach to just about everything.

Hunter’s first stroke with kiteboarding started when he watched a couple of YouTube videos, bought a kite on the beach for $400 and proceeded to rig it onsite. The seller protested and then watched in horror as Hunter stumbled through his first go at kiteboarding. In fact, most of Hunter’s progression has followed this ill-advised trial by fire method. Faced with Santa Barbara’s elusive winds, in his first year, he went straight into foilboarding with a terrifyingly advanced setup. If the normal kiteboarding flight path starts with a twintip, followed by some time on a surfboard before freebasing with a hydrofoil, Hunter took the direct route, eventually landing his first backrolls on a floating pogo stick rather than the typical twintip.

Like many of us, Hunter’s discovery of kiteboarding didn’t start at an early age.

Having spent the bulk of his young adult years working construction and laying the foundation for a commercial pilot’s license, Hunter landed his dream career flying airplanes at the age of 19. Flying required long hours and a set schedule which was fine until he stumbled upon kiteboarding and the annoying discovery that the pilot gig never seemed to line up with good wind.

With kiteboarding having set its addictive hooks, Hunter left aviation behind and returned to a flexible construction job that allowed him to take off at a moment’s notice to the beach down the street or off to La Ventana or Hood River when iKitesurf said it was time to go.

For the last few years, Hunter has been completely obsessed with the sport. During the learning process, he spent hours flying his kite on the beach in Santa Barbara’s frequent marginal conditions. With his kite constantly on the edge of backstalling, he taught himself advanced moves on dry land, mastering dry foil tacks in both directions before ever trying one on the water. An admitted kite kook, Hunter recalls, “I used to run around the beach with my harness on, pretending I was riding toeside, trying to tack and figure out what my lines would do over me, then figure out where my kite would have to come out of the tack to ride away without stalling.” Hunter stuck with the versatility of foilboarding and quickly progressed into boosting big jumps, air-style board-offs and

tic-tac flips with his foil. “It’s pathetic,” he says. “In Santa Barbara, we’re all frothing on 15knots—but it’s made me a really good kiter.” With so many light wind days under his belt, when he gets to visit windy places and fellow kiters are complaining about the poor-quality wind, Hunter is stoked despite the gusts because it’s always windier than his typical sessions at home.

Having shadowed Eric Rienstra on Core’s West Coast Demo Tour this summer, Hunter ended up in Hood River in September.

Following the AWSI tradeshow, Hunter crossed paths with the bulk of the Airush team at the Stevenson launch. He remembers this session for its incredibly light wind and a particularly memorable backroll kiteloop that he landed with an impeccably clean foil re-entry. Hunter hit it off with Airush’s Sam Medysky and brand manager Clinton Filen and signed on for their West Coast tech rep position. Loaded with an arsenal of gear which includes a fresh quiver of Ultra Team edition single-strut kites built out of high-tech Ho’okipa cloth, Hunter now has a solid excuse to drive around the west looking for wind. In the quiet moments of his new occupation, Hunter sometimes reflects on his decision to put aviation on hold. Turning his back on a privileged career can seem selfish, yet as that chapter comes to an end, the door to a new dream job is opening with an expanding view of the kiteboarding horizon.

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PROFILED

Having just won the 2021 World Kite-Surf Title, Peri hoists her Naish Gecko in the air, celebrating her win at Dakhla and the triumph over a challenging year. // Photo Svetlana Romantsova 60

PERI ROBERTS THE YEAR OF THE HUSTLE Newcastle, Australia

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eri Roberts made one of her better life decisions when she left Australia in 2020 to pursue a Maui-based competitive kitesurfing career. In the months that followed, Australia’s borders locked down hard for the second time, yet the 22-year old surfer was free to travel the world, racking up enough points to claim the 2021 GKA Women’s Kite-Surf World Championship. Leaving Newcastle on Australia’s east coast wasn’t easy for the lifelong surfer/kitesurfer, but swapping Australia’s 3-month windy season for year around kitesurfing sessions in Maui was the first step on her quest for the tour title.

As an admitted daddy’s girl, Peri attributes her initial obsession with surfing and kiteboarding to her father, a diehard windsurfer turned kiteboarder. Following in the footsteps of her dad, she earned her upwind wings on a twintip at the age of 12 and promptly swapped to a surfboard, never looking back. Starting with smaller competitions in the Newcastle area, she picked up local sponsors and worked her way towards a wildcard entry into the GKA at the 2018 Torquay event as well as a Naish sponsorship.

Motivated by fellow women chargers, Peri vividly remembers the moment Moona Whyte won her first World Championship:

“She was 18 and probably the youngest girl to have won it at the time; I was 14 and that was one of the biggest inspirations for me.” In truth, Peri was surrounded by inspiring athletes, having grown up with Keahi de Aboitiz, legend Ben Wilson and a younger James Carew in the Australian scene. Carew, being one year ahead of her, always helped Peri frame her immediate competitive goals.

One of the biggest accelerators in Peri’s early competitive career was Australia’s iconic Merimbula Classic, where in 2017, the top podium spot landed her a free ticket to a kitesurfing week on Namotu, Fiji with Ben Wilson. Having followed the GKA tour all over the world, those early sessions on Namotu Lefts are still some of her favorite waves.

If the culmination of Peri’s efforts is her Kite-Surf World Title, the journey wasn’t always easy. Having released a year-long video project titled The Hustle, an intimate self-edited video that captures the ups and downs of chasing her dream, Peri reflects on some of the serious obstacles she had to remove to stay on tour this year. Between having her Australian passport stolen on a surf trip, Peri worked three jobs and sold her car to fund her travels and make this year a success. If babysitting, kitesurfing

instruction and low-paying digital marketing jobs weren’t hard enough, the recent surf tour format requires top competitors to possess not only solid surf skills but also strapless freestyle chops. Peri recalls, “Coming from a pure surf background, I worked for months on landing backrolls all while getting smashed in the process.”

As an inherently competitive person at her core, Peri spent the last year training in overhead waves on Maui, which made the lackluster conditions during the Dakhla contest window less than spectacular.

Although she pulled off the win by making the best of Morocco’s waist high sets and intermittent wind, Peri is hopeful that the tour will continue to improve its approach to conditions, noting that next year, the GKA is returning to marquee destinations like Mauritius and Rio de Janeiro.

Reflecting on the sacrifice and hustle, Peri plans to return to the tour next year, but notes, “I’m not doing it the way I did it last year.” Excited to work on bigger video projects and focus more on freesurf content, Peri wants to build on her momentum with a focus on pushing her limits on performance kitesurfing and surfing bigger waves. With Indo and a return to Namotu in her sights, this season, Peri hopes to hustle less and kitesurf more.

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A I R C A T E G O R Y

B I G

FEEL THE LIFT

O U R W AY T O M A K E T H E WORL D A BETTER P L ACE.

DU OTO N E S P O RTS .C O M

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D U O T O N E

D U O T O N E

D U O T O N E

D U O T O N E

DUOTONE

DUOTONE DUOTONE DUOTONE DUOTONE SELECT

SELECT

JAIME

JAIME

REBEL

REBEL

FOLLOW US

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EXPOSED

Kiteboading is as much about what you do as it is where you do it. Discovering unlimited freeride potential, Linus Erdmann explores the emerald waters of Guadaloupe with the new XR7. // Photo Johannes Hols

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EXPOSED

The up and coming Jeremy Burlando tests his new Machine in the iconic offshore boosting grounds of Tarifa’s Balneario beach. // Photo Samuel Cárdenas

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EXPOSED

Ewan Jaspan is one of the most talented riders in the industry. With progressive technical moves and impeccable style, Ewan’s load and pop always puts him in the right position. // Photo Frankie Bees

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EXPOSED

With a background in skateboarding, Argentinian Ramiro Gallart, has risen through the park riding ranks with explosive technique that combines precision boned-out grabs seemingly rooted in his unique skate-inspired approach. // Photo Toby Bromwich

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EXPOSED

Off the beaten Trax, Paul Serin takes his carbon rocket sled deep into French Polynesia to explore the lucid waters of Bora Bora. // Photo C.J. Coetzee

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LYTE LYTE HARNESS HARNESS Any company can make a lightweight harness.

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WORDS BY JOE WINOWSKI | PHOTOS BY ROBERT HAJDUK

On the expansive white beach of Poetto, a village of white tents is erected and lines of flags are raised as kitefoil racers from all over the world arrive in the Sardinian capital of Cagliari for the return of the Sardinia Grand Slam IKA KiteFoil World Series race. Layered with centuries of antiquities stemming from its strategic perch on the southern tip of

the Sardinian island, the old-world streets of Cagliari are the perfect backdrop for the extreme speeds and hypercompetitive action of modern foil racing. Just beyond the city’s famed Poetto Beach, lay the protected waters of Golfo degli Angeli, where the world’s best kitefoil athletes return year after year in their bid for the 2024 Olympic Class racing program.

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TOP: A tight fleet races against the backdrop of modern Cagliari. BOTTOM LEFT: An impressive village is erected on Poetto Beach to host the Grand Slam’s racing program as well as the ‘Give SEA a Chance’ educational initiative to promote healthy oceans. BOTTOM RIGHT: Axel Mazella leads Connor Bainbridge as they try to manage as much power and speed possible without making a single mistake.

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pon the descent into Cagliari’s international airport, the window seat offers up a bird’s eye view of Luna Rossa’s America’s Cup compound and harbors filled with almost every class of racing sailboat, ranging from small junior sailing fleets to big competitive monohulls and catamarans. With a consistent supply of wind, Cagliari has deep roots in competitive sailing, often hosting America’s Cup class races and more recently becoming a frequent destination for kitefoil competitions.

One of the reasons that the IKA KiteFoil events continuously return to Cagliari is the ideal conditions that make the racing both challenging and highly competitive. On the first two days of this year’s event, the Mistral wind blew strong from the north, with offshore flow coming over the land and filling into the bay.

Under these conditions, the bay’s waters are flattened by the offshore wind, allowing riders to push top speeds without having to navigate the rise and fall of swell. However, the Mistral is also known for alternating slightly back and forth in direction.

When the wind shifts, racers have to constantly tack and choose different sides of the course, anticipating the wind’s next move.

According to competitor Connor Bainbridge, “A lot of kite racing happens with low winds and big kites where you are doing two tacks per leg, but with Cagliari’s strong offshore conditions, we were on small kites doing four or five tacks per leg.” If a racer correctly plays a big change in wind direction, they might land in first place. If they wind up on the wrong side of a wind shift, they may fall back a couple of positions. During the first few days of offshore wind, competitors were forced to tack more often to stay on favored wind shifts, and in a highly-evolved fleet where few riders make mistakes, the difference between winning and losing came down to smart tactical moves and small incremental

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINNING AND LOSING C A M E D O W N TO S M A R T TAC T I C A L M O V E S A N D S M A L L I N C R E M E N TA L G A I N S M A D E T H R O U G H TAC K I N G T R A N S I T I O N S . gains made through tacking transitions. With Frenchman Axel Mazella, fellow countryman Théo de Ramecourt and Britain’s Connor Bainbridge duking it out for the top spots in the first rounds of heavy air, the following days brought lighter sea breezes and fewer directional shifts. While steady wind allowed for longer tacks, the sea breeze also brought more swell, making board control at high-end speeds more challenging.

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THE DEMANDING LEVEL OF PRECISION C O N T R O L O V E R T H E B OA R D AT HIGH SPEEDS MAKES THE HUNCHED P O S I T I O N T H E M O S T S E C U R E S TA N C E FOR SURVIVING GUSTS.

As the Formula Kitefoil fleet approaches the 2024 Olympics, the competitive level of racing is climbing to near perfection.

The differences that set racers apart are becoming increasingly smaller, and races are won not by big bounds but by razor-thin margins; a podium-winning racer must push themselves to unimaginable speeds while not making a single mistake. One of the keys to maintaining the speed required to win races is to confidently handle extreme amounts of power while preserving enough control to prevent small errors and time-consuming crashes. According to Connor Bainbridge, the hunched over riding position you see in the fleet comes from the need to access the full depower stroke of your bar and keep your center of effort over the board and foil. Spectators from sailing backgrounds often ask why racers don’t lean back for more leverage against the kite as you would on a sailboat, but the demanding level of precision control over the board at high speeds makes the hunched position the most secure stance for surviving gusts, maneuvering over waves and flawlessly rounding the course’s buoys.

The Grand Slam is often cited as the racers’ favorite event of the year because the layout is geared towards the spectators.

The public can stroll through the riders’ pavilion between heats and rub elbows with racers, and since every part of the event is organized around viewership, there’s a professional-grade video livestream that allows fans from around the world to follow all the action. While foil racing action often occurs far offshore with maneuvers too complicated to be seen at a distance, Sardinia’s

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U P P E R L E F T: C o n n o r Bainbridge races towards the windward mark in a hunched position, giving him extra stability and control over his hydrofoil. UPPER RIGHT: With an international roster, the Grand Slam facilitates interaction between worldclass racers, spectators and the local sailing community.

LOWER LEFT: Flying at high speeds and extreme angles, Axel Mazella leads the pack in his blue jersey.

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I T ’ S I N T E N S E H I G H D R A M A W I T H R A C E R S P U S H I N G T H E M S E LV E S F L AT O U T AT E X T R AO R D I N A R Y S P E E D S , F I G H T I N G F O R T H E F I N I S H L I N E W I T H E XC I TA B L E S P E C TATO R S C H E E R I N G O N T H E E N T I R E E X T R E M E S P E C TA C L E F R O M W I T H I N E A R S H O T.

racecourse is laid out so that the intimate details of racing action can be watched from Poetto’s long sandy beach. The final leg of the race finishes with competitors rounding an upwind mark before entering one final drag race within close proximity to the sand. It’s intense high drama with racers pushing themselves flat out at extraordinary speeds, fighting for the finish line with excitable spectators cheering on the entire extreme spectacle from within earshot.

Beyond Cagliari’s perfect racing conditions, scenic hilltop castles and impressive granite cliffs, Sardinia is dedicated to its racing events and organizes a professional competition that every stop on the competitive kitefoil tour should aspire to. With spectators ranging from young children training in optimist fleets to America’s Cup engineers quizzing kite racers on their technology and technique, the Sardinia Grand Slam is one of the biggest events of the year that wraps the entire sailing community around kitefoiling and keeps competitors coming back for training and racing, year after year.

UPPER LEFT: When racing at high speeds in tight quarters, kite tuning is extremely important. UPPER MIDDLE: Théo de Ramecourt looks over his shoulder, keeping an eye on returning Grand Slam Champion Axel Mazella.

UPPER RIGHT: In such a competitive fleet, crashes are almost impossible to recover from. BELOW: Jean de Falbaire charges towards the upwind mark with Cagliari in the background.

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Windsports equipment has always trended on the technical side of the spectrum, and these days, we are hearing the word ‘innovation’ buzzing through every facet of our sport. In the midst of an era where humankind is using modern technology to reshape society, innovation is the holy grail of survival, and many companies, including kiteboarding brands, are asking the hard questions of how to build a continuous innovation pipeline.

One of the greatest reboot experiments in our industry is happening in a quiet commercial zone off the side of Hana Highway in Central Maui, just five minutes from the infamous Kite Beach. What might be considered the biggest top-down disruption in kiteboarding, in 2020, Cabrinha secured its independence from its Hong Kong-based windsports holding company, putting Pete Cabrinha and entrepreneur and long-time Cabrinha athlete Jon Modica in the driver’s seat. With its new ownership rooted in a culture of watermen, Cabrinha has set into motion a series of moves that brought key development personnel back to Maui, while resetting its core values and recharging its design and development team. With fresh recruits and an increased allocation of resources, Cabrinha has dubbed its augmented design program the ‘Cab Design Works’ and tasked its staff with the lofty goal of designing for the convergence of wind and hydrofoil-based watersports.

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Words by Brendan Richards | Photos courtesy of Cabrinha

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ccording to brand manager, David Hastilow, Cab Design Works (CDW) is a melding of new and old faces with unrestricted access to design and development resources.

Having worked his way through almost every division of the company, Dave has followed Cabrinha around the world and back to Maui and knows the development process better than anyone else. From his perspective, “We are a collective of engineers, designers, world champions and key industry people, all working collaboratively to move the needle in design, engineering and material development.” The man in charge of wielding that needle is Product Development Manager Lars Moltrup. Having started as an apprentice sweeping the floors of a tool injection and stamping manufacturer in Denmark at the age of fifteen, Lars attended design school and eventually landed in the windsports industry in 2010. As part of Lars’ Cabrinha tour of duty, he’s been stationed in Maui, Australia, Hong Kong and now finds himself back on Maui with a wealth of insight on every tier of Cabrinha’s manufacturing and supply chain. Having brought his wife and two young sons back to Maui, Lars considers his full circle good fortune and describes the new engineering department as one of the most qualified and progressive design teams in the entire watersports industry.

With designers like Brodie Sutherland, who’s probably the youngest designer in the industry, and hand-picked engineers like Cape Town-based Dean Freedberg and British Columbia’s John Bais, Cab Design Works has a diverse roster of technical talent. According to start-up veteran Dean Freedberg, “A technical design process, in its basic structure is fairly generic, but what really sets a team apart are the team dynamics and the way in which the design process is approached. I believe the new

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TOP: The Cavitation Tunnel at SINTEF’s facility uses flowing water and miniaturized sensors to measure pressure fluctuations and noise as well as cavitation in foil hardware. ABOVE: Kite designer and engineer Brodie Sutherland shows off the Modular quick release system that streamlines Cabrinha’s safety and allows riders to quickly swap between a series of connection loops to match their discipline. // Photo James Boulding BELOW: The many faces of Cabrinha.

CDW team has an amazing dynamic filled with a combination of fresh, excited members and more experienced, established staff.” One of the biggest additions to the CDW program is the reintegration of designer Pat Goodman, who is returning from a three-year stint at North Actionsports Group. According to Lars Moltrup, “Pat is coming back to a re-energized group on an upwards trajectory, where his experience and capabilities as a designer will play a key role alongside the rest of the team.”

Innovation is as much about creative talent as it is directing the agenda of the product development process. Lars sets the team’s tone with the new premise, “If someone has a wild idea, we encourage them to pitch it, design it and test it.” Experimentation

is the freedom to use time and resources to test theories and build prototypes. Having experienced both the old and new Cabrinha, Brodie explains how the new ownership model ensures that everyone on the team is passionate about watersports. “Since we all ride at quite a high level,” he explains, “we know exactly what is going on in the market.” Sometimes that freedom to experiment helps solve existing problems and sometimes these side-projects identify new problems to which the solution brings benefits to customers. The CDW concept allows its design team to move nimbly in the market and respond rapidly to product and industry trends. “When I started at Cabrinha this was not the case, but with the change in ownership, I can say that we are able to move significantly more quickly,” says Brodie.

“ We are a collective of engineers, designers, world champions and key industry people, all working collaboratively to move the needle in design, engineering and material development.”

When Alby Rondina pairs Cabrinha’s trademark white CDW Contra 1 Strut and Special Agent foilboard with the Fusion foil system, nothing can stop him from getting out on the water. // Photo Lukas Stiller

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“ Looking back, every new advancement has lowered the barriers for more people to enjoy windsports in a larger range of conditions.”

Right now, some of the biggest advancements in the market are happening in material development with brands introducing fabrics like Aluula, Ho’okipa and Penta into the kite market. As the Cab Design Works team has experimented with materials that introduce lower weight and new stiffness properties, they are being careful to protect their customers’ expectations of quality and longevity. According to Brodie, “We have lots in the works in the lightweight category but we want to make sure what we release is up to our high standards.” One of the biggest advantages of the Cab Design Works organization is the strategic combination of local design and fabrication skills that is supported by internationally distributed engineering talent and Cabrinha’s longstanding manufacturing relationships.

In the past, the validation of iterative and landmark improvements have been handled entirely by Cabrinha’s top athletes and in-house product testing team, but this last year, the

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CDW program has also entered into collaboration with research scientists at Norway’s SINTEF facility and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. With the use of a large cavitation tunnel and other simulators, the researchers conduct hydrodynamic tests on Cabrinha’s foil wings which informs the design process and allows each iteration of the design to be numerically validated. The partnership with CDW helps the SINTEF team understand the applicable challenges of foils in real life while ascertaining the accuracy of numerical simulations with actual product behaviors. This partnership is incredibly valuable for understanding the performance of the Fusion system and brings a new level of theoretical and practical knowledge to Cabrinha’s hydrofoil program.

While Cab Design Works dreamers are sketching out the future of high-performance kiting, engineer John Bais is quick to acknowledge that innovation impact is not just focused on a single dimension of high-end users. New developments are just as important when directed at broadening the market. “Looking back, every new advancement has lowered the barriers for more people to enjoy windsports in a larger range of conditions.” John points out Cabrinha’s landmark role in releasing the first high depower bow kites and highlights the obvious importance of newer kites that have wider wind ranges and quick release systems that have greatly improved the safety of all riders. Foils have opened the door to lower winds and created cross-sport pollination with the introduction of winging and prone surfing, yet the future of new discoveries in the foil space remains wide open.

This year’s Cab Design Works kites come fresh out of the bag in a white colorway for extra pop on your next kicker hit. // Photo Lukas Stiller

Three years ago, the Cabrinha brand was at an inflection point.

Operating as a division within a large windsports holding company, Cabrinha’s talented design staff often struggled against its corporate-minded ownership. With the company now solely in the hands of career kitesurfers and watermen, Cabrinha is doubling down on years of innovation. By creating a lean innovation pipeline within the new Cab Design Works department, the Maui-based brand is setting up for a big new chapter in kiteboarding and watersports history.

FAR LEFT: Product Tester Phil Sobolev, Chief Graphic Designer Patrick Dunne and Brand Manager Dave Hastilow demonstrate the collaborative process when it comes to providing feedback for new CDW shapes. // Photo Gwen Le Tutour LEFT: World Champion Keahi de Aboitiz exchanges thoughts with Dave Hastilow during an exhaustive surfboard testing session. // Photo Gwen Le Tutour ABOVE: Combining empirical performance data with real-world sensory feedback is key for accurate modeling and continuous improvements to the Fusion foil system.

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TODO B I EN HOT EL & VI L LAS Treat yourself and enjoy La Ventana in style. Todo Bien includes eleven spacious, well-furnished rooms and three 3-bedroom villas. Room features include private terraces, king beds, quality linens, natural bath products and jaw-dropping views. Resort amenities include a cozy bar and restaurant, private beach access with a great launch, launch/ landing support, swimming pool, hot tub, fire-pit, outdoor palapa living room, ping-pong, fiber-optic internet wired to each room and more.

The Todo Bien team has been fully vaccinated and follow all standard Covid precautions. // HotelTodoBien.com

The Best Of

Baja

VEN TAN A W I N DSP ORTS With a large beach launch/land area directly in front of the property, Ventana Windsports offers 13 one or two-bedroom cabana options just steps away from the best beach in La Ventana. New this season is a large infinity pool and Jacuzzi plus a pool bar and cafe as well as a fire-pit/lounge area close to the beach where you can watch all the action! Guests will enjoy healthy, fresh meals at Coya’s, the oceanfront restaurant overlooking the bay. Resort-wide Covid 19 protocols are in place. Lodging packages include breakfast, lunch, WiFi and use of SUP boards, kayaks and cruiser bikes. Alas Del Mar is our onsite full-service rental and instruction sports center for kite, windsurf, wingfoil and mountain biking. // VentanaWindsports.com

La Ventana's Ultimate Windsports Accommodations

PALA PAS VEN TAN A Warm, welcoming and knowledgeable about all things related to Baja, Palapas Ventana is like your second family. Guest reviews consistently rave about the accommodating staff and quality of food along with Photo Gregor John

excellent excursions and instruction. Experience snorkeling, scuba diving, kiteboarding, fishing, SUPing, hiking, spearfishing, whale shark swimming and gray whale tours. Lodging includes breakfast and lunch at our restaurant bar that overlooks the beach just above the semi-private launch/land area. Each casita has its own private covered patio with an ocean view. // PalapasVentana.com

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We are so happy we decided to call Hotel Todo Bien home for Christmas.

Stunning hotel, beautiful interior and super friendly staff. Wake up to amazing sunrises and delicious breakfasts. Enjoy the hot tub after kite lessons, you will never want to leave.

— Lauren S.

USA 1.310.594.3483 MEX 52.612.111.9288 contact@palapasventana.com Waterfront Hotel & Villas La Ventana, Baja Sur

Bar & Grill with Great launch & Hot Tub

WWW.PALAPASVENTANA.COM

W W W. H OT E LTO D O B I E N . CO M

We added more deluxe to Baja Deluxe Your Baja Vacation includes:

• The best beachfront kiting location in Baja.

• 2nd-story beachfront dining w/healthy cuisine (breakfast & lunch included with your room.)

• Cozy, private suites steps from the water.

• SUP, foil, mtn bike, windsurf, massage, snorkel.

Plus:

• New beachfront pool, hot tub & fire pit.

• Wingfoiling; new gear for rent, lessons.

• 2 jet skis w/bluetooth headsets for lesson assist & tow foil training.

Beachfront Resort Hotel

FORECAST L A V E N TA N A

BAJA’S PREMIER WIND MAGNET WORDS BY IKITESURF METEOROLOGIST MIKE GODSEY

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ong, long ago when a paved road down Baja was just a dream, early windsurfers pioneered several dozen launch sites on Baja’s Sea of Cortez. These sites ranged from San Felipe at the northern end to Cabo Pulmo in the south. Lacking model forecasts, windsurfers made the rough, treacherous drive to a likely beach, set up camp and waited for wind.

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Four Corners Region Ideal High-Pressure Location

SUMMERTIME NORTH PACIFIC HIGH POSITION

NW Wind from NPH

El e

rt

No ds

in

WINTERTIME NORTH PACIFIC HIGH POSITION

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As the decades passed, tall stories and wind lore was replaced by rudimentary versions of the weather models we use today at iKitesurf. It became clear that most Baja launch sites only saw decent wind when the occasional big El Norte wind event stirred the entire Sea of Cortez. Useful winds between the El Norte were sparse and early pioneers spent weeks at obscure sites with the very real possibility of being skunked for an entire trip. With the bulk of the Sea of Cortez having been written off, Los Barriles briefly became the center of Baja wind play, yet even Los Barriles could be fickle when El Norte events faded away.

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High Pressure Northern Great Basin

LOCAL SEA BREEZE

LOW PRESSURE TROUGH

Photo Gregor John

So why did La Ventana, hidden on a dead-end road from La Paz, become Baja’s premier wind magnet?

Annotated by Mike Godsey First you must know that wind is always created by air moving from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas. La Ventana has the ideal location and topography to maximize local and distant pressure gradients into a consistent wind pattern that keeps kiteboarders on the water throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter.

THE EL NORTE The first major player in La Ventana’s wind is the infamous El Norte winds. During the winter, as a storm passes over the American Rocky Mountains, high pressure frequently follows the storm and settles in the Great Basin stretching from eastern Oregon to Las Vegas. For the strongest El Norte winds, the high

pressure needs to be centered in the southern Great Basin known as the Four Corners region. High pressure in this location causes powerful wind to blow towards the low-pressure zone south of Baja. This causes the entire Sea of Cortez to rage with strong winds and large swell.

THE THERMAL The second largest influence on La Ventana’s wind is the local sea breeze effect. When there is no high pressure in the Great Basin, kiteboarders can rely on a subtle bump from the expansive flat plains of Los Planes Valley that they drove through on the last leg of their shuttle ride from the airport. The valley is a dead-end with mountains on all sides except for its flat opening towards La Ventana’s beaches. On sunny days, the valley bakes in the sun

causing rising air to generate low pressure in the valley. Meanwhile, the air over the water is cooler and is relatively higher pressure; this denser air over the Sea of Cortez has only one path into the valley and that is over La Ventana’s beaches. The resulting easterly wind is usually in the low to mid-teens and a bit stronger towards Hot Springs Beach while the rest of the Sea of Cortez often sees no wind.

T H E N O R T H PA C I F I C H I G H Most people are aware of La Ventana’s thermal effect and the infamous El Norte, but there is a third player in the equation which is less often talked about. When there are fewer winter storms passing across the USA and there is no high pressure in the Four Corners basin, La Ventana has a backup wind machine.

The massive North Pacific High (NPH) that is known for its key role in California’s and Hawaii’s summer winds has a wintertime

home west of Baja. Sometimes the NPH moves close enough to Baja to produce NNW winds in La Ventana Bay. This wind source is often identified by the typical up and down winds near the shore because the westerly direction creates an offshore influence that doesn’t wrap smoothly into the beaches. If you can launch and get off the beaches, you will find more consistent wind out in the bay.

C O M B O D AY S The combo days are what gives La Ventana its status as a premier wind destination. These are the days where the wind hits the 20s while the rest of Baja suffers from weak wind. The first combo scenario combines a weak El Norte with the sea breeze effect and typically occurs when high pressure is located in the distant northern portion of the Great Basin causing a milder pressure gradient over the Sea of Cortez. When these mid-teen El Norte winds reach La Ventana they combine with the Los Planes thermal to bring 20 knots of NNE winds along with medium swell.

The second combo melds the North Pacific High with the local sea breeze. As mentioned above, the NPH’s side offshore NNW winds have a harder time curving into the beaches, but when the sun is shining on the Los Planes Valley the pressure gradient helps curve

the NNW wind into the beaches. If clouds in the valley weaken the local sea breezes, there may be random westerly offshore winds that trickle down the arroyos making for gusty winds and tricky launches.

The final combo is the unruly but celebrated combination of a big El Norte with nearby North Pacific High winds. This pattern is far less common during the La Ventana winter season, but it brings the wildest wind and ocean-sized swell that typically lasts for two to three days. Typically, during this event there are very strong winds aloft so getting off the beach can be challenging with dumping shore-break and extra gusty winds. However, once outside, get ready for huge swell and pure delight especially if you can find the glassy swell over the fabled Golden Triangle shoal way outside.

N O W I N D D AY S Finally, there’s the ‘no wind’ pattern—this happens for a couple of days several times each winter if there is no high pressure in the Great Basin, no North Pacific High nearby, clouds in the valley or

low pressure over Baja’s East Cape. Luckily there’s plenty of biking, hiking, SUPing, ATVing, fishing or touring the local towns of southern Baja to supplement the down-days.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N C H E C K O U T I K I T E S U R F ’ S N E T W O R K O F S E N S O R S A N D D E TA I L E D F O R E C A S T S .

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GOING BIG ARTHUR GUILLEBERT

Photo Samuel Cárdenas

WITH

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his year, Eleveight’s Arthur Guillebert took the GKA Freestyle Tour Championship by storm with a season win that combined both the tour’s longstanding technical freestyle format with points from the all-new big air discipline. Having introduced the sliding, conditionbased format in 2019, this year’s return to in-person events was the first time that the big air format has had a decisive influence on the outcome of the freestyle championship.

With only two events on the 2021 GKA calendar, the first contest took place in Tarifa. Spain’s fabled Levante 40-knot wind was in full force and event organizers decided to score heats for big air moves only. The second event of the year in Cumbuco, Brazil, experienced more reasonable freestyle-friendly conditions, and athletes were scored for their technical freestyle tricks. Because the events were divided directly down the middle, Arthur Guillebert’s first-place big air finish in Tarifa combined with his fifth-place freestyle finish in Brazil, provided the combined points necessary for him to claim the 2021 World Championship.

We caught up with Arthur upon his return home to the south of France to learn more about the brave new world of the freestyle tour.

TOP LEFT: Arthur waves the French flag high in Brazil after scoring enough freestyle points in Cumbuco to take the 2021 Freestyle World Championship Title. // Photo Svetlana Romantsova RIGHT: Launching a big air on the way to the top of the Tarifa podium, Arthur’s kiteloop training paid off when the Levante came to town and switched the format from technical freestyle to big air. // Photo Samuel Cárdenas BELOW RIGHT: With only two tour stops in the 2021 season, Arthur’s first-place big air finish in Tarifa carried his fifth-place freestyle finish in Brazil to the season win. However, in the highly competitive freestyle pool, any finish in the top ten is impressive. // Photo Svetlana Romantsova

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NOW THAT BIG AIR HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE FREESTYLE TOUR, THERE WILL INEVITABLY BE SUPPORTERS AND CRITICS OF THE MIXED OUTCOME. WHAT’S THE OVERALL FEEL FROM RIDERS ON THE INTEGRATION OF THE NEW BIG AIR FORMAT?

Well, it really depends on the rider; some of the guys prefer 100% pure wakestyle, and others are open to the new format. It’s super challenging to have a freestyle contest in 40 knots of wind. Trying to perform technical tricks in that kind of wind is really hard on the body, and we have had a lot of injuries from competing in these conditions. For me, it’s more logical to adjust the format because we never know what conditions we will have during our competitions. If it’s on the lighter side, then the contest goes full freestyle, but if the winds are in the middle, we get scored for two freestyle tricks and two big air tricks. Finally, if we get strong winds like in Tarifa, the contest is scored for all big air tricks. Since we have contests in all kinds of conditions, it just doesn’t make sense to stick to the high-wind freestyle format if the winning move ends up being a simple raley to blind just because that’s the only thing that we can land in 40 knots. Sure, it’s a problem for the riders who aren’t training for big air, but the GKA wants to push the mixed format in all the events because switching to big air in the right conditions is good for both the riders and spectators.

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WHILE YOUR BIG AIR POINTS SET YOU UP FOR THE SEASON WIN, YOUR TECHNICAL FREESTYLE POINTS WERE LEGITIMATE GIVEN THE COMPETITIVE ROSTER OF RIDERS LIKE MAXIME AND CARLOS. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP, AND HOW DID YOU DEVELOP SUCH A WIDE SKILLSET?

I was born in the south of France, in Marseilles, but when I was five, my parents decided to sail around the world.

When I was 13, we arrived in New Caledonia, and that was where I started kitesurfing. I ended up at a school where we started training for competitive kiteboarding; from there I went on to win the New Caledonia Nationals, and in both 2014 and 2015, I won the Junior European World Cup. Most of my competitions and training have been focused on freestyle, but since I grew up in New Caledonia, I was always influenced by New Cal local Tom Hebert and his old-school big air style of riding. During the years of the WKL and the introduction of the GKA, I was placing in the top 10 in freestyle. When the GKA announced the new format, I put more time into big air training, and that is what set me up for the win in Tarifa, and consequently, the overall tour.

HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR TRAINING FOR BOTH FREESTYLE AND BIG AIR DISCIPLINES?

I have been trying to split my training between freestyle and big air. If the conditions are super strong, then I practice big air, and if the conditions are lighter, I focus on freestyle. I don’t like to focus on one discipline specifically. When I’m in Brazil, in a place like Cumbuco, it can be super good for freestyle, but if I want to train for big air, then I might head north to Jericoacoara.

During my big air sessions, I typically start with tricks that I know I can do. I begin with kiteloops and board-offs, and after that, I go for new tricks. I try to ride with friends as much as possible. In France, I ride with Edgar Ulrich, who is super good in big air; we are always trying new tricks and setting up little games between one another, and it’s pretty much the same for freestyle. Events rarely happen in perfect conditions, so we have to be ready for choppy and gusty conditions. Much like my freestyle mindset, first, I try to master tricks in good conditions, but then I spend time doing the same tricks in harsh conditions. Normally I spend the week before a contest at the event site so I can prepare. Take a spot like the GKA event in Cumbuco—it’s super choppy with waves, and while the wind is good, it takes a bit of getting used to.

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Adding a technical move like a board-off or a rotation into a high-altitude kiteloop adds some spice to the game. Riders like Arthur also take critical kite angles and powered riding very seriously. // Photo Samuel Cárdenas

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WHAT GEAR DO YOU USE ACROSS THE TWO DISCIPLINES?

Well, the XS is the obvious choice for big air because it provides a ton of power and has really good handling. For freestyle, I ride the FS kite. It’s not a pure C-shape like the other kites you see on tour; instead, it uses a bridle which works very well for me.

I ride the Commander twintip for freestyle because it gives me more pop and it’s stronger, while I choose the Master twintip for big air riding because it’s much lighter. Eleveight has been really supportive so far, and I’m looking forward to another great year with them.

HOW IS THE SCORING HANDLED IN THE BIG AIR FORMAT, AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE JUDGING?

TOP LEFT: Arthur poses with the FS, his freestyle weapon of choice which most notably differs from typical tour kites due to the implementation of a front bridle. // Photo Samuel Cárdenas UPPER LEFT: Arthur launches a big send with the expanse of urban Tarifa in the background. // Photo Samuel Cárdenas MIDDLE: Big contests like the Red Bull King of the Air require the holy trinity of riders, spectators and sponsors. This year, Arthur’s KOTA wildcard video landed him an invitation to compete in the main event. // Photo Tyrone Bradley / Red Bull Content Pool UPPER RIGHT: Arthur goes for amplitude in Cumbuco’s pure freestyle event. // Photo Svetlana Romantsova LOWER RIGHT: Capably swapping between two very different worlds, Arthur plans to pursue both the big air and freestyle events in the upcoming year. // Photo Tyrone Bradley / Red Bull Content Pool

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At GKA events, the judges score each trick based on 50% height and 50% technicality, whereas the King of the Air favors height over technicality, and that tends to lead to more impressive riding. Some riders might have better board-offs, but they are usually doing them at a lower height and with less power. A lot of the riders want to see big air move in the direction of higher tricks with more power.

HAVING LANDED A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE, WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU IN THE COMING YEAR?

This year I finished my studies, so now I can focus completely on kiteboarding. I’m planning to do all the big air events from the Megaloop Challenge to the King of the Air. I will still do the GKA freestyle tour, but since the big air discipline seems to be growing with larger competitions and progressive riding, I think it will be important to keep training in this new direction.

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TECHNICAL LOOPS WORDS BY JANEK GRZEGORZEWSKI

When

| PHOTO BY THOMAS BURBLIES

it comes to big air megaloops infused with technical board-offs,

Janek Grzegorzewski has been pushing the boundaries i n n o v at i o n . T o h e l p u s u n d e r s ta n d t h e l e a r n i n g c u r v e , J a n e k his kiteloop training into a series of simple binary decisions. rider

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very kiteloop session starts with the conditions. My progression sessions always happen in medium-strength wind where I can experiment with timing and new tricks.

If it’s heaving 40-knot survival conditions then the goal is to go high and stay alive. Sometimes the high-wind sessions can get scary, depending on the kite’s position and how fast I can recover from the loop’s pull and set up a clean landing.

Sometimes a crash is inevitable, and then the goal is to get into the best impact position possible.

When you are doing your first kiteloops, you will want to ride underpowered in predictable winds, beginning with a smaller kite size that turns in a tighter steering arc. Start with some low jumps, less than 3-feet off the water so you can land no matter where the kite ends up in the wind window. These low altitude, underpowered kiteloops will help you to get a sense of how the kite pulls. After you gain some confidence, then you can work your way up to higher jumps and bigger kites with more power.

The first step in a kiteloop is to get a clean takeoff by sending your kite up into the window like a regular jump. If my takeoff is good and my body position feels balanced, then I will start thinking about initiating the loop on my way up. If the takeoff isn’t quite right, then I don’t pull the trigger.

One of the most important decisions is deciding when to initiate the kiteloop. For your initial low altitude attempts, don’t wait to loop the kite. On

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Polish

of style and breaks down

big air sends, begin the kiteloop at the end of your jump’s upward pull for easier, more controlled loops. As you feel the vertical pull slowing, this is the time to initiate a tight kiteloop; the earlier you initiate the kiteloop the harder the pull.

As you begin to experiment with more power in your loops or integrate mid-air rotations, it’s important to stay balanced and in control. The best way to keep your balance is to compact your core by bringing your feet up into your chest in a squat position. This won’t earn you any style points, but it will provide stability and help you while learning new tricks and recovering from off-balance situations.

When you want to start integrating board-offs into your kiteloops, make sure you have regular board-off airs on lockdown. Practice taking your board off your feet and reconnecting with your foot straps as fast as possible during regular jumps first. For this trick, you’ll need to get used to looping the kite with only one hand on the bar, so starting with one-footers will help in the transition before committing to a full board-off.

Finally, if you get off balance during the loop or you’re not lined up for a clean landing, it’s best to make a good impact plan. If I’m high enough I will ditch my board and try to penetrate the water cleanly, but if that’s not the case, then I try to land with my board hitting the water first, keeping my legs loose to absorb some of the impact before rolling over into a ball to brace for the remainder of the crash.

METHOD

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GALICIAN PILGRIMAGE WO R D S BY PAU L S E R I N

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|

PHOTOS BY MATT GEORGES

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ABOVE: The players (clockwise): Paul in his fleece, Marcela and Mallory set up their boards, Maxime models the new Halo harness and Hendrick connects his lines. RIGHT: Reliable wind and kite handling confidence make for a casual approach.

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he doors of the van slam close as the ticking of the sleepy diesel engine warms to a purr. Our wheels roll east in the direction of Galicia, across the south of France and towards the northeast tip of Spain. A bit like explorers looking for a virgin land, or mountaineers looking for a new peak to climb, we are the Manera team, searching for spots and conditions to do what we do best. Our vehicles have no sleeping compartments, so we rely upon flat ground, good old tents and warm sleeping bags. As a longtime member of the Manera team, I have learned to expect a travel experience rooted in simplicity; this is what creates the charm of adventure, and it’s my suspicion that the memories from these trips remain engraved longer when you remove a little comfort.

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The journey is long from Montpellier to the Iberian Peninsula, and just before the Spanish border, we make a small stop in Basque Country to stretch our legs. The team is in full attendance, and this year, Hendrick Lopes and Marcela Witt have joined us, bringing new faces and fresh chemistry. I’m riding shotgun in the equipment truck with Mallo; behind us, Julo’s van follows with Olivier, Matt and Marcela, while Maxime completes the convoy with Hendrick as co-driver.

In the days leading up to the trip, the forecast wasn’t lining up, but all the preparations had been made so we were committed to checking it out with our own eyes. We first stopped in Ferrol, a squat, west-facing peninsula on the corner of the Spanish landmass. Here, there are multiple beach options nestled between rocky fingers, and we found a parking lot overhanging a bay with the wind already blowing 20 knots—a very welcoming gift. A basic principle of these

trips, and kiteboarding in general, is that you must make the most out of whatever conditions come your way; we all accept that the time for rest will be when we are back at home.

Matt pulls out his camera equipment and we decide to split the session into two groups to avoid having too many riders on the water; first, the strapless riders will kite, then the twintip team will follow.

My excitement to get in the water is too

strong, so I rig my gear and work my way to the other end of the bay as to not disturb the photoshoot. The session at Ferrol is crazy, the Atlantic wind is dense, and the jumps are long and feel like they last forever. We swap teams in front of the camera and the favorable conditions put a smile on all our faces. This is a good start and we kite clear into the sunset, which is always the best time to shoot. When the light is exhausted, we begin our search for a camping spot and find a quiet zone

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TOP LEFT: Paul styles out an air while Maxime crashes and burns in the shore pound. BOTTOM LEFT: Consummate professionals, Mallory and Paul learn to rig their tent almost as fast as their kites. MIDDLE: Marcela launches a grabbed aerial in the mushed-out waves of Nemina.

LOWER RIGHT: Hendrick finds the onshore sections perfect for booting big airs off the shoulders.

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that welcomes us with flat ground to set up our tents for a good night’s sleep.

On these trips, it’s always hard to have a proper meal in the evening because more often than not, we find ourselves looking for a restaurant open after 10pm. That night we are lucky enough to discover a café where the cook shows us her menu of frozen pizzas and her famous seven quesos meal.

The next day, we find ourselves back on the road and direct our caravan south along the western beaches of Galicia towards Portugal. The Spanish coast is vast, and we are only at the beginning. Our smiles fade a little when we spend more time driving than riding, but it is part of the game. At the end of the afternoon, we land on the beach at Nemina. With the road descending into the south facing bay, the approach feels like a magnificent invitation. The long, sandy beach looks to the south, with offshore wind pouring over

the peninsula to the north. There’s a river mouth midway down the coastline with sandbars and finger reefs, and we spot a potential wave reeling in the distance.

The wind is very gusty, but the waves are beautiful. Mallo, Marcela and Hendrick rig their Bandit S kites and head south to find reliable waves. We watch as bands of wind swoop over the headland and sporadically touch down throughout the bay. It’s not easy to surf when the gusts are that unpredictable. Watching the surfers rotate through the lineup, it seems like a game of pure luck to get a wave without a monster gust or gaping hole, but since the forecast isn’t looking good for the next few days, the surfers endure the challenging conditions. I must admit, both Max and I would have been happy to go out on the water in Nemina for a freestyle session, but instead, we watch the show put on by the wave team and relax as the sunset disappears over the western horizon.

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Before this trip, I had never heard of Galicia as a surf or kiteboarding destination, but I soon discover that the Spanish coast is incredibly beautiful and natural. The cliffs and infinite rocky crags with white sand beaches sheltered into niches among the infinite peninsulas make the landscape feel especially wild.

This little corner of Spain is exotic in its own way.

Every evening, we pitch our tents where we can and we work hard to find food.

The advantage of being in Spain is that the locals are accustomed to eating very late. Every dinner is a good time to debrief on what happened during the day, have a few cervezas and put good food in our stomaches. I share my tent with Mallo, and since we sleep in a different place every night, the repetitive motions of disassembling and reassembling the tent earn us quick status as camping pros.

Partway into our second week, Mallo and I secretly consider sleeping in board bags tucked into the back of the van, but the

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humidity and smell of wet equipment isn’t very inviting. The daybreaks are fresh, especially after a good rain, and with incremental exhaustion, it becomes harder to exit the warmth of our sleeping bags each morning.

We keep driving towards Portugal, and along the way, we pick up Italian pro surfer Roby D’amico, the newest member of the Manera team. This is the first time that we have a non-kiter on a Manera trip, and I am delighted because it means that we are going to have to find more surf spots. Roby has a communicative good mood; I’ve known him for a day, and I like him already. His energy brings a freshness to our daily ritual and offers a different vision for our daily search.

We find a spot with a steep beach break; the wave we found in Nemina was certainly magnificent for kiting, but it was a little too flat for radical prone surfing maneuvers. At this new spot, the current is very strong, and the

hyper-changing conditions make it difficult to photograph. Robby paddles out with a smile on his face, scores one insanely good wave, and that’s enough to make him happy.

The wind seems gone for good here and we decide to drive south for a freestyle session, heading towards the beach of Cesantes, almost at the border of Portugal. The locals reassure us that we can expect a thermal wind to crank up every afternoon, but on the road, we watch as a huge black cloud

A BASIC PRINCIPLE OF THESE TRIPS, AND KITEBOARDING IN G E N E R A L , I S T H AT Y O U MUST MAKE THE MOST O U T O F W H AT E V E R CONDITIONS COME Y O U R W AY. LEFT: Scenes from a multi-sport road trip; foil sessions blend with surfboards, twintips, campfires and tents. UPPER RIGHT: Hendrick launches a backside hack into the lip. LOWER RIGHT: Maxime finds perfect flat water hiding behind the island of San Anton in Cesantes Bay.

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grows in the sky. I tap out a message on my phone to the group chat going between the cars: “You guys see this black cloud?” We all know it will disturb the wind, but we drive south, pedal to the metal, hoping we’ll beat the overhead monster.

This spot is urban compared to the coastline to the north. There’s an enormous bridge in the background, but the bay of Cesantes has strong freestyle potential with a small offshore island that provides a flat water spot. Max and I hurry up and rig our 13m WTF kites. The wind is, as we say, ‘asthmatic.’ The big black cloud disturbs the flow so that every fifteen minutes, the wind falls to zero and then climbs back again. At times, Max and I find ourselves with both kites laying motionless in the water, with nothing to do but look at one another.

The wind returns a few minutes later

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so we relaunch and fit in a few tricks before the next lull. We do our best to put on a show, but it’s hard enough to do freestyle on an underpowered 13m kite and worse when the wind constantly shuts off. Fortunately, Max is there to save the session, and he lands good doubles amidst the startand-stop winds. At the end of the afternoon the sun is hidden by the clouds, and the darkness forces us to land our kites and pack everything up.

Having traveled the entire Spanish west coast, we turn the caravan back north to survey spots we had passed on our way down. We travel threequarters of the way north and stop at Soesto beach, mainly to surf where the waves are good. The place is perfect for camping, and having made some new friends, we learn a bit about local Galician traditions. It’s fascinating how each culture has its own alcohol,

EVERY MANERA TRIP LEADS US TO S O M E T H I N G D I F F E R E N T.

LEFT: Paul Serin launches a handlepass backdropped by the colorful homes of Cesantes. ABOVE: Maxime punts a hardy stalefish air in the smooth water behind Isla de San Simón. Currently uninhabited, over the ages, the island’s classical architecture has housed monks, prisoners and orphans. UPPER RIGHT: Tent life forces you to keep it simple: fire, water and local spirits. LOWER RIGHT: Maxime finds some flat water in the bay of Cesantes with the Golden Gate Bridge’s doppelgänger opening up to the Atlantic Ocean in the distance.

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whether it’s Brittany, Russia or Scotland. Every Manera trip leads us to taste something different, surrounded by people that are happy to share their traditions, knowledge and spots. Our friends recite Galician poems and share cups of flaming mystery alcohol.

While the language barrier is apparent, we adapt and manage to communicate, noting how the flow of conversation improves after a few drinks.

TOP: The rugged beauty found along northern Spain’s coast is second to none. Paul takes advantage of the Atlantic’s dense wind to stall out a tweaked nose grab. ABOVE: Standard issue foil sets and Manera wetsuits ensure long sessions in all types of conditions.

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As we transition into the trip’s final leg, the wind forecast falls apart and we begin to make moves around periodic rain squalls—this becomes part of our daily routine. The noise of rain on our tents is pleasant when falling asleep, but the wet mornings make it less inviting to get up and observe the rituals of camp breakdown. Since the wind has definitely left us, we plot a course for home along the north coast of Spain and look for the best spots to surf and

foilsurf. Sharing the water with Roby allows us to get more experience from a pro surfer; he has much to teach us about positioning and lining up each wave. Our last session ends up being in the area of Santander, in waves far from perfect, but it is good to separate all that driving with some time in the water.

This Spanish region of Galicia has a name for false pilgrims; “Coquillards” are a band of thieves pretending to journey to holy places, yet traveling only to plunder and loot. Having spent 15 days in vans and tents, scouring the coast for wind and waves, we could have been mistaken for pilgrims, a group of fanatics in search of sacred adventure. Yet, at the same time, we could have been considered thieves, ruthlessly stealing sessions all along the Spanish coast. Perhaps, that’s us, the Coquillards of Manera!

Rider-Eric Rienstra, Photo-Mike Phaneuf

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HITCHSAFE Trailer Hitch Lock Box

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RIDE ENGINE Lyte Harness

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PATAGONIA Stretch Terre Planing Hoody

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ELEVEIGHT Revo Grab Handle

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MANERA X10D Hooded 0.5mm Baselayer

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PLATINUM SUN Blue Adventure Dry Bag

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MAKING OF THE MACHINE WORDS BY BRENDAN RICHARDS | PHOTOS BY SAMUEL CÁRDENAS

S

ometimes there’s a legacy kite in a brand’s history that leaves a mark on the old institutional memory, and for that very reason, a long-forgotten, yet familiar model name sometimes makes a comeback. When the Slingshot team gathered around the table to pin down the name of its new performance big air powerhouse platform, the ‘Machine’ was the most obvious option.

Back in 2005, the original Machine kite platform was released as a high-tech light wind kite that featured never-before-seen quarter-length inflatable struts with rigid structures and a whole suite of innovative materials. Yet conceptually, that first light

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wind platform became the pre-cursor to the Octane, Slingshot’s famed big air kite during the C-kite days. Interestingly enough, the development cycle of this year’s Machine V1 and Machine LW came from the inverse evolution, evolving from a dedicated big air sending tool in the smaller sizes to a light wind session saver in the bigger sizes.

The Machine V1 doesn’t just represent the obvious advancements in weight-saving design, material usage and new bridle technology; this kite also shepherds in the arrival of a new design professional to the Slingshot family. Given the sheer number of SKUs in the Slingshot design

portfolio, Brand Manager, Alex Fox, was charged with the responsibility of finding additional kite design talent to augment Tony Logosz’s R&D team. The search began a few years back with a rudimentary excel spreadsheet; Fox made an exhaustive list of known designers, tracking down every possible lead, even following secondstring designers and obscure development assistants buried in the industry’s R&D trenches as far back as his days as a young pro rider. Because designers tend to be equity owners or oftentimes deeply ingrained in brand identity, finding a seasoned tradesman who was both available and came with years of hands-on kite design and production skills had its challenges.

ABOVE: Jeremy Burlando sends a super critical kiteloop by accessing the Machine’s explosive pulling power. LEFT: At home in one of the big air capitals of the world, Burlando gets ready to put the Machine V1 to the test.

The rabbit hole ended with an obscure but talented kite designer operating a oneman show out of Vietnam. Adi Conrad came to the table with prototypes that measured up and even surpassed industry standards and impressed Slingshot’s key development staff. Starting on a project basis, Adi worked with Slingshot’s design team to bring both the Machine V1 and then the Machine LW to perfection with unparalleled upwind efficiency and huge lifting power for professional-grade big air.

According to Alex, “Adi is probably one of

the most physically talented kite designers out there. There are few designers capable of landing slim chances and legitimate megaloops, so it’s safe to say the Machine platforms have been thoroughly tested.”

When it comes to the Machine V1, team riders like Sam Light, Jeremy Burlando and Brandon Scheid have also validated its five-strut airframe for top-end big air performance. On the light wind side, the Machine LW uses a three-strut platform and an assortment of design strategies to

shave an impressive half kilogram off the weight of Slingshot’s previous light wind platform, the legendary Turbine. Three years in the making and 70 prototypes later, the Machine V1 comes out of the bag perfectly tuned with an airframe that pushes the efficiency envelope while meeting the extreme load demands of big sends. Combining upwind efficiency, quick turning capabilities and effortless relaunch, the Machine V1 and Machine LW represent a new chapter in Slingshot’s infamous R&D history.

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2 0 Y E A R S O F F LY S U R F E R W O R D S B Y J O E W I N O W S K I | P H O T O S C O U R T E S Y O F F LY S U R F E R

before the event, they planned to sell the first Flysurfer foil kites at the show. On day one, the team discovered that their new kiteboarding customers couldn’t figure out how to connect the kites to the bar. Armin recalls staying up all night in the exhibition hall rigging the bar and lines to the kites, and in the following days, they successfully sold 200 ‘ready-to-fly kites.’

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years ago, Flysurfer and its brother company, Skywalk Paragliders, was founded by six friends whose professional experiences across the existing paragliding industry merged with the growing sport of kiteboarding. Armin Harich brought Flysurfer to the table and Manfred Kistler, Arne Wehrlin and Thomas Allertseder combined their paragliding expertise to form a synergy of design and manufacturing that exists within the international kitesurfing brand today. According to Manfred, “The friendship that connected us and the thirst for innovation was our drive,” and since then, the self-financed company has brought some of the biggest innovations to the foil kite evolution.

Looking back at the beginning, Armin Harich recalls his first tradeshow in 2000 at the BOOT Expo in Düsseldorf, Germany. Having received their initial round of production kites just 24 hours

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Before the days of kite-specific CAD programs, the prototypes were hand-built in the workshop by crawling on the floor and arranging one-to-one scale paper patterns with curve templates. The prototypes were built in-house and the production kites were produced in China. In the years that followed, Flysurfer launched tube kites to compete in the broader kiteboarding market, but remained committed to the innovation of ‘soft kites.’ In hindsight, Armin says, “Despite all the counter-arguments, the foil kite system has become the market leader in some areas,” which is most evident with the advances that have been made in the racing sector, the single-skin Peak kites for snowkiting and the widespread acceptance of the Soul foil kite at beaches around the world.

Reminiscing about all the adventures, Manfred recalls one testing trip to Tenerife in which their fully packed car was broken into and gutted mere hours before their departure. Upon returning from a quick swim in the ocean, and standing in just their swim trunks, the team discovered everything was gone, including their equipment, clothes,

airplane tickets and most importantly, their passports. With no small amount of luck, a personal contact at the airline listened to their story and walked them through security and onto the tarmac where they boarded their plane. Manfred will never forget the visual of his Flysurfer coworkers walking through the arrivals hall of Munich’s Franz Josef Airport in the dead of winter wearing shorts and t-shirts without a shred of luggage.

One of the most important lessons learned over the years (aside from where not to park your car in Tenerife) has been the importance of passionate employees and creating a culture that thrives on working together. “The people are the heart of the company,” Manfred notes. The founders credit designer Benni Boelli with the creation of the landmark Soul foil kite which brought universal ease of use and groundbreaking versatility to the mainstream kite market as well as cutting edge innovations in race kite hardware that has put the Flysurfer logo at the forefront of Olympic racing. Flysurfer’s inflatable division has thrived under the design work of Maxi Kühnhauser with newcomer Luke McGillewie recently joining the team. Topnotch athletes like Florian Gruber, Daniela Moroz, Théo de Ramecourt and Olly Bridge have broken barriers and won landmark races under the Flysurfer moniker. With 20 years of passion, experience and adventure under their belts, Flysurfer’s founders are now focused on building a culture of equally passionate kiteboarders to thrive in the coming decades.

Photo Miriam Joanna

FAR LEFT: The original team (from left to right): Arne Wehrlin, Armin Harich, Ralf Grösel, Manfred Kistler, Thomas Allertseder and Jürgen Kraus TOP: Using the Soul to power their session, Luke McGillewie and Théo de Ramecourt explore the Breede River with the ultimate freeride foil kite. LOWER LEFT: The early use of wind tunnels helped Flysurfer analyze the aerodynamic properties of their kites and bring substantial innovations to the soft kite evolution. LOWER RIGHT: Founder Manfred Kistler puts his aircraft engineering degree to good use.

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ON THE MAP CALGARY, CANADA

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Against the waning light of Hood River's fading season, Airush's Sam Medysky carves fountains of spray into the evening air of the Columbia River Gorge. // Photo Toby Bromwich

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2022

BAJA TEST WEEK RESULTS OUT IN FEBRUARY

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