Indice dei contenuti per Issue #103 February - March 2020 in Kiteworld Magazine

Ideally, in more offline than online activities, we’re the type of people that like to get sucked in. Instagram’s core appeal is that its inherent nature is at its best for capturing single moments or playing and re-playing slender slices of activity. We may blink, but can’t look away from the rolling visual. For board sports, this has provided a very powerful platform for the world’s most talented riders to quickly and simply exhibit why they are the best. No frills; they get in the way of the coming kudos... followers and endorsement deals. Five time racing World Champion, Ragnarok queen, national coach, centre manager, mentor and mum, Steph Bridge has no time for anything but the core fundamentals of a sport. Neither, it seems, do her three sons, who…

LAUNCHED: BIG AIR KITE LEAGUE A band of high-altitude risk takers have put their heads together to create a stream of events that showcase the latest in the big-air discipline. The tour is volunteer run and ‘open source’, meaning that anyone, anywhere can use their formula and marketing materials to run a local BAKL event. Their debut event, held in December right outside the Mystic House in Cape Town, found its feet on a 30+knot day. Riders of particular note were the current WOO record holder, Mike MacDonald - who lived up to his rapidly rising reputation, Gabby Pioraité (who clocked 20 metres on her WOO this month) and Antonin Rangin (KOTA 2018 & 2020 competitor) - who took home the win. There was also lots of hype around…

“WE TRIED VENTURING OUTSIDE THE CAR AND WERE ALMOST SWEPT FROM OUR FEET AND OFF A BRIDGE. YOU KNOW IT’S HEAVY WHEN STEVEN AKKERSDIJK SAYS, “I CANT EVEN RIDE A SIX IN THIS!”.” Forget turquoise blue waters. We said goodbye to sunshine and boardshorts. Palm trees were a thing of the past. This was not a normal pro kiteboarding trip! We (Mystic Boarding team) were on a quest to put new products to the test. We didn’t follow trends to hit the same places, the same beaches or the same perfect weather. We went somewhere more fierce and wild, where the sun only has chance to smile for about six hours a day (if you’re lucky). A place where rainbows follow you around like shadows. There was a storm on…

““ THOSE THOSE TWO TWO--TRICK TRICK CLIPS CLIPS, , THE THE ONES ONES WHERE WHERE YOU YOU THINK THINK HE HE’’S S DONE DONE BEFORE BEFORE HE HE BURSTS BURSTS INTO INTO ANOTHER ANOTHER FURIOUS FURIOUS ROTATION ROTATION OR OR PASS PASS THAT THAT SHOWS SHOWS NO NO REGARD REGARD FOR FOR THE THE PHYSICS PHYSICS OF OF THE THE WIND WIND WINDOW WINDOW; ; THOSE THOSE QUINTESSENTIALLY QUINTESSENTIALLY--TOM TOM CLIPS CLIPS ARE ARE ALGORITHMIC ALGORITHMIC GOLD GOLD BECAUSE BECAUSE THEY THEY KEEP KEEP YOU YOU RIGHT RIGHT UNTIL UNTIL THE THE END END.. ”” TOM BRIDGE Tom rides like he’s been trapped. Caged. There’s something quite tortured-genius about it, but not because he’s providing feats of technical difficulty, but because he’s finding new angles of attack. He’s taking tricks…

ON THE WATER Dakhla’s mainly known for its seemingly endless lagoon which can be ridden at both high and low tide. An ideal spot for beginners, the flat waters remain waist deep up to 300 metres off the beach. For advanced riders it’s an epic flat water playground and you can either kite out front of your waterside camp, go on a downwinder to Dragon Island or charge the speed strip at the northern end of the lagoon. Check with your camp accommodation / agent about awesome downwinders from the White Dune back to camp, too. The lagoon is also a good foiling spot in the deeper parts. If you’re looking for somewhere to go for a week and really focus on this discipline, then Dakhla’s a good choice as…

“THE POPULATION OF FUKUOKA IS FORWARD LOOKING WITH A FIRM RESPECT FOR THEIR PAST. THIS MAKES FOR AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE FOR BUDDING TRAVELLERS, BUT KITEBOARDERS ARE PARTICULARLY ATTRACTED TO THE STUNNING BEACHES AND SMOOTH WINDS THAT STRETCH FROM THE CITY TO MUNAKATA, WHICH IS A MUCH OVERLOOKED KITE SPOT.” Japan is an exciting destination for any traveller, but Fukuoka is catching the attention of a particularly demanding sort of tourist: the roaming kiteboarder. The Genkainada Championships were held here in 2019, where a consistent 20 knots and a whole fleet of riders provided enough drama for an entire season of ‘the latest cult series on Netflix’. The Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu Island is full of the past and the future. It’s where tech startups and futuristic concepts meet ingrained Japanese…

“I WISH I COULD GIVE YOU AN INSPIRING REASON AS TO WHY KITING CAME INTO MY LIFE, BUT IT REALLY WAS FOR THE MOST EYE-ROLLING, DECIDEDLY UN-GIRL-POWER REASON YOU COULD THINK OF: I WANTED TO IMPRESS A BOY.” Standing on the shoreline of Los Barriles, Baja California Sur, Mexico on a warm January morning, my then-new-boyfriend looked at me, bewildered, as I sobbed like a child; snot and tears running down my zinc-covered chin onto my brand new pink Roxy wetsuit. “I thought this is what you wanted?” he shouted above the wind and waves, genuinely perplexed at the turn of events. Just an hour earlier I had excitedly helped him run lines and pump up his Cabrinha Switchblade before running inside to suit up for my first kiting travel…

CABRINHA Now fully available in stores, the all-new Cabrinha Crosswing is the simplest form of wind driven power you can hold in your hands. Refined low end performance for maximum upwind ability, this compact, fully controllable inflatable wing is an efficient power source, ideal for use with foil boards but also SUPs to snowboards and skateboards, making it the perfect tool to fly yourself across any body of water or land. The simplicity is unmatched. Once you inflate the wing (in 20 seconds or less), it is ready to fly. SIZE: 4m The Contra is Cabrinha’s long-serving light wind performer in any and all riding categories. Now even tighter and more solid in the sky thanks to Cabrinha’s Nano RipStop canopy, the light weight, three-strut hybrid design performs incredibly in…

“YOU DON’T NEED TO BE LIVING AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FAULTLESS LIFE TO BE A PART OF A VOICE FOR CHANGE.” Nobody likes to be on the receiving end of criticism they have no come back for. The prickly, hot feeling and creeping realisation that you have no counter argument is quite frustrating. I like being right as much as the next person, but I’ve come to accept that I quite often fall short of the mark. I’ve grown comfortable being corrected for my errors or when presented with an opposing view. In the age of spouting knowledge on social media and mass division in the developed world, I think being comfortable being challenged is key for your sanity. One topic that regularly sparks contention and debate (and which I sometimes find…

Red Bull may have been criticised for the predictability of familiar faces that have populated its field of competitors in the past, but that’s all about to change for KOTA 2020. The format has split so that just 12 riders (down from 18) will compete on the final day at Kite Beach (including the top six from last year). Prior to that, giving an expanded opportunity for fresh blood, four satellite event winners, 13 video entry winners and a wildcard will do battle in rounds one and two the week before, from which six will go forward to compete in the final rounds at Kite Beach. Strapless freestyle phenomenon and four-time wave world champion, Airton Cozzolino, has earned a wildcard and will compete in rounds one and two, but so…

ARE YOU OKAY WITH WHERE YOU’RE AT? A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to visit Dakhla, Morocco for the very first time. As an American, Dakhla is not nearly as accessible (read: 40 hour itineraries) as it is for European travellers. The lure of the epic desert winds has however been strong over the last few years and Dakhla has continued to show up on my radar as a top kiteboarding destination. Not letting the pricey flights and gruelling itinerary deter us (which it almost did!) Colleen Carroll and I made the trip in October, with visions of kiteboarding every day (which we did), eating yummy, exotic local dishes (in abundance) and strolling the colourful markets and bazaars for hidden treasures (which we most certainly did!). What wasn’t…

Looping your kite doesn’t have to involve a big, scary jump. The downloop transition will definitely help you feel more comfortable learning to loop the kite and will add a lot of confidence to your general riding, too. Before trying this trick make sure you know how to ollie and to ride toeside comfortably. If you can ollie and go toeside on both sides, then that’s even better! As always, make sure there’s plenty of free space downwind just in case you pull the wrong side of the bar, or if something goes wrong. You might be afraid to fully pull the downloop the first couple of times, so make sure you’re comfortable relaunching your kite if it crashes and, above all, don’t panic. As you can see in the…

VALENTIN RODRIGUEZ MEN’S GKA FREESTYLE WORLD CHAMPION The 17-year-old Colombian won the world title in his first full season on tour, eventually prevailing over his closest rival, Adeuri Corniel, in the season’s ultimate final in Cumbuco, Brazil. The rookie had announced his arrival onto the world stage by claiming third step at the first event of the GKA Freestyle season in Leucate, France in April. A brace of lower wind events in Gran Canaria and Tarifa followed which saw the quarter finalists share points before Valentin scored his lowest finish of the season; seventh at round four in Fuerteventura. After that the young Colombian really found his feet, finishing second to Adeuri by a fraction of a point in Mauritius before then claiming back-to-back wins at the last two events…

It’s a sign of old age to comment on the inexorable acceleration of the passing of time, so I will refrain from the temptation of labouring the point that 2019 seems to have gone by in a fleeting moment. It was certainly a ‘noisy’ year but, on reflection, I wonder how much of it will stand the test of time and remain in anyone’s memory for long. For Europeans the seemingly never ending farce that was the political wranglings of Brexit will surely be forgotten in the same way that the arguments over the household pet are soon swept away post domestic separation. I’d hazard to say that the kiteboarding world is not hugely different. I sat down with the purpose of writing my round up of 2019 but, honestly,…

From nowhere to the title? “I want to become World Champion!”, the Aussie brute knocked out right at the beginning of our stay. He sounded confident but without appearing cocky and has been thinking a lot about beating Airton Cozzolino, the current champion and reigning freestyle ‘gymnast’ in the not too distant future (James has beaten him once in waves in Mauritius when he won the single elimination last year, before Airton came back to win the doubles and the event). “The world championship title is only about Airton at the moment.” James reckons. James and Airton are not only Duotone team mates, they’re very similar in their taste for conditions and riding styles and James is learning quick. Still only 20-years-old, Carew loves the extremes, whether it’s strapless freestyle…

ANTOINE: Dakhla had been running around in my head for over a decade as I was yet to visit – one of the most famous spots in the kitesurfing world. Although I hadn’t seen this unique spot situated at the gates of the Western Sahara with my own eyes, I had however already been to Morocco and enjoyed its vibrant atmosphere and incredible culture, filled with creative, dynamic people who seem to share the habit of laughter in their communication; seemingly helping them to realise projects that appear otherwise impossible. I competed in many kitesurfing world cups with my Moroccan friend, Soufiane Hamaini, who is proof of this concept. He invited my brother and I to participate in the Dakhla Downwind Challenge in August 2019, the fifth edition of an…

THE WING IS MADE IN UNDER THREE MINUTES AND THE MACHINE CAN RUN CONTINUOUSLY FOR HOURS, PRODUCING A PERFECT WING EVERY THREE MINUTES. CrazyFly already had a couple of hydrofoils in the range for the last two of seasons. Where did you think you were missing something? We were missing more accessible foils and true beginner foils. The Cruz is the first step in filling this gap and you can expect more foil specific products coming soon. We have had three full carbon foils in the range. The freerace focused Master, the freeride all-round Up and the Shorty with a 70cm mast. They’re premium foils aimed at foilers who already know what they need and the higher price tags and full carbon designs target a more specific niche customer. Based…

SCHOOLS THE AMERICAS 1 ADVENTURE KITEBOARDING Muskego, Wisconsin sales@adventurekiteboarding.com +1 414-367-9283 www.adventurekiteboarding.com 2 KITTY HAWK KITES Cape Hatteras, NC kbschool@kittyhawk.com +1 252 987 2297 www.kittyhawk.com 3 HATTERAS ISLAND SURF & SAILING Waves, NC barton@hatterasislandsurfshop.com +1 252 987 2292 www.hatterasislandsurfshop.com 4 OUTER BANKS KITING Avon, NC jay@outerbankskiting.com +1 252-305-6839 www.outerbankskiting.com 5 GOOD BREEZE KITEBOARDING Cocoa Beach, Florida info@GoodBreezeKiteboarding.com +1 (321) 252-5483 goodbreezekiteboarding.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 EXOTIKITE KITEBOARDING SCHOOL Baja, Sur Mexico info@exotikite.com +521 624 165 2612 www.exotikite.com 9 VELA BAJA Los Barriles, Baja, Mexico info@velabaja.com +52 1 624 1379781 www.velabaja.com 10 COME KITE WITH US El Cuyo, Yucatan, Mexico info@comekitewithus.com +1 347 4072 588 www.comekitewithus.com 11 FORT MORGAN…

“THEN THERE WAS THIS DAY: THE LAST DAY OF THE DECADE – A REAL DAY TO REMEMBER AND THE BEST I’VE HAD WITH HER IN YEARS.” Pe’ahi, AKA: ‘Jaws’, isn’t merely a wave that I ride; it’s a wave that I’ve become intensely involved with. We’re in a long term relationship. She’s majestic, mighty and ruthless, even cruel at times, giving the world and all life’s glory in a monumental instant and then taking it away with a cruel and brutal beating. I would describe our relationship to have a ‘healthy dynamic.’ She motivates me to spend a substantial amount of time training so that I’m prepared when she lashes out. My training mainly focuses on breath holds as she likes to keep me (and others that she’s seeing) underwater…