TheKiteMag #28 - Française by Water Born Media

Â£4.85 / $5.90 ISSUE #28

Dakhla Downwinder The toughest kiting challenge?

Aussie Exploration Rodrigues + South Australia

Choco Park Building it and Riding it

PLUS

T H E U LT I M AT E GIRLS TRIP

Indonesia

F E AT U R I N G

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T H E F E AT U R E S 90 // Indonesia: The Ultimate Girls Trip Looking for some solid wave action after a slightly frustrating year on the tour, Jalou Langeree, Catharina Edin and Olivia Jenkins decided it was time to head to the ultimate proving ground and hunt down some of waveriding’s big game: barrels.

118 // The Road South It seems that the aussies are taking over this issue… This time we have TKM favorite Rob Kidnie taking his long term girlfriend on a tour of the motherland. First leg: Victoria and South Australia.

102 // TWENTY: Making a kite movie We catch up with Aaron and Laci midway through their mega-movie project and find out exactly what the big plan is, and how things have gone so far…

126 // Sweet treat: The building of Choco Park La Ventana sounds like the kind of place that has it all… Wall-to-wall sunshine, perfect wind, an off-grid vibe, and tequila. The only thing missing, it seems, was a slider park. Time to set that right…

110 // Aussie Exploration: Rodrigues Ollie Jacobs, editor of the esteemed Freedom kitesurfing magazine down under, takes an onward flight from Mauritius and finds a slower pace of life (on the water at least) on Rodrigues Island.

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C OV E R : Kiteloops don’t come a whole lot bigger than this one, and backdrops don’t come more striking… Here’s Joshua Emanuel going up, up and away in Cape Town. P H OTO : Thomas Burblies

H E R E : Anja Fuchs headed up to the empty spaces of Rhodes Paradisi and found herself a deserted beach with the perfect combo of stable wind and lush Caribbean-like colors. There was even an old fishing boat to complete the classic Greek tableaux… P H OTO : Helmut Fuchs

THE REGULARS 35 // Tangled Lines with Brandon Scheid 40 // On the List… Sardinia 42 // I’m On It… Posito Martinez 44 // My Beach… Jesse Richman 56 // Gallery… Dakhla Downwinder + Hood River Jam 134 // Technique with Ralph Boelen + Mikaili Sol 148 // Tell Me About It… Odo + North Kiteboarding + Airush 162 // Tested 166 // Kite Hacks… Bladder repair 170 // Wrapping up… Tom Court

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FLYING

SO LO Editorial

n règle générale, mes éditos ont tendance à se focaliser sur un aspect spécifique du sport. J’écris sur les news de compétition, le nouveau matériel ou les nouvelles disciplines comme le foil, qui prennent plus de place sur nos plages. J’imagine que le fait d’être assez actif dans le monde du kitesurf me permet d’entendre parler des développements avant les autres et je peux ainsi transmettre les informations et les développements à la plus importante des communautés : celle de TheKiteMag. Le seul problème, c’est que parfois, j’oublie peut-être ce qu’est le kite… Si vous demandez à un kiter lambda sur la plage qui a remporté le dernier événement freestyle, ou quelle marque vient de sortir un tout nouveau système Quick Release, je pense que dans 80% des cas, il ne saura pas. Et il s’en fichera. Pour eux, le kite, c’est

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aller sur l’eau et s’amuser. Que tu travailles dur sur ta technique freestyle ou que tu sois simplement content de voir l’eau décrire un arc à l’arrière de ta board, en sentant le soleil (ou la pluie) sur ton visage, le kite n’est en réalité que ce que vous en faites. Donc, au final, c’est une activité assez solitaire. Si vous êtes avec des amis, alors bien sûr vous pouvez vous sourire ou vous appeler en vous croisant, mais d’une manière générale, vous êtes seul… Je pense que ça signifie que le kite attire un certain type de personnes… Le genre à être heureux en étant seul et à prendre les responsabilités pour eux-mêmes et pour leur progression. Il y a les “up” en apprenant un nouveau trick, en prenant une plus grande vague, mais aussi les “down” lorsque vous essayez un trick pendant 3 jours d’affilée sans succès,

PHOTO: Nicholas Spooner-Rodie

ou quand vous tombez en prenant une grosse vague... Quelle que soit la façon dont votre session se déroule, vous êtes seul. Il n’y a personne (au sens figuré) à qui passer le relais. En fonction de l’endroit où tu te trouves dans le monde, tu pratiques peut-être aussi beaucoup le kitesurf seul. J’avoue que je décolle et j’atterris sans personne autour 75% du temps. Et c’est ce que j’aime ! Avec plus de 5 kites sur l’eau, c’est un peu agité. Est-ce que j’apprécie apercevoir une bonne vague et la laisser à quelqu’un ? Oui bien sûr. Mais je suis plutôt content en sachant que j’y suis allé parce que je le pouvais.

Et qu’est-ce qui m’a mis de cette humeur songeuse ? En fait, il s’agit d’une photo prise à Malibu. Elle représente parfaitement le kite à l’état primaire. Juste un gars qui remonte la plage après sa séance. Peut-être qu’il a réussi un move et qu’il est très content, peut-être qu’il ne se sentait pas tout à fait dedans et qu’il n’a rien tenté de fou. Quoi qu’il en soit, il va probablement remballer son équipement, se servir une bière bien fraîche et commencer à planifier sa prochaine session… Bonne lecture ! Alex

C’est donc l’une des joies du kite : c’est ton sport et c’est ta session. Tu décides à 100% de ce que tu en fais… 13

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THEKITEMAG IS… WATER BORN Published by M E D I A in Hayle, Cornwall, United Kingdom. Advertising enquiries: advertising@thekitemag.com. All material in TheKiteMag is subject to copyright. Reproduction without the express permission of the publishers will result in prosecution.

THE TEAM: Editor: Alex Hapgood (editor@thekitemag.com) Sub editor: Cai Waggett Art Director: Jody Smith Assistant Art Director: Emma Hegarty

SUBMISSIONS: Online: If you have a clip or would like to get something on the website please send it over to us: media@thekitemag.com. In the mag: TheKiteMag welcomes both written and photographic submissions. Photography should be submitted in both RAW and edited format. Please note that the publication of written content is generally dependent on the provision of high quality photography, so in the first instance please send photographic samples and a 150 word synopsis of your writing to: checkmeout@thekitemag.com

YOU CAN FIND THEKITEMAG ON: CONTRIBUTORS: Thomas Burblies, Helmut Fuchs, Nicholas Spooner-Rodie, David Varekamp, Marek Ogień, Harry Winnington, James Boulding, Alex Schwarz, Evan Mavridoglou, Orestis Zumpos, Giles Calvet, Martin Allen, Svetlana Romantsova, Lukas Pitsch, Toby Bromwich, Vovan Voronov, Anna Amin, Andre Magarao, Ydwer van der Heide, Ollie Jacobs, Brenton Owens, Laci Kobulsky, Anna Kuzmina, Rob Kidnie, Fritz Otiker

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This magazine is printed on paper sourced from responsibly managed sources using vegetable based inks. Both the paper used in the production of this brochure and the manufacturing process are FSC® certified. The printers are also accredited to ISO14001, the internationally recognised environmental standard.

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RIDER: RODERICK PIJLS LOCATION: MAURITIUS Photo: David Varekamp RP: Trying to get different and new angles isn’t always the easiest. However, this time I was shooting together with Dave Varekamp and, even before we entered the water, he already had the shot in his head. It’s all about perspective and getting a different view on what’s the normal view. This photo is shot in Mauritius, which is known for its magical bright colors and the mountain. But, in my opinion, this looks shot somewhere else and even though it was hard work as I was underpowered on my 13m Escape, I was stoked with this shot and how the last sunrays make the spray light up golden!

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RIDER: PHILLIP KERVEL LOCATION: HEL PENINSULA Photo: Marek Ogień This was a great morning on the Polish seaside. After a short boat ride from Kuznica on the Hel Peninsula we stopped at the Rewia Mewa, an incredible sandbank where you have flat water on one side and slightly choppy water on the other. Phillip was on fire and taking on crazy tricks over the three meters-wide sandbank and landing in the shallow water…

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RIDER: SEBASTIAN WITZLEBEN LOCATION: MANAWA, MAURITIUS Photo: Harry Winnington SW: When I travel somewhere, I don’t plan every day, but I do put together a ‘bucket list’ of things that I would like to do if conditions allow. And obviously I bring my toys… On the list for my recent Mauritius trip, I added on: foiling Manawa in light wind, glassy conditions and with decent swell. And the stars were generous to me. The last days of my stay brought me the desired 20 seconds swell with a light breeze that would have left me watching the waves from the shore if I hadn’t brought my foil. Manawa is considered to be Le Morne’s slower ‘easy’ wave. And I found out that in less wind it still breaks big and slow, but way more beautifully (it can be quite wind-affected) and is still gnarly enough to keep you on edge. It was my first trip with a proper ‘slow enough to surf ’ foil, the Moses 633 ‘Onda’ Wing, together with my trusted Section 8m, and I had two long sessions, took a few good beatings and I was happy to have a boat with me. I could write forever about the stoke and trance-like state I enjoyed that day: everything felt new, like every move and every wave was the first time. I felt a bit like the first man in outer space, there is no set limit of what can be done with a kite on a foil yet, nor is there an established way to do so. So everyone can take their own approach to it. But there was one thing for sure: on days like this you can catch a lot of waves while others just watch from shore…

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RIDER: TOM BRIDGE LOCATION: CANADA Photo: James Boulding TB: This shot was taken on the last day of our trip shooting some new content with Cabrinha – including a new video... It had been a pretty hard trip for photos as the light wasn’t that great and I’m pretty shocking at doing any kind of grabs! On this day we had waited the whole day for the wind to come in, and it finally did at around 2pm. The spot was super shallow so it was pretty bad if you fell, but I tried quite a few of these front tail grabs either regular or to blind. I actually thought I was looking pretty lame, but it came out pretty nicely! In the end the trip was a great success and we had heaps of epic sessions at loads of different spots which were completely empty and a lot had never been ridden before.

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RIDER: VICTOR HAYES LOCATION: GREECE Photo: Orestis Zumpos VH: I’ve been to this place in Greece a few times now but it always amazes me how freestyle conditions are so epic! This day was a perfect example, as I unpacked my fresh 11m Razor and asked Orestis to shoot some freestyle. This trick was actually the first of the day – and it was the first of many…

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RIDER: JEROEN ROEVROS LOCATION: PAROS Photo: Evan Mavridoglou EM: Foiling through the Greek isles is an experience like no other. Hearing the AXIS foilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s carbon song as it slices the crystal clear turquoise water, and boosting big floaty airs, overlooking the secluded and pristine island shoreline is the ultimate high for Jeroen, who traveled from Bonaire to meet with the AXIS team on the island of Paros for the ultimate photoshootâ&#x20AC;Ś

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RIDER: OLLY BRIDGE LOCATION: NORTHERN GERMANY Photo: Alex Schwarz OB: This shot is from the European Foiling championships. It was day one and the wind was 25-30 knots onshore. Unfortunately the boats were not able to anchor so we were postponed for most of the day. The wind wasn’t dropping and I had a feeling they were going to call the day off. Once they did I decided to make the most of the conditions, got my 10 Soul out and went for some ‘send it’ action! Luckily Alex was on the beach to get the shot...

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RIDER: CAMILLE DELANNOY LOCATION: OUTER HEBRIDES Photo: Giles Calvet CD: This shot was taken in the Outer Hebrides during my trip with the Manera team. We had been there for five days and it was five days of non-stop rain and no wind. We decided to move to another spot to see if we’d have a better luck. The next morning, we woke up and the wind was blowing 20 knots side offshore with this world-class wave. It was the sickest day of the trip: two great kite sessions and a sunset surf session. Definitely one of the best spots I’ve ever ridden. I’ll go again for sure…

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RIDER: TOM COURT LOCATION: HURST CASTLE, UK Photo: Martin Allen TC: This was taken during a session with Aaron Hadlow as we filmed for his new up and coming movie, TWENTY. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so nice after spending years traveling together to ride at one of our local spots and film here in the UK and have just as much fun as anywhere else in the world. A solid 23 knots, with flat water, kickers, land gaps and grass banks. It goes to show just how good some of the spots around the UK are and how good the backdrops can be. Once we had done the session we took the boat over to my local bar on the Isle of Wight for a sunset beer, before I dropped Aaron and Lasse back to shoreâ&#x20AC;Ś

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RIDER: JERRIE VAN DE KOP LOCATION: SOUTH AFRICA Photo: Svetlana Romantsova JK: This session was a pretty sick one. We were shooting the new RRD Emotion, which is a sick low-wind kite, and were in Witsands which is pretty famous for tiger sharks... As the sun was setting, the wind dropping to around seven knots and it swung offshore – then I had this strong feeling of being watched from underneath… Thankfully it was all worth it because we got these great pics and I’m glad the 17m Emotion got me home.

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RIDER: SEBASTIAN PLASENCIA LOCATION: LAKE OF SILVAPLANA Photo: Lukas Pitsch LP: It’s always impressive to see Sebastian Plasencia working on his new board-off tricks. He recently explained to me that he is not trying to copy others. He rather tries to invent his own styles and tricks which need more time to practice. From a photographer’s perspective, it’s hard to capture his multiple board-off rotations in a single shot. But here’s one showing his unique take on air-style.

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TheKiteMag.com NF: If you’ve ever ridden without fins you know how it feels to throw big butter. Big fins are nice for riding upwind, but that’s boring right? There are a million ways to ride your board so why limit yours to just one? Quite often it’s the simple things that are the most fun… This shot is from a windy sunset in Cape Hatteras, throwing big carves in between park laps.

RIDER: NOÈ FONT LOCATION: CAPE HATTERAS Photo: Toby Bromwich

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LOCATION: RUSSIA Photo: Vovan Voronov TKM: Sometimes it’s best to have a ‘don’t ask too many questions’ attitude to photos. We have tried to get to the bottom of exactly what’s going on here but to no avail, but we kind of like it like that. Why don’t you take some time and see if you can work it out..?

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Brandon Scheid T

You might think that Brandon Scheid is in the later stages of his professional riding careerâ&#x20AC;Ś He would disagree. In 2018 he returned to the top of the podium for the Triple S and he then went on to land top spot at the Hood River Jam. Something is clearly going very right for him at the momentâ&#x20AC;Ś Can his kiting pals uncover his secret? 35

Brando JULIEN FILLION Q | To me your kite flying skills have a lot to do with your overall kiteboarding performances. I heard stories of you flying two line stunt kites from a really young age. Do you feel general kite flying skills and confidence are a crucial part of your success? It’s true, I did start flying kites as a young boy with my Dad. I think these skills were indispensable in my budding kite career. I personally think that a lot of kiteboarders could use more time developing and practicing their kite skills. Between my stunt kites, and nine years of teaching kiteboarding, I feel I’ve developed a deep knowledge of kites, wind, and flying characteristics. All these skills come into play every time you’re on the water. Whether you’re just mowing the lawn, or dodging logs. CRAIG CUNNINGHAM Q | Explain the phrase: ‘The Gorge is my gym!’ I think this phrase is best thought of as using the outdoors around you as a gym to stay fit. I try to make all of my activities a workout somehow. Whether it is pumping the skate at the pump track (quads and cardio work), climbing the mountain bike up for a shred (hamstrings, knee strength, cardio), or kiteboarding (upper body and isometrics) there is always a way to keep in shape and enjoy the outdoors. I really value my time spent outdoors with friends, it really is the best way for me to keep up physically with the demands of my job.. CHRISTOPHE TACK Q | You turned 33 this summer and you’re only getting better and better... And you ride longer than groms! Gives us the secret, tell it matey… Plenty of whole organic milk, ha. I don’t really have any secrets, just try to keep a positive attitude about aging and I think it goes fine. As far as the long sessions, it’s something I’ve done since I first started kiting. I guess I froth too much, sometimes it’s hard to contain the stoke. SENSI GRAVES Q | Your not-so-well known nickname is "American Muscle". How do you stay fit? What gives you those G.I. Joe muscles? I didn’t start out as a muscly person, in my teen years I wasn’t really all that fit. I think a combination of healthy eating and plenty of exercise help keep me toned up. That and plenty of long sessions in the Slider Project Park… GARY SISKAR (LF BRAND MANAGER) Q | Home grown or shop bought? Home grown 100%! NOÈ FONT Q | At 30-something years old your motivation for kiting is still at 100%. How do you keep that stoke level up? One thing that definitely keeps me motivated is seeing new groms coming into the park riding scene. They adapt to the level quickly and make me

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want to keep ahead of the progression curve. Also, I think deep down I am an addict for adrenaline and progression, nothing gets my brain swimming in serotonin like landing something new or big. That addiction has continually pushed me to try harder and harder things to get my ‘fix’. VINCENT BERGERON Q | Rollerblades is your first loved sport, do you have any photos to show us?! Ha, I did begin my action sports career with some rollerblading back in the day. At the time it was really popular, and I lived in a city surrounded by concrete and rails. I used to love skating mini pipes, spines, and handrails. I was never the most technical rider, but I liked riding big shit and going really fast. I think this early love for speed and airtime fed into my growing addiction to action sports. It helped set the scene for kiteboarding to come into my life. And I actually dug for photos but couldn’t really find any… It was before the social media days after all!

on PHOTO: Toby Bromwich

TOM COURT Q | How do you find time to fit in all the fun things there are to do in a day!? What’s your top five list of sports that you prioritize above all others! Sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day for all the activities, and often I suffer from FOMO. I can be scoring great kiting, and be bummed I’m missing some snowboarding somewhere. Especially with today’s social media it’s really easy to suffer while others are claiming ‘epic conditions’. But my big top five are as follows: kiteboarding, surfing, snowboarding, biking and wakeboarding. However, I am getting into paragliding, so maybe there will be a shakeup. ERIC RIENSTRA Q | If you were elected president, what would your first tweet be? Take care of the planet, we only have one. F

PHOTO: Toby Bromwich

TA N G L E D L I N E S

PHOTO: Toby Bromwich

ALEX FOX Q | I don't think the general kiteboarding public understands your insatiable desire to learn new things and to understand the universe! What’s a new concept or fun fact recently that has blown your mind? Oh man, I was just listening to a podcast that was talking about how all injectable substances in medicine are all tested with Horseshoe crab blood to ensure they are sterile. I kind of thought it was crazy that several companies each harvest about 250,000 crabs each season and drain them of a third of their blue blood. They then use this blood (or rather the protein coagulogen) to see if the injectable substance is bacteria free. Mind blowing stuff that without these prehistoric creatures blood we could not have IV drugs, vaccines, insulin, or any other injectable medicine. Horseshoe crabs, who knew?

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ALEX LEWIS-HUGHES Q | It seems like you've almost mastered all aspects of mainstream kiteboarding, so it begs the question: when will we see you kite looping with a surfboard between your legs? Never! In my opinion, right now the trend we are seeing in kitesurfing is getting a bit ridiculous. I get it: it’s fun to punt some airs, do some frontrolls or backrolls. However, I feel if you want to go boost and do kiteloops, do them with a twintip and definitely don’t ride the board like a bull. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Now this doesn’t mean I don’t respect the riders pushing the strapless freestyle discipline. I really do. And I was honestly impressed watching Airton ride in Hood River this summer. I just don’t think all of the stuff they are doing should be done.

Schei RICH SABO Q | OK picture this. There is a kite spot with perfect mirror-like flat water, four kickers, four sliders and wind that blows like a hair dryer. It’s windy all day and all night, it is the Utopia of kiteboarding. However, in order to get to this magical island, you need to be married. Do you think you will ever make it to this island? What a long winded way of asking me if I am going to marry Sensi, my longtime girlfriend. I’m sure I’ll make it to the island, and I’m sure Rich will be one of the first to know. TRIP FOREMAN Q | Share the feeling (and weight) of hoisting the Wind Voyager Triple S perpetual trophy above your head in front of a packed house at REAL... and then followed by The Roots? What?! Winning the Triple S this year was a huge goal of mine. I had already won the event three times previously, but it was in a different era of riders and level of tricks. So, I wanted to prove to myself that I could still ride at the upper level of the sport. It was amazing to win the event this year, as the event was the biggest one yet and there was more hype than ever. I just couldn’t believe it when Ewan was announced in 2nd, and the beer shower began. All I could think about was how I was going to hoist the trophy higher than Sam Light did. To go right from that into a show by The Roots in the back lawn at REAL, the place I learned to kite, was pretty special. Something I won’t forget for a long time. ALEX MAES Q | You are my biggest source of inspiration on the water. Where do you get your inspiration from and what’s your favorite trick at the moment? First, that’s amazing that I am a source of inspiration. I think I take input from a lot of different sources. Some comes from my fellow froth riders here in the Slider Project Park, a ton comes from the internet. There is so much TA N G L E D L I N E S

action sport media made these days, that there is no shortage of people to imitate. I usually get pretty stoked from the things I see in snowboarding. They have a lot of freedom to spin and grab, so I constantly try to adapt their psycho tricks to the kite. Wakeboarding is also an obvious one, as the sports are so similar. It’s pretty easy to see what they are doing on the kicker and immediately try it on the kite. I also take some influence from the bike and surf industries. Not so much on the tricks, but rather marketing, art, graphics, and style. As far as tricks go right now I have been really stoked on learning the KGB 5 on the kicker. I’ve landed a few and they feel really amazing. ANDRE PHILIPP Q | They say no pain no gain and with progression comes a lot of pain to improve. Rewind back the clock to your early days of kiting. What/who gave you the drive and desire to keep pushing? What trick gave you the most pain and glory and why? Is this a loaded question? I think right off the bat watching some of Andre’s sessions in the early days of the REAL kite park were some of my biggest inspirational moments! I still have an Indy BS 360 from Dre seared into my memory – so huge! Sometimes, however, it’s not one person that keeps you motivated but rather the collective and right now it’s all the riders of the Kite Park League that are keeping me motivated on the water. I want to stay at the top of the pack, and riding with all the other high level riders helps keep you pushing. I think the Back Mobe 7 off the kicker has given me the highest crash to making it ratio out of any of my tricks. You have to go huge and there is a lot going on in the air. I’ve taken quite a few bad back edge catches. However, because it’s so hard, and I go into it half expecting a bad crash, when I do land it it feels amazing!  39

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PHOTOS: Carl Bowen-Price

So, if wild nature and rocky coastlines with beautiful empty sand beaches and amazing local food sound like a good combo to you – and you don’t mind driving a few kilometers to chase the wind – then Sardinia could just be your kiting nirvana…

Although Sardinia belongs to Italy, Sardinians like to think of themselves as their own nation. They’re hospitable as one would expect from Mediterranean people, good food is important to them – as it is to all Italians – and their accent is impossible to understand, even if you happen to speak quite decent Italian!

Unlike other European kite regions, Sardinia doesn’t have one major predominant wind, but instead is exposed to different winds that blow with varied intensity depending on the time of year. In July and August, the usually very quiet island gets super busy with tourists, meaning the best beaches are overcrowded and kiting is only allowed in a few restricted zones. To fully enjoy all beaches and catch the best wind, waves and warm weather, plan to travel around April to June or September/October. From fall onwards, the strong Mistral (northwest wind) is quite dependable and creates epic kiting conditions.

If you’re prepared to explore – which you need to do if you want to see all Sardinia has to offer – you’ll discover beautiful, postcard-like beaches with incredible kitesurfing conditions. Marina delle Rose in the north and Capo Mannu in the west are some of the best wave spots in Sardinia and, while sizeable, clean waves coupled with strong wind are very rare, but they do happen, and if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, you might score one of the best waveriding sessions you’ve ever had in Europe. Sardinia doesn’t have a lot of people in relation to its size (although it does have a population of 4 million sheep) and the local kiting community is small which means that most of the time it will probably just be you and your mates kiting with maybe just a couple of locals, which is pretty incredible when the conditions can be so epic…

This large Italian island lies in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, just south of Corsica, and has nearly 2000 kilometers of coastline with endless kitesurfing possibilities all around the island. You may have heard of Porto Pollo or Punta Trettu, both of which are well-known and established kite spots in Sardinia, but there is so much more to this island than flat (and crowded) lagoons. You have to be something of an adventurer to appreciate kiting in Sardinia, as a lot of the best spots are remote with not much else but wild nature around. A van or a camper allows you to go wherever the wind blows while at the same time not restricting you to spots close to places to stay.

THINK AGAIN. IT’S TIME TO TRY SARDINIA.

SO YOU’VE BEEN TO TARIFA, HAVE KITED IN GREECE AND PORTUGAL, PERHAPS IN SOUTHERN FRANCE AND A FEW OTHER PLACES IN THE REGION AND FEEL LIKE YOU’VE SEEN PRETTY MUCH ALL THAT’S WORTH SEEING IN TERMS OF KITING IN EUROPE?

ON THE LIST | SARDINIA

IN THE BAG: Everything you can fit in! Conditions can vary daily, meaning one day you’ll be on your foil and the next pumping your 6m and digging out your surfboard.

STAYING THERE: Sardinia is full of great campsites which are an easy and economic way to explore the whole island. If you’re not the camping type, there are plenty of Airbnbs around. If you need a nice hotel, you’ll have to stay in some of the cities such as Olbia and the famous Costa Smeralda, Alghero or Cagliari.

GETTING THERE: Since you’re going to need a car while here, the best way to get to Sardinia is to drive. Take the overnight ferry from mainland Italy (Genoa, Livorno, Civitavecchia) to Porto Torres, Olbia or Cagliari. There are also routes starting from France (Nice and Toulouse) and Spain (Barcelona). Alternatively, fly into Olbia (OLB), Alghero (AHO) or Cagliari (CAG) and take a rental car.

LEAST LIKELY TO HEAR: I haven’t seen a sheep for a while.

MOST LIKELY TO HEAR: I’ve never eaten so much in my life.

BEER: €3.50 - €5 for a pint.

RUBBER: Shorty from May to October and 4/3 full suit for the rest of the year.

NOT IN THE BAG: Grog from home. Local Sardinian wine is super cheap and delicious.

It’s great to see kids from kiting ‘hubs’ emerging onto the competitive scene and developing career opportunities that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. The Dominican Republic’s Posito Martinez is one such kid, and he’s been on a charge this year…

board: CrazyFly Bulldozer | Dimensions: 140 X 42 | Weight: 73kg | Height: 175cm TheKiteMag.com TheKiteMag.com

When I started riding with CrazyFly I tried the Raptor and the Addict and thought these were both great boards. I still use the Raptor for board-off tricks, Big Air and overall freeriding. Then for more aggressive riding I choose the Bulldozer with bindings for the powerful pop and smooth, controlled landing. The Bulldozer is laid up with multiaxial fiberglass for strength in multiple directions. The fiberglass layup is reinforced with Uni-directional Kevlar throughout the whole length of the board for increased stiffness and pop. To give the Bulldozer an even more dynamic feel, the center of the board is laid up with Spread Tow Carbon. The outline is fairly straight with wide tips for better load and pop – and you can really dig in with these wide tips – then the rocker is relatively flat, making the Bulldozer fast with great upwind performance. The Bulldozer comes with 3cm fins which work really well as the board has multiple channels on the bottom which create good grip. It is one of the stiffer boards in the CrazyFly line up, but this is what I look for in a board. I need a board that knows I am going to push it to the limits and that is not going to let me down. I like a balanced flex: not too weak or too strong. I like the boards to generate a lot of speed and powerful pop, and of course nice graphics.

of details – for me that is one of the key factors in delivering all round quality. I grew up in ‘La Curva’, a small neighborhood right in front of Cabarete Kite Beach in the Dominican Republic. Since I was born I have been involved with kiting as my brothers worked as kite instructors. My mother says when I was very small I told her I was going to the beach to learn to kite so I could travel to competitions and get us out of poverty, and here I am! We shot the new collection in Greece – it was my first time there in Greece and I loved the spot and the team. We didn’t have the weather we wanted but everybody was super committed and we managed to put together a great video. It’s nice not to have the pressure of a competition where you don’t have many chances and if you fail you go home, but if you fail in the photoshoot you can try it again! This lets you be more creative and express some aspects of your riding that might not be seen in the competitions. This year I’ve used all three kite models – the Sculp, the Tango and the Hyper. And I’ve had great results with all of them. From now on I will generally be using the Hyper for the Big Air boosting and for freestyle I’ll use the Tango kites because I like the park and ride pop and slack.

I’m super happy with my results this year. I was always not far from the top but obviously this year I’m doing better and I think one of the main factors has been joining the CrazyFly family – since the beginning they have supported me unconditionally and that improves your mind game and motivation. The new GKA format suits my riding style as I was good in freestyle but I am also good with the kite loops and Big Air/old school moves, so in these events all of my skills are counted, not only one. I love working on the R&D side and testing prototypes – it’s important to feel that a product has a little bit of you in it, and during the process you get to learn a lot of new things.

PHOTO: Andre Magarao

I’ve been to the CrazyFly factory in Slovakia and the first thing that comes to my mind is the professionalism. They are committed to be the best and you can see that attitude in everybody there – the factory looks super organized and tidy with the latest technology for product development. You can see everybody there paying attention to the smallest

I ’ M O N I T - P O S I TO M A R T I N E Z

Kitebeach By Jesse Richman

PHOTO: Tracy Kraft Leboe

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JESSE RICHMAN PRETTY MUCH IS MR MAUI. AND HE'S SURELY THE GREATEST AMBASSADOR THE ISLAND COULD HOPE FOR. HERE HE TAKES US THROUGH HIS RECOLLECTIONS OF KITEBEACH, THE PLACE THAT HAS DEFINED KITEBOARDING FOR HIM.

WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST MEMORIES OF KITEBEACH? My father, being the waterman that he is, took us to the beach from the beginning of time, so it is difficult to discern my very first memory of it. It is more the backdrop to every memory; intrinsic to the fabric of my life from its inception. A landscape that I am attuned to above any other; no matter where I find myself in the world: from Kitebeach, to Namotu, to Nazare - I always get a familiar, dual sensation in the marrow of my bones of serenity and thrill; a comfort of home coupled with the titillating unknown. This wave of feeling is conjured every time I set foot on the beach, which all began at Kitebeach. CAN YOU REMEMBER ANY OF YOUR FIRST SESSIONS? Kiteboarding was very different back in the day. My brother and I learned in 2002 and those who were there know… it was nothing short of a wild time. Kitebeach was home to many of the original pros and so we learned right downwind from Pro Beach, aka Ka’a Point. There was not much sense amongst the kite pros; no one really knew what they were doing, but everyone was going full speed. There were always great displays of carnage, kites flying in all directions, riders flying into trees, and the continuous sound of bodies slamming into the water with explosive force. I’m not sure if it was the repeated slamming into the water or if it was simply that kiting seemed to attract a particularly out of control crowd. With all of the madness going on, my brother and I fit in seamlessly, simply in our attempts to hold onto our Naish 2-line kites for dear life. All of my first sessions were awesome, radical and pretty horrific. If I didn’t end up in the trees or with my bar in a huge ball of spaghetti, I would deem it a great success.

PHOTO: Quincy Dein

WHO ELSE DID YOU RIDE THERE WITH? Kitebeach, Maui has been one of the most influential kite beaches in the world. Almost all of the first generation kite pros called it home. Just to name a few legends, these included: Lou Wainman, Flash Austin, Mauricio Abreu, Andre Phillip, Shannon Best, Elliot Lebow, Nicolo Porcella, Bertrand Fleury and many more. One team that did a good job of capturing the madness was known as Tronolone Productions. If you haven’t heard of them you should search the interwebs for some amazing kiteboarding history. The movies Awake, Unhooked or Unhooked 2 are must sees and give you a great idea of what this beach was like during that time. While all of those pros were making history, my brother Shawn, Patri Mclaughlin and I were small groms downwind, getting thrashed. We knew that one day we would run the show!

CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH THE TYPICAL CONDITIONS WHAT IS IT LIKE FIRST THING IN THE MORNING AND HOW DOES IT CHANGE THROUGH THE DAY? Early in the morning on Maui, the sun is shining, birds are chirping, and there is no kiteboarding at Kitebeach. A very convenient rule on Maui’s north shore is that you can’t kite before 11am. So, contrary to the surfer lifestyle, we get to sleep in! I think the riding is best at sunset when the sun goes behind the mountains. There is a golden hour where the conditions can be nothing short of perfection.

PHOTO: Tracy Kraft Leboe

HAS THE SET UP AT THE BEACH CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? Kitebeach has had many lives. Ka’a point, known as Pro Beach by kiteboarders, is also monikered the ‘Fish Pond’ as it’s been a favorite place amongst the local Hawaiians to fish for many moons. Upwind we have Naish Beach and Old Man’s, these are great places to kite, and the whole area has been referred to as NASKA (Naval Air Station Kahului) for a long time. All of the rock jetties there were made during World War II, in preparation for war. Interestingly enough, Naish Beach is one of the only accreting beaches on Maui, where we actually get more sand every year, thanks to all the other beaches that are eroding and sending their sands down to us. There are many different places to park and launch, and the best place to go changes day to day. What hasn’t changed is that you can always find awesome folk down at the beach and the kiting is endlessly exciting.

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WHAT WOULD BE YOUR PERFECT DAY THERE? There’s something very magical about sunset sessions at Kitebeach; great friends, pumping waves on the outside, epic kickers on the inside, steady strong wind filled into the beach. I love being fully powered on my 10m Naish Torch and finding my freestyle flow, ahh, nothing better…. Except when it’s followed by beers on the beach, then we’ve reached ultimate bliss.

PHOTO: Tracy Kraft Leboe

PHOTO: Frankie Bees

TALK US THROUGH ONE SESSION THAT STANDS OUT FOR YOU THERE? I’ve spent many days beating my body into the water very hard, trying to land new tricks at Kitebeach…. Years ago, I saw a video of someone landing a kiteloop 720, and I was in disbelief, it was insane, just the notion of landing a kiteloop double handle pass, craziness… Because of how I loved kiteloop 360s, I felt I was destined to do the 720 and became quite determined to conquer the maneuver. After a long summer of crashing at every attempt, I went out and was lit on my 6m. Elliot Lebow happened to be filming on the beach and got a bevy of shots of me crashing, and oh, were they epic. Until he got the one that I didn’t crash and that was my first kiteloop 720. It was honestly the best thing that had ever happened in my life; I nailed it, got the shot and have loved that trick ever since. Kitebeach has been the stage for many epic moments. DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE GOT TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY IF THAT HADN’T BEEN SUCH A FAMILIAR SPOT? Kitebeach was my home growing up. The beach and its inhabitants influenced me in many ways, some great, some not as much. Everything I went through brought me to where I am today, and I’m very thankful for that. Thanks to Kitebeach I’m a professional kiteboarder. I play with inflatable beach toys for a living, and I love it. I was exposed to awesome kiteboarding, severe injuries, and derelict beach bums from a young age. That exposure taught me to focus on what I wanted in life. It’s all there, ready for the taking. If you crave to be the most badass kiter around flying high over the water, you can do that, if you yearn to be the homeless man sleeping on the beach, you can do that too, and if you’re stuck in a man’s body and realize that you want to break free from these constraints and become the woman you were always meant to be, you can do that too. This world is your oyster. WHEN DID YOU LAST RIDE THERE – HOW WAS IT?! Over this summer there was a memorable stretch of phenomenal strong winds. It was 30+ knots and very steady; I had a week of kiting every day and had so much kiteloop progression it was wild, focusing on kiteloop board offs and kiteloop double half cabs… It’s times like that where I rekindle my love for Kitebeach. IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ANOTHER SPOT THAT YOU LOVE, BUT THAT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, WHERE WOULD IT BE? My bed, I love my bed, and it’s entirely different to Kitebeach. 47

BEHIND THE CLIP PRESENTS

A N U N FA I R A DVA N TAG E TheKiteMag crew were recently called upon to help coordinate and manage a race of truly epic proportions… The most powerful of petrol-powered machinery, versus the very quickest of wind powered tech: a Bentley Bentayga V8 complete with a Le Mans winning driver vs. two multi-title winning kite foilers… Photos: TheKiteMag // Words: Alex

SA N T R O IS M Ø TH C Ø IF R F IN IS AY H EAKS G AW L IG H T B R IN T T AY PU AS D GUY

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FL O RI A N C H EC KI N G O U T TH E C O M PE TI TI

A LL FR IE N D S N OW …

TH E BE N TA YG A ’S BO OT: C ER TI FI ED FO IL FR IE N D LY.

It’s 5.20am (4.20 according to my body clock) and I’m standing on a damp balcony, hammering on a glass door trying to wake up pro foiler Guy Bridge. This is difficult. Guy likes to sleep. 10 minutes later and, having terrified the rest of the guests at this random Danish hotel, there is still no sign of Guy... Resorting to plan B, I phone him. He answers within two rings and is at the door a few seconds later. The younger generation: if it’s not on your smartphone, it’s probably not happening. Five croissants and half a jar of jam later and Guy is ready for action… We are on Rømø, a random Danish island with a population of only 650, located in the North Sea. Being 100% honest, it’s a bit bleak. And it’s probably not the kind of place you would have on your list of ‘places to visit before I die’ but we are here for only one reason: you can legally drive on the beach. Those nice Danes say that you IT’S A BEA ST … are allowed to drive any car on the beach, but we haven’t just got any car: we’ve got a Bentley Bentayga V8, and we’ve also got bona fide Le Mans-winning racing driver Guy Smith behind the wheel… Why? Because we’re we definitely stuck to) – it seemed to tick all of the boxes planning to race this new V8 offering from Bentley (and for the project… one of the most powerful cars on the market), against two of the fastest things on the water: Guy Bridge and The plan had been to have Bridge brothers Olly and Guy Florian Gruber. on board for the trip, but visa issues for the upcoming KiteFoil GoldCup Series in China meant that older The project has been a few weeks in the planning, and the brother Olly had to drop out, and so last-minute-superbiggest challenge has been finding the right location. We sub Florian Gruber managed to get himself booked on had started looking at Sylt, but a couple of phone calls flights, packed up, and landing in Hamburg within 18 established that the chances of getting a permit to drive hours of me calling him… on the beach were, err, whatever the German phrase is for ‘not good’. But they pointed us in the direction of Rømø The crew had assembled the evening before and had and – aside from a 30kph speed limit on the beach (which headed to the beach to check out options.

BEHIND THE CLIP

The beach was massive and perfect for shooting, but finding a spot where the wind angle would work and where the water was deep enough for the foilers was a bit more challenging – and with Flo and Guy also off to China 72 hours later we wouldn’t be too popular with their sponsors if we sent them into any underwater hazards and damaged them or any of their kit. After a couple of hours of investigation, we were pretty confident that we had the right spot where we could get the kiters close enough to the beach for the Bentley to have them in its sights without risking the kiters. Behind the camera and – if you’re going to race nearly €200,000 worth of Bentley on the beach – then you don’t want to skimp on the production team… So a crew from London-based film company Tinderflint brought the top-end TV skills, with experienced kite videographer Bas Koole providing direction on the water-based side of the production (and selflessly spending more time in a wetsuit than anyone else).

TH E STAR T

Orchestrating the ‘race’ element of things, we had experienced Race Director Jack Ridel getting everything set up right for the race, ensuring that it ran smoothly, and also demonstrating some pretty next-level flag waving skills. As two different ways to get about, you couldn’t really get much more of a contrast than the V8, 542bhp Bentley, weighing in at a little over 2 tonnes, and the Levitaz and Mike’s Lab foils weighing in at a little over 2kg… But in their respective domains they are as quick as you get. The Bentayga is amongst the quickest SUVs on the planet, and Flo and Guy have notched up a few hundred race wins between them. On a racetrack, the Bentley would obviously smoke the kites, but add some deep sand, water features and a 180 degree turn into the mix and the playing field was evened up. So it was ‘game on’ for this most intriguing of race match ups… Head over to thekitemag.com to catch the full clip and see who came out on top…

TH E BEN TAYGA , JUS T BEH IND TH E KIT ES WI TH TH E LIN E IN SIG HT …

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F LO AND G U Y A R G IN G CH THE A R D S IS H TOW F IN

GA E N TAY THE B AT C H C G P L AY IN PA S S E S IT UP AS AY ALF W H E H T P O IN T

AF TER TH E RA CE …

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~ GALLERY ~

THE DAKHLA DOWNWIND CHALLENGE BY: GEMMA HAMAINI PHOTOS: JULIEN LELEU

his year Dakhla Spirit hosted the 4th edition of the Dakhla Downwind Challenge. The DDC is basically a 500km downwinder through the Moroccan Sahara, finishing at the border with Mauritania. But the history and what the DDC celebrates goes way further, as the date on which the event begins commemorates the allegiance of the “Oued Eddahab” region.

The DDC is certainly not a downwinder for the faint-hearted. Each year, of around 30 original participants, only around one third of them manage to complete the full 500 kilometers. The wind can be strong, and participants are expected to complete between 60 and 120 kilometers each day of the five day event. The harsh conditions are not only confined to the day time either… The nights can also be tough; sleeping in tents and traditional camps that are set up each day at a different location on the path of the downwinder. The wind can blow all night long… You and your gear get covered in sand, it can be cold and not that comfortable… But the Dakhla Downwind Challenge is a true adventure that not many people will be able to experience in their lifetime. Yes, it may be hard, but it is equally as rewarding. Firstly, getting to kitesurf all the way down the coast in this area is normally forbidden, so you are able to reach areas where there is no-one, apart from the occasional fisherman or military check-point. The beauty and

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rawness of the area is evident throughout the whole descent. Each evening, as you arrive to your allocated camp spot, you put down your kite, and take a moment to sit and enjoy a warm Moroccan tea, and a traditional home cooked meal put together for you over the fire. But the best part of all? The people who you meet. Over these five days, the other participants become your family. You are a team and you work together. You look out for each other each day, and make sure each one of you reaches the base camp successfully each evening. You laugh and enjoy some beers over the camp fire, and the entire experience is simply unique. The participants range from pro-riders, to kiters who have far less experience but have an unbelievable amount of enthusiasm and passion for kiteboarding. The Dakhla Downwind Challenge is a true adventure, and allows you to experience kiteboarding in this incredibly unique location like never before… An adventure of epic proportions.

The Dakhla Downwind starts from Dakhla Spirit hotel. Participants are a mix of pro-riders, and passionate kiters looking to experience a tr uly unique adventure.

Visiting Dakhlaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous White Dune is the first stop of the downwind. A chance to jump from the top of the 15 meter dune is not to be missed and has become a Dakhla tradition.

RRD rider Joss de Pfyffer signals the start of the Dakhla Downwind Challengeâ&#x20AC;Ś Not sure if he was prepared for the gr ueling 500km adventure that awaited him!

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Locations like this are absolutely incredible. This shipwreck has become a focal point of the Dakhla Downwind Challengeâ&#x20AC;Ś Located in a remote area, it is one of the favorite spots to stop and ride during the downwind, with amazing wind conditions, and the beaut y of the wreck as it lays untouched across the beach.

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The participants of the Dakhla Downwind Challenge become your family. You help each other, look out for one another, and the entire experience is bonding. This year, we had participants from Spain, France, Poland, Morocco and more… The one thing in common was a strong adventurous spirit!

Joss likes to go big! The best part of all is just having fun… Enjoy the incredible kite spots that we come across and just going for it! Luckily, we had t wo rescue boats that accompanied us the whole way down, which we needed on more than one occasion…

GALLERY: THE DAKHLA DOWNWIND CHALLENGE

The DDC takes you to spots that you would never normally be able to reach. There is a real feeling of being isolated from the rest of the worldâ&#x20AC;Ś It was just us enjoying each incredible spot.

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By day four, you are feeling quite sick and tired of the cold water showers you get at the camp each night... So we make a stop at a Hammam (a traditional Moroccan bath) at a local town which feels AMAZING!

After five days and 500kms, you are exhausted and sore, but you are happy! Good vibes r un high as we pack up the gear and head in the 4x4 back to Dakhla Spirit for a good part y and celebration!

GALLERY: THE DAKHLA DOWNWIND CHALLENGE

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~ GALLERY ~

HOOD JAM BY: THE KPL CREW PHOTOS: TOBY BROMWICH

he Hood Jam started as a way to get all the prominent park riders together in one of the best places for park riding: Hood River. The small town nestled at the confluence of the Hood and Columbia rivers has been a park riding epicenter for well over a decade. What started as a small crew of passionate rail riders slowly evolved into the Slider Project, which is the only free public kite park on the planet! The park setup has changed over the years, although many riders may remember the Ro-Sham-Throwdown, but the vibes remain the same. It’s all about having fun with your friends, getting out on the water as much as possible, and pushing the ever increasing level of park riding in kiteboarding. The idea of throwing a park event in Hood River is nothing new, and making a summer trip to Hood used to be a pilgrimage for most pro kiteboarders, but for some reason the area dropped a bit off the map and the previous park event, Ro-Sham, came to a halt. That was until – over a few brews one night – the local crew and the seasonal blow-ins were talking about how it was a shame that the event ended, and how it would be great to have another one some day. Once they realized that all the riders wanted to be in Hood River during the summer anyway, the decision was made to start an event. So

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thanks to the hard work of Colleen Carroll and several outstanding community members, the Hood Jam began. The Hood Jam is an event run by the riders, for the riders, and the first few years were certainly a lot of work. The local organizers work hard to choose the best conditions for competition with the most ideal park setup, as well as deliver the best photos and media collateral they can. It’s a project of passion, and one that everyone helps keep alive. This year was no exception, and the event ran super smoothly and the conditions really couldn’t have been any better. It was amazing to see everyone riding so well, helping manage the park setups, and having a lot of fun doing it. At the end of the day, having fun is what it’s all about; and about sharing that passion with as many people as possible…

Nobody sends the kicker quite like Brandon Scheid! It seems everyone stops what they’re doing as he’s approaching the kicker. With his deep bag of tricks and huge amplitude, he’s the one to watch during the kicker rounds. Captured here doing a Japan Air roll to Revert.

Alex Maes has been making a spot for himself in the park scene as of late. With a fifth place at the Triple S, and a ton of impressive hits in the lead up to the event, Alex was a favorite to take the win. Unfortunately, Alex ended up earning himself Best Crash, and was unable to ride the finals as hard as he should have been able to. Thankfully the crash didn’t dampen his spirits one bit; he’s always happy and always in the zone!

This year, as with years past, we wanted to include something a bit gnarlier into one of the contest features. We opted for a corr ugated drop to flat after the Cabrinha fun box, which ended up being make or break for some of the competitors. Not only did this make the feature a bit more intimidating, but it also made it more fun. By adding length to the feature, it really made it more challenging to lock in to and a ton more fun to slide across. Pictured here is Colleen Carroll, making it look easy as pie…

The organizers are always about keeping the stoke high and they couldn’t do it without sponsors. This year, in addition to Stoked Roasters, they were also supported by Patagonia, Full Sail, Big Winds, Dakine, Sunski, Raw Elements, Hydroflask, Wind Voyager, Duotone and Kickstand. It takes every little bit to make it all happen...

Maybe better known for his freest yle prowess, Christophe Tack has been able to translate some of that trick mastery onto the kicker. He was able to land the highest scoring kicker trick of the contest, a nose grab Pete Rose 540. It is always impressive to see him ride the kickers as he always rides with a lot of intensit y and commitment. If his mind is set on a trick, there is a good chance he will land it within three tries…

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Even though the event is held on the water in the park, there is still plent y of on-land sessions to be had. Keeping the stoke high is easy for Rich Sabo, especially when he has a few drinks in hand. There is nothing quite like a cold beer after a long session to keep the vibes high.

The coveted top spots for the women went to Karolina (1st), Julia (2nd), Katie (3rd), Annelous (4th), and Colleen (5th). This year for the women was harder than ever. A few new riders, combined with a higher standard of riding made the heats extremely close. The overall placings were decided by just a few features. It is amazing to see the girls continually step up their riding year after year, and this event was no exception.

GALLERY: THE HOOD JAM

The men’s final was absolutely insane! The level of riding right out of the gate was higher than we’ve ever seen at any contest. In the end the top three spots were only separated by 0.3 points, one of the closest finals ever. It was no easy feat climbing to the top of the leaderboard, and in the end it was local boy Brandon Scheid with the win, with Ewan 2nd, Sam 3rd, Noè 4th and Aaron 5th.

The finals part y hosted by Kickstand was one to remember. Plent y of great music, delicious food, and cold drinks were on hand for a night of celebrations. It’s always great to see the communit y come together in support of the event and help keep the park dream alive. Once again, the event couldn’t happen without the support of all the generous sponsors.

Ewan Jaspan, everyone’s favorite Ozzie, has been on a tear in the kite scene this year. His smooth technical st yle has seen him on top of several podiums. It was no surprise to see him qualify in first position for the finals, and a lot of people assumed he would take home the top honors. Don’t let the 2nd place fool you, this guy has his eyes on the prize and should be a top contender for years to come.

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Newcomer to the scene, Issy Von Zastrow, has been making a big impression with her technical st yle. Choosing to push her amplitude off the kicker, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been able to set herself apart from the pack. Her passion for park riding sees her spending most, if not all, of her free time in the park. She is the epitome of a frother, another great addition to the Kite Park League family.

Ewan Jaspan exuding classic st yle. For most people just sliding across a rail would be a huge victory, but for someone as seasoned as Ewan, only perfect execution will suffice. Not only is it important that Ewan is on his game, but also Toby Bromwich the photographer. Gathering the media from an event is no easy task. Most of the printable shots get taken outside of the contest heats, so riders not only need to perform in their heats, but also go above and beyond on the water. It takes a lot of effort to line up and capture a great shot, and we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it without the amazing media staff for the event.

GALLERY: THE HOOD JAM

Karolina showing why she is the one to beat in the park these days. She rides with a ton of speed, and executes extremely technical maneuvers which is how she garnishes such high scores from the judges. Off the water she is one of the nicest and easiest going riders, but look out once she hits the water: she’s aiming for blood.

Sam Light is no slouch when it comes to park riding. With four Triple S wins to his name, it’s no wonder everyone worries when you draw his name in a heat. He is incredibly consistent and executes his maneuvers with a lazy st yle that always impresses everyone. Always smiling, Sam brings a great attitude and charisma to the park riding scene. He’s someone we always look forward to having involved in our events.

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STUFF We like the look of... 2. 1.

1. SONIC Race VMG

2. ION Strike AMP

3. F-ONE TRAX

4. Naish Thrust Foil

This is not a kite for everyone – but if you’ve got Olympic pretentions then it’s probably the kite for you. Flysurfer are dominating the foiling race fleets at the moment and the VMG is Flysurfer’s latest ‘fastest kite’. The speed bump this time round is all in the 3-Level bridle apparently, which reduces the number of lines and consequently the wind resistance by 15%. All we know is: it’s quick.

The new Strike Amp offers superb stretch, guaranteeing maximum freedom of movement. It uses a new neoprene foam, I-Foam, to keep it lighter and ION have also upgraded the lining to Hot-stuff 2.0 and extended the use of this to the whole suit apart from the shoulders and arms. There are some nice new stealthy graphic options too so you can look the part and be warm.

The TRAX is one of the longest serving boards on the planet and each year sees tweaks and improvements to keep diehard fans happy and to help bring on more TRAX devotees. For 2019 there are three different constructions: the ESL, Lite Tech and – pictured here – the Carbon Series, for when you want a bit less weight for your boardoffs, or a bit more stiffness for insane speed on those butter flat days…

Naish’s Thrust foil is back for 2019 with a 50% lighter front wing and with Stealth Stripes on the bottom of the wing to help ‘deter unwanted attention’. That’s sharks to you and me. There are plenty of new board options too ranging from 112cm through to 160cm. Naish have gone hard out on their foils for 2019 and seem to have something for everyone...

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STUFF We like the look of... 5.

5. RRD Bliss LTD

6. Duotone Pro Wam

7. Ocean Rodeo Duke

8. Nobile NHP Carbon

Why is the Bliss called the Bliss? Because it makes riding easy – perhaps too easy… It’s a comfy board whose purpose in life is to make your sessions cruisy and fun. If you want a bit more oomph from your Bliss though, then go ride this one – the Bliss LTD – which has biaxial carbon on the deck and base making it 20% lighter and with more carbonfueled pop…

The last couple of issues of the mag have seen some pretty impressive waveriding going on with the Duotone wave team. They tend to mix it up with their board selection, but when conditions are peachy and they want a board they can really get expressive on, they tend to go for this one: the Pro Wam.

The Duke takes the thicker concave from the Mako and gives it a directional twist. It tears upwind and really annihilates ‘real world’ choppy conditions. But don’t be fooled – put it on an edge and throw it into a bottom turn and it’ll slice the top off the lip as well…

Are there any better designed twintip collections in the industry? You could argue that some individual boards look better, but when it comes to ‘collections’ Nobile really do have it nailed. For 2019 they bring us the Cosmic Line with a spacey theme. Pictured here is the NHP Carbon but, yup, they all look this good.

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STUFF We like the look of... 9.

10.

11.

12.

9. Slingshot SST

10. Airush Livewire Team V6

11. Cabrinha H20 Binding

12. CrazyFly Hyper

The SST is now moving into the ‘well established’ status within the Slingshot line up. When we talked to the Slingshot guys a couple of issues back they explained that they never renamed or rebranded their kites and took pride in their heritage… So the SST has clearly ‘made it’ and brings an incredible amount of drift, pivotal turning and the ability to stay in the sky even as you’re gunning towards it for 100% fear-free waveriding.

Designed in conjunction with legendary freestyle shredder Alex Pastor, the Livewire Team is Airush’s no-compromise twintip. Incorporating Airush’s Nano Rod Technology – which sees 3mm carbon rods embedded within the core – the Livewire Team offers an insane amount of pop and they’re so confident you won’t break it that they offer an impressive two-year warranty on it…

Here’s the all new Cabrinha H20 premium binding which takes the ‘adjustability’ concept to the next level. The 4-point connection allows incremental tweaks across the whole binding so you can set them up to fit your feet perfectly. Then, depending on your style, you can opt for the more comfortable ‘plush’ heel bed option or the ‘I’m going to land a handle pass today’ focused harder options…

Time to let off the ‘new kite’ klaxon! The Hyper from CrazyFly is a high performance, Big Air focused, boost busting machine. It has five struts, CrazyFly’s Triplex Ripstop and a higher aspect profile that simply screams: send me!

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Indonesia T H E U LT I M AT E GIRLS TRIP APRÈS UNE ANNÉE UN PEU FRUSTRANTE SUR LE WAVE TOUR ET AVEC L’ENVIE DE PRENDRE DES VAGUES DU MATIN AU SOIR ET DE TRAVAILLER LES TUBES, IL N’Y AVAIT QU’UNE SEULE VÉRITABLE OPTION : LES FILLES SE RENDANT EN INDONÉSIE… PHOTO: Ydwer van der Heide

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F E AT U R E N A M E

alou: La saison des compétitions a été bonne mais un peu frustrante car on n’avait presque pas de bonnes vagues sur les étapes. Tous mes espoirs se tournaient vers l’étape de l’île Maurice, mais malheureusement, elle a été annulé. Cela me laissait une période libre afin de voyager à l’endroit de mon choix. J’avais envie de surfer sur des vagues plus grosses et plus lourdes comme l’île Maurice aurait pu offrir et j’ai envisagé aussi différentes options, notamment Madagascar et Fidji, et même d’autres spots inexplorés. J’ai alors contacté Cat. Elle était folle de joie de se joindre au voyage, même si elle ne savait pas où nous allions ! Elle m’a fait confiance alors j’ai réservé les vols et j’étais impatiente de commencer le voyage. Catharina: C’était à la fin du mois de juillet et nous venions d’apprendre que le concours wave de l’île Maurice avait été annulé. Jalou m’a demandé si j’avais envie de partir en kite trip. J’ai dit oui immédiatement. Ca faisait un moment que je voulais partir en kite trip, surtout avec une personne plus expérimentée que moi. On a discuté des différentes options de destinations, mais l’Indonésie m’avait toujours attirée. On a commencé à chercher des billets, mais en même temps, j’entendais parler des tremblements de terre à Lombok et j’avais perdu ma board lors de mon dernier voyage en Autriche... J’étais tellement stressée par la situation avec mon matériel et les tremblements de terre que j’oubliais presque ce qu’il y avait devant moi : de nombreux amis de ma ville s’étaient déjà rendu en Indonésie et avaient eu leurs premiers barrels en kite. Des barrels ?! Mes pensées se sont bousculées dans ma tête et je ne pouvais plus enlever ce mot de mon esprit. Est-ce que j’allais y arriver ? Etais-je prête ? J’avais tellement hâte. Olivia: C’était le pic de l’été et on n’avait eu ni vent ni bonnes vagues à Maui depuis longtemps. J’étais frustrée, alors j’ai dit à Patri que je voulais aller soit à Fidji, soit en Indonésie pour la houle. En août, je n’avais toujours rien de prévu. Un matin, alors que je regardais la carte Surfline, j’ai vu une grosse tache pourpre dans l’océan Indien. Ca semblait bien parti pour l’Indonésie. Quelques jours plus tard, Jalou postait une story sur Instagram disant qu’elle y était et que Catharina devait la rejoindre. J’ai immédiatement envoyé un message à Jalou pour lui demander comment étaient les conditions. J’ai jeté un coup d’œil sur la carte Surfline et, si je voulais avoir la meilleure houle, je devais partir le lendemain matin. J’ai envoyé un message à Cat et elle m’a donné tous les détails sur le vol à prendre et l’endroit où aller. Je n’avais pas de kite mais heureusement, Sky Solbach a eu la gentillesse de me prêter le sien. Après avoir passé la journée à chercher le vol le moins cher, j’en ai trouvé un à 18h30. Je suis partie le lendemain matin à 7h, et, 30 heures plus tard, j’étais arrivée à destination, un jour avant la houle.

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Ydwer van der Heide (photographer): Quand Jalou m’a proposé de la rejoindre avec quelques personnes en Indonésie, il était facile de dire oui. Avec une équipe sympa et de bonnes conditions, j’allais forcément prendre des photos dingues. Après le shooting des Air Games en Allemagne, je n’ai même pas eu à déballer mes bagages car je suis directement parti pour l’Indonésie afin de rencontrer les filles. Elles étaient arrivées quelques jours plus tôt pour s’habituer aux conditions météo et aux vagues. Je suis arrivé juste à temps pour assister à l’action. F

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First

IMPRESSIONS

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THE FIRST F E W D AY S I COULD NOT STOP MYSELF FROM SMILING.

J: J’étais ravie de revenir en Indonésie et de savoir que les vagues étaient garanties. C’était la quatrième fois que je visitais cet endroit unique. Là-bas, la vie est simple et lente, et c’est rafraîchissant lorsque l’on vient d’Europe. C’était bien de pouvoir se concentrer uniquement sur le kite au jour le jour. L’endroit n’avait pas beaucoup changé depuis mon dernier voyage. Il y avait toujours les mêmes personnes et peu d’améliorations avaient été apportées dans les restaurants locaux (warungs). Par exemple, l’un des photographes locaux nommé Mammet a vendu son appareil photo il y a quelques années pour ouvrir un restaurant avec sa famille, situé dans sa cour. Les photos qu’il a prises il y a des années de Keahi, Reo, Kevin et moi-même sont accrochées aux murs. Mammet est le meilleur endroit et le moins cher en matière de nourriture et d’hygiène. Le nombre de kiters a augmenté au fil des ans (c’est prévisible, mais c’est aussi une bonne de chercher de nouveaux spots et on en a trouvé d’excellents ...). Le premier jour, je n’ai pas pu m’arrêter de sourire, c’était tellement bon de naviguer dans des conditions parfaites avec une variété de vagues.

O: Le lendemain de mon arrivée, la houle était à son maximum. J’ai été agréablement surprise, c’était beaucoup plus grand que prévu. Les barrels pour lesquels nous avions voyagé jusqu’à cet endroit se fermaient dans le canal. On a sauté sur nos mobylettes et on a roulé 5 minutes le long de la côte avant de nous rendre à un autre endroit. Il y avait beaucoup de surfeurs en paddle, de gros sets en arrière-plan et le vent se levait. On est alors retournés à notre auberge pour récupérer nos kites et nos planches. Une fois sur place, tous les surfeurs étaient hors de l’eau et il était temps de se lancer. C’était un peu léger pour une 10m, mais le vent s’est un peu levé dans la journée. Il y avait tellement de vagues qu’on se sentait beaucoup plus à l’aise à la fin de la session. J’étais ravie d’avoir eu de gros sets qui ont fait monter mon adrénaline. J’étais aussi très heureuse de voir Cat et Jalou sur de grandes vagues, et je les encourageais toujours depuis le canal. C: Au début du voyage, j’ai navigué sur certaines des plus grosses vagues de ma vie. Il y avait beaucoup de monde dessus, mais j’ai réussi à en avoir de bonnes. Olivia m’a dit de “m’aligner avec le château d’eau orange”. Pendant toute la session, je l’ai cherché dans l’eau et j’étais frustrée de ne pas le trouver. Après la séance, je le lui ai dit et elle m’a répondu que c’était sur la terre. On a eu un énorme fou rire ! F

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I N D O N E S I A : T H E U LT I M AT E G I R L S T R I P

barreled GETTING

WITH A KITE

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O: L’un des spots est très connu pour sa vague et ses barrels en kite. Les gars sur les photos et les vidéos donnent l’impression que c’est facile, mais ça ne l’est pas. Il y a tellement de choses à penser au même moment, que ça en devient difficile. Par exemple, le meilleur moment pour prendre cette vague était à marée basse. C’est très intimidant, car au début tu ne vois que le récif. C’était également difficile de gérer la puissance du kite. Je me suis retrouvée à voler trop vite, même après avoir tenté de décrocher. Ca m’aurait emmenée bien trop loin derrière la vague déferlante. Le positionnement est la clé : il est très facile de se retrouver trop profond sur cette vague, en particulier avec la facilité de virement de près au vent. Sur une vague que je suis allée chercher, j’ai fini la tête dans l’eau. J’ai volé le visage en premier et je suis passée par-dessus, vers les eaux profondes. C’était mon pire wipeout du voyage. Je me sentais comme si je venais de tomber dans une machine à laver, mais je suis ressortie, j’ai vu que mon kite volait toujours, et mon corps était attiré par le canal. J’ai vu du sang couler le long de ma jambe, mais heureusement, ce n’était qu’une petite coupure. Un peu secouée, je savais que je devais réessayer. Matchu m’a accompagnée sur une autre vague, et m’a dit où m’asseoir et à quel moment y aller. J’ai pris mon premier barrel et j’en suis sortie. C’est à ce moment-là que j’ai réalisé que, quelques jours auparavant, je n’étais pas au bon endroit et que le moment était mal choisi.

NOT GETTING BARRELED WITH A KITE...

Y: Pour moi, c’était un nouveau défi. Bien que j’ai beaucoup shooté dans les vagues (et le One Eye à l’île Maurice n’est pas un endroit particulièrement facile à photographier), c’était un peu différent. Je devais trouver ma place parmi les vagues, ce qui était difficile car leurs tailles étaient très inégales les premiers jours. Ma meilleure option était d’opter pour un objectif légèrement plus long afin d’avoir une position plus confortable en prenant les photos. Au fil du temps, je me suis de mieux en mieux positionné. Et les filles sont devenues plus confiantes et se poussaient mutuellement à y aller de plus en plus franchement.

J: Le but du voyage était de prendre les vagues autant que possible et d’obtenir du bon contenu. On n’avait pas toujours des vagues parfaites tout au long de la journée, ce qui fait qu’on n’a donc pas pu s’entraîner autant qu’on l’avait prévu. C’était assez fun d’apprendre de nouvelles choses et de se surpasser. Il s’agissait de trouver le bon endroit. C: Après la grosse journée vague, ma confiance en moi était incroyable en retournant sur la plage. Je me suis dit : “ok, aujourd’hui, j’y vais pour un barrel.” Je me suis alors arrêtée et j’ai vu de grandes vagues se succéder. Certains gros barrels s’écrasaient. J’ai repensé aux vidéos que j’avais visionnées et aux quelques conseils que j’avais reçus avant de sortir. Au début, je suis restée en place, et j’ai pris quelques-unes des plus petites vagues. Tout était si différent de ce que j’avais imaginé. Mes nerfs ont commencé à se calmer. J’ai alors pensé: «Très bien, c’est le moment. On y va... Maintenant ! “J’ai réussi à entrer y aller franchement malgré le manque de planification, mais je savais déjà que je n’allais pas m’en sortir puisque j’avais fermé les yeux au milieu de la course… J’ai senti la lourde vague sur ma tête et je me suis dit : “c’est ce qu’on ressent quand on se fait manger vivante”. En remontant à la surface, j’ai vu mon kite dans l’eau. Avant de réfléchir à deux fois, j’ai lâché mon kite. Jalou m’a aidée sur la rive. Elle m’a ensuite dit que généralement, lorsque le kite retombe sur cette vague, il dérive dans le canal. Ce n’est pas une zone dangereuse, et il est facile de se relancer. Au début, j’étais déçue et dépassée par les conditions difficiles. J’avais aussi peur que ce soit ma seule et unique chance, et que je venais de la gâcher. Heureusement, ma vision a changé les jours suivants et j’ai appris à accepter le fait que ce type de vague était très différent du type de vagues auquel j’étais habituée. Cet état d’esprit m’a aidé à essayer encore et encore. F

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Postcript Ydwer: C’était cool de voir comment les filles s’encourageaient et comment elles parlaient de prendre les vagues. L’ambiance est différente de celle entre gars, car la plupart du temps, elles parlent de la profondeur et de l’ampleur de la vague ! Le niveau entre les filles était aussi très différent. Jalou a des tonnes d’expérience en navigation, Olivia n’a peur de rien et Catharina a une volonté incroyable d’y aller et de s’améliorer. Les filles se donnent des conseils et parlent de leur peur et de leurs objectifs. De plus, il n’y avait pas que de l’action au cours de ce voyage. Le lifestyle est une part importante de leur voyage : manger de la nourriture indonésienne délicieuse, rencontrer les populations locales. C’est l’ensemble de cette expérience qu’elles souhaitaient partager. S’il n’y avait pas de vent un matin, c’était l’occasion idéale pour un shooting lifestyle. Et c’est là que je me suis rendu compte que je n’étais qu’avec des filles ! Lorsqu’elles commencent à parler, elles ne s’arrêtent plus. Elles étaient tellement absorbées par leur discussion qu’elles en ont oublié que j’attendais là, caméra à la main ! 

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ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S THE WHOLE E X P E R I E N C E T H AT T H E Y WA N T E D TO SHARE.

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MAK I N G A

K I T E

VI E Réaliser un film de kite

Fatigué des clips Instagram, Laci Kobulsky avait envie de produire quelque chose de plus grand et de mémorable : quelque chose dans un genre court métrages de kite… Son plan en tête, il avait juste besoin d’un rider. Et qui mieux que Aaron Hadlow pour faire équipe ?! Ici, Laci nous emmène à travers la philosophie du projet et où ils en sont rendus à ce jour…

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SOLO CAPE TOWN SESSION...

De nos jours, Internet fourmille de vidéos de kitesurf, de montages, de clips, de stories, de GIF et autres formes de contenu visuel. Je fais des vidéos de kite depuis plus de 10 ans maintenant pour divers riders et centres de kitesurf. Mon compte en contient plusieurs centaines, alors je reconnais que je suis aussi en partie responsable de cette explosion. Et bien qu’il soit agréable d’avoir autant d’options de contenu en tant que créateur, tous les formats Internet présentent un inconvénient : ils sont courts. Les vidéos doivent être montées rapidement, prêtes pour Instagram. Toutes ces images incroyables qu’on a mis tellement de temps à prendre doivent se résumer à quelques minutes. On est souvent obligé de supprimer une grosse part de nos clips préférés, qui ne seront jamais visionnés. Cette année, j’ai eu l’occasion de travailler sur un projet différent qui m’ouvrait une nouvelle porte créative et me donnait l’espace nécessaire. J’ai déjà travaillé à plusieurs reprises avec le légendaire Aaron Hadlow, notamment sur “Reflection”, le montage primé, tourné en Sicile. Mais cette année, on a décidé de se concentrer sur un documentaire complet simplement appelé “TWENTY”. Ce projet plus long nous donnait assez d’espace créatif, ce qui est indispensable pour présenter correctement tous les mouvements et les lieux. Parfois, on a des super clips en slow-motion qui durent 30 secondes et au lieu d’en couper une partie, on pouvait cette fois le laisser en entier. Mais ne vous attendez pas à ce que le film soit une compilation de plans au ralenti. C’est plutôt quelque chose qui vous invite à vous asseoir et à apprécier le spectacle… Donc, pendant toute cette année (s’étalant un peu sur début 2019), je voyage et tourne avec Aaron. Jusqu’à présent, on a été à Cape Town, dans les Caraïbes, aux États-Unis et au Royaume-Uni. Le Brésil est au programme de novembre. Le long de la route, on a également travaillé sur un projet parallèle sur YouTube : un show animé par Aaron, intitulé “Aaron Airs”, qui permet aux abonnés des réseaux sociaux de suivre l’évolution de nos progrès. Alors, de quoi parle le film ? En termes simples : il s’agit du kitesurf et de ses différentes disciplines, projetées tout au long de la longue carrière de Aaron. Nous essayons de montrer et d’expliquer les trois disciplines principales sur lesquelles Aaron évolue : Freestyle, Big Air et Park, afin que les spectateurs puissent comprendre en quoi consiste chaque discipline et admirer les meilleurs athlètes du monde faire leurs mouvements. Qui mieux que Aaron pour cela ? Le gars a eu une telle influence sur le sport au fil des années ! On ne s’est pas arrêtés là, on s’est dit qu’on allait creuser et filmer chaque discipline sur le spot parfait. Si on parle de Park, on va se rendre sur le meilleur kite park au monde à Cape Hatteras. Le Big Air va forcément avoir lui à Cape Town, ville du vent. Et où aller, à part au Brésil pour des tricks Freestyle de dingue ?! Mais le film est aussi une histoire personnelle sur la carrière de Aaron et sa contribution. À ses côtés, vous verrez quelques-uns de ses amis et des meilleurs riders de chaque discipline. C’est un travail difficile de bien raconter l’histoire, mais on est déterminés à atteindre notre objectif. Le film sortira pour l’été 2019, alors gardez un œil sur les nouveautés et les mises à jour du film sur le Web : twenty.aaronhadlow.com. Et sur les médias sociaux, suivez le hashtag #AaronHadlow20. 

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“ I T IS HARD

WORK TO TELL THE STORY RIGHT, BUT OUR MINDS ARE SET ON THE GOAL.

FRONT AND CENTER IN THE CARIBBEAN

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S H T L CAT I TheKiteMag.com TheKiteMag.com

I. BIG AIR CAPE TOWN

Dès le début de ce projet, quelques lieux étaient déjà définis, et l’un d’entre eux était Cape Town. Cet endroit est non seulement le premier choix pour les kitesurfers Big Air du monde entier, mais également celui qui a probablement offert le plus à Aaron. Il a déménagé ici avec ses parents quand il était jeune et les conditions difficiles du freestyle l’ont préparé au World Tour, qu’il a dominé avec six titres sans précédent. On y a passé un mois, à filmer les Mégaloops devant Table Mountain, mais également à voyager sur différents spots, à faire du kite avec Ian, le père de Aaron, ou à enregistrer des interviews de ses amis. Le grand moment a sans doute été le nouveau trick de Aaron lors du King of The Air : un Megaloop Board-off Frontroll. Je regardais l’action depuis l’objectif : la position de Aaron n’étant pas assurée vers la fin de la manche, il savait qu’il devait tout donner. Je savais qu’il s’entraînait sur les Board-off Megaloops depuis quelques semaines en vue de l’événement, mais le voir couper le souffle de tout le monde en changeant rapidement sa board à la dernière minute et en décrochant ce mouvement du NBD sous la pression était un vrai spectacle ! Heureusement, ma caméra tournait et était centrée sur Aaron !

M A K I N G A K I T E M OV I E

II. FREESTYLE CARIBBEAN On savait qu’on avait besoin de changer de décor après le vent de Cape Town et quelques ambiances paradisiaques pour le film ne seraient pas de refus. Sans rien sacrifier, on a décidé de monter à bord du catamaran “Caribbean Kite Cruise” avec son propriétaire Richard en capitaine, et de naviguer autour des magnifiques Grenadines à la recherche du vent parfait et des conditions d’eaux plates pour des figures de freestyle ! Ce voyage a probablement été le lieu de prise de vue le plus agréable. On était seuls sur le bateau sans aucune distraction, juste concentrés sur les photos. De plus, mon travail derrière la caméra était beaucoup plus facile, car les spots étaient fantastiques sous tous les angles. Lors d’un shooting, habituellement, tu dois toujours bouger et jouer avec la scène pour la rendre belle, ce qui n’était pas un problème ici grâce à la belle eau turquoise et les plages de sable blanc. 

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â&#x20AC;&#x153; PEOPLE

SHOULD EXPECT MORE OF A CINEMATIC SHOW

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III. PARK USA En travaillant sur ce type de projet, je peux visiter beaucoup d’endroits intéressants où j’aurais du mal à me rendre autrement. L’un d’eux (et certainement l’endroit que j’attendais le plus) était le kite park de REAL Watersports à Cape Hatteras. REAL a lancé les étapes du Triple S il y a plus de 10 ans et a depuis lors conservé son statut de centre de villégiature le plus en vue du monde. Au total, notre séjour a duré trois semaines, et s’est terminé par le Triple-S, où la durée de tournage pour le film était limitée. Dans l’ensemble, c’était un super voyage. Noé, Craig et Sam se sont joints à nous pour un peu de variété dans les tricks. J’ai beaucoup utilisé le cardan, alors au lieu des clips tremblants auxquels on est habitués lors des vidéos dans les parks, les gens pourront s’attendre à quelque chose de plus cinématographique. De plus, Aaron et Craig se sont surpassés, lançant de nouveaux tricks, ce qui fut une belle victoire pour eux.

IV. UK En août, lorsque la plupart des kiters européens se dirigent vers le sud, cherchant le soleil et le vent, on est allés dans la direction opposée et avons visité le domicile de Aaron en Angleterre. De là, on s’est rendu à l’endroit où il a commencé à pratiquer le kitesurf et on a fait quelques voyages avec ses amis Lewis et Tom. Il ne s’agira pas d’un chapitre du film, mais plutôt une partie intégrante de l’histoire, à raconter pour les interviews et pour la toute fin du film. Il vous suffit d’attendre pour le découvrir… 

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xplo e ra E I S t S

L’île Maurice et la région du Morne, qui fait la une des journaux, offrent des conditions parfaites pour faire du kite hors des sentiers battus… Rodrigues est à deux pas de Maurice, mais on a l’impression de revenir dans le temps, vers un monde de kitesurf plus calme : la perfection. Le rider Australien Ollie Jacobs mène l’enquête…

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Rodrig

NO WIND? PHOTO SHOOT IT IS. PHOTO: Ollie

gues

“I come from a land down under, Where beer does flow and men chunder Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover, yeah...” Men At Work, 1980 Aussies et Kiwis... Nos racines ancestrales des colons européens sont ceux qui avaient déjà été condamnés, exclus de la société du thé, bannis du pays de l’abondance. Notre soif de vivre au bord de l’océan est profondément enracinée, tout comme l’attrait pour les terres lointaines et exotiques. En tant que kitesurfeurs, cette recherche de l’ultime destination est plus intense. Poursuivre le soleil, le vent et les vagues est ce qui relie chaque kiter, aux quatre coins du monde. Le compte en banque ? Probablement assez. Les jours de congés ? Ahhh, ça n’a pas d’importance, il suffit de démissionner et de trouver un nouveau travail à mon retour. Rassemblez vos amis, votre petite amie, votre famille, ou partez seul : voyager en solo, c’est bon pour l’âme… Suivre le soleil, le vent et vos rêves. Avec cette attitude, je partais pour un autre voyage à l’île Maurice. La Mecque du kitesurf a tout pour plaire : une eau chaude, des vagues incroyables, du vent, une vie nocturne et le confort des hôtels 5 étoiles, dans la jungle. Si vous y avez déjà envisagé un voyage, n’hésitez plus : allez-y, c’est incroyable. En voyageant avec mon ami et collègue photographe Brenton Owens, on a été enthousiasmés par les trois semaines d’aventures de kitesurf et de photographie. On avait hâte d’être de retour à l’île Maurice et de pouvoir explorer de nouveaux endroits. On s’est dirigés vers une petite province de Maurice, un paradis pour le kitesurf appelé Rodrigues. Rodrigues est relativement inconnu parmi la communauté de kiters. La plupart d’entre eux se rendent à l’île Maurice et pensent ne pas pouvoir trouver mieux. Ce qui est vrai, en partie. Mais si tu aimes l’aventure, et que tu veux avoir un aperçu de ce qu’était l’île il y a 20 ans avant que les touristes ne débarquent, entraînant hôtels, clubs et foule, et bien Rodigues doit absolument faire partie de ton itinéraire. Ce sera sans doute une agréable surprise.

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Adventure tim A

près quelques jours de navigation et de fête à Le Morne, on s’est rendu à l’aéroport avec le matériel de kite et de photographie. Pouvoir combiner ces deux passions est fantastique, mais mon Dieu, ça fait un paquet d’équipement à trimballer !

On est arrivés assez tard, et on s’est dirigé directement vers la sortie du Terminal 4, vers la section VIP, pour se garer sur une place de taxi. Quel départ… Bien entendu, en quelques secondes, la sécurité et arrivée pour nous demander d’aller nous garer à l’autre bout de l’aéroport. On avait vraiment trop de matériel pour y penser sérieusement. Quand je voyage, je ne compte même plus le nombre de fois où je joue le touriste ignare, qui sourit bêtement. La plupart du temps, ça me sort d’une mauvaise passe… Mais pas cette fois. On entendait son boss à travers le talkie walkie. Le gars s’est rapproché, l’air pas franchement ravi. “Vous allez où ?” a-t-il demandé. J’ai répondu “Rodrigues”. C’est là que son visage s’est illuminé, et il nous a proposé de nous aider à décharger notre équipement ! Il s’avère qu’il était originaire de Rodrigues et qu’il était très heureux qu’on aille découvrir sa belle région…

OLLIE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE REEF PHOTO: Brenton Owens

A LONG WAY OUT WITH THE WIND DYING... BIT OF A BUTT CLENCHER PHOTO: Brenton Owens

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La chasse a u x va g u e s

At t e r r i s s a g e Nous avons été accueilli à l’aéroport par un chauffeur local, Andy Alberts. Andy y habite depuis longtemps et dirige une école de kite. On lui avait envoyé un email quelques jours auparavant et il nous a réservé un 4x4 et un hébergement pour les premiers jours. Sur la route, il nous a offert un bref aperçu de l’île… Voici les points clés : L’île est assez petite, on peut la traverser en voiture en une heure. Les routes sont belles, le trafic est fluide (la plupart des habitants font tout à pieds ou prennent le bus). Avec une faible population d’environ 40 000 habitants, le taux de criminalité est très faible. Il y règne une ambiance communautaire et sereine. Les habitants vous saluent et parlent français et créole, mais la plupart parlent aussi un peu anglais.

Étant avant tout des riders wave, on avait cherché “Rodrigues kitesurfing waves” sur Google et on avait trouvé des informations au sujet d’un récif au large. Andy a dit qu’il nous emmènerait là-bas, alors on y est allés direct. Une excursion de 30 minutes sur un bateau de pêche local. On a été agréablement surpris par une houle de 2-3 mètres dans un canal autour d’une petite île de sable. Après de rapides instructions sur la sécurité et la vulnérabilité de cet endroit lors de la marée montante, Andy a déclaré que nous avions 2 heures. On s’est donc dépêché de gonfler les kites. C’était une excellente session avec Brenton qui est allé un peu à l’eau pour prendre quelques photos. On ne voulait pas s’arrêter, mais Andy nous a donné le signal pour tout remballer avant que la marée ne nous ennuie. J’ai remorqué Brenton de l’eau et j’ai pu entendre ce qu’Andy disait. Il a fallu une bonne dizaine de minutes pour ramener Brenton au le lagon alors que la marée montait sérieusement. Mais tout s’est bien terminé. On a fait atterrir nos kites sur le sable, et Marcus, l’apprenti d’Andy, nous a aidé à tout ranger. Puis on a pu boire quelques bières en naviguant le long des magnifiques îles de sable, observant les oiseaux et la vie marine. Parfait..

Les courses et la bière ne sont pas chères, le logement varie considérablement selon le style d’hébergement. Les restaurants sont peu coûteux : environ 10€ pour un repas. La saison du vent s’étend de juin à octobre, principalement sud-est, qui éclaire la moitié de l’île principale. L’intérêt principal pour le kite est l’eau plate et cristalline et les belles petites îles au large du continent. Le vent est généralement constant et moyen, aux alentours de 20 noeuds, avec quelques jours à 30 noeuds. Lorsqu’il fait plus froid certains jours, prenez une bonne combi en néoprène et des bottes si vous êtes débutants, car le corail peut être aiguisé LOCAL GUIDE MARCUS PHOTO: Brenton Owens

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Close call

THE DOWNWINDER RACE... NICE SPOT FOR IT PHOTO: Brenton Owens

e lendemain, Andy était occupé à organiser le prochain Rodrigues International Kite Festival (RIKF). On n’avait aucune image des vagues en drone, parce qu’on était trop occupés à kiter, alors on s’est décidé à se raccrocher au gars du bateau et pour une session supplémentaire. Les vagues étaient beaucoup plus grosses que la veille. Entre 3 et 5 pieds sur le spot, et entre 6 à 8 pieds plus loin sur le récif. Le vent était plus léger mais toujours présent. J’avais trop hâte d’immortaliser ça avec le drone, alors je suis allé avec Marcus au fond du récif, pendant que Brenton bombardait avec le drone. J’avais l’impression d’être un enfant dans un magasin de

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bonbons. Bonne vitesse, une eau claire et lignes parfaitement nettes venant du récif. J’ai fait un virement de bord vers le lagon juste pour vérifier le courant. Il était assez léger, mais en reprenant mon virement au près, j’ai senti la force du courant me contrer. C’était un avertissement. Ici, le vent peut passer de cross-off à totalement offshore en quelques minutes. J’ai vu une belle ligne de houle arriver alors j’ai essayé d’y aller, mais le vent n’était pas assez fort. Il y avait sans doute moins de 15 noeuds... Ce qui était pas mal quand le vent était cross-off, mais une terrible nouvelle maintenant qu’il était passé full offshore. J’ai vu Marcus essayer la même chose et on a tous les deux viré de bord avec le même regard “oh merde”. On avait

vraiment des problèmes. Les 20 minutes suivantes, on s’est battu pour essayer de revenir du récif, vers des vents plus calmes. Mais chaque virement nous emmenait plus loin en mer, et le récif ne se trouvait maintenant plus qu’à 500 mètres de nous. Marcus cria mon nom pour me montrer un canal downwind sur environ 2km. J’ai donc suivi Marcus en essayant de le rattraper. J’ai enfin commencé à voir la terre émerger des profondeurs. Je me rapprochais à nouveau du lagon et je me sentais beaucoup mieux, mais voir des bombes de six pieds exploser sur le récif me mettait la boule au ventre. J’ai attendu la fin d’un set et lorsque la dernière vague s’est écrasé sur le récif, j’y suis allé aussi vite et fort que je pouvais pour la traverser. Un autre set de taille moyenne s’est levé, mais je l’ai anticipé de façon à être au bon endroit lorsqu’elle atteignait son point culminant et je l’ai suivi après sa rupture. Je me suis rendu au lagon et le vieux bateau de pêche (qui n’avait pas réussi à me rejoindre avant) est passé à côté de moi pour venir me chercher ! Les bières étaient très bonnes cet après-midi là.

L’heure du festival

Le RIKF était sur le point de commencer et on voulait être au coeur de l’action. On s’est donc déplacé à “La Belle Rodriguaise”, un complexe sympa de cabanes très confortables sur la plage, à quelques pas de la compétition. Le plus gros avantage de cet endroit, c’est sa propre plage privée avec assez d’espace pour installer nos kites sur l’herbe, et un accès facile aux larges lagunes profondes. La première nuit, on est tombés sur un petit bar de plage

super cool appelé “Willies”. Si vous voulez rencontrer l’équipe de kite locale, c’est l’endroit où il faut aller. On s’est enfin sentis vraiment arrivés à Rodrigues. La lagune devant “La Belle Rodriguaise” est orientée onshore, mais si vous parvenez à virer de bord au récif, vous trouverez une eau très douce, un vent constant et de jolis petits kickers. Attention, il y a quelques endroits peu profonds, alors jetez-y un coup d’œil. Mais à marée haute, il n’y a aucun danger à naviguer et à vraiment s’amuser ! De là, on a navigué downwind jusqu’au spot de la compétition RIKF. Il y a un L’endroit est plutôt cool : un bar, un café et des écoles de kite sur le sable. Je me suis en quelque sorte retrouvé dans le rôle de juge et j’ai rapidement été présenté à deux autres juges : Céline Rodenas et la championne féminine Helena Brochocka. Eh bien, ces deux adorables filles qui me mettraient la misère dans n’importe quelle discipline de kite se sont assises avec moi pour me faire un rapide point sur les aspects du jugement technique, qui n’est pas ma spécialité. Ensuite, en tant que juge pleinement qualifié, la compétition a démarré et c’était un plaisir d’en faire partie. Simon Lamusse, de l’île Maurice, s’est rapidement démarqué, ce qui annonçait une finale excitante. Une tempête arrivait, avec un vent solide à plus de 25 noeuds, écrasant tous ceux qui tentaient des tricks sans harnais. Chez les femmes, Girelda Jeeworth avait voyagé spécialement pour la compétition, en quête de victoire et avait obtenu de bons résultats en freestyle et en race.

PHOTO: Brenton Owens

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ne fois le concours terminé, il était l’heure de fêter ça et les Rodrigiens savent organiser une soirée ! Sponsorisé par Rockstar Energy Drink, la fête s’est déroulée sur la plage, avec des DJs, des danseurs locaux, des groupes de reggae et des stands barbecue. Oh, est-ce qu’on a précisé qu’il s’agissait d’une soirée sur trois jours ? Oui, trois jours de bons moments ! Et une manière idéale de rencontrer de nombreux habitants car je suis sûr que toute l’île y a participé. Mon moment préféré était le groupe de ‘seggae’ composé de 10 musiciens. “Seggae” est un mix de sega (musique mauricienne traditionnelle) et de reggae. En fait, c’est une version plus rapide du reggae et les gens ont semblé apprécier autant que nous ! La compétition terminée, l’île retrouvait son calme. On a eu le temps d’explorer d’autres îles : des pépites pour le kite. Ca comprenait un downwind de 35 km avec bateau de secours, de notre hébergement jusqu’à une belle île sablonneuse où un barbecue nous attendait. On s’est également aventurés sur une île peuplée uniquement de chats (pas de ceux qui donnent envie d’être caressés, ils ressemblent plus à des tigres), qui disposait aussi d’un lagon fantastique, tel une piscine, comme conçu pour les séances photos.

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CAT ISLAND PHOTO: Ollie

En dehors du kite…

Durant les quelques jours où il n’y avait pas de vent, on avait de nombreuses options : tyrolienne, balançoire géante en chute libre, tortue géante dans une réserve naturelle ou des marchés singuliers dans la ville principale, Port Mathurin. Alors si vous recherchez quelque chose de différent, un endroit sûr loin de la foule et où vous pourrez réellement vous impliquer avec la communauté locale et rencontrer beaucoup d’habitants de la région, quittez l’île Maurice et allez plutôt à Rodrigues la prochaine fois que vous êtes dans l’océan Indien..

WINNER SIMON LAMUSSE PHOTO: Ollie

BIG AIR COMP PHOTO: Ollie

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THE

ROAD

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Après s’être installé au Vietnam et y avoir vécu une vie tropicale de rêve ces dernières années (avec des retraites périodiques en Indonésie), Rob Kidnie a décidé qu’il était temps de rentrer dans son pays natal, de louer un van et de vivre une vie d’aventurier pendant quelques semaines… PHOTO: Anna Kuzmina

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près plus de dix ans de vie et de kite en Asie, avec un séjour d’un mois dans mon pays natal l’Australie tous les deux ans, il était temps de reprendre contact avec mes racines. Ma compagne Anna, qui n’est pas australienne, avait déjà visité deux grandes villes d’Australie, mais rien de plus, rien qui ne sortait des sentiers battus touristiques. En résumé : elle n’avait jamais vu la vraie Australie. Alors, quelle meilleure manière que de lui présenter mon pays lors d’un vrai road trip… J’ai grandi à Sydney, et ma famille y est encore. C’est donc là que notre voyage a commencé. Voyager en Australie n’est pas l’option la moins chère de la planète, mais peut être l’une des meilleures. L’Australie a tellement de grands espaces ouverts, une beauté brute et une faune incroyable. Parfois, ça semble un peu restrictif en termes de réglementation gouvernementale, avec des panneaux interdisant certaines des activités les plus banales, telles que la baignade, le stationnement, se gratter le nez (j’ai inventé le dernier au fait, vous pouvez toujours vous gratter le nez en Australie). Mais l’interdiction de baignade dans certaines zones est réelle, j’imagine que c’est dû au nombre de touristes qui se noient régulièrement. Savez-vous quel est le sport le plus dangereux en Australie ? La pêche !

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VAN LIFE

a meilleure façon de garder son budget de voyage est de trouver un véhicule dans lequel on peut dormir, y ranger tous ses jouets, et prendre la route dans la direction la plus lointaine de la capitale. Ce n’est pas le moyen de transport le plus glamour, mais l’un des plus économiques en raison des économies d’hébergement. Un bonus supplémentaire est la quantité de levers et de couchers de soleil que vous verrez en campant sur des promontoires, mangeant les fruits de mer fraîchement pêchés. Ensuite, il y a la variété de la faune sauvage qui se lèvera avec vous le matin, et pas seulement les espèces locales à deux pattes. Je parle d’oiseaux, de reptiles et bien sûr de marsupiaux. Notre recherche de van a commencé lentement. On a parcouru Gumtree et les sites de petites annonces en ligne pendant deux semaines, sans succès. On ne trouvait que de minuscules vans qui avaient déjà fait le tour de l’Australie plusieurs fois. On a finalement eu de la chance et après quelques négociations, on a acheté un vieux camping-car Toyota avec réfrigérateur et cuisinière à une vieille dame qui était envoyée dans une maison de retraite par sa famille. C’était d’ailleurs assez étrange car elle semblait super en forme. Apparemment, sa famille avait insisté… Le van avait 30 ans, mais son kilométrage était faible et il avait rarement roulé. C’était donc une bonne affaire. On y a installé notre matériel de kite après avoir prévu un nouvel ensemble de pneus, un panneau solaire et une nouvelle batterie. On était prêts à prendre la route, pour commencer à profiter de tout ce que la vie en van et en pleine nature pouvait nous offrir. Mais on avait d’abord dû charger 4 kites, 3 barres, 5 planches, des combis, 2 cannes à pêche, un appareil photo, de la nourriture, les 20 kg de cosmétiques d’Anna et le reste de nos effets personnels. Je ne sais pas comment nous l’avons fait, mais on a réussi à tout faire rentrer. 

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THE DEEP SOUTH

aintenant, normalement, la plupart des gens voyageant en Australie se dirigent vers le nord pour les températures clémentes et les plages bordées de palmiers. C’est ce que j’ai fait de nombreuses fois pendant les vacances avec ma famille. Avec le recul, on aurait probablement eu de meilleures conditions, mais je voulais essayer quelque chose de nouveau et me diriger vers le sud sur la route la moins fréquentée. Ainsi, c’était une nouvelle expérience pour Anna comme pour moi. Rien de mieux que de nouvelles expériences en matière de voyages de kitesurf. Le plus gros point négatif qu’on ait eu à affronter en direction du sud, c’est que nous allions devoir endurer les températures. Heureusement, ce n’était pas un problème avec les derniers néoprènes Mystic. Et j’étais plutôt content d’échanger de l’eau plus froide contre des plages vides. On s’est donc éloignés de Sydney pour se rendre vers les climats plus froids de la côte sud de la Nouvelle-Galles du Sud. Des plages de sable blanc entourées de structures rocheuses et recouverts d’une forêt tropicale humide tempérée et luxuriante : on savait que notre aventure avait commencé. Comme on campait d’une plage isolée à une autre, on prenait souvent le petit-déjeuner avec les kangourous avant de surfer, puis on terminait en kite avec un petit vent l’après-midi. Plus on allait au sud, moins on rencontrait de surfeurs et presque jamais personne en kite. Notre objectif en se rendant au sud était de trouver des vagues de classe mondiale en espérant que le vent coopérerait. Mais la wave est une discipline cruelle et, le plus souvent, on se retrouvait sur les plages de sable où les conditions onshore semblaient avoir du mal à rester upwind. Mais comme on s’était fixé des objectifs ambitieux pour ce voyage, on s’est efforcés de réaliser quelques bonnes sessions side-shore. Cette mission était principalement axée sur la pratique du kite, mais les plans de repli étaient le paddle, la pêche et la pêche sous-marine. Sans obligation de travail, avec un logement mobile et un littoral sans fin, ce n’était pas difficile de trouver des occupations. On naviguait le long de la côte, observant les alentours lors des arrêts afin de trouver d’éventuels spots de kite. Je ne connaissais pas vraiment beaucoup les spots de surf du sud, à l’exception des plus célèbres, mais la plupart de ces fameux spots de surf ne sont pas vraiment praticables, car ils se trouvent dans l’ombre des falaises à l’abri du vent. De plus, les habitants de ces régions sont généralement des surfeurs de la vieille école, pas vraiment sympathiques quand il s’agit de vous dire où sont leurs spots préférées. Mais on avait une liste de lieux à ne pas manquer. Chaque jour, on a donc dû regarder les prévisions, la carte et choisir le meilleur endroit pour tenter notre chance.

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WAVE KITING IS A CRUEL MISTRESS

SASHIMI SUPPERS

a plupart du temps, on se rendait en voiture vers les endroits les plus exposés où on faisait face au vent dominant et on attendait. On a beaucoup patienté et mes compétences en matière de pêche se sont nettement améliorées. Sans parler de nos compétences culinaires en préparant la pêche de l’océan. Mais on a parfois eu de la chance, avec de nombreuses sessions mémorables. Et pour être tout à fait honnête, j’ai probablement manqué quelques séances à cause de conditions un peu folles et du manque de soutien moral. La seule fois où je me suis reproché de ne

THE ROAD SOUTH

pas être sorti, c’était aux “Twelve Apostles” sur la Great Ocean Road à Victoria, l’une des principales attractions touristiques du sud. L’endroit est un littoral extrêmement accidenté avec des falaises de plus de 50 mètres et une énergie marine des plus sauvages, car il fait face à l’Antarctique. La houle était d’environ 10 pieds et pas avec le vent le plus fort, mais peut-être navigable. J’ai trouvé une petite plage pour me lancer mais je ne l’ai pas fait. Mon excuse (et je m’en tiens à cela) est qu’il était trop tôt dans le voyage pour détruire un kite. J’ai décidé d’attendre un vent plus fort le lendemain. Mais il n’est jamais venu…

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A REAL BASTARD OF A PLACE

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Les conditions y étaient impressionnantes, surtout pour un gars qui a passé la majorité de sa vie à kiter dans de l’eau tiède proche de l’équateur comme moi. Avec les vents plus froids venant de l’océan Austral, la 11m était le plus souvent laissée dans le van au profit d’une 5m ou d’une 7m. L’eau plus fraîche a également apporté un nouveau défi que je ne connaissais pas : le varech. Un varech long et épais. Ce n’est pas quelque chose qu’on aimerait prendre dans les lignes, sans parler du corps après un wipeout. C’est un sentiment si étrange de ressentir l’eau glacée remplie de varech… On a passé quelques semaines à Tassie et on a découvert quelques superbes spots, on n’a pas eu la chance d’avoir le vent et les vagues en même temps. Le Tassie de la côte est époustouflant, du type carte postale de rêve. La côte sud était belle mais plus accidentée et difficile à naviguer avec trop de promontoires fous pour rendre le kite épique. La côte ouest est ce qui m’a frappé dans certaines des conditions les plus difficiles que j’ai connues. Dans un bon jour, c’est à couper le souffle, mais dès qu’il y a un peu d’orage, ça prend un visage radicalement différent. Il a été décrit comme l’un des endroits les plus perfides de la planète. Le légendaire navigateur mondial Robin Knox-Johnston, l’a décrit comme “un véritable lieu bâtard” ... On a réussi à avoir quelques sessions amusantes et on a eu un avant-goût du lieu. Notre séjour à Tassie a été épique et on reviendra sans hésiter pour s’y mesurer. Mais le prochain voyage dans le vieux van de kitesurf aura lieu dans le désert du nord-ouest de l’Australie occidentale. Juste un petit saut de 4500 km depuis la côte Est ... Alors restez à l’écoute. L’endroit est censé être dingue. 

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THE END OF

e là, on a mis le van sur un ferry direction la Tasmanie, cette petite île située tout en bas de la carte de l’Australie. On en avait entendu parler, c’est un endroit où beaucoup d’australiens ne vont jamais, laissant seuls les touristes étrangers. La première chose qu’on a remarqué en descendant, c’était la fraîcheur de l’air. C’était comme respirer du vrai air pour la première fois. Les plages étaient tellement sauvages. Et je ne veux même pas penser aux créatures qui vivent dans la mer. Il existe en Australie une application appelée “Dorsal Watch” sur laquelle les gens rapportent leurs observations de requins. Je ne l’ai jamais téléchargée, mais des amis m’ont envoyé des captures d’écran quand ils pensaient que j’étais dans une zone à risque. Je pense que si j’avais cette application moi-même, je ne serais jamais sorti…

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ILDI N

G O F

SWEET TREAT:

KITE PA R K La Ventana has a rep as a flat water nirvana with a side-order of occasional wave riding (if you don’t mind a bit of a drive). It doesn’t have a rep as a park riding destination. What did it take to change that? Just a group of long-time La Ventana visitors, a few tequilas, some motivation, and a few long days… And, as you will see in the next issue of the magazine with Brandon and pals, they nailed it, and now even have a park event lined up for 2019. Choco Park founder member Fritz Otiker takes us through the project. words:

Fritz Otiker // location: Choco Lake, Desert, La Ventana, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Nov-April // wind: N /NW18-24mph (Desert Thermals), N 28-35mph (El Norte)

season:

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FRIEND ZONE CAMP PHOTO: Fritz Otiker

LATE NIGHT PLANNING SESSION PHOTO: Fritz Otiker

This isn’t a story about massive cactus fields, tasty fish tacos, the ever so welcoming Mexican culture, reliable thermal winds, late night desert parties or the amazing wind sports community. Nope. This is a story about a group of friends, coming together from all over the world to contribute something to a small kiteboarding community. Why? Well, the obvious escape from our problems outside of our ‘bubble’. Then there's kiteboarding too. All in all, the main attraction is our community in La Ventana, where we call our camp the Friend Zone. The Friend Zone is all about – you guessed it – friends. And we have an abundance of them. Talented, beautiful, brilliant people from all walks of life. Connecting in some way or another through past life experiences and the various activities available in LV. It's not like what you may encounter at other kite destinations. We are a group that accepts everyone for who they are. And this year we wanted to do something new to improve our already world-class kite set up.

READY FOR RECYCLING.... PHOTO: Fritz Otiker

First we talked about it, then we talked about it some more. The drinks flowed, the waterfall of tequila dripped down our chins and we sprinkled in some desert antics before we decided what to do. Once that was out of the way, the decision was made. The Choco Kite Park was it. We began brainstorming it in full detail. Fast forward two seasons after the Friend Zone was created, and there lay our pile of wood from a palapa deck we had built during a previous season. It was a sufficient amount of materials that could be re-purposed into a kite park feature. All agreed that it would be best used as a slide-up into a long rail. Leaving us with enough wood left over for a small ollie-up rail. Then Kris Kinn had an idea for a kicker and contact was made with Dave Groves in Los Barriles who had a kicker buried in the sand at the beach. It had been sitting there for over six years and – thanks to Dalaney’s LV Beach Resort and the use of their truck/ trailer – we were able to dig it out and transport it back to LV.

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Proble m solvi ng Our plans for this park were loose, but as the project progressed, suddenly started to take shape. Luckily we had all the help we needed located at the Friend Zone and the crew were ready to make this dream become a reality. Location, money, materials, labor and transportation were the five major road blocks we encountered. Choco Lake was already our flat water freestyle lagoon and it could easily hold ten riders if we separated the features properly. It was the perfect tidal lagoon, isolated from town and away from the ever growing crowd on the water in La Ventana. Plenty of room for us to stretch out our wings and give this park build a go. Finding the tubes and stainless steel fasteners proved difficult in a small Baja town, so we had to get crafty by tapping into the local network.

Even guys who had never unhooked before were stepping up, hitting all of the features. We finally had the comradery of the same spirit and energy, nestled up into one place. We took our ‘individual’ sport and made it a fun, collaborative team activity. Critiquing each other while waiting your turn in rotation was the norm. Not to mention there was a fifty-fifty chance the peanut gallery would remind you each time you ‘kooked out’ or cheer you on if you stomped a trick.

Time was ticking and a lot of work had to be finished, but once we built the features and made the drop happen, riders started to hit them full force. It was like an explosion of breakthroughs and progression for each rider. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before.

PHOTO: Danielle Gee

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PHOTO: Fritz Otiker PHOTO: Danielle Gee

PHOTO: Fritz Otiker

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PHOTO: Fritz Otiker RIDER: Nadja Bianchet

n ew frie n ds When the park build started, we weren't quite sure if anyone from town would come and whether or not we had the full support of the kite community. Let's get real, it was way out in the middle of the desert and no one was 100% confident if their vehicle would even make it through the fifteen minute journey. But, much to our surprise, the La Ventana community rose up in full support of the project. We even received a visit from a bunch of pros who wanted a taste of the action… A lot of lessons were learned from building this park. It brought all of us together to one location, cheering, teasing and pushing each other’s skills beyond our comfort level. Our main takeaway from building a kite park was: it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a labor intensive process. You definitely need a team of people that can dedicate their time to it. These trials and tribulations have allowed us to better plan for our second season of the Choco Kite Park. So much so, we will be hosting the Baja Kite Park Showdown January 1113, 2019. Held the weekend before the La Ventana Classic Kiteboarding Competition… Onwards and upwards!

PHOTO: Andy Cain RIDER: Fritz Otiker, Todd Falcke

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PHOTO: Eric Stevens RIDER: Kris Kinn

PHOTO: Fritz Otiker RIDER: Todd Falcke

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Shove-It Rider: Ralph Boelen Photo: Svetlana Romantsova

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The Move The Pop Shove-it is definitely a fun trick to have in your pocket, and you can learn it right after getting your first proper air dialed. If you have a background in skateboarding, you will get this one very easily. Unlike most of the strapless tricks, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find it better practicing this one in light wind, as the board has less chance of flipping in the wrong direction if the wind catches it wrong.

The STEps Ride with a constant speed, start your kite at 2 o’clock and drive pretty quick toward 12 from where you will start your first pop. Start your pop like a normal air with the front hand pulling in the middle left of the bar. This is going to bring your kite slowly back to 2 o’clock during the jump. I’d recommend leaving the back hand away off the bar to find a better balance during the trick. As soon as you find yourself steady in the air, you can start sending the Shove-it. The key to this trick is to actually always keep your front

foot in touch with the board, while the back foot kicks backward to rotate your board. When you see your board finishing its 360 rotation, you can now slowly release the bar, bringing your back foot to its normal position, and stomp the trick. If you see yourself going for a pretty high pop, I’d recommend to send the Shove-it not too early, unless you want to go for your first 540!

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S-Mobe 5 Rider: Mikaili Sol Photo: Svetlana Romantsova

The Move I like the S-Mobe 5 because it is a technical trick and requires you to use speed and power. When I am competing, the S-Mobe 5 is the second trick on my list that I do and I usually also do it before my heat starts to get me pumped and ready for my heat. You should learn an S-Mobe 5 because it’s a great trick to get you ready for any trick you’re looking to take to the next step by going from a 360 to a 540 degree rotation…

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The STEPS Come in with good speed and make sure that your kite is at 45 degrees. As you start to edge, steer the kite down so that the kite doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go too high during the trick.

When you reach the apex, you have to start to move your body in the opposite direction by pulling your bar to your back hip, keeping it as close as possible.

Pop hard at takeoff and bend your head and front leg forward to start the front rotation.

While passing the bar, keep it as close as possible while bringing your back leg past your front leg to continue the rotation.

Make sure that you are doing a front roll and not an S-bend, so that your body is more inverted.

When you are about to land, bring both hands back on the bar so that you will be more in balance for your landing.

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WINTER’S COMING AND IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE CAUGHT OUT AND FINISHING YOUR SESSION AFTER 30 MINUTES, THEN YOU NEED TO BE PREPARED... IF YOUR 5/3 HAS ALREADY PUT IN A COUPLE OF TOUGH SEASONS THEN MAYBE IT’S TIME TO PUT IT INTO RETIREMENT AND INVEST IN A NEW ONE. THE TECH KEEPS GETTING BETTER-AND-BETTER AND THE WETSUITS WARMER-AND-WARMER SO IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE A WINTER KITER!

G U I D E B U Y E R ’ S WETSUIT

MAGMA The Meteor Magma is built for the cold and windy days of winter. The Magma fleece is one of the best materials out there: not only do its ‘plush loops’ work as effective insulators and heat generators while providing a smooth and soft feeling that makes the suit incredibly comfortable, but it is manufactured to be extremely flexible to keep even the thickest suit very stretchy. Manera’s SD² TAPE 2.0 technology is not only a great ‘blindstich’ technique but also brings more durability, waterproofness and flexibility. It’s the wetsuit of your choice if you don’t want to stay home during winter sessions…

€399 | $ + £ CHECK LOCAL DEALER

X10D The Meteor X10D is made for pure performance. The suit is stretchy and light, with an extra good feeling on the skin. It is a suit well adapted to waveriding, freestyle or SUP because of its ability to follow the rider’s movements without any restriction. The neoprene panels are sealed together and then sewed with blindstitches. Then the SD² tape is now welded to the seam by an air heater machine, unlike past years when the tape was hand glued. This new process brings more durability, waterproofness and flexibility to Manera wetsuits. So if you’re looking for lightness and flexibility, the X10D is the wetsuit you need.

WINTER

€299 | $ + £ CHECK LOCAL DEALER

WOMEN X10D The 4/3 X10D allows unrestricted movements while keeping you warm during mid-season days. The Meteor X10D is made for pure performance, and the inside feels stretchy and light, with an extra good feeling on the skin. It is a suit well adapted to waveriding, freestyle or SUP because of its ability to follow the rider’s movements without any restriction. If you’re looking for lightness and flexibility, this is the wetsuit for you…

€319 | $ + £ CHECK LOCAL DEALER

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LEGEND HOODED The proud leader of the Mystic wetsuit range has been re-designed and is packed with the best materials and features. The 100% M-Flex 2.0, stretch taping and ultra-lightweight foam makes sure the suit stays very light and super flexible. There is also a unique quick dry lining, which will not only dry faster but also keeps the water out longer and therefore helps to maintain your body temperature creating an insulating shell and a winner suit.

€470 | $470 | £390

MAJESTIC For maximum comfort with the softest touch you want the Majestic… The Majestic series wetsuits are loaded with features, including 100% M-Flex 2.0 and waterproof stretch taping, a high durable taping used inside the suit to avoid leaking and keep the suit flexible and warm. The patterns have been renewed for this year to maximize the stretch and comfort, and the Polar lining reflects body heat and makes sure you will stay warm longer.

€350 | $350 | £300

DIVA This year’s Diva wetsuit provides the ultimate in comfort and style for female shredders. The patterns of the Diva suits have been renewed to maximize the stretch and comfort of the suit. The Diva wetsuits are made of a 100% M-Flex 2.0 neoprene, the most flexible neoprene in the Mystic range. The waterproof stretch taping avoids leaking and keeps the suit flexible and warm, then the Polar lining gives a super-soft feel and reflects body heat to keep you out on the water for longer.

€330 | $330 | £270

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STRIKE SELECT The Strike Select 5/4 is one of the warmest wetsuits in the ION range with a a focus on getting you on the water and keeping you there for a as long as possible! It uses toasty warm Plusma-Plush inside lining on the upper body and legs to provide best possible heat retention. Then the Powerseams and Maki-Tape 2.0 keep that cold winter water on the right side of the suit…

B U Y E R ’ S

€430 | $430 | £370

WINTER

WETSUIT

STRIKE AMP The Amp level represents exceptional performance especially in terms of stretch for riders who don’t want to compromise on performance even in the depths of winter. ION’s super flexible inside lining Hotstuff 2.0 ensures an optimal level of heat retention and flex meaning that you can still be working on your trick repertoire even if you’ve been scraping ice off your car!

€340 | $350 | £280

JEWEL AMP The Jewel Amp combines high-tech features and an outstanding performance with style and an air of femininity. Hot-Stuff 2.0 lining and ION’s high-tech Seal-Tite feature will keep you toasty warm and perfectly protected from the elements. Also available as a 6/5.

€330 | $340 | £270

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FAHRENHEIT HOODED The Fahrenheit series are super quick drying wetsuits with extra durability and stretch. They have a quick dry lining which also absorbs 20% less water which keeps them light… Internally, there is a specially engineered lining that features two layers of fibers on top of each other, woven with a squared pattern design that allows water to flow through it to the outside and quickly downwards. The whole suit is made without any stitches and is fully liquid taped on the outside and fabric taped on the inside to offer superior stretch and a longer lifetime. You can now also get your Fahrenheit with a hood – so no excuses whatever the temperature.

€549 |$615 | £475

CELSIUS PRO ZIPLESS The Celsius series of wetsuits brings extreme flexibility where pattern design is combined with the best available neoprenes in the market. And they are now available zipperless for truly insane levels of stretch… The Celsius Pro is made with 100% Superstretch limestone neoprene and has the lowest number of panels in the RRD collection. It is pure fabric taped on the inside, and only on the seam joint areas. This allows even more flex, especially around the arms. So if you want to continue with your no compromise moves on the water and you want to feel like you are not wearing a wetsuit: you want the Celsius Pro Zipless.

€389 |$436 | £335

AMAZONE PRO For female riders who want to have insane flex and want to perform regardless of water temperatures, the Amazone is the suit for you. It is 100% Superstretch limestone neoprene with a 360 Ultrastretch back panel to increase back flex and to enable you to easily get in and out. The Amazone is the wetsuit made with the lowest number of panels in RRD’s collection and less panels mean more flexibility. Then the new asymmetrical panel layout creates a great look to ensure that both the aesthetics and the functionality are as good as you can get...

€369 | $417 | £319

WINTER WETSUIT BUYER’S GUIDE

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G U I D E

COMBAT

B U Y E R ’ S

If you want a wetsuit to see you through even the darkest of winter days then you need the Combat. Armor skin windshield technology matched with anatomical engineering, such as NeilPryde’s exclusive MLS muscle support, make the Combat the ultimate defense against the wind, and make it your weapon to go harder for longer in extreme conditions. At the heart of this new generation of wetsuits lies NeilPryde’s exclusive materials and technologies to ensure you have the very best in wetsuit tech for your session.

WINTER

WETSUIT

RECON If you don’t see why you should compromise between warmth and flexibility then the Recon is the wetsuit for you. The refined aesthetic and high function of the Recon makes it a must-have piece of equipment for any kiter demanding the highest performance on all levels. New generation NeilPryde materials and technologies result in the ultimate experience on the water, so you still feel ready to go hard out even when the thermometer takes a serious dip…

NEILPRYDE TECH Muscle Lock System. Locks in the power with anatomical muscle wrapping technology strategically placed on the calves designed to improve stamina, increase muscle support and enable active recovery. EFX Expansion Panel. An anti-cramp technology which allows for increased blood flow when riding, resulting in improved performance. Dri-Flex. The advanced dri-flex knitted outer jersey is super light and dries in a much shorter time compared to standard neoprene. It is fused with a polyester and spandex blend and combined with Yamamoto neoprene making it over 95% water impermeable.

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INDUSTRY INSIDE NEWS

NORTH KITEBOARDING

The wheels are turning in the world of kiteboarding brands and there have been a few notable developments over the last few months. Right up there was the news that North Kiteboarding would be reborn as a closer subsidiary of parent company North Technology Group. Time to find out more from a couple of guys who will be at the heart of the ‘new’ brand, Mike Raper and Pat Goodman. Hey guys, thanks for taking the time to catch up with us. So you will be kicking off an entirely new product line as North Kiteboarding. Can you talk us through the key players in terms of heading up the brand? MR: Sure, so first up David Mead and I will be responsible to the North Technology Group (NTG) for the profitability of the business, we are the senior managers. However, we are all partners in the business, depending heavily on each other and all playing an integral part in the equation. David Mead is Director of Manufacturing & Operations and will be responsible for the commercial side of the business. David will be based in Sri Lanka and Europe, and has a strong history of manufacturing in Sri Lanka, China and Thailand. He is the former Director of Manufacturing for the Pryde Group. Klaus Warkentin is Global Director of Sales & Team and is responsible for the sales activity in all international markets. Klaus is currently building a network of reps and agents to work with retailers and distributors for North Kiteboarding. There is no one with more international experience than Klaus. He’s half German/Mexican, is fluent in multiple languages and will be based in Europe. He has visited literally hundreds of beaches across the

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world which has helped him create a strong understanding of different cultures and their idiosyncrasies. He also has many an epic story to tell around a campfire. I’m Director of Product & Brand. I will be driving product development and brand marketing teams. I need to ensure the brand delivers a strong product range that respects where the brand has been in the past while looking forwards to the future. I am responsible for the look and feel of North Kiteboarding. I need to make sure the brand stays true to its heritage of technical performance. And who will be getting their hands dirty on the design side of things? Pat Goodman has recently joined as Chief Kite Designer and will design all our kites. Pat Goodman is ready to start with a fresh perspective when it comes to designing a North kite and acknowledges he has a huge task ahead of him. Pat’s been around the block, but is very excited about delivering something different this time round. He’s very aware he needs to find a performance niche for the brand that is unique and fresh. He’s a man on a mission at the moment, pulling some huge hours in CAD and testing at the beach. Hugh Pinfold is Director of Design & Engineering and is responsible for the

development of control bars, bindings and basically anything molded and technical. Always frothing, he’s a bundle of raw energy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Hugh also kills it on all boardsports and has had a lifetime in the industry, designing award winning products. Jamie Scott from Tribal Surfboards will be our board shaper. Jamie is one of the leading surfboard shapers in Australasia, a great kiter and has a better understanding of laminates than anyone I know. Highly passionate about SUP and surf foiling, he’s a force to be reckoned with, but has a very subtle touch when it comes to shaping a rail. We’re expecting some magic from Jamie. Uli Sommerlatt is our Product Manager and an avid kiteboarder since 2000. We decided to bring in the big guns and were lucky enough to attract an expert naval engineer as our Product Manager. Uli spent nine years working for world-renowned yacht design company Judel/Vrolijk before joining Core Builders Composites/Oracle Racing in 2015 as an onsite build support engineer for the 35th America’s Cup campaign. You aim to have some products for us for August 2019. What are the challenges of getting a new product

line up in place in such a short time frame? MR: Yeah, it’s a challenge for sure, but we are used to it. The North Kiteboarding team have a proven track record of delivering quality and innovation. We come from a long and diverse background within the industry, from multiple companies. With the North brand, we have the ability to take a really fresh approach to creating a more holistic range of products. We are amped to be designing a new range that will be more efficient on multiple levels. We all live in and on the water and are extremely passionate about the sport. This drives our commitment to develop products that retailers, riders and the community will love. And do you plan to release any boards as well or is there a longer term plan for these releases? MR: We can’t tell you that yet. I can let you know that we will have a complete range of kites, control systems, TT boards, surfboards and foilboards releasing mid 2019. We have access to technology that we have never had before. The North Technology Group specializes in the investment of technology brands and markets, then leveraging the technology within the group. It’s exciting times, we’re like kids in a candy shop. Will there be a brand HQ as such and where will the testing take place? MR: We are in the process of setting up three hubs in Europe, USA and Asia for sales and logistics. These offices will be critical for our sales teams to support our valued retailers. Operationally they will carry stock and provide a high level of service. The offices need to be close to the retailers to ensure fast delivery and provide assistance. For testing, Pat Goodman has lived in Taiwan for about 10 years, Taiwan has to be one of the most consistently windy places in the world. He will continue to be based there with regular trips to New Zealand for testing. Then we have a new design and marketing office on the west coast of Auckland, 15 minutes from the west coast beach and only 25 minutes from the east coast. Auckland is unique as it has quick access to great testing conditions on two sides of a very active Southern Ocean. There is always a wave and it’s consistently windy. We are also lucky enough to have a half pipe skate ramp and a creative area to help get the creative juices flowing at HQ.

So I am guessing that things are already moving in terms of development – is it exciting to be starting with a fresh piece of paper? MR: As a team, we have collectively developed a range plan that we think is efficient yet dynamic; a range that challenges us, but is achievable within the timeframe. As we approach the range planning and development, we’ve been thoughtful, respectful and brave, but also with a sense of playfulness. A lot of elements of a brand’s lineup can take many years to develop and patent etc – not necessarily kites, but things such as bars and QR systems – do you plan to license other brand’s products in the short term? MR: We will have to license a few key industry standard features like one-pump and the Nalu Kai Quick Release, but other than those standards, we believe we have some new IP that will shake up the industry a little. Mike, what did you learn in terms of developing the CR:X system that you can transfer into this new project? MR: The racing One-Design concept really opened my eyes to the world of sailing. This has assisted with developing the North Kiteboarding brand and understanding its strong heritage with parent company North Sails. I was blown away by the technology within sailing and the lengths designers go to save weight and improve performance. I hope to transfer some of this knowledge to the world of kitesurfing. Pat, you’ve been responsible for evolving one of the most complete and respected line ups of kites on the market – how does it feel to go back to square one? PG: This puts me in a fantastic position actually. I have 17 years of experience and accumulated knowledge in inflatable kite development. Now I have the opportunity to do anything I want as it’s essentially a blank sheet of paper. I have new resources and materials at my fingertips so the sky’s the limit. I am excited with the challenge and look forward to designing this new, fresh, full range of kites in conjunction with my new development team members and with my own personal DNA signature.

For most brands there now seems to be a pretty solid formula in terms of the kites you need in your lineup: beginner/freeride; performance freeride; wave, and freestyle. Do you plan to operate along similar lines? You will have to wait and see! All we can say is that it will be different... You’ve mentioned the technologies afforded to you by North Technology Group who have been at the forefront of wind technologies for years – what types of technology do you think have the potential to transfer into making kites? MR: We have access to some devastating technology within the North Sails and Southern Spars parent companies, but we have to be mindful and balance this by not taking on too much in the first year. We cannot do it all in the first 12 months, we intend to run parallel R&D projects for the release of future ranges. It’s going to take time to change the industry, but let us be clear, this is our intent. And NTG clearly have a lot of knowledge in the world of foiling with their experience in the America’s Cup. Can we expect to see some of this technology and knowledge transferred into the world of kite foils? MR: That’s why we’ve brought in Uli Sommerlatt as our Product Manager. Uli has a background in yacht and foil design that gives him an analytic and scientific approach when it comes to products. He and the team are really looking forward to transferring into the world of kiteboarding. It’s such a great time to be involved in the sport as there’s so much going on in this area. Of course a brand also needs team riders – can you share any news regarding this yet?! MR: Watch this space! And what more can we expect to hear about before next August? MR: Not too much to be honest. We plan to focus on preparation, we need to make sure we deliver a solid technical range of products that we can share in an exciting fresh way. But we will be keeping cards close at hand prior to the launch. 149

2019 PRODUCT SPECIAL

ODO

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always great to see a new brand entering the fray, and the guys behind Odo have a heap of relevant experience and have focused hard on getting things right from day one. They have a small but very well thought out line up, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re excited to see what they get up to over the next few months. So, Odo will be a relatively new brand to a lot of our readers. What can you tell us about the brand and your philosophy? Indeed, the brand is new to the market. Odo Kiteboarding was launched in June 2018 but the very initial phase of the project dates back to January 2014 when a team of riders shaped the first Compact Series Surfboards. The Odo Kiteboarding team is made up of people that have long time experience in relevant industries close to kitesurfing. So we have 30 years of experience in the hi-performance superyachts sailing industry and have made use of this and of high tech materials and special construction techniques to design top quality and high performance products, to let riders enjoy the wind and the water in the best way. All our products are designed to combine performance with aesthetic, and have been prototyped and tested at a local, European and worldwide level by a range of riders for over three years. So the Odo 2019 collection is upon us. Can you run us through the kites that you have released and explain a little bit about each of these? Odo Kiteboarding is releasing two kite models made with proprietary design to cover the vast majority of the market needs. The YO kite is more oriented towards strapless freestyle, wave, hydrofoil and the school segment, and the K1 hybrid kite is more focused on freeride, freestyle and wave. Each model is available in nine sizes (from 4 to 12m) and in blue, red or green colorways. Can you give us some more details about the YO? The YO has great stability, uncompromised upwind and drifting characteristics paired with an excellent depower system which make YO kites the choice when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to ride waves. The intuitive bar feeling and predictable flying position will be beneficial both for skilled riders and for beginners still taking their first kite lessons. Thanks to the leading edge design, the YO kite also guarantees a quick relaunch. The excellent pop that YO kites deliver is useful to learn or improve strapless freestyle and to progress during each session. The YO kite also performs extremely well in the low end wind range which allows the rider to maneuver quickly in the waves with a smaller kite or to be used for hydrofoiling.

:YO

:K1

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And the K1? This is the most versatile kite in the range that, thanks to its hybrid design, will allow the rider to use it for different purposes. Its intuitive and soft bar feeling combined with a progressive power delivery, high turning speed, top stability, great depower and excellent upwind performance make the K1 suitable for freeride, freestyle and wave riding. K1 kites have been engineered to let the rider control the unhook pop with the certainty of having the right power at the right time, and K1 hang time performance will help the rider in the hooked tricks as well. These fly on the Quick Vario bar – what can you tell us about this? The Quick Vario bar is a 4-line adjustable width bar equipped with high quality materials of which 70% are made in Italy. The bar is embedded with innovative materials and functional conceptions from the sailing industry: titanium fittings to avoid the degradation from the salt and low diameter flying lines (1.5 mm, 450kg breaking strength) from Liros to decrease the friction of the lines against the air, thus increasing the bar control and feeling. The EVA injected technology handles are made to guarantee the best grip and comfort while riding, while the quick release reduced size increases the bar stroke. Our QR cup has a special design that helps activate it immediately if required. And it comes with the freeride/freestyle setting (for a hook harness) or with the wave setting (for a rope harness). The flying lines are 25 meters in length (22 meters plus 3 meter length extensions). Then you have a complete lineup of surfboards – what is on offer here? Yes, so the strapless surfboard range is made up of four models: Compact Series, Compact Pro Series, Classic Pro Series and Gerrie Series. The Compact (5’0’’ 5’2’’ 5’4’’) and Compact Pro (5’0’’ 5’2’’) are cutting edge products for the riders that want to learn or to progress into strapless freestyle and waveriding. The deep single concave bottom design of the Compact and Compact Pro guarantees acceleration and quick planing and a lot of fun in all conditions. Classic Pro and Gerrie Series (both available in 5’8’’ 5’10’’ 6’0’’ sizes) are focused on waveriding mainly. The Classic Pro is ideal for waves up to medium size while the Gerrie surfboard is for big waves or for riders that prefer a smaller volume board. For all four models the special deck design features a structural beam and lower lateral deck area that have been engineered to increase the resistance to longitudinal forces and at the same time to increase the foot contact with the board. Thanks to this design the rider will enjoy a superior board robustness paired with unmatched riding comfort and board control when pulling freestyle tricks. What is the layup of the boards? The boards are made with EPS high quality core, epoxy resin, bamboo, carbon and cork reinforcements. With the lamination, two bamboo layers are added on the deck of the Compact and Gerrie Series while the Compact Pro and Classic Pro are a bit lighter and are laminated with one bamboo layer and one UD carbon tape. In all the surfboard range, two cork reinforcement areas are placed in the front and back heel impact areas to reduce the shock of the impacts.

:Quick bar

And what are you planning to release over the coming months? To complete our range, we will soon release two models of twintip boards, and we are also working on a hydrofoil project to be released in 2019. How has the launch gone so far and have you been pleased with what people have had to say? As usual the launch of a new brand is challenging but we are happy for what has been done so far and excited about the future: people that tested our products during the demo days in Spain, France and Italy are extremely satisfied about their ease of use, performance, design and safety.

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:Gerrie series Pro kite board

:Compact Pro series kite board

:Compact kite board

:Compact Pro series kite board 153

2019 PRODUCT SPECIAL

TheKiteMag.com

F-ONE TheKiteMag were recently Media Partners for the B2B Kite Summit held in Dakhla last month. Also flying the flag for the world of kitesurfing down there was F-ONE founder and boss man, Salles. TheKiteMag’s Anja Fuchs found a few minutes to catch up with him about the recently released 2019 collection.

HERE’S RAPH SPREADING THE KITESURFING LOVE TO THE ENTREPRENEURIAL WORLD.

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Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. What is the main news with the kites for 2019? Well, there’s one product that of course has to be the first to mention: The 2019 Bandit! It’s the 12th edition of this kite – it’s incredible, that we kept it for so long. And still it’s our main model: 80 percent of the kites we sell are Bandits. Then in the rest of the kite lineup we also have the second generation of the Breeze which has already been very successful. The Breeze V2 is absolutely foil-oriented and is so intuitive to fly. The size range goes from 3 to 17m, and the larger sizes are more responsive while the smaller sizes have been optimized to handle stronger winds and still offer perfect speed control and stability for foiling. When depowered, the canopy is more stable and the overall range of the kite has been widened. The WTF is our specific kite for freestyle pro-riders. It’s a pure C-shape design with five struts and a 5-line setup, making it a true freestyle machine for advanced freestylers. On the R&D side we worked closely with Liam Whaley and of course we are already looking forward to when he will be back on the water!

rider should feel comfortable in every wind. Compared to the previous model, we have improved this aspect a lot on the new model... We also worked on the turning speed. So the big kites feel way smaller than they are – for example when you’re on a 12 it feels like a 9. Also the connection between rider and kite is super important. With the Bandit XII you feel really connected to your kite and you will feel comfortable from the first moment on it. The kite is an extension to your body that works in harmony with you. One reason for this is also a change on our bar: the new lines are 20-30% stiffer which significantly improves the connection with the kite. The smaller sizes of the Bandit XII have been designed more with regard to kiting in waves and strapless riding, and the bigger sizes excel in lighter winds. It’s been a few weeks since we delivered the Bandit XII and the feedback from the riders is simply amazing. The Bandit is still our kite for everything – many schools use it for teaching and rentals, Mitu is performing his strapless tricks with it, our team riders use it for Big Air and they win contests with it... So I’d say it’s a kite that excels from school up to podium.

So what is the main difference between the 2018 and 2019 Bandit? Generally we are working on improving the same things every year, which is finding the perfect balance between power and lateral pull, maneuverability and connection to the kite. And also we want to have the biggest wind range on the kite! The

What are the main highlights with the boards for 2019? In the board range I’d mention the Mitu Series, developed with strapless legend Mitu himself, as a definite highlight. He invests all of his experience in the tests for his pro models – the Mitu Pro Carbon, Mitu Pro Flex and Pro Flex Convertible

:BANDIT

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:WTF

and the Mitu ESL. All of these boards are 100% dedicated to strapless riding. On the twintip side, the Trax is our most popular model which also has a long heritage. It excels in freeriding and freestyling, and the HRD Rails which are shaped in a unique 3D-technology consist of different areas which offer smooth gliding through chop without spray, great carving ability, superior grip, bite where it is needed, and excellent pop. The Trax works for a wide variety of riders, from freestyle experts to beginners and we are very pleased with how this is this year. Foils have become a big part of the kitesurfing world and beyond – are they now a major part of your business? Yes, we also spend a lot of time and effort working on our foil range. Five years ago we started with foiling, and since then it has become a big part of the kite world, but it has expanded beyond this, now even into the surf world. Producing all those pieces is of course a huge challenge of technology, but as the discipline is growing, you have to keep up. So we don’t only have products for kite foiling, but now also for surf, SUP and windsurf foiling and we are pushing these disciplines. We also have windsurf pro riders in our team now!

Which model would you recommend for someone just starting out? Since spring this year we have the IC-6 850 V2. It’s the perfect foil for learning, very accessible and offers so much potential for progression. It is predictable and intuitive, the takeoff is really progressive and it offers a super smooth ride. We couldn’t improve the stability and really the board makes it pretty easy to step on the foil game! But also if you get better it’s still a versatile setup for great fun on the water. Made in our Injected Carbon technology our wings are way more resistant than conventional carbon wings. Then the fuselage and mast are made of aluminum, and a 4-bolt plate can be plugged in to make the foil compatible with any board fitted with tracks. And it has been a good few months for your team riders. Yes! We are really proud of them, the freestyle team is doing pretty well. Maxime Chabloz went on the podium more than once this year, also Paul Serin did a very good job. I like the combination of the disciplines in the GKA Air Games, it’s pretty spectacular to watch. In terms of waveriding and strapless there is Mitu who is and remains a legend, and Camille Delannoy. Then Aurelien Petreu – who is always creative when it’s about new tricks and pushes his limits in Big Air – wants to compete in the KOTA 2019 and also in the Air Games.

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:MITU PRO

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IN THE PIPELINE AIRUSH

Airush have just dropped their 2019 collection – always an exciting brand, and always innovating, we caught up with the Airush crew to find out what they’ve been working on for the last few months…

The 2019 Airush Collection is upon us and you’ve released your new line up. What can you tell us about what’s new for 2019?, We are always excited about the full Airush line up, as there is a product that suits every type of rider, from the early stages of progression through to developing really high-end gear designed for the ultimate freestyle rider. The latest collection is a refinement of some key products, updates of the favorites and of course introducing a few brand new ones too. So what is the headline news with the kites? Well, the Ultra V2 is our most hyped up kite for the launch of the collection. It has been developed as a high performance kite for light wind freeride and foil riding. Due to the super light weight of this kite, it has proven to have amazing ‘stay in the sky’ drifting abilities, making the smaller sizes especially good for park-and-go wave riding. The Ultra has become accessible for riders on all levels and across all genres of freeride. For 2019 the improvements on the Ultra V2 are mainly on the bigger sizes where we managed to reduce the drag even more, by reducing the leading edge segments which increases the skin tension in each panel. Thus giving the kite a crisper and overall faster feeling. Then, sticking with the kites, the Union V4 has received a new bridle system and is now offering a more direct and crisp response, you can expect stronger and more reliable loops, then the extra bar pressure allows you to steer the kite more accurately when performing unhooked tricks. The feeling is quite unique compared to the rest of the Airush range, and we are very pleased with where the kite is positioned within our range. The Union V4 is directed at intermediate to advanced riders who are still looking for the benefits of a 4-line kite setup. Wave and strapless riding has come a long way since we first introduced the Wave kite, but through ongoing development we continue to take those driving turns, big strapless forwards, and smooth power delivery to a new performance level. The Wave V8´s updated shape is focused around refinement, while customization through bridle options gives a fresh perspective. With the optional fixed bridle, riders can pick between more direct steering and on-off power delivery without pulleys or a smooth and progressive ride with amazing gust response with pulleys. This fixed bridle has been designed specifically for each size of kite in the V8 range, giving the rider the most efficient and precise bridling. The benefits of the unique construction of Airush kites is evident in the Wave, where the Load Frame, absolute premium materials and years of construction refinement deliver the perfect balance of lightweight drifting capabilities and precision turning with durability and reliability.

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Left // Union V4 Middle // Wave V8 Right // Ultra V2

IN THE PIPELINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; AIRUSH

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And with the boards? Our premium freestyle twintip series, the Livewire, has undergone some big changes for the 2019 release. The 2019 Livewire twintips have a new deck and bottom profile, which have transformed the board from the shape which had been in the market in the years prior. Now available in both freestyle and park specific outline options, this board is best ridden with bindings and when unhooking for the ultimate freestyle performance. The highest rocker and stiffest flex pattern in our range allows for the aggressive pop and control on powered take-offs required to really push your freestyle riding. The Shredder is the newest member to our line-up, this asymmetrical board was born from the pure love of waves. The Shredder allows all kiters to enjoy a wave session while still giving the ease of use and maneuverability of a bi-directional twintip. The Shredder is a pure freeride board with great boosting abilities and guarantees fun each session. Boasting incredible versatility, the Shredder is designed with an optional six fin configuration for that extra surf feel or a standard four fin twintip set-up for ultimate fun. Then the footstraps have an offset option allowing you to ride centered for standard freeriding or offset towards the back, with the extra fins for a more directional surf feel.

Left // Shredder Core Middle // Livewire Right // Livewire Team

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Left // Carving Foil Right // Freeride Foil

And of course foils have become an integral part of a brand’s line up – what have you got to report here? In the pure kiteboarding space, the Carving Foil represents the cutting edge of recreational foiling. The 1050cm wing and 70cm mast offer an incredible combination of maneuverability and ease of use that allows for lower speed turns with a surprising amount of top end speed. Throughout the Airush foil range, we make use of a modular foil platform, allowing you to interchange between different mast lengths and wings, making the foils completely customizable. The Carving Foil can be paired with an 80 or 95cm mast for the more advanced rider or riding in a larger swell. The X-Wing rear wing comes into its own with this foil, as the rider can trim the stability or maneuverability orientation, with the wing faced ‘tips down’. The Carving Foil is also a great entry point for anyone wanting to get into foiling due to the speed range, high lift and stability. And any other news in terms of the company, team riders and your plans for the next 12 months? There have been a few minor organizational changes within the last year, which has us all very excited as we are working full steam ahead into the 2019 year and are really looking forward to it being an exciting one. The Airush Collective is an extension to our family, this year we are introducing some fresh faces, focusing on each discipline and working to build a really strong team in each discipline and market, but we can’t give away any names just yet. You will have to keep an eye out for our team announcement! But over the next 12 months we have got some exciting projects we are working on, and with our key riders it is sure to be one filled with adventure whilst always looking ahead, focusing on constant innovation, delivering durability whilst aiming to be an increasingly sustainable business.

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TEST

IN A SENTENCE: The Dash puts the ‘performance’ into the performance freeride category with its fast and exhilarating ride.

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IN A SENTENCE: The Bolt 3 is a pretty mindblowing twintip with nextlevel amounts of pop, but also a comfortable and relatively easy board to ride around on.

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CORE BOLT 3 When it comes to getting new kit to test, first impressions count – and the new Bolt from CORE gets off to a good start arriving in some nicely thought-out eco packaging and wrapped up beautifully. Once you’ve got it unwrapped you can check out the developments for this latest version of the ‘100% wakestyle/park’ machine. The most obvious development is the bottom shape – there are more channels and these are generally more pronounced. You can ride it with fins but if you’re in the park without fins then there is plenty there to keep you locked in and back upwind. The rails are tapered with 9.5mm between your feet coming down to 3mm at the tips and there is a new ‘high-modulus polyethylene’ base which can be repaired with a PTEX candle if you need to patch it up. You can ride it with 28mm or 48mm fins – we found that the 28mm gave the perfect amount of grip and we had no problems staying upwind with these in. On the water and the Bolt 3 likes to be ridden with power. It does feel like the new Bolt gets up and going a little earlier than the previous model and with its wider tips the ride also seems more refined. The speed is quite something in the flat water as it just keeps on going but never loses grip. With this much speed, the Bolt can translate this into an insane amount of pop. Scary stuff but also epic! We’re not sure we have ridden a crossover board with so much aggression and raw power. For the Bolt 3, CORE have added extra layers of their exclusive Cartan Carbon which seems to have turned the ‘pop performance’ up a level. Then, once you’ve recovered from the amount of height you got, the rocker and bottom contours make the landing easy to stick and gives you plenty of confidence to throw down your next move. Upwind and the Bolt 3 had no problems with the chop and there was no excessive knee slapping. The board is not pitched as an ‘all round’ board and is focused more on a small number of riders who really know their stuff and know how to load it up and make the most out of it, but it is a surprisingly easy board to ride and a competent freestyler could definitely grow into it and learn a lot about how to really load up a rail and then how to utilize the pop.

NAISH DASH The Dash is on to its second iteration – when it arrived in the range last year it was very well received in the ‘performance freeride’ category. So a kite for guys who want to push the freestyle button and go for some loops, boosting and unhooked action, but also want to keep things more playful and don’t want the full commitment of a pure freestyle kite like the Torch ESP. It goes without saying that this type of kite has seen a massive growth in popularity over the last few years, so it is important to get it right. V2 of the Dash sees a reduction in weight with the Quad-Tex allowing Naish to remove more Dacron due to the extra canopy strength provided by this. The LE diameter has also been reduced which fits the philosophy of the Dash in terms of increasing turning speed and responsiveness. Overall the build quality of the Dash is impressive. On the water the Dash gives you that classic Naish feel: it’s fast, precise and is light on the bar, and what is often Naish’s best quality is the incredibly smooth and silky depower. There’s never any spike in power when sheeting, and small adjustments at the bar see an immediate response. Good work from Damien Girardin, Naish’s main kite designer. The Dash is not a ‘sheet and go’ kite and requires rider input to make the most of it which is the nature of these kind of kites. It sits a little further forward in the wind window than the Pivot for instance, which means that the low end is also not quite as good, but in the right hands the Dash delivers one hell of a punch. You can explore the wind window with it to find that sweet spot and then – once you have tuned in – the Dash will have you boosting to the moon and smiling from ear to ear. We had the Dash out in some serious wind, and it seems to have an endless top end. It just keeps sucking it up. Never did the Dash want to pull you off your edge which is a real confidence boost once the wind gets up and encourages you to really push your limits and go for some serous loops. Unhooked and the Dash is great fun. It is fast and flies forward well which gives great slack and is perfect for handle pass tricks. For looping the Dash, it has so much speed that you can really throw it down hard and you don’t worry that it won’t catch you – this is the Dash’s domain and it knows it. For experienced loopers you can definitely get away with riding a size bigger and riding shorter lines and, who knows, it could be you on the cover of the next issue.

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IN A SENTENCE: The Mitu continues to impress as a versatile, comfortable and insanely fun board to ride.

L CRAZYFLY UP FOIL CrazyFly have entered the increasingly competitive foil market this year with two foil offerings. The Up and the Master. They have opted not to skimp on the quality for either of these so they both have full prepreg carbon front and rear wings coupled with an aluminum fuselage and mast. The whole thing weighs in at 2.8kg which is significantly lighter than many other beginner/intermediate foils. Assembly of the foil is super-easy with three screws securing the front wing and then two securing the mast and two on the rear wing. This seems to be pretty standard now and one of the advantages for CrazyFly is that – having not jumped onto the foiling game too early – they can now see what really works and have produced a foil that is very much ‘up to date’. The board we had was the Chill. This is a low volume, twintip style construction board with an EVA grip. The board is built at CrazyFly’s EU factory so as you would expect the construction and attention to detail is A1. It’s relatively light, looks great with some Paulownia wood showing through, and has a wide, square outline with plenty of nose rocker to help you bounce back up. There are four fixing positions for the foil on the bottom of the board so you can adjust the placement of the foil depending on your level and/or style of riding. On the water and the relatively low volume of the board means that it sits ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ the water. For this reason, having a front footstrap will make getting the board into position and getting on to it easier in the early stages of your foiling experience. Then, once you’ve mastered strapless take offs, you will appreciate the thinner and more maneuverable board underneath your feet. Getting up on the foil we found that it can come up nice and early, but if you hold the foil down a little longer than you need to then it comes up super smoothly and you are off and riding at a good speed. It feels controllable under your feet and is a forgiving foil that will work with you when you are getting a feel for the sweet foot and mastering the art of back foot pressure. Transitions are smooth – the Up turns very evenly and predictably – and it handles the change in speed comfortably. Learning tacks and gybes is never easy, but the Up will give you the confidence to commit to these and the wider nose of the board provides a good ‘springboard’ if you touch down during this. In terms of speed, you can turn the Up on and it generates a lot of speed and, with the carbon wings, definitely feels more like an intermediate or even advanced foil if you really give it some power.

F-ONE MITU PRO FLEX 5’8” 2019 This year Mitu’s signature board is available in three constructions: Pro Carbon, ESL and the one we had on test, the Pro Flex. The board is shaped from a high density foam core and finished with epoxy resin in a brushed radiant yellow. This also makes it easy to pick out in the surf if it goes for an unscheduled wander. It’s a classic thruster fin set up with some stiff high end fins as standard on a rock solid Futures box. We would class the board as mid weight, I’m guessing the carbon version would shed a little puppy fat but lose some of the flex… Jumping on and heading out into some decent autumnal UK sideshore conditions, the initial thoughts were how silky everything feels underfoot. This year the signature channel in the front of the board has been sculpted into a subtler double concave, smoothing out chop and landings even more effectively than before. Couple this with the high flex HD foam core and it makes for a luxurious feeling ride. Everything feels locked in and controlled, from a drawn out carve to a snappier top turn. Straight line speed is quick and the board can handle a large range of kite power. The tight fish tail with sharp rails at the rear provide considerable grip and control, even when overpowered. This tail design is popular as a kite shape now, and we’ve seen many boards based on this from custom manufacturers. Whilst quite a short board, the Mitu at no point felt too small for me. There’s a lot of width and volume hidden in there and, from an upwind angle perspective, it performs like a far larger board. The deck pad setup is also worth a mention. First of all it has a finer, less aggressive EVA grip than most, which gives you a more positive feel on the board and no crampy feet after long usage. Then under that EVA pad there’s also a recessed deck with 5mm of extra shock absorbing foam. This will prevent heel denting from big landings and gives the knees a break when it’s choppy. There’s also a little hump at the front to help you place your front foot quickly for aerials, and feel where your stance should be which is a really great touch. The riding speed you can generate naturally translates well into some big strapless airs from small kickers. Then the pronounced width in the middle of the board helps it grip to your feet in the wind, and all that extra foam recessed in the deck makes for a pleasant landing. Top marks for big punting. The great thing about the Mitu is that it is an unashamedly ‘kite specific’ design, and not trying to ape surfing in any way, shape or form. It builds itself around the mechanical differences between the sports and comes out shining. Like most products F-ONE produce it has a SU personality of its own, and this one R is distinctly Cape Verdean…

IN A SENTENCE: In terms of quality of construction and the price point, the Up is pitched as more than a ‘beginner’ foil and it delivers here as an accessible foil, but also one that has more to offer when your foiling skills improve and you want to put the pedal down.

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RRD SQUID RRD’s Squid for 2019 reflects an overall trend in the market. As foils have got easier to ride and as the kiting market as a whole has fully embraced the world of foiling, riders and brands have realized that you don’t need a ‘boat’ under your feet to get going, and less board enables you to really embrace the world of foiling. Smaller boards are lighter, easier to travel with and – a big plus for a lot of people (like the test team at TheKiteMag!) – they are a lot tougher to ding. There are now several boards on the market with a twintip construction but the guys at RRD seem to have picked up the design brief and really run with it. This is no ‘plank’ and as soon EST as you pick it up you appreciate that this is a foil T D AR O board that has had some serious thought put B L in to it. There is a ‘quad concave’ although this is more like a thick double concave through the base which then feeds out to the rails at an angle to deliver more of a ‘hull’ shape than you generally find on these wood-cored boards. There is a full EVA grip with ‘brush top striped groove’ which is soft under your feet and provides plenty of grip. Under the surface and there is a carbon stringer running all the way through which provides additional stiffness as well as strength for the foil plate. The foil plate has channels allowing you to make micro-adjustments to get your foil exactly where you want it… On the water and the Squid sits on its edge in the water – the grooves in the EVA deck give you something to stick your feet to and provide a nice amount of grip if you are just working on your strapless take offs – then once you are up on the foil the board cruises super smoothly and cuts through any lumps or bumps you encounter before you pop it up on the foil. Once you are up and riding it provides a nice stiff and responsive platform. The nose rocker also gives a little more forgiveness if your touch down is a little quicker than you had planned for… If you are just learning foiling transitions, or if you like to come down off the foil to turn, then the Squid touches down very smoothly, with the bottom shape breaking the surface and giving you a forgiving landing, and generally buying you a bit more time when you most need it to make your turns and get back up and foiling.

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IN A SENTENCE: Ride it powered for some great surfstyle sessions, and getting it to the airport and breezing through check in without any excess will be almost as satisfying.

IN A SENTENCE: When it comes to foil boards, the Squid is clearly not an ‘afterthought’ – this is a well thought out and very precisely engineered foil board which would be a great addition to any foil on the market.

NOBILE INFINITY CARBON SPLIT If you have grown up surfing – as a few members of TheKiteMag staff have – then one of your earliest traveling memories probably entails the joys of trying to get to your dream destination with a surfboard alongside… Maybe it was even the days before FCS when you had to try and bulk out your fins so these would not get snapped off during transit. Skip forward a few years and we now have FCS and – if we are traveling with kite specific surfboards – these tend to be a lot tougher than their ‘pure surf ’ cousins and providing you have a good quality coffin bag you can expect your kit to arrive in one piece. So life is a lot easier. What time hasn’t changed though, is that surfboards are still ‘long’. It’s kind of how they are meant to be… So even if your pride and joy has arrived in one piece, it has probably still managed to take a decent chunk out of your bank balance. Split twintips have now become pretty ‘top tech’ and are an increasingly common sight at local beaches, and not just with riders who travel a lot; for a lot of riders (who aren’t the 1% looking for top prolevel performance) the fact that you can split it and put it more easily in your car or in a cupboard at some point just makes more sense. The merits of also splitting a surfboard are obvious but there is one big problem: the construction. Surfboards generally have foam cores due to the fact that they require more buoyancy, and a foam core simply isn’t split-able. Nobile haven’t let this hold them back though – their Infinity surfboards don’t pretend to be actual surfboards but they take a standard Paulownia core construction and do everything they can to bring this as close as possible to the performance of a surfboard. The Infinity Carbon Split manages to keep the weight down to a pretty respectable 3.8kg, the boards take standard FCS fins (with a good quality set provided) and the shape is a nice looking surf outline – with plenty of width, pulling in to a slightly inverted squash tail. On the water and the EVA grip feels very comfortable under your feet, with the tapered edges keeping your feet nicely in place and providing you with the grip you need to really commit to your turns. The obvious thing to note with the Infinity Carbon Split is that you need to ride it fully powered, so you need to dive the kite as if you’re starting off on a twintip. Once you have the board up to speed though, it flies along and the fins keep you nicely upwind. On a wave and, again, you need to really keep things powered and then the board turns nicely and you can really throw it around. Overall it is a different style of riding, but once you are tuned in to it (and once you have put up a kite a size or two bigger than the other waveriders) it is a lot of fun.

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HERE’S ALBY BACK IN THE GAME AFTER A QUICK PIT STOP...

CHANGING A BLADDER

WITH PROKITE ALBY RONDINA TheKiteMag.com

Every kiter hopes that it won’t happen to them, but the fact is: bladders burst. Less than they did a few years back, but it still happens, and if it happens to you then you need to know what to do… Especially if you’re on your dream trip and miles away from the nearest kite shop. The fact is that with the right knowledge and a small sticky patch, you can be back on the water in double time.

1. FIND THE LEAK First up, inflate the kite and close the struts clips. Leave it inflated and after a while go to check the situation. Unsurprisingly, the part of the kite with less air in it has the leak… This technique applies to fixing any bladder, but for this example we’re going to focus on the big beast: the leading edge.

2. BE PREPARED Deflate the kite and open up the small tube that connects the leading edge to the struts, then open the Velcro at the end of the kite tip. Open up the zip next to the main valve and detach it from the canopy.

3. REMOVE THE BLADDER The important thing here is to remember that you only need to remove the half of the bladder that needs repairing. You don’t need to take it all out! Firstly remove the one-pump connections from the struts. Then use one of your lines to secure the end of the bladder, and then start pulling it from the center of the leading edge gently. Keep pulling until the entire half is out, then remove the line from the bladder – but keep it inside the kite.

4. LOCATE THE HOLE Check where the bladder is leaking air. You may be able to see or hear this by inflating the bladder. If you can’t work it out exactly then immerse the inflated bladder in a tub of water until you see bubbles coming out. Mark it with a permanent marker so you don’t lose the position.

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5. PATCH IT UP Cut a patch to size (you should have one inside your kite bag) and round it off on the edges. Make sure that the bladder is completely dry and you know exactly where the leak is. Find a flat surface (here we have a brand new Cabrinha CBL which is perfect!) and get the bladder completely flat with no wrinkles in it. Peel off the backing, stick it straight on, and then hold it on for 10 seconds or so.

6. PUT IT BACK TOGETHER Fold the bladder up carefully, and then secure the end to the line again. Now you may need the help of a friend: one of you has to gently pull the line from the end of the tip while the other one makes sure that the bladder goes in smoothly without twisting. Once the bladder reaches the tip you can remove the line. Then look for the small plastic tabs and replace the one-pump system.

7. THE MOMENT OF TRUTH… Fold the bladder back in the end of the tip and make sure that everything is inside and secure. Close the center zip and shake the kite to be sure that the bladder isn’t twisted. Screw the valve back in and you are now ready to check if you did a good job! Inflate the kite and close the struts. Leave it for a while then come back and see if it is still pumped up hard. If it is then you’re officially a kite repairing legend: go shred!

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KEEPING POSITIVE B Y

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C O U R T

Over the past few years I have been forced to confront every pro rider’s worst nightmare: a serious injury. It began whilst competing in the Triple-S contest in 2016. A blown ACL ligament in my knee and shredded meniscus. As if that wasn't bad enough, I flew back from the US to the UK, had hamstring graft surgery to replace the ligament, endured many months of training my knee back to fitness to get back on the water, only to then do the exact same injury again. Confronted by my second major knee reconstruction in less than a year, I was forced to ask myself some important questions… Should I stop doing kiting? Maybe I need to take up a different sport? Well, there was only one question that truly stuck in my mind throughout the whole process, and that was: when was I going to get back on the water?! See, for me it has really never seemed an option that I wasn't going to get back to riding again. This was despite being told by several doctors and specialists that I would be lucky to walk properly again, let alone kite. But I breezed through the tide of bad news as if there was never any doubt in my mind that I could recover. This attitude proved too eager the first time around, causing me to do it again and incurring a further eight months of rehab, a patellar graft, stem cell injections in the regenerative clinic on Harley Street, physio, personal training and physiotherapy.

this experience I can safely say that pain is fleeting and the real suffering is caused by the time that is taken from you; the time it takes to train yourself back to fitness, the time at the hospital, the time at the gym training your whole body back to where it was before the injury, the time watching mindless TV, and other people’s time that you inevitably take up to help you achieve the simplest tasks. However, by far the hardest time lost is the time off the water and time away from the things that make you happy. I think that it took for me to do this injury twice in order to realize this properly, and to give the recovery process the respect that it deserves. One thing that this prolonged misfortune has not touched however, is my love for the sport of kiteboarding. Kiteboarding has always been a constant source of inspiration for me in my life – through the good times and the bad – and getting back on the water has brought me a fresh perspective and enjoyment. After what has been almost two years of recovery, my attention was taken from competition on the Kite Park League and focused on just getting time on the water. The simplest of pleasures.

Through all of that I am pretty sure that it was my drive to get back under a kite that kept me sane. Although it has been unimaginably tough and one of the hardest periods of my life, I feel like I have come out the other side with more than I went in with,

As soon as I could start to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I had my first sessions back on the water again, I immediately started to change my focus in the sport. This seeded the idea to start up my ‘Slice of Life’ experience based trips with Kite Worldwide. The idea being to impart my enjoyment, knowledge and love of the sport to people of all skill levels. Allowing me to once again follow the wind to some of the best places to ride on this amazing planet

particularly in terms of having a depth of knowledge about injury, recovery, fitness and an awareness of the consequences of injury. Everyone associates injury with pain and physical suffering, but after going through

of ours, simply for the fun of it! So kind of taking my Freeride Project philosophy (which was about focusing on riding the best spots with other pro riders) to the next level and sharing it with others. 

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I THINK THAT IF THERE WASN’T THE RISK IN THE THINGS THAT I HAVE DONE IN MY LIFE THE REWARDS WOULD NOT BE THE SAME.

Going from competitive riding right back to basics has been an educational experience but as I gain strength and confidence in my new knee, I find my perspective and enjoyment changing to encompass all that kiteboarding has to offer. And on the R&D side I have always worked closely with my sponsors to develop products to enhance the enjoyment of others on the water – creating and developing the Duotone Dice alongside designer Ralf Grösel reflects this all-round attitude to enjoying every moment and appreciation of all conditions. So now I have a platform with which I can not only share good times, but also encourage people to progress, explore and enrich their lives with kiteboarding, just like mine has been in the twenty years that I have been doing it. Since I have recovered and been back on the water riding again, I have kited at home in the UK, traveled the coast of Brazil on a downwinder between towns on the northern coastline just south of the Amazon basin, explored the rolling sands of the Western Sahara, jumped from sand dunes and discovered secret spots. I’ve spent nights under the stars on remote desert islands in Sri Lanka, and have been on live TV in the UK presenting kiteboarding to the nation! I’ve also had the pleasure of commentating for the new World Kiteboarding Championships in Turkey and of seeing up close the new generation of freestyle shredders that are showcasing the potential that this amazing sport has to offer… I think that if there wasn’t the risk in the things that I have done in my life the rewards would not be the same, and now I am back on the water able to play once again I can say in all honesty: it has never felt better! 

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