Table of contents for Issue #97 February - March 2019 in Kiteworld Magazine

There were moments during the 350 kilometre five day downwinder that it was just nice to sit on the beach with my kite off to the side, where I left it to bob up and down gently on the sand at the edge of the window while my legs rested. The sudden stillness and remote surroundings consumed me as we waited for the riders in our pack to re-group. I had signed up for a downwind experience in Brazil with Surfin Sem Fim and we were heading north, from Barra Grande to Atins; much further north than I had ever been. We were kiting 65 kilometres per day from pousada to pousada and this was the most invigorating kitesurfing experience I’ve ever had. The hustle of the journey wasn’t always…

WKC JOINS THE GKA There’s yet more acronym-related news coming your way this year from the world of pro freestyle. The World Kiteboarding Championships (WKC) has come under the umbrella of the GKA as part of the GKA Kite World Tour in 2019. This new tour will see the leading ‘expression’ disciplines of twin-tip Freestyle kiteboarding and Kite-Surf (wave riding / strapless freestyle) combine. The idea is to have one unified body for world tours, to clean up and simplify the image for both those inside and outside the sport of kiteboarding. Instead of following two separate tours, twin-tip freestyle riders will now compete in the GKA Freestyle World Cup events, while wave and strapless freestyle competitors will continue to compete at GKA Kite-Surf World Cup events. Both world tours…

“THE RANGE OF CONDITIONS THAT A FOIL CAN WORK IN AND THE VISUAL APPEAL OF THE DISCIPLINE MAKE IT A FOREGONE CONCLUSION THAT A FOIL FREESTYLE EVENT WILL HAPPEN.” 2019 marks a personal landmark as it signifies my twentieth year in kiteboarding. Looking back it’s hard to believe that it’s only been 20 years as the early days feel a lifetime ago. I have been GPS logging every session that I’ve done since around 2010 (unfortunately it’s hard to separate what were my biking sessions as the early version of Strava didn’t let me select kiteboarding as a sport!). It would be cool to have a record of exactly how many hours of my life I’ve spent under a kite. I have seen a lot of change and innovation in…

The string of kite spots north of Fortaleza, from Cumbuco to Jericoacoara are well embedded in kiteboarding culture. I flew eight hours from Paris to Fortaleza and from there if you just want to hit Cumbuco, it’s merely a 30 – 45 minute transfer from the airport. Hunker down in the vehicle for a further three hours and you’ll reach Prea and Jeri. But what about beyond there? Brazil gets a bad wrap publicly as a hot spot for city muggings, so maybe that’s why we tend to flock together in the villages that have become popular with kiters. Safety in numbers and community vibes perhaps, but the promise of a more earthy Brazilian experience lies beyond. Surfin Sem Fim (meaning ‘surfing without end’) had extended me a long standing…

While I was growing up my parent’s next door neighbour, Bill, would often eye me with suspicion. An office supplies magnate who’d started up from nothing, Bill worked hard, did well for himself and retired young. Seeing the 18-year-old me wandering back from the beach with my kite gear under my arm, he probably wondered why I wasn’t already busily engaged in making my millions. After watching kitesurfing properly for the first time during a trip to Australia to visit his son who’d emigrated there, Bill developed his own interest in the sport and was incredulous to hear that I’d never been there myself. He told me I should be looking to move there at the soonest opportunity; that it was the ideal place for someone like me (and not…

After leaving the military and moving to Tarifa I was working 16 to 18 hours days, most of it on the beach running up and down after my clients. I was kitesurfing as much as I could manage every day and all areas of my life were progressing faster than I’d ever thought possible. I’d built a busy kite school and had an energy like never before. Every day I’d wake up buzzing and not stop until I hit the pillow at the end of the day. What I didn’t realise though was that my raison d’être for life – kitesurfing - was at risk. This feeling of invincibility that had me working and kiting all day and partying most nights was an artificial high and it couldn’t last. I…

The modern winter wetsuit is a wonderful thing. I grew up windsurfing year round in the North Sea in a wetsuit that was about as watertight as a colander, so I’m now continually amazed at how a 5-6mm thick layer of neoprene with a thin insulating inner-lining can transform the winter kitesurfing experience. The new breed of winter wetties are a big step up from where we were even a few years ago. They’re far more stretchy, easier to get in and out of and don’t make you feel like you’re wearing a straight jacket. Having experienced this, it has become pretty hard to justify going into hibernation during the winter kite season. CHILL FACTOR I tested all of these suits in November and December at home in north-east England…

Back in the pure hooked-in days (I’m talking 2000-2001) there was a time in competition when lots of tricks were either landed in blind or the take-off was from blind. I remember being inspired by one of the top Spanish riders and good friend, Alvaro Onieva. If you search online you’ll find some old footage of him doing sick front rolls, taking off blind and landing blind, as well as other cool tricks like that. Landing blind while hooked-in is of course the first step to becoming ready to do it unhooked. From there you’ll move on to spinning out of your unhooked blind landing with a surface pass, but before any of that you’ve got to have your blind riding locked in. Once you can confidently ride blind you…

SUBJECT: SENSATION SENSATION. N. A PHYSICAL FEELING OR PERCEPTION, RESULTING FROM SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS TO OR COMES INTO CONTACT WITH THE BODY. 1. AWARENESS, CONSCIOUSNESS, EMOTION. 2. PASSION, RESPONSE, VIBES…

Tell us about the Viking Booking system. Every instructor has their own account on the system and they enter their availability. The student books and pays online and then chooses their availability according to the currently available lesson slots. If group lessons are already booked, then it’ll show if there is space left in the group and won’t let the instructor be booked for a private lesson. The system administrator then gets the schedule where they can see weights, age, experience and a track record for instructors. The planner can click on certain students and ‘approve’ them and assign an instructor certain groups in terms of sports, abilities or locations etc. The system then sends emails and texts out to everyone confirming the lesson. You ‘cancel’ the remaining students, who…

Do you take the same stuff in your bag for a group as you would when travelling on your own? No, completely different. SSF trips are ‘supported’ with trucks and accommodation. When I go by myself I have to take my hammock, clothes and other things that I don’t need when I’m with the group. So it’s a different challenge when you’re looking after a group? Oh yeah, it’s actually more stress. Going by myself is easy; fast and simple. One thing I like about doing this coast on my own is that I’ve been scared many times. I wake up in the night and say, ‘Shit man, I have this challenge tomorrow’. So I’m very focused each morning, meditating, calming down and doing everything with a lot of attention.…

ALTONA BEACH Find everything from waves to butter flat water behind the sand bars on a low tide. There’s plenty of space, but stay clear of the pier at the west end of the beach where it’s prohibited to launch your kite. The beach is well serviced by public transport links (as are most beaches close to Melbourne) and there’s also free parking. ST KILDA – WEST BEACH In front of the bustle of St Kilda, West Beach is a popular spot for local kiters with two shops (Kite Republic and SHQ) right on the seafront. Working best on a southwesterly or southerly wind, West Beach sits in the massive Port Phillip Bay, so is protected from the South Sea swells. There’s wind chop further out, but tuck in close…

“THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT THE FOIL HAS TAKEN ME TO CHURCH.” Dear Reader, If you have gotten this far (past the intro) there is a good chance you have been following my series of articles on foiling and its effects on my brain. Here is a brief recap, to bring both the initiated and the naive up to speed for this fourth instalment: In Part One I got a Naish foil board and SUP and went mental, setting up a one-man experiment to get in the ocean everyday to renew my stoke. In Part Two I reported the results of my experiment; that learning new stuff in the ocean made me happy. I felt young again and had renewed vigour for all the things that life comprises.…

GKA KITE-SURF WORLD TOUR AIRTON COZZOLINO Airton Cozzolino underlined how deadly a force of nature he is by taking his second GKA Kite-Surf World Title, winning five out of the season’s seven events. He took on all comers during a busy season in which riders had to display a solid level in both waves and strapless freestyle to even get near the podium. Airton came into 2018 aiming for a perfect season and, while he had to make do with one second place finish to Matchu Lopes in Portugal and third place at the final round in Australia, he certainly came close! Close to unbeatable in strapless freestyle and a top class wave rider, Airton may have started out on the little Cape Verdean island of Sal, but he’s putting…

BAG CONTENTS: GPS Locator (Delorme) with small dry bag Booties, to keep my feet safe. Smartphone, for the GPS Old school cell phone, with keyboard GoPro Chargers Water - 1 litre Emergency food - mostly nuts, cereal bars and sandwich Sun cream (small tube) Money ID and credit card Headlamp Hammock, mosquito net and strings A small, light weight pump for my cushion Shorts and T-Shirt Warm clothes to wear when sleeping outdoors in the hammock Kite lines, surgery tape and some kite fixing gear A small kite pump Swiss Army knife Hydrofoil tool Epoxy glue and sandpaper for fixing board Tooth brush, and a bit of tooth paste I try to be minimalist. For example I don’t carry flip flops The backpack itself is the Animas, made by Watershed:…

On the southeast coast, Paje is by far the most famous and popular kiting spot on the island, yet just over ten years ago was merely a small fishing village. Paje has certainly blossomed into kiting heaven, but retains it authenticity away from the tourist areas in the north, keeping the vibes chilled for the kiting crew. This area is still for the adventurer, with the northern half of the island being more built up, catering for the mainstream holidaymaker, which tends to suit kitesurfers just fine. Offering a more remote and cosy feel with a long isolated beach, littered with smaller guesthouses and a variety of resorts, rather than big, busy hotels, this spot is also easily accessible with Zanzibar’s main international airport just an hour away. There are…

How long have you been a kite designer? Carved Customs, the predecessor to CORE, hired me in 2004 to develop a kite bar and assist Björn Olau in designing Carved’s first kites: the Unit and Fireball. When Björn Olau left in 2006 I was offered the opportunity to become the kite designer for CORE Kiteboarding. Where are you mostly based? I live in the small town of Malente and commute to our offices on the island of Fehmarn, in Germany. The island’s strategic location in the Baltic Sea makes a perfect prototype testing spot, working in every wind direction in flat water, chop, and waves. I do travel to test gear, but Fehmarn is really good for my prototyping needs. When you close your eyes and imagine you’re riding the…

“VISUALIZING HOW THE TRICK LOOKS AND HOW YOUR BODY IS GOING TO LOOK AND FEEL AS YOU DO IT WILL START FIRING THE NECESSARY NERVE PATHWAYS IN YOUR BRAIN. YOU LAY DOWN THE BASIS FOR MAKING THE TRICK HAPPEN.” If there’s one thing that keeps us coming back to kiteboarding, it’s the feeling of freedom that we get on the water. When we can’t kite we dream of wind on our face and plan our next trip. We obsess over forums and watch countless videos. It’s the kite bug and we’ve got it. Unless you’re in the southern hemisphere, kiteboarding at this time of year might be inaccessible. I’m currently in Hood River, OR where the temperature is hovering around five celsius. Kiteboarding right now is unappealing and, in fact,…

SCHOOLS THE AMERICAS 1 ADVENTURE KITEBOARDING Muskego, Wisconsin sales@adventurekiteboarding.com +1 414-367-9283 www.adventurekiteboarding.com 2 KITEFORCE Montreal, Quebec info@kite-force.com + 1 514 691 3314 www.kite-force.com 3 HATTERAS ISLAND SURF & SAILING Waves, NC barton@hatterasislandsurfshop.com +1 252 987 2292 www.hatterasislandsurfshop.com 4 EPIC ADVENTURES FL Pompano Beach, Florida epicadventuresfl@gmail.com +1 (954) 675-1695 www.epicadventuresfl.com 5 GOOD BREEZE KITEBOARDING Cocoa Beach, Florida info@kiteboardingcloseouts.com +1 321-252-5483 www.goodbreezekiteboarding.com www.kiteboardingcloseouts.com 6 MIAMI KITEBOARDING Miami, Florida info@miamikiteboarding.com +1 305 345 9974 www.miamikiteboarding.com 7 PROKITE SOUTH PADRE South Padre Island TX +1 541-490-6872 +1 855-774-5483 info@prokitesouthpadre.com www.prokitesouthpadre.com 8 TRON X Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico info@tronx.mx +52 (322) 108 9292 www.tronx.mx 9 EXOTIKITE KITEBOARDING SCHOOL Baja, Sur Mexico info@exotikite.com +521 624 165 2612 www.exotikite.com 10 VELA BAJA Los Barriles, Baja, Mexico info@velabaja.com +52 1 624 1379781 www.velabaja.com 11 COME KITE WITH US El…

James Boulding started kiting in 2001. In 2009 he became vice British Champion and scored fourth place at the Triple S in 2015. He was also one of the infamous Freeride Project video quartet, including Tom Court, Aaron Hadlow and Sam Light, that rocked the wakestyle kitesurfing video scene with their first video in 2012. James says he’s never really viewed himself as a pro though, instead as “just someone trying to make a living in the industry wearing a variety of hats. Most of them marketing related.” When he was nine James’ parents bought him a Minolta Dynax 500 film camera and he was hooked. While spending the winter of 2009 / 10 in Perth, Australia he broke his ankle, but had gathered enough clips to make a video,…

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