Recent features from the print magazine...
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Carl Ferreira gives us a quick round up of his time in Italy and Spain earlier this year. It was all going well until sadly he had a déjà vu of last year’s trip and once again had to head home early due to an injury. Fear not though, he’s already on the road to recovery. Better luck next year…
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When we recently went on the XP Sertões downwinder in Brazil – check it out on our Instagram – we met a Brazilian who has perhaps done more in her life than the rest of us put together. Not only does Karina Oliani spend time doing the sport we all love, she is also a doctor, adventure athlete and philanthropist who wins trophies, breaks world records, climbs the world’s highest mountains, and enables medical care for isolated communities. After many years traveling the globe, when she needed a relatively quiet holiday, she visited the beautiful lagoons of Lençóis Maranhenses, northeastern Brazil.
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What would you do if you had a world class kite spot on your doorstep which you really wanted to bring to the attention of the kitesurfing world? You could spend some cash on digital advertising, maybe take some space in esteemed publications such as this… Or you could focus on your social media channels and showcase your spot in the best possible light… Or… You could get a bunch of pro kiters, a Masterchef winner, some insane live musicians, a massive marquee, and have a huge kite festival over three days. That should do it. The guys at C Mauritius tried that last year and it was such a success they decided to do it all over again. TheKiteMag’s editor-in-chief Alex Hapgood took the hit and headed over to cover the event…
Airush riders Jason van der Spuy and Alessa Mensch headed to Ireland for a Brunotti photoshoot. A rare ‘heat’ wave meant no wind for their first two weeks and when it did eventually kick in things got pretty chaotic, but they got the conditions they needed to shoot their video project and were overwhelmed by the beauty of the country.
Skeleton Bay [or Donkey Bay], near Walvis Bay in Namibia, has unique waves with long barrels that go on forever at incredible speeds. But it only works in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter and needs a big, long-period groundswell to wrap in at just the right angle or it doesn’t break. And even when the conditions are perfect the wave usually only lasts for a couple of days at a time. It hadn’t really worked for over two years and surfers were worried it might not work again, so when Joshua Emanuel heard that the forecast looked promising, he hightailed it up there to take advantage of the short-lived conditions.
After Prolimit’s ‘Follow the Current’ mission in Cape Town that we featured earlier this year, they embarked on a new mission called ‘Follow the Rugged Coast’ to shoot their winter collection with Stig Hoefnagel and Jeanne Vanderick. This time, the destination was the breathtaking Achill Island, off the rugged west coast of Ireland. Inspired by the powerful Gulf Stream, Prolimit sought to capture the essence of coastal exploration and the thrill of water sports against the stunning backdrop of Achill’s dramatic landscapes.
The quest for the perfect location for that perfect shot can mean journeying to some of the most breathtaking spots on Earth. Slingshot’s Wind Marketing Manager, Elliott Tauscher, took a team of talented riders and seasoned photographers on a memorable trip to the Caribbean paradise of Aruba. Their mission: gather assets for the 2024 product launch and immerse with the local wind sports community. What unfolded was a two-week adventure of epic days on the water, nights dancing in the sand, unexpected challenges, and the creation of some stunning assets, plus a cover for TheKiteMag to boot…
Nuno ‘Stru’ Figueiredo from Portugal is renowned for riding big waves and tucking into barrels. With Nazaré on his doorstep, it was natural he became the first kitesurfer to tackle the huge waves there and he went on to secure a Guinness World Record for the largest wave ever kitesurfed. We asked other wave riders and his fellow Eleveight team riders to throw some questions at him, to find out more about the mindset needed to ride giant waves.
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Fadi Issa was one of the original pioneers of kiting on Maui back in the day. Now living on the windy island of Fuerteventura, he is a respected judge for the GKA and GWA, as well as being a super talented rider himself. He has also become creative with his love of the ocean, embracing the Japanese art of Gyotaku…
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It’s a big deal for our oh-so-nichey sport when a kiter winds up on the TV, particularly back in 2008 when the sport was in its oh-so-exciting infancy. Way back in the day, when we used jumpers for goalposts, our friend Murray Smith ended up on series two of the BBC’s seminal reality TV work, Last Man Standing, proudly branded as a ‘kitesurfer’. Highlights included him battering a fellow contestant with a seven-foot-long pole, in a borderline culturally misappropriated Ethiopian Donga ceremony that probably wouldn’t wash in our now more enlightened times. The boy did well though, narrowly missing the win in an emotionally charged canoe-based finale, but did a fabulous job representing our sport, although ultimately losing to a boxer from London.
Post his reality TV experience, he was promised further fame and riches, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for Muzza) absolutely tap all ever came of it. You’ll be glad to hear he now lives happily with his family on a farm near Dartmouth, and as a testament to his endeavor, Murray has been permanently etched on my phone contacts as “Murray off the Telly”. All in all, it’s a happy ending for Murray.
Here we are, 15 years later, in the same situation with young Edgar Ulrich on Love Island. In that timespan, and with the terrifying evolution of social media, reality TV has morphed into something far more complex than twatting each other with big sticks or some casual Indian mud wrestling. Luckily Colin has applied some vigorous psychoanalysis to the situation to help the more world-weary among us make some sort of sense of it all. Unlike Murray though, Edgar only went and won it…
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Anthony Green, a keen kiter and paraglider, is the Graphic Designer for Airwave. With Covid and improved satellite internet making working remotely easier, he set off on his catamaran with his family, to sail round the world and kite at spots inaccessible to those without a boat. If you’ve ever fantasized about doing the same, read on…
Roderick Pijls agreed to accept a mission not knowing anything about it other than where and when he had to be with his kite gear. Without giving too much away, there was an open ocean kite crossing involved, a trek up an active – and smelly – volcano, and some philosophical pondering… It was mission successful, and getting back home brought Roderick more joy too.
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Naish Team Europe, which helps young riders with talent like Timo Boersema on their path to becoming a pro, last year did a trip to Leucate, France. Timo has grown to the international team and fresh talent has since been added to the Europe team. So with more nationalities on board, it was time to pack the bags again. This year, again joined by Stig Hoefnagel, they flew further south to the windy spot of Dakhla for another week of fun, sand, action and sore muscles.
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