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THE BUSINESS OF WIND
You probably have no idea who Buck Lyons is, but if you’re reading this magazine you probably spend way too much of your time checking and rechecking your local wind conditions on iKitesurf.com. Ikitesurf is a part of WeatherFlow, a company founded by Buck in 1999. A decade earlier he had walked away from a traditional business career to start Vela, a windsports resort company catering to windsurfers and kiteboarders. Buck sat down with us to talk about the history of Vela and WeatherFlow and filled us in on recent and upcoming changes at both companies.
The Buck Lyons InterviewBy Paul Lang
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You have probably never heard of Buck Lyons, but you most likely use something he helped create. Photo Paul Lang
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When and why did Vela get started?
who wouldn’t think that would be a
the experience being much better for
centers in front of existing hotels. These
instead of building our own resorts.
What was the reaction of people
around you when you said you were
leaving the business world to start
a windsurfing resort? A lot of people
Where was the first Vela center? From
this concept. Los Barriles has seen a lot
How did you decide on places to
develop Vela centers? We looked at
wind maps and listened to people who
for the most part it’s been in places
certain extent, Brazil has been like that.
the conditions are so good people are
willing to put in the effort to get there.
is another example. That spot is in the
middle of nowhere, but it’s special enough
How difficult has it been to operate a
business in multiple countries? Where
experience.
What was your view on kiteboarding
when you first saw it?
Roeseler on waterskis in the Gorge and
some managers put up a little resistance
to experience the feeling of being pulled
back in the water soon.
Why would a kiteboarder book their
vacation through Vela instead of
on their own? Vela resort centers
want to take lessons. Our booking and
the best price is to book through Vela,
but some people want to book the hotel
on their own. We’re indifferent to how
Vela catalog that promotes Cabarete and
This station in Jacksonville, Florida, is designed to survive and record weather data as a hurricane makes landfall. Photo Courtesy WeatherFlow
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booked through us or not. The chance of
is high. The whole point is to get people
Have you seen more kiteboarders
considering renting gear because
of baggage fees? We are seeing more
snowboarding where most people bring
their own gear, but there’s still a large
What’s your favorite Vela center? The
places has its thing that makes it special.
the camp there looks like something out of
Mad Max
I understand Vela just went through a
major change. What does this mean
for the company? The Vela brand
the owners of Cabrinha. Karl Williams,
brand manager, so the changes won’t be
gear for experienced riders to demo. We
expect there will be more Vela franchises
helped pioneer kiteboarding in Cabarete
force behind growth in our business and
excited about Vela’s future and are looking
forward to expanding the number of
You also founded WeatherFlow,
the company behind iKitesurf. How
did that start?
of a business that isn’t in the process of
a founder or consultant and one of the
in 1999.
founder, realized people would want wind
super hard worker, but he knew he wasn’t
the person to take the business to the
going to be part of it. At the beginning
we absorbed Call of the Wind and Wind
Both Jim and Phil Atkinson (the founder
WeatherFlow and Phil is still the technical
and is still a partner in charge of all our
The original goal of WeatherFlow was
to create a series of internet portals for
outdoor sports. One of the things that
Buck spending a little time away from the office in Punta San Carlos, Baja. Photo Clark Merritt
The Vela Cabarete crew circa 1995. Photo Silvan Wick/Vela Archives
Photo Paul Lang
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condition reports. The craziness of the
crash kind of put a damper on our
original business plan. We had an elegant
kiteboarders. We realized we had a great
deal of expertise and decided to use it
to pursue opportunities with businesses
of us are also geeks who like data and
going but it’s been a great success and
our consumer websites. While it’s a small
real participants, enough new people are
What are some of the projects
WeatherFlow has worked on? We
the coastal zone that helps them forecast
that fuels meteorological models. What
compared to them installing more weather
that compliments theirs.
What are the challenges of
maintaining a network of weather
stations?
up. For us to reach an uptime that would
higher, and that isn’t going to happen.
network. Keeping the network up isn’t
thank the team at WeatherFlow for the
How large is the WeatherFlow
network?
weather stations we gather information
stations that we own. Some of these are
a column of air more than 200 meters
data about hurricanes. You hear about a
hurricane’s wind speeds on the news, but
WeatherFlow recently launched
WindAlert and I think some people
are confused about how it fits in with
the other brands.
iWindsurf. The content is different on the
two sites and it will get more different
technological direction we thought was
going to be much better, but it needed to
anticipated, but what we expect to see in
the future is that the best things about
WindAlert will be integrated into the
other sites without getting rid of the best
things about those sites.
iKitesurf has almost become famous
because of how little the site has
changed over the years. The home
page still features a photo of
Teiva Joyex on a 2-line kite.
illustration of what we’re working on.
of the oddities on the site. Part of the
on all aspects of WeatherFlow, including
Buck enjoys a little time with his daughters in Aruba. Photo Rahel Lyons
If you’ve been around long enough you probably had one of the pagers featured in this old advertisement.
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1212
Kiteboarding feature parks like the one in Hood River are fast becoming a widely accepted part of our sport. Photo Paul Lang
1313
Over the past decade the kiteboarding park movement has grown from a fringe aspect of the sport to the point where two of the main North American kiteboarding competitions (The REAL Triple-S and the Ro-Sham Throwdown) are centered around parkstyle riding. Whether you like this style of riding or not you have to admit that it’s growing and is having a real impact on the sport in terms of being able to attract more young riders into kiteboarding.
THE FEATURE
FEATURE
By Paul Lang
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Many people think wake and parkstyle kiteboarding
is something new, but the truth is that it’s been
around since the very early days of the sport. As
REAL Kiteboarding’s Trip Forman said, “We’ve been
doing this since the first time boots were popular.” The
feeling is that rails and kickers are fast becoming a
widely accepted part of kiteboarding and we thought
it was a good time to talk to a few people about the
history of the parkstyle movement within kiteboarding
and where they feel it’s headed.
Longtime pro rider Jason Slezak was just starting his
kiteboarding career when REAL Co-Founders Matt
Nuzzo and Trip Forman sat him down to ask what
his plan was. “It all started when Matt and Trip asked
me what I wanted to do in kiteboarding,” said Jason.
“Coming from snowboarding and skateboarding I liked
riding rails and that part of kiteboarding really didn’t
exist yet. They agreed to help support it as much as
they could. In the early days that was easy. All we
needed were some 2x4s, PVC pipes, screws, and
a place to build it. At the same time Lou Wainman,
Elliot Leboe, and Mauricio Abreu were building stuff in
Maui, but Maui’s a really poor location to try to have
features in the water. Hatteras was a prime location
and we started inviting people there.” According to
Trip the first feature was “basically just two sawhorses
with a PVC pipe on top. It was probably only 10’ long.
Over the last 11 years they’ve just been getting bigger
and better through trial and error.”
On the opposite side of the country in 2003, Joby
Cook was working for a kite school in Hood River and
built a 40’ long flat rail and a kicker. Before anyone
had a chance to hit the kicker they found out that
having a park would entail more than just building
something and putting it in the river. “The first time
we towed the kicker out the Sheriff came up to us,”
said Joby. “He asked, ‘You’ve got a permit for that
thing, right?’ We were like, ‘What permit?’ Luckily
we had someone that went through the permitting
process but that lapsed after two years.” A few years
later Joby and Forrest Rae created The Slider Project
(www.sliderproject.com) for the purpose of organizing
the scene in Hood River as a unified group. “It gave
us the opportunity to work with the Port of Hood
River,” said Joby. “By coordinating with them we also
coordinated with the Oregon Department of State
Lands and the Hood River Sheriff’s Office, so we’ve
been able to get everyone’s blessing.”
Trip Forman also went through permitting challenges
on the East Coast. “In order to put our park in the
sound here we had to get a CAMA (Coastal Area
Management Act) Major Permit,” said Trip. “It’s the
same permit you need if you want to build a large
commercial marina. Both CAMA and the Coast Guard
require us to show architectural drawings and the
footprint of each feature and we have to tell them
what anchors we are using. We had to get the bottom
of the sound surveyed by a CAMA Environmental
Scientist. It was a major deal to get the permit. It’s all
doable though and anyone should be able to figure
out how to do it in their area, but it’s a lot more
complicated than just building something and putting
it in the water. Jason and Sam Bell have been our
REAL Slider Park Rangers and have been responsible
for pushing it forward.”
Coming from snowboarding and skateboarding I liked riding rails and that part of kiteboarding really didn’t exist yet…
“”
Modern features are now constructed from welded HDPE plastic. Photo Nate Appel
The infamous REAL Camel Toe. Photo Courtesy REAL Kiteboarding
Evan Netsch on one of the new all-plastic features at REAL. Photo Nate Appel
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Not all parks have to be permanent or go through
a long and complicated permitting process. With
Konnect Parks (www.konnectparks.com) Matt Sexton
is able to set up a feature while avoiding the local
authorities in Florida. “The system is three 16’ sections
that can be set up in any configuration up to 48’
long. It can get boring riding flat water trying to do
freestyle all the time. For me to be able to bring out a
legit rail park that we can set up in 20 minutes really
diversified our riding and has made it a lot more fun
as we’re switching it up all the time. We can put it out
for the day and then take it down so we don’t get the
park rangers or any other authorities mad at us.”
According to Slezak a lot of other kiteboarders at
the beginning didn’t quite understand why anyone
would be interested in building and hitting features
while being pulled by a kite. “I remember when the
board off freestyle movement was really big,” he said.
“People just looked at us confused as to why we
would want to kite onto a solid object. We just all had
fun doing it and wanted to introduce this element to
kiteboarding. Personally it was something I wanted to
see it in the sport.”
From the early days until now the features themselves
have evolved along with the abilities of the riders. “We
started with PVC pipes and triangles of wood,” said
Trip. “Then things went to being framed with wood
with plywood sheathing topped with vinyl fencing or
Trex decking on top. The Red Bull Fun Box was the
first really big feature we did and it was literally as big
as the original building at REAL. It was almost just like
building a house. The John Wayne Cancer Foundation
Rail was the first one built with an aluminum frame
and HDPE sheathing. It was so much better than
everything else in the park that it became the only
thing people would ride. This year Joby came out and
we rebuilt the entire park out of welded HDPE after
losing everything in Hurricane Irene. The new features
Tom Court on the Liquid Force Dance Floor. Photo Paul Lang
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are all plastic and as sturdy as anything we’ve ever built. They
won’t warp or rot and the whole park can break down into
pieces in case we have another big storm.” Jason said, “Now
Joby designs features on the computer, but everything used
to literally come from sketches on napkins we would draw up
over a few beers. It was all trial and error. We would spend
weeks building something, put it in the water, and realize right
away that it was too steep.”
In 2004 the crew at REAL built the infamous Camel Toe rail,
which Jason broke three ribs and cracked a vertebrae on
when he plowed into one of the uprights. “The Camel Toe was
way before its time in terms of degree of difficulty,” said Trip.
According to Jason the rail that literally broke his back was
gnarly for a few reasons. “A big part of it was money,” he said.
“It was a really spontaneous thing. A bunch of guys including
Jeff Tobias, Stav Niarchos, Sam Bell, Moe Goold, Andre Phillip,
and Bertrand Fleury came together and we all pitched in and
put it together. It only cost a few hundred dollars compared
to something like the Liquid Force Dance Floor that cost
thousands. Part of why it was gnarly was because it was
cheaper that way, but it was also because we wanted to show
that we could hit something narrow and sketchy. I got hurt on
it and that can happen in any board sport, but people getting
hurt doesn’t really make it welcoming or encourage less
confident riders to give it a try. If you look at the things that
are being built now, what we want is more acceptance. We
want people to get out and try it. It’s about having something
for people to start on so they can start progressing. With
something like the Dance Floor, even if you slide all the way
across on your back, you’re just going to fall in the water and
laugh. You’ll either try it again or you won’t but you’ll know
whether it’s for you or not.”
With the addition of safer and easier features like the Dance
Floor, Joby has seen more riders open up to the possibility
of riding in the park. “It’s like that movie Field of Dreams:
If you build it they will come,” he said. “We’ve got 10-year
old kids out there hitting features for the first time and
we’ve got 50-year old dads out there shredding with their
kids. The Dance Floor kind of opened the park up to people
who maybe wanted to get into it but were a little scared
to. That feature is super easy, super forgiving, and easy to
learn. It’s all about having an entry point for people to get
started, especially the kids. If you look at today’s kids who
are interested in things like skating and snowboarding I
think they could be interested in kiteboarding for the same
reasons. If you make it viable and accessible to them they’ll
get into it and their friends will follow. It could create a
crowd that starts hitting rails from a young age and that’s
when we’ll start seeing crazy progression.”
The park in Hood River is open to the public and anyone is
welcome to show up and ride. It’s free and you don’t need to
sign a waiver, but that doesn’t mean that it should be taken
for granted. “The park is here for everyone to enjoy,” said
Joby. “Being that it’s a community effort, don’t be the guy
who comes in and complains that something isn’t at the right
angle. Get a crew together, ask us what needs to happen, and
go take care of it. If you go to a skate park and the bowl is full
of dirt and leaves, you don’t complain to all the other skaters,
you go grab a broom and sweep it out.”
Recently Trip has begun to see a shift in the customers at
REAL. “The traditional big part of the kiteboarding market
has been people from ages 25 to 55,” he said. “Now there
are a lot of kids as young as eight that are learning and
these kids have entirely different goals compared to the
Eric Rienstra hits the Slingshot Kicker in Hood River. Photo Paul Lang
Construction of the Camel Toe. Photo Courtesy REAL Kiteboarding
Sensi Graves on the LF Dance Floor in Hood River. Photo Paul Lang
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older students. They just want to learn how to go,
how to jump, and how to hit rails. For them this
aspect of kiteboarding is the sport and is why they
want to learn.” Jason recently relocated to Hood
River and is seeing something similar there. “Now
you’ll find teenagers and 20-year old girls wearing
helmets and charging in the park,” he said. “There
are people of all different age groups and it’s been
really accepted here. People are actually coming to
Hood River just to ride the park.”
Jason also brought up the point that the growth
and acceptance of features is something
that is not just happening in kiteboarding
but is happening across all action sports. “As
kiteboarding has evolved we’ve also seen the
evolution of snow parks, mountain bike parks with
features everywhere, and the creation of way
more skate parks,” he said. “The progression of
action sports in general has gone that way and
it just happened to coincide with kiteboarding’s
inception and growth. That progression has really
helped the wakestyle/parkstyle movement in
kiteboarding. Look at cable parks over the last
few years. Within the lifetime of kiteboarding
they’ve gone from having a few awkward
kickers to having parks full of safe and creative
welded plastic features. There are kids now who
snowboard, skate, and kite and they ride parks
in all of those sports. It’s the norm and it doesn’t
seem awkward or weird to them. This is where
action sports are going and it’s helping to push
this side of kiteboarding.”
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f a r f r o m h o m e
About a year ago my wife and I relocated from
the near-windless city of San Diego to Santa
Barbara. The reason for our move had nothing
to do with a desire to live in a windier area – my
wife was offered a job here shortly after finishing
graduate school. Knowing that California’s
Central Coast is a windy area, I didn’t put up
a fight when we talked about relocating. As a
result, for the past year my main kite has been
a 9m as opposed to the 15m that seemed to be
the only kite I was ever able to ride in San Diego.
Now living in Florida, Rob “Corky” Cullen had
been one of the first to learn to kiteboard in
Santa Barbara. “I started in July of 1999 as
the surf in SB is pretty nonexistent during the
summer and the wind at Jalama gets weird for
windsurfing.” Corky said. “Peter Trow was the first
guy with a kite in SB, first riding a 5m Wipika and
then a hot pink 8.5m. My friend Jeff Logosz sold
me a 4.9m Flexifoil Blade (a two-line foil kite)
with 40m lines and that was the kite I learned
on. It was basically me and Pete that summer at
Leadbetter Beach. Eventually we were both on
Blades as the foil kites totally outperformed the
existing inflatable kites in 10-20 mph. And oh
yea, we swam a lot that summer!”
( (Words and Photos by Paul Lang
Trusted Waters plays an intimate show at the FCD surf shop.
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Fletcher Chouinard at Jalama.
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Jalama.
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esides being a relatively windy place
on its own, this area is also close to
other world-class riding spots. Ventura’s
C-Street is located a mere 30 minutes to
the south and the infamous and remote-
feeling spot of Jalama is just an hour to
the north. Between those two spots are numerous
other great places to ride that are lesser known
but can be amazing when the conditions are right.
Having become used to the madness that is the scene
on many Southern California beaches, it’s been a
pleasant surprise to find that it’s not unusual to find
completely empty sections of beach on the Central
Coast. A few spots can involve a 10-15 minute walk
from the car to the beach but the reward is worth it.
Imagine cresting a small hill to find 20 knots of wind
and endless empty waves that you only have to share
with a small group of riders. That dream-like scenario
in not uncommon here.
Early in the fall I was contacted by Liquid Force’s
Gary Siskar who let me know that the LF crew would
be passing through the Central Coast while on a
demo tour. They were going to be spending some
extra time in the area and were planning a party at
the FCD surf shop in Ventura to celebrate their new
partnership with Fletcher Chouinard, a well-known
surfboard shaper who shaped one of their 2012
kitesurf boards. The demo vehicle for the tour would
be the recently-revamped Liquid Force minibus, an
impossible-to-miss vehicle that can hold a ridiculous
amount of gear. For them, the trip was off to an
entertaining start when a few wrong turns led to
Greg “Tekko” Gnecco having to crawl out of the bus.
Just a few days before leaving Hood River, an epic
mountain bike crash had left Tekko with a set of
painfully cracked ribs. While navigating by iPhone
through Portland, mobile technology came up a bit
short and the bus found itself wandering through
town looking for the freeway south. Phone in hand,
Tekko gave directions at each intersection until
they came to a T. Waiting for instructions, Gary
said, “Which way do we go? Right or left?” At this
point, the phone decided to not cooperate with the
situation. “I don’t know, the phone says go straight,”
said Tekko. This conversation quickly devolved into a
laugh fest, with Tekko crying out in pain with every
chuckle due to his injury. Cries of “Stop laughing, it
hurts!” only caused more giggles. To get away from
the laughter, Tekko swung open the door and literally
crawled away from the bus to get some relief.
After composing themselves and finding the freeway,
the demo tour was on. A few days later they called
me up to let me know they were in the Pismo Beach
area. About an hour later we converged at Jalama,
one of the most consistently windy locations on the
coast of California. At the end of a 14-mile windy,
narrow road, Jalama is one of the most remote-
feeling coastal spots I’ve ever been to in California.
Somewhere along the road to the beach cell phone
coverage disappears, giving you a forced break from
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the world of constant updates, emails, and phone calls.
Located near Point Conception, a piece of the coast jutting
far out into the Pacific Ocean, Jalama is well-positioned to
catch wind and waves. The waves here are actually among
the heaviest in California and can break in fairly shallow
water. In the windsurfing days Jalama was a notorious spot
to break gear as masts would easily end up pile driven
into the sand if you found yourself struggling in the shore
pound. In short, Jalama is remote, cold, windy, gusty, and
one hell of a fun place to ride when it’s on.
I arrived at the county park at Jalama and met up with
Siskar, Tekko, and Jason Slezak. With Tekko’s mountain
biking injury and my lingering Sherman Island limbo knee
injury both of us were limited to beach duty. Dark clouds
on the horizon told us that changing weather was coming,
but Siskar and Slezak both got out on 9m kites. The wind
was up and down and Siskar decided to come in and
pump up a larger kite. From further down the beach, I was
surprised to see that he was pumping up a 15m when
Jason was still making a 9m work. I walked up to Gary
as he finished pumping and asked, “15 huh?” He gave
me an odd look and said, “Nope, 12 meter.” I took a step
back to look at the wingtip again, thinking I’d seen the
number wrong. Nope, it definitely says 15. Gary looked at
the wingtip and threw up his hands. “I thought this thing
was taking forever to pump up for a 12!” he said. The wind
conditions were getting worse by the minute so Siskar
decided to quit while he was ahead. Amazingly, Sleezy J
was still making it look easy on a 9m kite in light and very
gusty conditions. After catching a few last waves, Slezak
came in and we packed up and got on the road just as
raindrops began to fall.
After making plans to head wherever conditions looked
best on the next day, I headed back home to Santa
Barbara while the bus went on to Ventura to spend the
night. The next day proved to be a beautiful fall California
day, but unfortunately the wind never filled in anywhere
in the area. Early in the afternoon we decided to head
to C-Street for a quick surf session where we met up
with Teddy Lyons, a young up and comer who recently
moved to the area from New Jersey. We were also joined
by Tonia Farman, Tekko’s wife who was on her way back
to Hood River. One of the great things about this area is
its versatility. If the conditions aren’t well-suited for one
sport, they’re bound to be good for another. Stuck on
land I stood out on the point and took photos before we
went just down the road to the FCD surf shop to catch
the premier of Keith Malloy’s Come Hell or High Water
next door at Patagonia. Come Hell or High Water is a
Bear Karry takes a break. Sunset surf session in Ventura.
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East Coast transplant Teddy Lyons at C-Street.
Ian Alldredge and Bear Karry at Jalama.
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film about body surfing, so I didn’t have really high
expectations for it. However, the few hundred people
in the Patagonia parking lot gave me the sense that I
might be in for a surprise. A few minutes into the film
I found myself standing there with my mouth open
as I realized I had no idea what was possible when
body surfing. If you spend any time in the ocean, you
will enjoy this movie. The plan for the next day was
already in place as a Liquid Force demo had been
scheduled at C-Street. I gave Teddy a ride home,
went to bed, and then headed right back to Ventura
the next morning.
Upon arriving at C-Street, we joined the Ventura
Kiteboarding Association’s beach cleanup. We were
each issued a garbage bag and then wandered up
the beach to find some trash. Adjacent to C-Street is
where the Ventura River meets the ocean, so there
was a fair amount of plastic and trash we picked out
of the brush along the river’s path. The beach and
kiteboarding launch area at C-Street is in the process
of being renovated with the first phase of the project
having only recently been finished. The previous bike
path and parking lot were eroding and falling into the
ocean, so the parking lot was moved inland, making
the main launching and landing area much larger.
Future plans include vegetated sand dunes as part
of an effort to help return the beach to its natural
state, but for the time being the beach is wide open
and perfect for kiteboarders. Liquid Force designer
Julien Fillion joined the crew with the rest of Trusted
Waters, his Montreal-based band, in tow. The day
started with light wind giving everyone who was so
inclined the chance to grab a surf session. By early
afternoon the wind came up enough for riders to get
out on large kites and a few hours later riders were
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on 12m and even a few 9m kites. The wind stayed up until the sun began to set, giving
riders plenty of time to try some new gear. After hastily packing the bus, the demo party
moved over to FCD for beer, pizza, and a live show by Trusted Waters. The party continued
late into the night, but I graciously (and gladly) bowed out of the late-night festivities to
take Teddy back up to Santa Barbara. Apparently, the late night/early morning activities
included an impromptu jam session that took place in a shipping container set up as a
band practice space. Rumor has it that much loud noise was made.
The next day found us checking wind sensors over and over to no avail. The lack of wind
created another fine beach and paddle surfing day, first at C-Street and then in front of
Fletcher Chouinard’s house for a sunset surf. Here I loaded my camera into its housing,
dug out my fins, and swam out to grab a few images of the beautiful evening. For me this
was a big milestone as it was my first time back in the ocean since injuring my knee three
months earlier. It’s amazing how fulfilling a simple swim in the ocean can be after having
to spend so much time on dry land. Back on shore, we barbequed at Fletcher’s house and
talked about what we thought the weather would do on the next day. There was only one
day left before the Liquid Force bus left town and we had not yet seen the type of conditions
that really make the Central Coast a special place. A simple look at a swell forecast told us
Jason Slezak fuels up before his solo sunset session.
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Ian Alldredge feeling at home on the Central Coast.
35
that the waves were predicted to ramp up the next day. After
much back and forth and both well-informed and ill-informed
input, we decided to wait until the next morning to make the
call about where to ride.
By mid morning the next day Jalama was showing signs
of being the best bet for wind. With Jalama, it’s always
important to be really sure about the wind before you go
as it’s basically an all-day commitment when you head
out there. With the lack of cell phone coverage there’s no
logging on to ikitesurf to check other spots or waiting for
phone calls and text messages from your buddies telling
you where the wind is going off. This might be one of the
best aspects of Jalama. Leaving the grid for a few hours
forces you to slow down and accept the conditions in front
of you. There’s no turning around and racing off to check
the next spot because that’s over an hour away and you
have no way of knowing if it’s any better there. Here, you
take a deep breath and go eat a world famous Jalama
Burger at the small Jalama Beach Store and Grill if there’s
nothing else to do while you wait for the wind to show up.
Luckily, there would be no waiting around for the wind to
show up today. I arrived with Airborne Kiteboarding’s Mike
Sysavat and we met up with the Liquid Force crew, Fletcher
and Jason McCaffrey from Patagonia, Ian Alldredge,
Bear Karry, and Teddy Lyons. The wind was up, but the
forecasted swell was nowhere to be seen with the waves
only being about waist high. Eight to 9m kites were quickly
rigged and launched. Everyone was disappointed with the
small waves after imagining the head-high plus sets that
were forecasted, but the small yet fun conditions still kept
everyone satisfied.
As the day wore on, the swell that had all but been written
off started to arrive. Over a few hours, the conditions
morphed from small and fun to big and intense. The change
was so dramatic that anyone looking at the photos would
not believe that the early afternoon and late afternoon
images were all taken on the same day. After a short break
to refuel with Jalama burgers and fries, the show was back
on. Ian and Bear have put an insane amount of time in at
Jalama over the past year and it showed in the way they
rode when the waves came up. Teddy later admitted that
these had been the largest waves he’d ever ridden. As the
sun sank low in the sky, everyone came in off the water. Not
finished yet, Slezak stuffed a few bites of a leftover burger
down his throat, warmed himself up for a few minutes, and
headed back out for a solo sunset session, staying out until
the sun was down and the moon was up.
More than satisfied with the day’s events, everyone packed
up and headed out on the twisty Jalama road back towards
Santa Barbara. The Liquid Force bus would keep heading
south out of the area to continue the demo tour, but the
rest of us weren’t going anywhere. For those passing
through town the last few days had been a special treat to
get a glimpse into what the area has to offer. For the rest of
us this is home.
TO SEE A 360° TOUR OF THE LIQUID FORCE C-STREET DEMO VISIT http://www.tourwrist.com/tours/22593 OR SCAN THE CODE.
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Words and Photos by Paul Lang
ver the past few years, the course racing discipline of kiteboarding has been slowly gaining momentum. Whether you are a fan of this aspect of our sport or not, you have to admit that it’s
here to stay. Some people are pushing hard to promote kiteboarding course racing and there is a movement to get some form of kite racing (course racing or slalom) into the Olympics. While a group of dedicated kiteboarders has been heavily focused on the progression and promotion of kite racing, it seems like the rest of the kiteboarding world is split on what they think about it.
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Is this the future of kiteboarding?
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Some kiteboarders are really excited to see this aspect of kiteboarding gain
momentum. The people promoting kite racing say that racing is the only fair
way to compete. There are no judges and the fastest rider gets first place, no
questions asked. They also like to talk about the fact that racing is a great
equalizer. Riders who have no chance of competing in a freestyle competition
can go out and race against the top racers in the world. Another thing kite
racing has going for it is the minimal amount of wind it takes to have a fair
race. While it can take a minimum of 20 knots or so to have an exciting
freestyle heat, I have seen legitimate course races happen in as little as five
knots of wind.
There’s also a crowd of kiteboarders that don’t like what they see when they
look at course racing. Their main complaints seem to be that it’s expensive
(the top boards with fins can cost more than $2,000) and doesn’t do a good
job of promoting the sport of kiteboarding. A complaint I often hear some
version of is “With all the things that are possible to do behind a kite, do we
really want the world to see kiteboarding as a bunch of people chasing each
other around buoys?”
I find myself fitting into a third group who doesn’t quite know what to think
yet. I had a very strong sailing background before I learned to kiteboard and
have always looked at kite racing with some interest. However, I’ve been
covering events since the beginning of kite racing and it felt like every time
I went to a racing event the boards had radically changed compared to the
ones I had seen previously. I never started racing because I never felt like I
had enough time and money to play the gear evolution game.
During the 2012 La Ventana Classic, many of the world’s top racers showed
up to compete. One at a time, we pulled aside a handful of them, put them
in front of a camera, and asked questions about the direction of racing and
what they thought it means for kiteboarding.
Why do you race? When asked why they race,
one thing seemed constant: they race because it’s
something they love to do. “When the St. Francis
Yacht Club in San Francisco announced the first
Kite Racing World Championships, I was like a
kid in a candy store,” said Adam Koch, who raced
sailboats from a young age. Adam was also a very
early pro kiteboarder who dropped off the radar
for a few years only to reappear as a top-level
racer. “This gave me the platform I needed to
apply all the sailing skills I learned as a kid. Kite
racing is sailing and I love sailing.”
Bryan Lake is well known for his strapless
skimboard skills, but has quickly climbed the
rankings in kite racing, finishing third at last year’s
World Championships. “It’s all about competition,”
said Bryan. “You can go out and ride your
skimboard everyday and be so free and have so
much fun, but there’s no competition for that.
Then there’s racing and there’s nothing more cut
and dry than getting first place or last place. I’m
just really competitive. I grew up racing sailboats
and now that sailing game has evolved into our
kiting game. It’s a pretty fun game to play when
you’re going 20 knots.”
Current World Champion Johnny Heineken said,
“It’s everything about sailing that I love without
the logistics of getting a boat to the other side
of the world. It’s so easy and simple. Some
Adam Koch
Johnny Heineken
Bryan Lake AKA Bernie
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Julien Kerneur blasts downwind.
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people think it’s gear intensive, but it’s so mellow
compared to racing a high performance sailboat.
We’re going just as fast and having as much fun as
them without all the boat work. You can put your
gear in a travel bag and go from event to event.”
“It’s endless. You can ride pretty much all the
time,” said longtime pro rider Damien LeRoy. “Even
in five knots of wind you can go out with your
buddies and just have a good time.” Rob Douglas,
who holds the outright sailing speed record was
also in La Ventana competing on the race course.
“Any time on the water is good,” he said. “You can
learn from each discipline and apply it to your
own. With course racing, you can experience a lot
of power in 15 knots of wind. It’s good training that
I can apply to speed sailing.”
What do you have to say to people who
don’t like racing? It’s clear there are a lot of
kiteboarders who don’t have any interest in racing
and don’t like seeing it promoted. In response to
those people, Damien said, “You know, our sport is
so unique. We have freestyle, course racing, wave
riding, we have all these aspects of kiteboarding.
If you have all the wave guys pushing wave riding,
freestyle guys pushing freestyle, and racing guys
pushing racing, the sport is going to just keep
growing. I hope companies and designers don’t just
focus on one thing. Some people only want to ride
waves. Some people just want to cruise. Everybody
likes their own thing.”
“You do what you know and you think it’s the
best,” said Johnny. “We kind of think the same
way with racing. But the thing it does is it opens
up so many more places and so many more
days to kiting. If people in Southern California
figured out that you can have fun when it isn’t
even possible to ride a twin tip, they might think
differently.” Bryan Lake’s response is sure to
get a few people’s blood boiling. “It’s kind of like
freestyle motocross versus racing,” he said. “You
know, tricks are for kids. If you want to come
play with the big dogs, come join the race fleet.”
What about the gear? Is it still rapidly
evolving? Many kiteboarders are intimidated
by the idea of having to always be testing and
buying new gear to stay competitive, but everyone
we talked to was in agreement that the rapid
evolution phase of course racing is over. “The
equipment race is over,” said Adam. “It’s done.
The boards might not change for two years. We’re
honing in on what we’re doing. Now, if Johnny
and I are neck and neck, it comes down to who
got their back foot in the strap first, not the gear
we have.” Everyone else had a similar response.
“Everybody is really close right now,” said Damien.
“Fins from last year are still really competitive.
There’s always room for improvement, but I think
you can buy something right now and it will still be
competitive in five years.”
Paolo Rista, Fin Designer for Rista Fins (http://ristafins.com), agrees the evolution of gear is
reaching a plateau. He said, “The good news is
that we’re at that point where a brand new fin
today will still be very competitive next season. Now it’s becoming more of a
question of whether a fin is the right size for that rider’s weight or for that
particular board. That’s a healthy progression for the sport.”
What does kite racing bring to the sport of kiteboarding? One of
the obvious benefits of kite racing is that it has pushed the light wind limit
for kiteboarding ridiculously low. Currently based in San Diego, Bryan said,
“Basically a race board allows me to ride every single day. You only need
seven knots of wind and you can get that anywhere.” Rob Whittall, Kite
Designer for Ozone, said, “There’s no other aspect of kiteboarding that can
perform in ten knots of wind. As a showcase of the sport, it’s brilliant. I think
it’s just going to keep getting bigger and bigger.”
Johnny sees the potential for racing to draw a lot more people into
kiteboarding. “You know, I think the kiteboarding industry doesn’t realize that
there’s a big potential market out there in terms of sailors who might want to
kiteboard.” Paolo mentioned the sense of community that comes from racing.
“Racing is a wonderful way to become part of a new community,” he said.
“You’re very connected to the other people on the water. That’s the key. That
link gives you a good feeling when you come in off the water.”
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What about the Olympics? “It seems like the
only way it’s going to happen is if we’re a sailing
class,” said Johnny. “If that part of the sport were
to go Olympic, that doesn’t mean it has to be the
face of the sport. It won’t be the only discipline out
there and it won’t have to dictate how the whole
sport functions. I think any mainstream visibility
we can get will be good. Kiteboarding is on the
verge of becoming very accessible, but not many
people know they can just take lessons for two
days and become a kiteboarder.”
Adam seemed a little conflicted about the idea
of kiteboarding being in the Olympics because he
doesn’t like to see the sport becoming political.
“When I first heard about the possibility of getting
kiteboarding into the Olympics, I was all for it,”
he said. “What child doesn’t want to have a gold
medal? But when I hear about the politics and the
details of it, I start to wonder if it is healthy for our
sport. On the other hand, what if it blows four knots? Trying to do a freestyle
competition in those conditions isn’t going to make the sport look good.”
What does the sailing world think about kite racing? Most of the
top kite racers raced sailboats before learning to kiteboard. While many
kiteboarders see course racing as an expensive form of the sport, most riders
we talked to see it as a very cheap form of high-performance sailing. “From
what I see, a lot of sailors are learning to kiteboard because of course racing,”
said Adam. “Instead of racing on a million dollar sailboat, they can spend
$5,000 and have the latest, most awesome racing equipment. It’s allowing
them to take a sport they’ve been doing for a long time and are passionate
about and increase the speed and level of the game they play. Everyone’s
complaining about not enough money in the sport and not enough sponsor
dollars and this is a chance to bring a lot more money into kiteboarding.”
Rob Douglas, who also grew up sailing, said, “Financially it’s the most easily
accessible form of sailing. If you look at kiteboarding as a class of sailing and
look at what it can do, from the snow to the dirt, to the speed course, to the
waves, to flat water, it’s the pinnacle of sailing to me.” Bryan said, “People
who know me through sailing are contacting me. They’re saying, ‘We want to
All the racers we talked to feel the period of rapid gear evolution is over.
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get into that, that looks so cool. We want to race.’ Right now, we’re the most
high-performance kind of sailing there is.” Damien didn’t grow up sailing, but
he said, “We’ll go jump in the starting line with other sailboats and they’ll just
be like, ‘What am I doing on this thing when I could be on that kiteboard?’ I
see a lot of sailors learning to kiteboard because of course racing.”
What do retailers think? We also talked to Evan Mavridoglou, who has a
retail shop in the San Francisco Bay Area (Live2Kite, http://live2kite.com).
He sees course racing as a small but growing segment of kiteboarding.
“2012 is the first year we’ve seen kite racing clubs ordering boards. Ten to
fifteen-rider teams are ordering race boards from us, showing that racing
against friends is a fun and growing activity among kiters.” He also sees the
perplexed look from kiteboarders when they see a course board for the first
time. “Let’s face it - they look intimidating,” he said. “The most recent racing
kiteboards look insane to the untrained eye. The fins are flesh-cutting sharp
and positioned in ways that an average kiter can’t relate to. The 2012 IKA-
registered boards are 180cm long by 70cm wide and two to three inches
thick! These are not your regular daily twin tip boards.”
What should people do who are interested in racing? The racers we
talked to all recommend finding a board to borrow or a used board to
purchase to get into racing. “I can understand people don’t want to go order a
race board because they want to try it,” said Johnny. “I think you pretty much
need to have a friend with a board to get started. If you can get a fleet of
five guys in your area to do it, you can do simple pick-up races, have fun, and
go drink beer afterward. It’s great.” Adam suggests that you can take steps
towards racing without having to buy new gear. “If you want to learn how to
race, first learn how to tack with the equipment you have. Don’t feel like you
have to have the latest gear. Whether you’re in first or last place, you’re still
racing against the guy next to you. That’s what is so beautiful about sailing.”
“I’d recommend getting a used board and just getting out on the water,”
said Bryan. “Learn how to tack and jibe and
experience how these boards feel when they’re
going full speed. Don’t quit and try to ride that
board as fast as you can.”
What does it all mean? Before conducting
these interviews, I didn’t quite know what to
think about racing. Now, I see it as a small yet
growing segment of kiteboarding being driven
by a passionate group of riders. I’ve also realized
that the growth of racing doesn’t have to harm
any other kiteboarding disciplines. There’s room
for every part of the sport to grow in its own
way and if racing can bring more people and
more money to kiteboarding, that could be a
very good thing. Does it mean I’m going to quit
riding waves and focus on racing? Nope, but it’s
peaked my interest enough to get a race board.
Thanks to Damien LeRoy, I’ve got a used one
on the way. I’ll wait until I give it a try to decide
what I really think it.
To watch the Kite Racer Interview videos, go to http://thekiteboarder.com/2012/03/kite-racer-interviews or scan the code.
Johnny Heineken and Bryan Lake enjoy a close race.
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