The Kiteboarder Magazine Vol. 11, No. 4

VOL. 11 NO.4 RETURN TO THE KUZI THE NEW FLYING FISH

THE ROAD TO DAKHLA TYLER BROWN STORY

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Whoever thinks that the development progress in kiteboards is slowing down, has not heard of the latest innovation which was introduced earlier this year: the double edge rail. Sliding the thumb along the rail of the Admiral or Breeze, one cannot help but notice the deep concave in the rail.

The idea was to channel the water which is suppressed by the rail. The concave steers the water flow to the tail of the board, minimizing the spray which is gusting into the face of the rider. Another effect of this water channeling is that the board starts planing way earlier resulting in an improved low wind performance. This special rail has a better grip than regular rails, which comes in handy when the boards are ridden in strong chop or high winds.

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Marina Chang, Publisher marina@thekiteboarder.com Brendan Richards, Editor brendan@thekiteboarder.com

ALL NEW BOARD RANGE

Shana Gorondy Art Director Alexis Rovira Editor At Large Gary Martin Technical Editor Amy Robb Online Media Manager amy@thekiteboarder.com Paul Lang Senior Contributor/Photographer EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS Neil Hutchinson, Stefan Ruether, Rick Iossi, Toby Brauer, Matt Sexton, Kevin “Irie Dog” Murray, Kinsley ThomasWong, James Brown, Ginette Buffone, Maui Mike, Members of the Central Coast/Santa Barbara CKA, Evan Mavridoglou

CONTRIBUTORS Tyler Brown, Seth Warren, Moona Whyte, Lia Feriancek, Will Taggart

PHOTOGRAPHY Rick Jensen, Thiago Diz, Nick Muzik, Marcelo Maragni, Victor Eleuterio, Daniel Grund, Red Bull Content Pool, Toby Bromwich/PKRA, Colleen Carroll, Davo Hidalgo, Royal Kiteboarding, Sensi Graves, Dimitri Maramenides, Dave Herndon, Brandon Green, Christophe Tack, Seth Warren, Rick Iossi, Gavin Butler, Ydwer.com, Quincy Dein, Christian Black, Antonio de la Pisa, Lukas Prudkey, Brian Miller, Damien Leroy, Richard Hallman, Sean Naugle, Epic Kiteboarding, Eugenia Gueorguieva, Keri Oberly, Tyler Brown, Håkon Mæland, Sebastian Marko, Derek Brown, Fidel/305Kitesurf, Cedric Vandenschrik, Gabor Szabo, Will Taggart, Jeremiah Watt, Mike Kratochwill, Antonio de la Pisa

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Thanks to all editorial and photography contributors for supporting this magazine!

VISIT US ON: www.thekiteboarder.com www.thekiteboarderschool.com www.twitter.com/the_kiteboarder www.facebook.com/thekiteboardermagazine

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PROUDLY PRINTED IN THE USA

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CONTENTS

Almost every pro kiteboarder comes through the Ceara Coast of Brazil and according to Craig Cunningham, just about every spot and every angle has been blown out. This year Craig planned to skip shooting and focus more on progressing his riding. That was until Rick Jensen showed up with some new super expensive flashes and was frothing to try them out. According to Craig, “Rick not only does arguably the best trick in the industry (seat belt mobe 5) but is pretty handy behind the lens as well as you can see in this shot . . . German efficiency at its finest!” PHOTO RICK JENSEN

FEATURES:

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12 KITEBOARDING’S MAIN STAGE BROADENS

48 THE ROAD TO DAKHLA

22 KUZI PROJECT: INSHALLAH

70 OUT OF THE FOG

38 10 YEARS OF BEST

ON THE COVER A quick survey of faces across this Mozambican crowd reflects the exhilarating spectrum of emotions that the art of kiteboarding elicits.

Photographer Seth Warren captures Jake Kinney boosting for the people of a remote fishing village in the Quirimbas Archipelago of northern Mozambique. Read more on page 20.

VOL. 11 NO.4 RETURN TO THE KUZI THE NEW FLYING FISH

THE ROAD TO TAKHLA TYLER BROWN STORY

DEPARTMENTS: 10 FROM THE EDITOR

62 EXPOSED

84 VIEWPOINT

18 THE SCENE

80 WISHLIST

86 ROOTS

58 PROFILED

82 15 MINUTES

88 PARTING SHOTON

$9.99US

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FROM THE EDITOR Christmas comes early at The Kiteboarder magazine. In the disturbingly premature darkness of the days following Thanksgiving, a steady stream of UPS deliveries start clogging the Tkb offices with a formidable mountain of kiteboarding gear. At first it’s “kid in a candy store” type stuff, but as any kite shop employee will tell you, assembling kiteboards loses its luster somewhere after board number five and certainly by assembly number twenty-six. Don’t get me wrong. When it comes to having all the latest gear at your fingertips for back-to-back comparison – there is no comparison.

But, it’s also a great reminder that you can elevate anything “fun” to the level of “work” and if what I’m describing still sounds appealing to you (the riding and testing part, not the mind-numbing robotic assembly part) you should find our website and apply to test the latest and greatest along with myself and the rest of the Tkb staff at one of our future gear testing opportunities. If that sounds like too much work, let us do the hefty lifting and check out our review team’s extensive results on our website in mid-January.

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INSULATION  Retains warmth  Protects from UV ray  Promotes comfort  Dries quickly  Complements movement  Eco-Friendly Excellent for use under wetsuit in cold climate and ideal for use without wetsuit in hot weather.

Advanced Technical Apparel for Watersport sakosapparel.com

In between signing for deliveries and cataloging piles of neatly folded shiny ripstop, we’ve been putting together an exciting magazine filled with some of the year’s best stories. We kick the magazine off with a short story on the Red Bull Rally dos Ventos, a visually spectacular all-terrain kite race through a rare fresh water maze in the Brazilian desert. If that doesn’t get your adventure glands salivating, flip to the The Kuzi Project: Inshallah to read about a sequel to Seth Warren’s botched first attempt at exploring a remote island archipelago. The trials and tribulations of a sixperson team in uncharted waters created captivating imagery, one of which landed on this issue’s cover. Moona Whyte wrote a story about defecting from the KSP tour to her first PKRA event in Dakhla and we caught up with longtime Best employee Lia Feriancek for an interview about the post Alex Shogren and Shannon Best days in light of the company’s 10-year anniversary. We wrap the issue with an inspiring story about Tahoe snowkiter, Tyler Brown, fighting through multiple rounds of cancer while building a kite business and dreaming of competing in the Red Bull Ragnarok.

From all the staff here at Tkb, we would like to thank you for choosing The Kiteboarder Magazine. We appreciate your support and wish you a happy holiday and vibrant New Year filled with kiting and great happiness.

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MARCELO MARAGNI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Competitors at the Rally dos Ventos used a variety of tactics to navigate the lagoon-filled desert. Some brought shoes for running while others rode their boards over sand, and one unconventional competitor boosted massive airs to cover some serious ground. Photo Thiago Diz/Red Bull Content Pool

By Brendan Richards

KITEBOARDING’S MAIN STAGE

BROADENS

In the northeast corner of Brazil, Alex Neto loops his kite, skids across the top of a massive sand dune and drops 20 feet to a crystal clear lagoon before laying into his heelside edge to remain in a narrow channel of water. Alex is one of 45 competitors traversing an unknown patchwork of shallow lagoons and towering sand dunes, fighting to be the first to find the finish line at the Red Bull Rally dos Ventos.

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his little publicized event is one of the first of its kind, a navigational race from point A to point B over 10 miles of unique water-logged desert terrain in Brazil’s Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. High profile athletes like Susi Mai, Christophe Tack and Bruna Kajiya raced alongside Brazilian locals with the assistance of GPS units to navigate the bewildering maze of a racecourse. The sand dunes of the park are constantly shifting under the relentless northerly winds of the Atlantic Ocean and the wet season creates hundreds of freshwater channels among the otherwise arid desert sands.

If the changing environment weren’t enough, event organizers withheld the location of the course to ensure all contestants were equally lost in the terrain.

NICK MUZIK/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

There was only one rule: The first competitor to find and cross the finish line wins. This all out frenzy delivered a no-holds-barred approach to kiteboarding, sand surfing and running to the finish line. Alex Neto was the first to complete the course in just 37

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minutes by riding his board over both sand and water, while others covered the sandy portions running with boards under their arms or dangling behind via leashes.

Events like the spectacle at Rally dos Ventos are a stark comparison to the rigid, technical disciplines of the PKRA, which have sparked little more than modest interest from North American kiters in recent years. Ask around your local beach and you will find the predominant thinking is that with no tour stops in the US and few Canadian and Americans actively competing on the tour, there’s little reason to tune in. Hopefully this may change as a result of the recent purchase of the PKRA by Javier Perez Dolset, a Spanish digital entrepreneur, with a potential partnership brewing with Sir Richards Branson of the Virgin Group. An update on future plans is rumored to be released soon, but in the meantime there’s no shortage of speculation about potential format changes and increased media exposure coming to the PKRA in the near future.

MARCELO MARAGNI/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

Outside the kiteboarding world tour, the Red Bull King of the Air is back for the third year in a row after an 8-year hiatus. In addition to mega-loops and massive air, Red Bull has also invested heavily in Norway’s Ragnarok event, a 60-mile snowkite race that blends endurance and speed over challenging Nordic terrain. As a result of Ragnarok’s recent success, in February North America will get its own premier snowkite race in Saskatchewan called the Red Bull Kite Farm.

Billed as a 30-mile race across the rolling terrain of the western plains of Canada, contestants will face extreme cold and strong winds for a chance to take the title and earn an all expense paid entry to the 2015 Red Bull Ragnarok.

In the end, what can we draw from events like Rally dos Ventos, the introduction of the Red Bull Kite Farm and the change of ownership at the PKRA? Perhaps kiteboarding has entered a new stage of outside industry investment while the new endurance type formats that attract both high caliber pros and everyday joes have some promise to rekindle our interest in a new era of kiteboarding competitions.

ABOVE: Christophe Tack navigates the

DANIEL GRUND/RED BULL CONTENT POOL

winding channels of water in Brazil’s Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. LEFT: In front of a crowd of over 12,000 spectators, Dutchman Kevin Langeree edged out Ruben Lenten and Steven Akkersdijk to claim the 2014 Red Bull King of the Air title. BELOW: Snowkiting races like the Ragnarok have become increasingly popular and with the Red Bull Kite Farm set to take place in Canada this February, North America now has its own premier snowkite racing event.

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1. Karolina Winkowska on her way to clinching the 2015 Freestyle World Championship.

PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA 2. Paula Novotna, Colleen Carroll and Gisela Pulido chillin’ at the lagoon in Brazil. PHOTO GOPRO SELFIE 3. Colleen Carroll submitted this photo of her big brother Devin boosting a strapless air. PHOTO LITTLE SIS 4. Alex Fox high-fives Bryan “Pulpito” Alonzo at Ocean Freaks Watersports in Santa Marianita, Ecuador. PHOTO DAVO HIDALGO 5. Laura Maher takes refuge in the Best equipment bus in South Padre Island. PHOTO MARINA CHANG 6. Hope Levin teaches some new friends how to kiteboard at the Dream Extreme event in New York. PHOTO MARINA CHANG 7. Jacqui Bishop gives brother Luke a lift through the flooded event site at SPI KiteXpo. PHOTO MARINA CHANG 8. Christophe Tack and Karolina Winkowska celebrate as champions of the 2015 PKRA Freestyle World Tour. PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA 9. Mike Olness and Jeanice Stone score a session at Rooster Rock, downstream of Hood River. PHOTO GOPRO SELFIE 10. Renske Herder avoiding the Nordic winter in Sardinia, Italy. PHOTO COURTESY ROYAL KITEBOARDING 11. The usual suspects on a girls surf trip in El Salvador. PHOTO SENSI GRAVES 12. Choose one: (a) photobomb (b) photoshop or (c) Dimtri’s tennis skills got him invited to Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Cup Tennis ProAm. PHOTO DIMITRI MARAMENIDES 13. For close to 30 something years the approach to Waddell Creek has been marked by a bloodied surfboard nailed to a telephone pole.

Part joke, part public service message, the tradition quietly continues. PHOTO DAVE HERNDON 14. Rich Sabo, Greg Gnecco, Brian Tai, Bill Manual and Mike Kratochwill party it up at SPI KiteXpo. Photo Mike Kratochwill 15. An unstoppable Bernie Lake celebrates another slalom kite racing world championship. PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA 16. Columbian transplants living in Texas were stoked to meet Alex Pastor at the SPI Kitexpo. PHOTO MARINA CHANG 17. Katie Noblett jibbing the semi-buried driftwood on the Hood River sandspit. PHOTO BRANDON GREEN 18. Christophe Tack alive and well after his taxi van rolled upside down on a Brazilian highway. PHOTO CHRISTOPHE TACK If you have a photo you would like to see in The Kiteboarder Magazine, send it to editor@thekiteboarder.com.

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KUZI PROJECT:

Inshallah

By Brendan Richards | Photos by Seth Warren

IN THE FALL OF 2013, ADVENTURER SETH WARREN EMBARKED ON A SUP/KITE VOYAGE DOWN A REMOTE AND LITTLE KNOWN STRING OF ISLANDS CALLED THE QUIRIMBAS ARCHIPELAGO ALONG MOZAMBIQUE’S NORTHEASTERN COASTLINE. The concept was to use the Kuzi trade winds to push north and while it was a great idea on paper, in practice the first attempt at a wind-assisted paddling voyage from island to island presented a series of novel problems: Large distances between waypoints, warnings of hostile fishing camps, private islands with armed guards and ultimately a staff infection in Seth’s knee worthy of life flight, if only that option had existed. The silver lining in Seth’s expeditious failure was the serendipitous rescue by the vessel Inshallah, a traditional East African style dhow boat owned by a remote luxury resort.

In the months following the first Kuzi mission, Seth created a series of webisodes and magazine articles as his wound healed, effectively spinning failure into gold. As months passed and seasons changed, Seth never lost the nagging unrest that comes with defeat, nor was he able to ignore the siren’s song of the exotic East African coastline. With the captain of the Inshallah on speed dial, Seth planned a Kuzi redemption project, an 11-day voyage exploring the full length of the Quirimbas Archipelago with longtime friends Jake Kinney and Russell Reed, a camerawomen named Katy, and the added diva star power of Jalou Langeree and Hope Levin.

The problem with sequels is that what you think you know, can be just as dangerous as what you don’t know. The team converged in Johannesburg, South Africa, to pile onto the same flight to Mozambique. The previous year, Seth secured visas in-country, so he booked a flight with a brief stopover in the capital city of Maputo for the team’s obligatory rubber stamps before re-boarding the flight to Pemba and then finally puddle-jumping to the resort of Ibo Island where their boat awaited.

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As the group stood in line to check almost 20 bags of equipment they overheard the saga of a fellow traveler en route to her nonprofit in Mozambique. The rumor was that Maputo had changed the visa rules a week before and the safest option was to spend six days navigating Mozambique’s visa bureaucracy from the relative comfort of Johannesburg. More than just a mere inconvenience, the team did not have this kind of time; the Inshallah was waiting for them on Ibo Island and although Seth knew enough to pad the itinerary for travel delays, he had not anticipated a monkey wrench as long as a week.

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TOP LEFT: Russell and Jake practice a grade school heel clicking dance in Johannesburg Airport.

TOP MIDDLE: Insult to injury; tight quarters after deportation. BOTTOM LEFT: Russell wrestling at the lion park. TOP RIGHT: Hope waves to her friends on the way to Ibo Island.

LEFT: Jalou and Hope reunited at a dirt airstrip on Ibo Island.

The team had no other option than taking their chances and boarding the plane to Maputo. When the group landed their worst fears were realized. Immigration detained everyone except Jalou; a fastidious traveler, she had obtained her visa back home in the Netherlands. After several hours of getting nowhere, Seth tested the flexibility of the Maputo visa process with a $600 wad of Benjamins, but gained little more than one royally pissedoff immigration official. Nine hours after their arrival, Seth, cinematographer Katy, Hope, Jake and Russell were deported, placed on the last flight to Johannesburg with a giant pile of kiteboarding equipment in tow.

Lugging bulky kite and filming gear through crowded cities is no easy feat, but once back in Johannesburg they settled into a low-cost hostel, which Seth lovingly refers to as “seedy.” With five bodies and inordinate amounts of gear piled into a single hostel room, Seth contacted the Ibo Island Lodge. In addition to owning and operating the Inshallah, the lodge is also the most influential tourism company in central Mozambique.

While Russell and Jake were thriving in the chaos, Hope had not only lost her Dutch travel companion but this otherwise methodically organized, bubbly school-president type personality was bewildered in the frenzy of travel failures. Feeling no small burden for the lapse in morale and logistics, Seth quickly engineered a sightseeing mission to a lion park while the more efficient cogs of backchannel bureaucracy were in motion. The group explored Johannesburg, and while Jake and Russell wrestled with baby lions, the staff at Ibo Island Lodge flexed their muscle

to line up a flight into Pemba with an insider’s guarantee that the team would be issued visas.

The next day the deportees landed in Pemba and were expedited through immigration. Before they could take a single photo, they were whisked out to two puddle jumpers for their final flight to Ibo Island. Flying wing to wing, Hope snapped pictures of Russell across the way while Seth was glued to the window, scrutinizing the route he had paddled the year before. Jalou met them at Ibo Island’s dirt airstrip, but in typical Jalou fashion, she had run two miles solo through the jungle and had no intention of accepting a ride back to the lodge.

That night the team reunited around the dinner table at the Ibo Island Lodge, half laughing at their misfortune, half stunned to be surrounded by the luxury of a 5-star plantation style resort. As they drank Mozambique’s beer of choice, 2M, they recalled the day’s giant leap of faith when they boarded their flight into Mozambique, once again without visas. Deportation had made their eventual arrival that much sweeter, and the group toasted the staff of Ibo Island for getting the expedition back on track. That night the group retired to their luxurious suites with the promise of wind in the forecast.

The next morning the team woke up in the comfort of plush kingsized beds framed by expansive views of the serene mangrovelined channels of the Indian Ocean. This massive environmental shift made the previous day’s travel shenanigans begin to feel like a bad hallucination.

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BELOW: Communal quarters on the Inshallah. RIGHT: Hope collects a crowd as she explores the tip of the sandbar at Quero Niuni. BOTTOM RIGHT: With massive changes in tide, Jake explores

rapidly appearing channels between sandbars.

With little time to spare, the team spent the morning preparing for their expedition into the northern waters. The wind began blowing early, so they decided to take the Inshallah for a short test drive to the sandbars a few miles north for the day.

Russell and Jake launched from the island while Seth, Jalou, Hope and Katy took a tender to the Inshallah’s mooring. As the boys kited by the boat, the crew raised the tattered lateen sail, and the dhow’s teak frame creaked and moaned under the pull of the southerly Kuzi winds. Jalou and Hope explored the upper and lower decks, examining the custom craftsmanship of each nook and cranny.

The harder the voyage, the sweeter the rewards and when the group reunited on the sandbar, the day’s session delivered in spades. Jake skimboarded through the shallow channels between sandbars, Jalou laughed her way through a rudimentary kite launching tutorial for the boat’s crew and Hope discovered a treasure of seashells in the wind blown strip of unnamed sand. Everyone was quickly absorbed into the distractions of kiting warm water and relaxing in the collective bliss of reaching the point at which their adventure should have begun.

The Inshallah offered the perfect blend of authentic old world simplicity updated with the bare bones of modern navigation – a GPS and sonar depth finder, both fed from a solar panel grid. The Inshallah was a mix of painstakingly crafted teak construction augmented with natural driftwood used in both structural and ornamental capacities. While solid underfoot, each part of the dhow produces its own sound in response to the constant movement in the marine environment.

At one point a beam support consisting of naturally shaped tree trunks bound tightly together began emitting a persistent creak, placing the entire team on edge during the quieter hours. The captain, in a final act of desperation, poured oil into the chafing wood to bring its pitch and frequency within bearable limits.

It was obvious to all, the Inshallah required constant maintenance, but its design was functionally perfect for island life and by far the most luxurious of options in Kuzi waters. The sleeping arrangements on the open-air top-deck were unbeatable for viewing stars and the mid deck was shaded from the elements by canvas and served as communal space for relaxing and eating meals. The various compartments of the Inshallah never really separates its passengers from the environment, but life in the Mozambique waters was temperate and there was little need for more.

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The Quirimbas Archipelago of Mozambique is a seafaring highway, a mix of traveling fisherman sailing on small dugout canoes outfitted with outriggers and sails sewn from plastic laminated sacks. Traveling with very little other than a tightly wound ball of handline, the fishermen would often paddle over to get a closer look and watch as the kiters explored the reef and sandbars of the islands.

Occasionally a fisherman would approach to sell some fish but for the most part they were on their own adventure, heading to popular fisheries or returning to their village to feed their families.

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ABOVE: Jalou waves to the locals on the Kuzi highway. BELOW LEFT: Russell pairs his iPhone with a handheld GPS in a pinch. BOTTOM CENTER: After a fun kite session, Jalou swims over to some traveling fishermen to get a closer look at their handlines and Wahoo. BOTTOM RIGHT: A traveling fisherman shows off his

bounty before setting sail for his home.

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When Seth began looking for a team to return to Mozambique, Russell was the first to sign up. Much like Seth, Russell had the time and resources to commit to an extended adventure as well as the skills and disposition to thrive in the realm of the unexpected. He attended maritime college straight out of high school and now works a couple months a year as an engineer moving container freight across the world’s largest oceans while earning enough screw-off money to disappear for a while. Russell had met Seth two years prior in the dusty kite town of Los Barriles in Southern Baja and their friendship was quickly cemented by their shared affinity for kiteboarding and remote adventure.

Russell is a jack of all trades and like most male kiters in their 20’s, he’s talented and aggressive on the water but has neither the fame nor the sponsors of a Jalou or a Hope. Russell’s shining contribution to the team resided in solving all kinds of problems, particularly the technical kind. As the Inshallah sailed north under the relentless push of the southern Kuzi winds, the boat’s GPS and sonar devices crapped out. Timing couldn’t be worse as the captain was leaving familiar waters to venture into unknown northern waters where fluctuations in tide and current could unexpectedly run the Inshallah aground. When word of the electronic failures trickled down to the team, Russell paired his handheld GPS unit with an iPhone to assist navigation and route planning, and then started working collectively with the crew to troubleshoot the malfunctioning systems. Russell and the captain were eventually able to fix the GPS but the damaged wiring on the sonar meant it would function intermittently for the remainder of the trip.

On the third day, the group had planned a five-mile downwinder from the island of Rolas to the private island of Mogundula. The plan was for Russell, Jake, Jalou and Hope to kite with the wind, following clear and explicit instructions to land on the next island to the north. With a solid headstart the kites quickly became mere specs on the horizon and from the deck of the Inshallah, Seth could see no one was adhering to the plan. Three of the four kites had missed their mark and had blown past their destination while the fourth had gone completely missing.

Since the distance that now separated the kiters from their boat could have serious consequences, the captain cranked up the Inshallah’s diesel inboard for the first time to catch up. The diesel engine chugged downwind at an impressive rate, following the kites well past Mogundula, and halfway to the next island of Macaloe. In the midst of the frenzy to close the gap and locate the missing kiter, Seth looked behind them to spot the fourth kite launching from Mogundula. Through binoculars, Seth could see something wasn’t right; a mile upwind the kite was rotating between chaotic states of collapse and extreme jellyfishing. The crew turned the Inshallah into the wind and quickly dropped the sail with the large wooden boom bouncing out of its cradle, nearly missing Seth’s seasick camera operator, Katy.

Meanwhile, the idling vessel was thrashed about in the decent sized wind swell as they waited for the distressed kiter to catch up.

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LEFT: Jake puts two Torches to work on a light wind session. BELOW LEFT: Moored off Quissanga Island, at night the team relaxes around a vibrant fire and by day the kiters boosted big airs in the endless flat water slicks. BELOW: Hope’s hijinks on a windless day.

CHOUINARD’S FAMOUS WORDS, “IT’S NOT AN ADVENTURE UNTIL SOMETHING GOES WRONG.” The missing kiter turned out to be Russell. As he climbed up onto the rear swim deck, he self landed his half inflated kite and begun relating his story. According to Russell, he had landed on Mogundula first, expecting the others to follow. The island’s caretaker invited him in for tea and he packed up his kite and headed to the private camp to wait for the others. After some time no one else arrived, so Russell walked out to the beach just in time to spot the Inshallah passing in the distance, chasing the remainder of the kites on the horizon. Russell struggled to manually inflate his kite by mouth, but was unable to get enough pressure from just the power of his lungs so he devised a routine of dipping the kite in water which condensed the air as he inflated, and then pulled it out into the sun for the air to expand. When he thought he had enough pressure, Russell self launched and limped off the island to catch up.

Back onboard the Inshallah, Seth handed Russell a beer and they headed to Macaloe to collect the others. Seth quickly dismissed the disappointment of passing up Mogundula because he was relieved to have the day’s adventure end with everybody back on the boat, sitting around the galley sharing a meal and laughing about Jake and the girls going to the wrong island and Russell taking a tea break on Mogundula. Simple lapses in communication and basic mistakes in visual navigation had quickly turned a downwinder into an excitable afternoon, giving

credence to Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s famous words, “It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.”

Life in the Quirimbas is always under the influence of the relentless Kuzi trade winds. By day the Inshallah’s course was dictated by the potential of kiteable spots, but by night the crew labored to find shelter from wind swell behind islands with a suitable leeward side deep enough for the Inshallah’s draft. On one occasion the captain bribed the guards of a small private island to let the crew drop anchor off the beach, with the caveat that the Inshallah had to stay on one side, obscured from the view of the owner living across the channel. That night they built a campfire and the following days were spent kiting and enjoying beach life with the ocean as an infinite tropical bathtub. In the waters off Mozambique the team couldn’t be farther away from the intrusions of western life.

When Seth planned the orginal Kuzi expedition via paddleboards, the biggest hurdle was the island of Quero Niuni. Geographically it was a necessary waypoint, but the locals Seth had met in Pemba called it “Bandit Island” and warned him that landing on the island with just a paddleboard was dangerous. They believed he would be overrun by a mob and likely have every piece of gear ripped off of him. This never happened because Seth was bitten by a spider and evacuated before landing on Quero Niuni would become a necessity.

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This time around, Seth was armed with the Inshallah as well as its Mozambican crew and he was ready to discover the truth about the people of Quero Niuni.

The island itself has an interesting geography; the main part of the island is shaped as an oval center flanked by two long sandbars extending to the east and west. The center is forested with palm trees and low-lying shrub grass with the southwest shore hosting a shanty town of about 100 makeshift structures loosely following a rectilinear grid.

As the Inshallah pulled up to Quero Niuni, the wind was light but by the evening the team was able to hit the water with their bigger kites. A few of the locals came out to watch the spectacle as Jalou and Jake put on a freestyle show.

The stoke level among the team was at an all-time high, and the team retired to their floating fortress for pasta and scallops with Seth laughing at the urban legend of hostile locals.

The following morning the wind was howling over Quero Niuni and the team prepared for a big air session in the flat water north of the village. Jalou, Jake, Hope and Russell pumped up their smallest kites while Seth and Katy walked across the sandbar to photograph the action. As the kiters began boosting big airs, the villagers flocked to the water’s edge to marvel at the new activity.

With the Kuzi in full effect, the island’s fishermen did not go out to sea and the population of Quero Niuni had significantly increased from the night before. The crowd grew thicker and the energy of Jalou, Hope, Russell and Jake climbed as each boosted higher for the raging crowd. Caught up in the moment, Seth didn’t notice the group of locals that surrounded Katy and her tripod. Villagers danced in front of Katy’s camera, touching her equipment while swarming her wherever she went. After an hour of crowd pleasing antics the kiters dropped their kites at the edge of the water and the sea of locals swallowed each member of the team. Individually, they worked their way through the mob, struggling to get back to the skiff. One man shoved his hand in Katy’s mouth in an aggressive manner and the other girls felt increasingly uncomfortable in the mob of hands.

Safely back on the Inshallah, the team traded stories. Both Jake and Seth had stepped in piles of feces on the beach and Jake pointed out with good humor that he hadn’t seen any dogs on that island. They all recounted the shift in mood; one moment trading high fives with excited locals to the overwhelming vibe of navigating the chaos and mixed excitement of the mob to get back to the tender.

Later that evening, Seth wanted to kite the other side of the island, but the rest of the team was hesitant to confront another crowd. Seth devised a ruse to distract the locals and one by one the entire team enlisted. They loaded the skiff and motored towards the western side of the island. The villagers began running to that side of the island, but just then the captain switched course and headed to the east side of the island. They bought themselves enough time for the entire team to launch before the crowd arrived and the Inshallah’s crew was able to protect Katy from the smaller group of spectators. The team traded tacks under the setting sun and downwinded back to the Inshallah for derigging.

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LEFT: Jake, Jalou and Hope deliver the performance of a lifetime for these Quero Niuni locals. TOP: Jalou surrounded by locals just before the mood shifts.

ABOVE LEFT: Young women of the island of Quero Niuni wearing the traditional face paint for single women. ABOVE CENTER: Hope besieged in a tangle of helpful hands. ABOVE RIGHT: Evening session on Quero Niuni with crowd control in effect.

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ABOVE: An evening session alongside the Inshallah under the persistent Kuzi winds and fading sun. RIGHT: The bonds of adventure fully cemented: By the final day, everyone changed their itineraries to extend the trip to Madagascar. BELOW: Jalou enjoys an evening session on Mogundula with Mozambique’s mainlaind in the background.

That night the team sat around eating fresh pan-seared shrimp with Pedi Pedi, a local hot sauce, and ice cold 2M beers while reminiscing over the cultural immersion of Quero Niuni. Seth shared his excitement for pushing north into a remote zone just short of the Tanzanian border, where he anticipated the trip’s most spectacular reef and sandbar formations. At the same time, this stretch of the Mozambique coast is on the verge of a giant oil and natural gas boom. Since the government was preparing to lease large areas to multinational oil corporations, Seth wanted to document the people and places of this remote territory before the effects of oil extraction change the face of these islands forever.

Early that next morning the captain woke Seth with bad news. The long range forecast for the following three days included gale force winds from the south.

If Seth insisted on pushing deeper into the northern islands the Inshallah would have to face the Kuzi winds dead on upon its return to Ibo Island. Seth could read the safety concerns on the captain’s face, but he was also taunted by the disappointment of abandoning the deepest part of the expedition.

As Seth contemplated dragging the team through two extra days of violent weather, it was clear the right choice was to turn back. The Inshallah came about and powered south under the rising sun. Later that morning when the team awoke, they all agreed the early return was the best decision. They motored south into familiar water and stopped off in Pangane to buy fresh supplies. Jalou insisted on purchasing bananas despite Russell’s serious protests that bringing bananas on a boat was bad luck.

They spent two days moored off Mogundula, the island only Russell had managed to visit. The team kited behind the westernmost sandspit, busting freestyle in enormous sections of buttery flat water and relaxed on the island’s private camp as they reminisced over their grand adventures of the previous week. For the foreseeable future the northernmost islands would remain beyond Seth’s reach, but he reveled in the notion that wide-open adventure such as this still exists.

As it turns out, the trip was far from over. Upon their return to Ibo Island Lodge, Seth and Russell had planned to say goodbye to everyone and embark on an entirely separate trip to Madagascar. By the time the Inshallah left Mogundula, Jalou, Jake and Hope had signed up for the bonus itinerary and as the boat chugged south towards their next adventure, Jalou blissfully peeled the skin off one of her bad luck bananas. To be continued in Madagascar . . .

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Interview with Lia Feriancek

2014 MARKS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEST KITEBOARDING COMPANY. In its first year, Best immediately became the black sheep of kiteboarding as an anomaly in an industry heavily influenced by its roots in windsurfing. The tumultuous early years of Best played front stage on kite forums worldwide as Best injected scantily clad bikini girls into much of its marketing, posted videos of co-founder Alex Shogren spinning donuts in his yellow Ferrari behind the Delray, Florida, warehouse, while the fledgling company used aggressive low-priced market penetration strategies to get a foothold in the sport.

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The industry viewed Best’s business model as both unsustainable and destructive to the viability of local kiteboarding shops. The existing brands resisted Best with early schemes to prevent the upstart from advertising in

magazines or attending tradeshows, while pranks on the local level, like burying Best cars in the sand, mirrored the industry’s opposition to the discounted kites branded with the flying fish logo. Blacklisted from an early AWSI tradeshow in South Padre Island, company co-founder, Alex Shogren, hired an airplane to circle the event site with a Best banner in tow — a testament to Best’s determination to find a place in the industry.

A decade later there are fresh faces behind the brand pushing a business model that is strikingly different compared to the renegade low-price strategy it used to burst into the industry back in 2004. We caught up with Lia Feriancek, Best’s Marketing Controller and Team Manager, to get her inside perspective on the challenges of the middle years and the recent changes at the brand.

39 PHOTO GAVIN BUTLER

PHOTO GAVIN BUTLER

When hedge fund insider Alex Shogren connected with Cabarete kiteboarding instructor Jeff Beige and pro kite/wakeboarder Shannon Best, the three weren’t afraid of shaking up the industry with low pricing and Best pinup girls. BELOW: When best launched in 2004, it had the high aspect Nemesis, the medium aspect Yarga (2005 version below) and the low aspect Grunt. Photo Gavin Butler FAR RIGHT: Bill Kraft in the lagoon in Brazil. Photo Gavin Butler

You were one of the earliest additions to the admin team. How did you get started at Best and where did that take you? Around the summer of 2005, I was looking for a part time job and had recently learned to kiteboard in Pompano Beach, Florida. I had the “kite fever” and wanted to absorb everything there was to know about my newfound favorite sport. My kite mentor Graham Goodwin asked Best if they were hiring one day when he was picking up some gear. It turned out they needed some help in the sales team, as they were selling to retailers and schools and growing really fast. I started working part time and basically just entered orders for the sales team. One day they asked if I wanted to work full time and become a rep; I had the choice to choose between the US territory or the rest of the world. Within six months I was in Europe helping to organize our first dealer meeting in Tarifa, Spain. I continued to grow global sales as the international rep for five years before I moved into the marketing department to focus on the liaison between the two departments.

Did you personally, or any of your co-workers experience any stigma that accompanied being the first into direct sales of kiteboarding equipment? When I was hired I knew very little about the industry, so I never knew anything different, but it was also very easy to recognize all the interesting changes that we were bringing to the industry. By coming into the market with a new distribution strategy and at a lower price, we were able to open the world of kiteboarding to a whole new demographic. Whether it was good or bad, at least everyone was talking about Best and that is what a company needs when getting their foot in the door.

There was a lot of resentment from kiters at the beach flying other brands back then — living in the South Florida area, the kite scene was pretty segregated as Miami had Cabrinha, Fort Lauderdale and the Tiki Beach crew had Slingshot, and I would have to say that Pompano to Delray Beach was mostly Best riders, particularly as you got closer to our headquarters. The industry folks like Neil Hutchinson from Slingshot and Kent Marinkovic from Cabrinha were always nice to me; it was the loyal followers of other brands that felt their need to hate at times.

I remember one time being invited to a party. I brought my cooler and it had a Best sticker on it.

One of the guys there decided it would be funny to throw my cooler in the pool because of the sticker, kind of like an “O’Doyle Rules” antic. Even though this guy was so true to Slingshot, Neil told him to fetch my cooler out of the pool and to quit being such an idiot. I always respected Neil for that and in general all kiters. It really didn’t matter to me who rode what brand, in the end we were all kiters that shared one love . . . the wind!

Best’s original business model was to sell direct to the consumer, this being the source of much of the industry’s animosity during Best’s first years, but when the distribution model expanded to include retailers, many shops were quick to jump on. What led Best to move from the higher margins of direct sales to the development of a retail network and what were the challenges with making such a large change? The direct sales strategy was meant to shake up the industry, and it allowed us to offer the end user particularly attractive pricing.

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“ BY COMING INTO THE MARKET WITH A NEW DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY AND AT A LOWER PRICE, WE WERE ABLE TO OPEN THE WORLD OF KITEBOARDING TO A WHOLE NEW DEMOGRAPHIC.”

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This proved useful in the full swing of the Internet boom, where we now had a direct channel to the customer. The quality of the products was never sacrificed, but rather we saved money on the distribution network strategy. Since the raw materials were already purchased at prices very similar to other brands, there were very few opportunities for cutting manufacturing costs over the competition, but distribution savings is where we made our initial advantage. Our pricing strategy led to a worldwide frenzy; we could not produce kites fast enough to meet the demand. In 2005 we sold nearly 13,000 kites; the next year we experienced over 100% growth.

In order to keep up with the demand and become more efficient, it was then determined that a distribution strategy needed to be implemented to satisfy our customers globally. This along with the introduction of the Euro and the EU, allowed the European markets to grow as we centralized our distribution in Barcelona with only a few reps in between. This lean distribution allowed us to keep our offers of unrivaled prices for the end consumers.

The Hellfish has the potential to go down in the history books as one of the greatest failures in kiteboarding history. This is in part because of the spectacular campaign to hype the Hellfish’s use of Cuben Fiber, and because the material failed quite prematurely. Did this nearly break Best, and how did the company recover from this misstep?

I had just started working at Best when the Hellfish was about to be released. There was a lot of hype about the futuristic kites that were landing in our warehouse and already pre-sold. Our R&D team was really pushing the limits of innovation with the use of new materials, such as Cuben Fiber which was a sturdy material used for the production of high performance sailing yachts. As soon as the kites arrived, they were out the door.

The Cuben Fiber and laminate materials in these Hellfish prototypes demonstrate Best’s earliest attempt to shift from price point to high tech. Photos Rick Iossi

“ Just a few months later, we made the decision to go along with the bow fad and the Waroo came to life. It was the saving grace for a quick rebound after the Hellfish debacle.”

It was not long before our dealers in different areas of the world were reporting failure of the leading edge. Basically what happened was the rigidity of the Cuben Fiber, which was the complete leading edge, was not able to stretch to accommodate changes in temperature and fluctuations in the bladder, causing the leading edge to blow.

worldwide. Most of our efforts were working with these dealers in order to offer them outstanding customer service and exceptional products. Over 70% of sales were coming out of the European region so that is where a lot of efforts shifted. During this time, the original founders took a step back and new investors came in to continue the growth of the brand.

I didn’t really know what to think as I had just started, but I knew it was not good. Luckily the first production run was under 200 kites so we were able to save ourselves from a complete financial fiasco.

Just a few months later, we made the decision to go along with the bow fad and the Waroo came to life. It was the saving grace for a quick rebound after the Hellfish debacle. We learned a lot from this moving forward with R&D, and now we do more extensive long term testing in different weather conditions.

The main problem that we faced was that our customers needed to be convinced that the flying fish was not only a good value for the money, but also a high quality product with substantial innovation.

Best had been perceived as a discount brand since 2004 and despite the evolution of our products, this image proved difficult to shake during this time period. Eventually, the original competitive advantage could not be sustained as the other brands had to succumb to our discount strategy in order to offer a comparison and stay in the game. This allowed us to diversify our range by still offering the price point items but also to be able to work on our brand image and to start offering higher ticket items showcasing the details of innovation and quality.

If the Waroo years were fat for Best, what happened from 2007-2012, during the Great Recession? What was the real story behind those years? I guess I would have to say that our focus moved more east into Europe. We had grown our rep markets and had over 500 schools and retail shops that were riding Best

LEFT: Team rider Clinton Bolton passing the handle. Photo Gavin Butler ABOVE: Kristin Boese at the Best center in Brazil with a stack of Waroos — the much needed rebound after the Hellfish debacle. Photo Gavin Butler

You are now headquartered in Berlin. When and why did the Best operations begin to migrate to Europe, and how has Best kept a foothold in the US market? In 2010, our R&D team eventually centralized in Guincho, Portugal, while spending time in Brazil and South Africa in the peak of those seasons. Having a team that works together in the same location with differing conditions has really offered us the opportunity for longevity testing in variable circumstances with consistent riders. We have always listened to our riders, making gear to suit their needs as well as the end consumer. With this investment in R&D, a greater focus on expanding quality control and working with new suppliers, our new products received positive customer feedback and sales figures rose to double-digit growth once again. In parallel, our kiteboard development was brought to Europe where experienced shaper Franz Schitzhofer was able to produce a technically diverse board range, which has also boosted sales.

Then in 2011, the US offices moved to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, from the origin of Delray Beach, Florida. We wanted to be in an area focused on kiteboarding, just as Hood River is to the West. So many kiteboarders from all over North America were

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Having the global operational side of Best moving to a central location in the area that had the most sales for the company was the goal to continue to improve quality, reliability and innovation.

Even though our warehousing was in Spain, the economy and high unemployment rate proved to be burdensome as they searched for well trained, motivated employees that would like to work in the kite industry. In Germany, it was easier to find the candidates we searched for and it was also at this time when I was asked to join the team in Berlin in 2013. There was no one that had the knowledge of our company that could fill the position and I was looking for a change after ferrying on and off the island due to the constant weather variances in the Outer Banks. So from sandy beaches and sunsets, off to the concrete jungle I went to experience a European city lifestyle for a change.

Over the last couple of years Best has added a number of international high profile PKRA caliber athletes like Gisela Pulido, Youri Zoon and Ruben Lenten. How does investing in a competitive team affect the sales of kites to the average kiter? Boosting the image of Best proved to continue to be a challenge, especially with the lack of a true C-kite since the years of the Yarga. The R&D team decided to take two of our freestyle riders, Rui Meira and Michael Schitzhofer, and give them a free pass. They had no time nor budget limit and they were told to look around to see what they would like to do to make their weapon of choice. The end result was really outstanding and the GP kite was born, a true high performance competition kite.

Soon after the word was out about this kite; it acted almost as a

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PHOTO QUINCY DEIN

traveling to this East Coast destination every year and each one would pass by our headquarters and see Best as a major brand in the area. With our retail partner Real Watersports just next door, it seemed to be a perfect set up. For nearly four years Best stayed in Hatteras until the recent move of the North American headquarters once again, this time to the west . . . San Francisco.

The goal was to take our warehouse back in our own hands after working with a UPS run facility for several years. Closer to the far west means earlier delivery times for all so West Coast USA it is!

The San Francisco area also proves to have plenty of wind and a good kite scene so we look forward to getting settled and riding with the locals!

team driver. Schitzhofer spread the word about how he was able to really drive a project into something the “riders” were looking for. We had several inquiries from well-known riders, such as 9x world champion Gisela Pulido. Professional athletes like this are searching for performance driven products that can help them achieve their goals . . . to win!

Suddenly, an increase of sales with the addition of the Kahoona, TS, Cabo and the GP were triggered. The attractiveness of having professional riders and the associated image enhancement paid off as Best was able to shed its lingering disruptive party image from 2004 into a brand that consumers gravitated to for performance.

As the team behind the scenes grew stronger with the move to Berlin, the pro team soon followed. High profile riders such as Youri Zoon moving from Slingshot to Best heated up the forums with statements being unleashed about over payment in order to move the exchange. A guy like Youri Zoon you cannot just buy. He had the same vision and desire to have a big say in the development of kites. Of course he needs to make some money as well, but if this initial cooperation was not met eye to eye, he would not be riding Best. Soon after Ruben Lenten walked over to Best, looking for a sponsor that was willing to help implement his new projects of “extreme kiteboarding” into existence. The decision makers at Best

PHOTO YDWER.COM

LEFT: With PKRA World Champions Kristin Boese and Gisela Pulido on the team, Best marketing has come a long way from the pin up girl days.

BACKGROUND: Sam Medysky sessions the best seat in Hatteras. Photo Christian Black

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Best CEO Sebastian Heitmann, Lia Feriancek and team rider Youri Zoon at Best’s headquarters in Berlin. Photo Antonio de la Pisa

really loved his ideas and they came to an agreement. Soon after, the Extract kite and board series were born, both products aimed to boost the Best image. Given an environment in which they could help to develop the products in which they choose to ride, performance driven products really had a play in the decision of these two powerhouse athletes to make their move to Best.

Like many other brands, your US based athletes, Sam Medysky (AWSI Kiteboarder of the Year) and Chris Bobryk, tend to be geared less towards competition, and instead dedicated to pushing parkstyle riding through photography and videos. Does this ring true, and does it somehow reflect the average North American kiter’s indifference to the PKRA? One of my goals as the international team manager is to have a diverse range of riders that promote our brand. Some of them are competition riders focusing on the PKRA tour, some more toward wakestyle competitions and others are content producers showcasing lifestyle. All of them are equally important to a recipe of a well-rounded team and each may influence a different consumer out there in the world.

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I think the stem of the indifference in the US toward the PKRA is that there is no real association of kiteboarding in the US. There is no national championship and very few organized events; it happens more on a local level than everyone coming together to showcase the best of the best in the US. I think the only thing close to it would be due to the efforts of Carol and Tony Bolstad who organize the Bridge of the Gods Kite Fest. The Triple-S is moving

more toward actual judging but remains to be in the international spotlight. Until the US produces an actual tour, such as that like the College Kitesurfing Association has been doing for years, there is not going to be a fan base toward kiteboarding like how North Americans flock toward other high profile sports such as football or basketball. Maybe the PKRA needs to bring some international events to the US and we need to see some homeland boys and girls on the main stage in order for the hype to get going.

Best has come a long way since the first Nemesis shipped to the original warehouse in Delray, Florida. The fit and finish of this year’s products demonstrate a commitment to innovation in Best’s kite, twin tip and surfboard lines. Since you’ve been a part of the Best family since its early days, what are the biggest keys to that transformation? You are right when you say that Best has come a long way. It has been a rollercoaster of innovations, failures and triumphs that have made the brand what it is today and we now have a long line of loyal followers. As a former enemy of the industry, we have grown to become a well-liked partner with creative ideas. We have traveled to the best kiteboarding locations around the world and made many new friends. The ability to adapt to change and take advantage of new opportunities has allowed us to remain as one of the top selling kite manufacturers after 10 years now. Many of the staff at Best started from an entry-level position and have grown with the company as it expanded. I think this is key in understanding how the brand is keeping the passion alive and stoking the fire. Each year just gets more exciting!

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PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA

The Road To Dakhla

By Moona Whyte

THE ROAD TO DAKHLA STARTED BACK ON MAUI IN NOVEMBER 2013.

I had won the Cabrinha Ho’okipa event and because it was the only stop on the Kite Surf Pro tour that year, I had the points to take the 2013 Women’s Kitesurfing World Championship. Despite this victory, there was nothing on the horizon for another KSP competition, just a hazy promise of more stops and better management in the coming year. The PKRA, on the other hand, had their wave competition in Morocco confirmed for March, and I could not resist the call.

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PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA

t wasn’t in my budget to do competitions outside of the KSP, let alone travel to the opposite side of the globe, so I didn’t think much about it until the news of one girl, two girls, then three girls from the KSP were planning to travel to Morocco.

My boyfriend, Keahi de Aboitiz, was asked to join the event as well and I started to realize that if I missed this event it would be harder to rack up the points to defend my title at the end of the year. My perspective was beginning to shift.

Keahi gave me the details of the competition spot: It was a right point break with cross-offshore wind. Sounded perfect to me. After multiple email exchanges with my team manager, a compromise was worked out and a small budget was set aside to cover my travel costs. That left me with one week to clear the trip with my teachers at the University of Hawaii, given that it was in the middle of my sophomore year. I told my French teacher that I would converse with the French-speaking locals – she seemed to buy it.

Everything had worked itself out and I left home a few days later with my personal travel planner and guide, Keahi. After three long flights we landed in Dakhla, a small town on a very narrow peninsula of the Western Sahara. The Dakhla Attitude Hotel is 30 minutes by car from the airport, and we arrived in the dark, just in time for a spicy Moroccan meal and a full night’s sleep to get ready for our first day.

I woke up the next morning and looked outside the window to see a huge, blue-green lagoon surrounding the hotel. It was already windy and kiters were cruising the flat water below us. The rooms of the hotel were built on a mountain of sand and the landscape was endless dunes as far as you could see in all directions. As a girl from Hawaii, it was exactly what I expected of a desert except that it was cold and I was glad I had brought all of my wetsuits!

The wave spot, Oum Labouir, was a half hour drive from the hotel back towards the airport. Keahi and I got a ride there with two photographers. The road was a two-lane highway surrounded by an ocean of sand. We passed by a few abandoned buildings and a mule carrying a man and a little wagon. Not only did it look like we were on another planet, but it also seemed like we had jumped back in time a couple hundred years. The wave spot was down a little side street that took you towards the ocean. The waves wrapped into a small bay with a rocky ledge extending into the cold Atlantic.

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Little knee high waves were rolling in off the point. Not what we were hoping for but we wanted to get in the water anyway. I struggled into my 4/3 wetsuit and pumped up. The wind direction

Pointe de l’Or NW swell

Oum Labouir Dakhla

NE wind

Dakhla Attitude Hotel

PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA

ABOVE: Keahi de Aboitiz

busts clean airs over a closeout section at Oum Labouir to take the men’s top honors. LEFT: The Dakhla Attitude Hotel is a maze of bungalows built into the side of a large sand dune.

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PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA

was side-offshore, the perfect direction to park your kite while you surf down the line. It was fun kiting in the little waves, but with a solid swell, I knew this place could be really good.

Oum Labouir can pick up both short-period wind swell and ground swell. The predominant wind direction is from the northeast, and it pushes water from the same direction to make northeast wind swell. This is what we had for the beginning of the trip – small in size and less powerful waves. The ground swell, on the other hand, comes from a more westerly direction. These waves are created by larger off-coast weather systems and are usually more powerful and defined. A northwest swell sends waves directly into the bay of Oum Labouir, which is exactly what we were hoping for.

For a couple of days we went to the wave spot to practice for the comp, and each day the hotel got more and more crowded with freestyle competitors. It was not long before I had met all

the guys and girls I had seen in the magazines. On the first day of competition we were expecting a decent swell for Oum Labouir. It was a small groundswell. The hotel’s restaurant was packed while we waited for the contest directors to make the call. The report was that the waves were a few feet and the wind would turn on in the next couple of hours. Excited and nervous, we all got our gear ready and waited for our shuttles to the beach.

The wind was light and still offshore when we got there so I decided to take my surfboard out before the wind came up. A few of the other guys had the same idea and were ripping on shortboards. Not long after getting my first wave, which ran from the top of the point to the middle of the bay, some kiters started coming out. I decided to stay out for a few more since the wind hadn’t quite filled in.

After a couple more waves the wind was building and the water was packed with kiters. It was getting harder to paddle into the

PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA

PHOTO TOBY BROMWICH/PKRA

LEFT: Moona drives off her rail and into the pocket for a clean snap. BELOW: Jalou and Ines on the podium with Moona on top. BELOW: Men’s 3rd place finisher Kevin Langeree winds up for a committed backside off the lip.

rights because the competitors were hungry for warm up waves with little mercy for the surfers. As I waited for a set, a local Moroccan boy paddling next to me, turned and said, “It’s impossible to get a wave with the kiters whooshing by so fast with no concern for you.” I felt bad; I was going to be one of those kiters soon. But I agreed with him. It was expected that this would happen on the day of a competition, but it was a good reminder for us kiters to respect surfers, to slow down when we pass by, and to give them right of way as best we can.

When I got to the beach I quickly rigged my kite and got about 20 minutes of riding in before the heats began. The contest started with the men’s trials. The main event started straight after that with the women’s heats, and I began slowly making my way up the ladder.

The next few days of competition were similar, with small waves and strong wind. Since the waves were only a couple of feet, it

was all about wave selection. If I wanted a good heat, I had to wait for the waves that offered good scoring potential: The bigger ones that would run all the way from the point to the beach. My strongest competitors were Ines Correia and Jalou Langeree.

Ines was doing a good job at waiting for the right waves to come, being patient, and not taking the first wave in the set. Jalou was ripping on her backhand with some of the most powerful turns in the competition. I did my best to find the good waves and commit myself to gauging a powered top turn on the steepest section of the wave. The wind direction made it easier to concentrate on this because with the side-offshore conditions, my kite would always be powered without having to turn it, unlike in onshore winds where you need to really work your kite to keep it in the right spot.

It was just enough offshore to not have to turn the kite as much, and just enough sideshore where the kite wouldn’t pull me out the back of the wave. All of my heats were very close but I managed to make it through them all to end up taking first place.

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LEFT: Off the beaten path, Moona and Keahi score a bonus session at Pointe de l’Or. Photo Enfondo ABOVE: Surfers watching the freestyle heats with a bird’s eye view from the porch of the bungalows. Photo Toby Bromwich/PKRA

Keahi had very strong heats throughout the event as well, and he won first place in the men’s division. His airs and 360’s on the wave caught the attention of the judges, and his flowy style sealed the deal. The final against Pedro Henrique was exciting to watch with radical turns from both riders. In the end, Keahi’s smooth and powerful frontside riding outdid Pedro’s aggressive backside hacks.

For the rest of the trip we got to hang out at Dakhla Attitude and relax. When the freestyle comp started, we could watch all of the heats from the little patio outside our rooms. We had a great view of the water and could hear the announcers below for scores. Between heats we kited in the big blue lagoon and practiced strapless freestyle tricks. The hotel also had a little cable park, kite school, slack line, and a small soccer field in the sand that was only revealed on low tide. A short car ride would take you to the town where you could experience the local markets and shops. There was always something fun to do and interesting to see.

On one free day, we decided to go check out another wave spot near the hotel that some other riders had recommended. Our driver took us in the direction of Oum Labouir but turned off at some point and the road disappeared into sand with no features indicating we were headed towards water. We drove for a while, and some dogs came up out of nowhere chasing the car for a bit before we eventually caught a view of the ocean. We pulled up to a single shack made of trash – not like a homeless shelter, but more like a crafty, recycled, beach hideaway. I soon figured out why you would want a hideaway if you spent more than five minutes on this beach – the wind was howling and took the sand with it, swooping it fast along the ground and into your skin. I think I brought back a small beach in my bag that day from all the sand flying everywhere. The only escape was the ocean, so that’s where we headed. The waves were a fun little beach break, and the backdrop was amazing. It was a big rock point, like something you would see in National Geographic. It was nothing like the beaches in Hawaii, and was exactly what I wanted to see in Morocco As we reached the end of our trip, we realized that we were never going to get the kind of classic pumping waves that Dakhla on its best days can deliver, but this is the reality of travelling for competitions. We fly to these far-flung locations full of anticipation, but at the end of the day, we are still at the fickle mercy of Mother Nature. Despite this, we still grow from every experience immersed in a new culture, new food, and a new landscape. For me, having the chance to compete with the other girls again improved my level of riding and pushed me to do my best — doing it in a completely foreign and exotic place only made the experience richer. Because of this event, I can now count myself in for the world title race this year. Who knows? The next stop could deliver head high, reeling perfection.

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PHOTO LUKAS PRUDKEY

PROFILED

CHRISTOPHE TACK Ostend, Belgium

A tattered Red Bull cap hangs next to his bed; a daily reminder for Christophe Tack that life is about living in the present, not in the future or past. Exhausted and sick following the 2014 PKRA Tarifa stop, Christophe was on his way to the Red Bull Rally dos Ventos event in Brazil when a huge truck hit the minivan he was traveling in, sending it into a ditch and leaving him hanging upside down from his seatbelt. “Scary as hell,” Tack is still in disbelief that everybody survived with only a few scratches and now refers to the cap as his “close call souvenir.”

Christophe Tack grew up in Ostend, a small town on the Belgium coast, with his parents, older sister and two brothers. When he was just 10 years old, he and his brother were exposed to kiteboarding and with no local schools around, taught themselves to kiteboard in the fall of 2003. From the start, Christophe set his sights on becoming a pro rider. “I was really passionate about the sport from the beginning; it was always my dream to become a professional kiteboarder.” Christophe started competing in 2004 and placing in national events in 2005. In 2009, he earned sponsorships from Liquid Force and Mystic while also claiming his first Youth Belgian Title and winning the final KPWT Juniors tour stop in Morocco. “I was around 14 years old when I started placing in national events and from that point on my goal was clear: I would do anything I could to become a professional rider and since 2011, it has really started to work out well and now it’s the only thing I do.”

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Christophe’s drive and passion for the sport over the last 11 years has finally paid off in spades; he recently clinched the title of 2014 PKRA Freestyle World Champion. Like many of the top PKRA riders he has concerns for the future of the tour. “I feel like my career is just starting,” he said. “With the new ownership/management coming in for 2015, I hope they will respect our views on how we

want to progress the freestyle side of the sport. As long as I agree with the judging criteria and competition format, I would like to stay on the pro kite tour for as long as possible. Right now, there are a lot of wild claims and promises so it’s a wait and see game.” He added, “Besides this, my dream is to create a big video project; film for months to release the best, most sickest clip ever – something we kiteboarders could learn from skateboarding.”

Ironically, the World Champion lives in one of the most regulated spots for kiteboarding in the world. But Christophe, through his newfound fame, is trying to change this. “Any time I am in the media or out in the community, I try to educate people about the sport.”

Christophe has gone as far as inviting his province’s governor for a free kiteboarding lesson. “For now, we cannot kite in winds above 7 Beaufort (28-33 knots) or if it’s offshore. When it is permitted to kite, you must wear a lifejacket and a lycra top to represent your riding level, and many other things that don’t make sense given the advancements in kite safety and technology since 2000.”

Christophe and his brothers are working to change these rules while building the next generation of pro-caliber riders through their Belgium-based kite school.

As to the future beyond the PKRA or big video projects, Christophe has no plans other than enjoying life to the fullest and working more closely with his sponsors to develop new products. He believes you can achieve almost anything you want in life, as long as you work hard and believe in yourself. “Most people limit their potential and their reality; set your goals high and thrive in the jungle!”

Christophe Tack is 22 years old and is sponsored by Liquid Force, Mystic and Red Bull.

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New to the Collegiate Kiteboarding scene, India Stephenson has been killing it, winning every stop on the CKA East Coast circuit this year. No newcomer to competition, the former UK snowboard team champion and competitive gymnast may be small in stature, but the 115 lb. dynamo embraces kiteboarding like a giant.

“The great thing about the CKA isn’t necessarily the contests themselves, but the community that the tour creates. I love being able to meet and ride with other kiters my age. It’s a great opportunity to meet others who have the same things in common but come from various locations and have different experiences.”

A self-proclaimed “closet hippie,” India was born in the UK and moved to the US with her family when she was two years old. Her family spent most of their holidays skiing and snowboarding until three years ago, when they rented a house for two weeks in Waves, North Carolina. Looking back India laughs, “My parents were the ones who wanted to learn how to kite and us kids just went along with it.” India took a lesson with Reider Decker at Hatteras Island Sail Shop, and caught on quickly. By the end of the first week she was up and riding. While hanging out in the shop, India was joking about not wanting to leave and remembers a pivotal moment when Barton, Reider’s dad, popped his head up from the other side of the counter and said, “You don’t have to” and explained how India could live and work in the surf shop. India remembers that as the beginning of her “Hatteras obsession.”

When she’s not kiteboarding, India loves to surf, make art, snowboard, practice yoga, and get creative in the kitchen.

Depending on the conditions, she also likes to longboard and shortboard and recently started designing and painting graphics on surfboards for friends and local Hatteras riders. For the past few months, India has crafted headlines and drafted copy as Tkb’s first online media intern and upon graduation, India hopes to eventually be able to communicate her values for a healthy lifestyle and planet by finding work with a sustainable company with an environmental conscious. Until then, however, she has no immediate plans other than traveling and enjoying life. “After graduating, I plan on traveling to Baja for a month long kite trip with my family and competing in the Lord of the Wind contest as well as the CKA event that runs simultaneously. After that, my family is going to India for a month. When I get back, I’d like to have at least one more summer in Hatteras, training hard and competing in the Triple-S Open, in hopes of making it through to the Triple-S Invitational.”

It was also in Hatteras that India was first exposed to the CKA. “My first ever kiteboard contest was this summer’s CKA Nationals.

The location for this contest just happened to be in Hatteras, where I was working. It seemed like the perfect chance for me to get into kiting competitively. The CKA crew is friendly, laid back, relaxed, and non-judgmental, while the contest aspect of the event encourages kiters to ride hard and try new tricks.”

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As a graduating senior at Flagler College in Saint Augustine, Florida, India reflects on her collegiate kiteboarding experience.

India Stephenson is 21 years old and is sponsored by Airush. She would like to thank her family for their support as well as Barton and Reider Decker at Hatteras Island Surf & Sail for always keeping a watchful eye out for her.

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EXPOSED 62

DEEP POWDER ROOTS Damien Leroy returns to his childhood roots; two planks surrounded by the cold white stuff. Last year he scored fresh tracks and solid wind on Thompson Pass, Alaska, and is still amazed by the simple fact that with snowkiting, “you can literally go anywhere you want.� Photo GoPro Selfie

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EXPOSED

LIFE AFTER THE PKRA Spaniard Alvaro Onieva joins the Wainman Hawaii team and puts the Maniac to the test in his hometown of Tarifa, Spain.

Photo Toby Bromwich

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EXPOSED

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Upwind of the main riding area where waves often break when there’s a strong El Norte, enjoy the eco-resorts new pool and Jacuzzi after a day of riding. Lodging includes breakfast and lunch served at the restaurant/bar located just above launch; lessons also available. www.palapasventana.com

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OUT OF THE FOG

By Tyler Brown

Witnessing 200 kites hovering over the Hardangervidda Plateau of Norway is surreal and almost indescribable. Being one of those kiters on the Redbull Ragnorak starting line, especially after battling cancer, struck a deep chord that overwhelmed me with emotion, at least until the sound of the starting gun exploded across the open expanse. The giant mass of stationary kites accelerated into a frenzied swarm and the mixture of skis and snowboards began edging through the crusted snow as we began to climb the first hill.

For the past two years my kiting time has been under steady decline. Sunset sessions and wind adventures have been slowly replaced by an endless routine of scheduled doctors visits, tests and scans. And because life has little respect for our simple plans, this happened in the midst of raising a young family and pursuing my dream of building a snowkiting business in Lake Tahoe, California.

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71 PHOTO SEAN NAUGLE

RIGHT: Tyler exploring the vast open terrain of Norway. Photo Eugenia Gueorguieva BELOW: Tyler with daughter, Celia during the Sierra Snowkiting Center’s first year. Photo Keri Oberly BELOW RIGHT: A busy day in Tahoe. Photo Tyler Brown

L

ife was so good minus this little glitch, cancer. Yeah, the word that immediately draws condolences and pity, which is probably because we all have a cancer story, whether it’s someone we know, knew, or have read about. On one hand, my story deserves no special attention. It’s no more important than others, but I’m probably inclined to say this because I’ve never been good at being the sick person. It’s hard for me to write about cancer, but because it is so prevalent, perhaps sharing my story could help someone identify, give direction, or maybe even inspire.

My story is as much about me, as it is about snowkiting. This sport brought me hope, a steady direction and an outlet during the hardest of times. The lifestyle of kiting trains us to live in the moment, and that extends to all aspects of life – it’s an important part of being a father and a husband – sharing your experiences with loved ones and making each day as good as it gets. I’ve never been much of a planner, or the type of person that holds back. Whether good or bad, I tend to live in the moment and sacrifice whatever is needed for the adventure or epic session at hand, but my appreciation for living in the present grew even stronger when cancer became a part of my life. Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, we all have a ticking clock and after my diagnosis, I strived to cram in as many experiences as possible.

I found snowkiting in the winter of 2008. As I began to meld my love for skiing with the power of kites, I was heavily influenced by the photos and videos coming out of Norway. The Norwegians were far beyond the rest of the world when it came to snowkiting, and for good reason — the Norwegian landscape was built for this sport; a place where you can kite as far as the eye can see. In those days Bjorn Kaupang and Remi Meum graced the pages of kite mags and inspired me in a new direction.

Remi was really pushing the wakestyle influence on the snow with his handlepasses and effortless style and Bjorn, his skiing counterpart, could throw kite loops in any situation, all the while making it look graceful and fun. This new sport was the perfect collaboration for me and I was ready to trade a lifelong dedication of early morning pow days at Squaw for something entirely new.

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“ I was so fired up to kite with the Norwegian crew on their home turf. Unfortunately, a single phone call was about to turn my Ragnarok plans, as well as my entire world, upside down.” snowkiters. I was able to return to kiting and with our successful first season under wraps and plans for future development, all of this cancer nonsense seemed to be just a bad dream fading from the back of my mind.

I had competed in skiing my whole life, and now with a solid base of a few years kiting, I was attending the early snowkite events.

Like most sports in their infancy, snowkiting found professional kiters competing alongside a mixture of kids, moms, and dads. This grassroots growth of the sport remains a big part of snowkiting today, probably because it takes a special person to want to hang out on a freezing cold windy mountain for a weekend just to compete in a few races. Over the next few seasons I found myself at the right place at the right time. Suddenly there was structure, events, sponsors, and even film crews. It was so fun and fresh. I can only equate it to the birth of skateboarding, or the 70’s freestyle skiing movement, or the beginnings of surfing. Competitors, event organizers, industry folk, and spectators were all traveling from event to event together. We didn’t know what we were doing, or where we were going. We were just following the wind, having a lot of fun, and pushing things to new heights — a group of derelicts living and traveling together with one common love. From our passion, the North American Snowkite Tour was born.

After competing on the tour and traveling for four years I decided to build my own kite school and guiding facility in the Tahoe area.

During the summer of 2012, I was able to lay the groundwork for the Sierra Snowkite Center, which I had negotiated the perfect location for at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. In late fall as colors turned and naked aspens accompanied patches of snow atop the upper peaks I was diagnosed with non-seminoma testicular cancer. Within three days of my first doctor’s appointment, I found myself being wheeled into the operating room, and let me tell you, this is not ideal when you like to spend all of your time kiting.

I went through the standard procedures for treating testicular cancer, all along not really worried, just taking the necessary steps to get it done. This was happening while I was scrambling to put together the Sierra Snowkite Center. After my surgery I was restricted from heavy lifting, any quick movements, and certainly snowkiting, yet in two months I was opening the first California-based snowkite school partnered with a ski area. I was hiding the fact that I couldn’t fly a kite because I didn’t want Sugar Bowl to catch wind and pull the plug on the whole program. I was hammering out ski tours, hikes, and any other rehab activity outside of kiting, but I still couldn’t do any heavy lifting. Thankfully with the help of my brother and my small snowkite staff we pulled it off. The kite school opened successfully and along with it my health improved as well. Sugar Bowl was very excited about the addition of this new sport, and we began to grow and transform larger numbers of skiers and snowboarders into

That following spring of 2013 I transitioned from snowkiting to road trips to the coast for wind and waves. It was so good to be healthy again and kiting the California coast. My sponsor, F-One, had been amazing through this whole speed bump and we were moving forward with plans for the next season. Norway sat at the top of my list and when I heard the Red Bull Ragnarok would be returning, it was all I could think about. The Ragnarok is a 60-mile all out battle over the treacherous terrain of the Hardangervidda Plateau.

Competitors fight for position while navigating through a vast series of hills, valleys, rocky outcroppings and cornices. Snowkite racing is so different from its counterpart, kiteboarding course racing, because it incorporates a highly tactical third dimension that combines elevation, various types of terrain and wind shadows. I love it!

I was so fired up to kite with the Norwegian crew on their home turf.

Unfortunately, a single phone call was about to turn my Ragnarok plans, as well as my entire world, upside down. My body grew still, my words stuck, and a whirlwind of emotion, confusion, and fear flooded my already emotionally tense self – my remission was no longer. It’s not often one hears the brutal reality as cold cut as I did that afternoon: “If you don’t begin treatment now, you will die.” Here I was at the age of 31, feeling at the top of my game, the snowkite center posed for its second season, and two weeks prior, my wife and I had welcomed our second child into the world, but this time cancer had me in its vicious grips. In the distraught moments following my diagnosis all I could think about was my children Celia and Gavin, and my wife Stacey. What was going to happen? How were they going to fend for themselves? I don’t have time for this! Why me, will I ever be the same? Celia… Gavin… W.T.F.

LEFT: Tyler getting back to business in Norway. Photo Hakon Maeland ABOVE: Tyler takes a break between chemo treatments to slip in a paddle or kite session to keep his sanity. Photo Derek Brown TOP: The starting line

at the Red Bull Ragnarok is complete chaos. Photo Sebastian Marko/Red Bull Content Pool

For the past seven years, kiting has been very good to me. It has given me a direction to grow, fueled my exploration of the mountains and ocean, and broadened my love for skiing and surfing through alternative means. There are two sides to this sport that I really love. The first is being a part of a community of kiters brought together because of a common bond. At most kiting locations around the world people are very helpful and friendly and it’s quite often that these relationships are timeless because of the special uniqueness and closeness within our sport.

Second, I love the solo aspect and self-reliance aspect of the sport. Kiting, and especially snowkiting, is an amazing vehicle for travel, a means to escape. When I began snowkiting in 2008 the Tahoe backcountry was empty. There weren’t any snowkite schools or clubs, nor could I find anyone to go with me. To this day, I’m often solo in my winter adventures; I thrive on these experiences and in idle moments I find myself daydreaming about the next adventure.

No longer in remission, I was attending early morning chemo treatments and it was these snowkiting reveries that pushed me through eight-hour blocks of sitting in a clinical chair with machines injecting poison into my body.

At the start of my treatment I did whatever I could to allow myself the opportunity to get back into action. This meant passing on the suggested chest port for my chemo injections and requesting to receive my prescribed dose through a series of IV’s. A mid-week IV removal allowed me to ditch out for an afternoon paddle or kite session. Taking that break was immensely therapeutic during a five-day treatment week. It’s also amazing what a good musical playlist and gazing out at the dancing trees on a windy day will do for you. In a way I was blessed. It’s not often that one gets to hear from family and friends, and how they truly feel. In today’s society we hug, kiss, and say I love you. But, this sort of hardship brings out so much more, a deeper connection, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

In the fall of 2013, I was crawling my way out of the chemo fog and back into the swing of things. I had been taking full advantage of my free time and I was kiting and surfing a lot. I made several trips to the coast and this is where I labored to find the former athlete within. At first it was pretty ridiculous. It’s bizarre when your mind thinks it can do certain things, but your body just isn’t there. Kite maneuvers that I never thought twice about were all of a sudden an unexpected challenge. At first these lapses wrecked me, but luckily these mental/physical disconnects didn’t last too long. I was fired up and pushing everything way harder than before. I was kiting, running, surfing, working out — charging at everything. It’s hard to describe the two months following chemo, but the clarity of my resolve to recover was overwhelming.

During cancer treatment, “No News is Good News,” but once again the phone rang with reports of several suspect spots that remained. Surgery would be the next step. My progress had been completely deflated because this surgery was literally a full dissection of my torso. That December they removed 29 lymph nodes and two additional “suspect” tumors.

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This surgery proved to be my hardest battle and as a reminder, I will always have a surgical zipper from top to bottom. Bouncing back after surgery was far worse than my previous recoveries from chemo. In kiting we draw so much energy from our core, and mine was shredded to pieces, but nonetheless I pushed myself by casually skinning up mountains at my own disturbingly slow pace to regain my composure and strength.

BELOW: Tyler finally getting the chance to compete at the Ragnarok with the incredible scenery of the Hardangervidda Plateau in the background.

Photo Sebastian Marko/Red Bull Content Pool BOTTOM: Tyler Brown, Eugenia and Bjorn taking a break from their explorations. Photo Derek Brown

Throughout this pattern of diagnosis, treatment and recovery, Norway still rang heavy on my mind. At every stage of the struggle, I’d always felt that I still had something to prove to myself. Even before cancer, I had always pictured myself reaching a certain point with many of my sports; a certain undefined potential that I’m still striving for. This must be true for a lot of athletes, and racing in Norway was one of those broader goals that kept me moving forward. Following surgery, the next move in my story was uncertain, but whatever was next, I knew I needed to be ready physically.

During the spring of 2014, Tahoe was experiencing its worst drought in over 30 years. In March, with no snow on the horizon and little snow coverage on the ground, we were forced to put the Sierra Snowkite Center on hold. This is when I got a phone call from a few friends of mine, Nick Levy and Eugenia Gueorguieva who had previously competed in the two famed Norwegian snowkite races, the Vake and the Red Bull Ragnarok. They basically gave me an ultimatum, and after a quick call to F-One we were on our way to Norway.

I was so stoked, but incredibly nervous because it had been a few years since I had competed and at that point I had only flown a kite twice since my surgery.

Within a few hours of landing, we found ourselves ripping down Norwegian perfection in the drawn out Nordic sunset. My physical concerns left me. I have been on similar trips before, but the culmination of my struggles combined with my deeper appreciation for life heightened my senses. These first few sessions were playing out in my mind as a glorified movie trailer for what was essentially my personal rebirth into kiting.

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PHOTO HÅKON MÆLAND

“ For some it’s a way of life, adventure, means of travel, passion, a career, transportation, excitement, or maybe nothing more than simply a good session.”

The magnitude of snowkiting in Norway is indescribable. On one occasion, we rode a chairlift to our launching location and then kited miles past villages, houses, cornices, and cliffs, and then, in the middle of nowhere, we found a small traditional bar nested at the base of a 1500-foot cliff. It was visually stunning.

Touring skis are the traditional method of transportation in Norway.

After kiting for hours, exploring deep into the solitary backcountry I felt like I was totally isolated and alone. In that moment I was greeted by a dog, then a mother on skis with a child on her back and another in a sled. Wow! There is nothing like watching a mother casually stroll through your perceived wilderness adventure to keep your ego in check.

In the days before the Ragnarok event, Nick, Eugenia, and I were welcomed by Bjorn Kaupang and his family at their Haugastol Resort.

If you were to dream up an ideal location for a snowkite trip, this was it. Snowkiting fills the air at Haugastol and each session is a contagious adventure. I’m already looking to make my way back to this place and I would encourage anyone to do the same.

For those of us who know kiting, it’s hard to describe the feeling, somewhere between love and passion. It’s so much more than a kite, and while the contextual meaning is different for all of us, it’s so very similar in other ways. I know I’m right, because you wouldn’t be standing out there on those days with a low to marginal forecast, if you didn’t love it as much as the rest of us. Our little worlds can get so crazy so fast with struggles as small as getting kids to school on time and as big as cancer. It’s those epic sessions at home, or trips like Norway with good friends like Nick, Eugenia, and the Kaupang family, that help broaden our perspective.

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I long for my next Norwegian sunset session, feeling the cool wind pushing in from the North Sea, as the waning sun lingers over the vast motley terrain. These thoughts bring me back to Ragnarok

and remind me of the strength I gained on the road to Norway. In its simplicity, snowkiting is just another way to play in the snow, but after visiting Norway and meeting an amazing array of people from 16 different countries who all share one common love of wind and snow, I feel it’s an avenue, or the road less travelled, of which one can discover whatever they like. For some it’s a way of life, adventure, means of travel, passion, a career, transportation, excitement, or maybe nothing more than simply a good session.

Kiting has given me many of these things but most importantly it has given me motivation to push forward throughout my ordeal.

For now, I’m still in remission and kiting a lot. We’ll take it one wave at a time. I’m enjoying any and every moment with my family.

Life is good. I hope to see you on the next storm, swell, or warm Delta breeze.

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WISH LIST

AIRUSH AP Boots — Developed from the ground up with Alex Pastor, the former PKRA World Champion got exactly what he wanted for his dedicated wakestyle, performance kiting boot.

MSRP: $439 airush.com

SLINGSHOT SPORTS Golf Bag — Fully-padded travel bag with great wheel system; can easily fit three kites, two twin tips, harnesses and wetsuits. MSRP: $185.99 slingshotsports.com

MANERA Ponta Preta — This fleece jacket is warm and cozy with a cool fuzzy hoodie. MSRP: $129 manera.com

NAISH Fusion CS — Redesigned for many riding styles, Naish’s sleek 2015 bar features a replaceable Nylatron bar center, new bar end technology, and a lightweight Smartloop. MSRP: $499 naishkites.com

SAKOS Compression Pants — Made with Recycled CoffeeBeans™ fabric to help retain warmth and counteract fatigue in and out of the water. Ideal for cold climates under wetsuits. MSRP: $59.90 SakosApparel.com SKYWATCH Windoo 1 — Small aluminum wind speed/direction and temperature instrument that works with Skywatch’s free app on IOS and Android devices. MSRP: $69.95 pksDistribution.com

WINDPUSH Wind App — Type in the wind conditions at your preferred spot and when you hear the WindPush alert, it’s GO TIME. MSRP: $14.99 windpush.me

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AXIS Traction Plus — Lightweight, super comfortable, high performance system with wider straps for ultimate lock and support. Features four different adjustments to suit any riding style or foot size MSRP: $169 axiskiteboarding.com

PHOTO: BERTRAND BOONE RIDER: JOHANN CIVEL FLYOZONE.COM

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15 MINUTES

Niklas Reymann is a 19-year-old Florida International University student who kites in Miami and competes on the CKA tour. Photo Fidel/305Kitesurf

This issue’s winning photo (above) takes home a lined beanie from Patagonia. Send your photos to editor@thekiteboarder.com to get your 15 minutes of fame and a chance to win something from Patagonia.

Gabor Somogyi doing his best superstar at Cayo Guillermo, Cuba. Photo Gabor Szabo

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Cedric Vandenschrik hacks the lip on his backside at Cannon Rocks, South Africa. Photo GoPro Selfie

A_L L NE W Š 2014 Patagonia, Inc.

VIEWPOINT

Wayne Phillips lays tracks in the Togwotee backcountry near Angle Mountain, Wyoming. Photo Will Taggart

FAR FROM THE ROAD The heart of snowkiting is in the backcountry, but before you get there, park and ride is the safe haven for getting started. Park and ride is the field 50 feet from your car where you get your first ride, learn basic kite handling skills and develop some technical tricks.

While park and ride may be your first practical step into the realm of snowkiting, backcountry riding offers the promise of epic tales of struggle and survival. It’s that multi-dimensional experience that the backcountry snowkiter is all about.

Technically speaking, the line that distinguishes backcountry from your typical park and ride snowkiting is the need for specialized gear such as a splitboard or skis with touring bindings. You will also need a shovel, probe and beacon as well as food, water, and a basic kit with a headlamp, lighter, packable down coat, zip ties and duct tape. I assure you, the backcountry experience will demand one of these things when you least expect it. I’m loyal to Ozone so my judgment may be clouded here, but their extra light foils weigh less than half of your typical tube kite while outperforming many of them in snow and don’t need a pump. The final distinguishing factor between park and ride and backcountry is knowledge of snow science. Whether it’s the thickness of the ice on a lake or the 8-foot wind slab ready to slide on steeper slopes, there’s a sea of technical knowledge needed to assess changing conditions in order to stay safe in the backcountry.

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There are a lot of amazing snowkite places around the world that require an approach or a skinning leg before you can access the kite terrain. Skinning is simply when the splitboarder or skier

transitions into “walk” mode. Touring skins are placed on the bottom of the skis for forward movement and the bindings are set to hinge for walking. This touring setup can cover large distances in deep snow with comfortable strides as you glide along.

The most classic backcountry day trip we have in Jackson, Wyoming, is called Sublet Peak. It consists of an hour skin from the car up to a technical launch. Backcountry skiers often break trail and make the first part easy, but kiters turn off the normal track and make their own way to an amazing bowl feature that has some of the best terrain features for advanced mountain kiting in North America. Sometimes we’ll stay in the bowl until the wind dies and the sun is setting, leaving us with a few miles to travel as it gets dark.

It’s these moments far from the road and high in the mountains that help create some of the most epic experiences I’ve ever had. The beautiful sunsets and twilight skins through the woods deeply embed memories in your soul. Multi-day self-support trips amplify your backcountry experience and you’ll realize that the struggle has rewards that deepen the bonds of friendship and adventure while discovering amazing terrain that few ever get the opportunity to experience.

Will Taggart

now available www.airtstyle.tv

ROOTS

Dimitri and son boosting big air with the Hatteras Island Surf & Sail Shop in the background, where Dimitri first learned to kite. Stunts like these got Cameron Maramenides hooked on kiteboarding at a very young age. Photo Courtesy Epic Kiteboarding

THE ORIGINAL STUNTMAN Dimitri Maramenides is kiteboarding’s original stuntman. If you’ve been around since the early days, you might remember the time he flayed his heel open, busted both his head and back when a failed tree jib ended in a kiteloop to asphalt in his home country of Greece. Or, maybe you’ve seen the Stiltsville video where Dimitri failed to clear a house on piers, crosschecked a piling on the roof and rag-dolled to a deck below, again, collecting an impressive catalog of injuries.

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Dimitri’s list of stunts is exhaustive; in fact his first attempt at kiteboarding was more of a stunt than a do-it-yourself lesson.

Back in 2000, working as store manager for Hatteras Island Surf shop, Dimitri was encouraged to take a 2-line Peter Lynn kite for a spin. At the time, he was competing part-time on the freestyle PWA windsurfing tour and this part of his resume gave him entirely too much confidence for his first kitesurfing session. Dimitri was dragged a mile downwind, out of the water and through a thicket of berry bushes until his kite landed in a tree. Bloodied from the bushes and tired from his walk of shame, Dimitri returned the kite to his boss, Barton Decker, and swore off kiteboarding as a barbaric form of torture.

Despite this rough start, Dimitri tried kiting again and quickly became a sponsored rider for Naish and Cabrinha before landing at Airush for four years. During those years he became well known for his big air freestyle with elaborate board off maneuvers and high altitude handlepasses. Dimitri transitioned from team rider to owner when he started a company called Eclipse, a short-lived partnership that failed when challenges with his investor proved fatal. Dimitri rebounded with Epic Kiteboarding, a company in which he enjoys complete control over every aspect of the products they build while he gets to spend plenty of time with his son Cameron, Dimitri’s partner in crime who he admits often steals the Maramenides spotlight these days.

Perhaps the biggest stunt of Dimitri’s career will be earning a wildcard into the 2015 Red Bull King of the Air. Snagging an invitation to one of our sports most prestigious events is no small feat, and although Dimitri is twice the age of many of his competitors, his big air antics and broad fan base is sure to add an entirely new dimension to the King of the Air spectacle if he is chosen for one of the four coveted spots. #whereisdimitri

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PARTING SHOT With the door sprung wide open, the polar vortex marched down into the rockies delivering moisture and arctic temperatures for an epic early snowkiting season. Brandon Clifford enjoys a windy bluebird powder day in the Wasatch backcountry. Photo Jeremiah Watt

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