Boards 2004 Trip to Isla de Coche New world speed record Interview with Eric Hertsens

www.surfineurope.net Editor and translation: Jonas Hörnstein info@surfineurope.net +46 702 63 22 79 Contributors: Christian Dittrich Kristina Karlsson Anna Sparre Mathieu Turries Advertisement: KitesurfinEurope gives a unique possibility to reach Europe’s growing numbers of kitesurfers. Contact KitesurfinEurope for more information. Contributions: KitesurfinEurope is happy for all kinds of contributions to the magazine and the webpage. All published contributions are refunded. Please contact KitesurfinEurope before sending any material. About the magazine: KitesurfinEurope has 4 issues per year. Cover photo: Håkan Rebane tries out the new toy of Apelviken, Sweden Photo: Mat, Aloha Photo

The first number of KitesurfinEurope was an immediatesuccess! Already during the first weekend hundreds ofissues were downloaded and since the introduction of theEnglish version thousands of issues have beendownloaded from both the official homepagewww.surfineurope.net and from www.surfzone.se where theSwedish issue can be found. Apparently it wasn’t just methat felt the need for an accessible and free kitesurfingmagazine. I would like to thank all those that have sentencouraging mails and suggestions on future articles andimprovements. As a concrete result of those suggestionswe have, among other things, increased the resolutions ofthe images for this number. The kite season is now well under way which can be toldboth from the fact that the calendar is full of interestingcompetitions and events and that the beaches are gettingfull of activity. KitesurfinEurope will do the best to follow allthese events and at the same time spend as much time aspossible on the water to try out all the new boards and newmanoeuvres that turned up during the winter. In thisnumber we describe the latest news on the board marketand how to get the most out of your jumps in order to pulloff all the new tricks. Apart from that we have loads ofinteresting articles for you to read if the wind isn’t strongenough to get out on the water so print your magazine andget down to the beach.

Innehåll: Isla de Coche, Venezuela…………………………… 4Follow Christian Dittrich and Anna Sparre to the warmwater and steady winds outside Venezuelas coast. Boards 2004……………………………………………. 8Are you thinking of getting a new board? Here you get aguide to the different types offered for the 2004 season. Kite school: jumps..…………………………………. 16A good jumping technique is the key to the more advancedmanoeuvres. We show you how to master the differentstyles. More kites…………………………………………….. 18We complete the list of news on the kite market found in thelast issue, with some additional brands. Interview with Eric Hertsens…………………….... 20Mainly known as an excellent board designer Eric Hertsensis successfully taking on kite design. PKRA Austria…………………..…………………….. 22Christian and Anna tell about their experiences from thefirst world cup event of the season. New world record in speed.....…………………….. 26During Mondial du vent a new world record in speed wasmarked. KitesurfinEurope had a man on place. KPWT, Les Sables d’Olonne………..……………… 30The first event of the Kiteboard Pro World Tour was held inFrance with good wind and nice waves.

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The hard life at Isla de Coche Text and Photo: Anna Sparre & Christian Dittrich The wake up procedure at Coche starts at dawn. The cock starts to crow at half past six, followed by the barking of the dogs, and at seven, when the children turn on the TV, you are definitely awake. Dogs and children are without a doubt the main population in San Pedro, the largest village on Coche. So, irrespective of the hour you went to bed, you are too wide-awake to stay in bed after half past seven. When you look through the window you notice, as usually, that the wind is already there. This is Venezuela, one of the windiest places on earth. The choice of breakfast is easy. Either you are really hungry and go to Hotel Paradise to eat a giant buffet for about 1,5 Euros or you buy six small pizzas at the pizzeria across the market place, and you are ready to go. The next task is to find a taxi. In the morning this can take a while since the taxi drivers like to drink Polar beer until late in the nights. All the taxi cars on the island are huge, old, and thirsty Americans. We wondered how they could afford to fill them up with petrol until we noticed that a full tank was less than a Euro. Petrol is actually cheaper than water in Venezuela! San Pedro has three small stores, a church, and an ”Internet café” with three computers sharing a single 28k-modem, and not a single washing machine. People are poor, but very kind. We heard that we were the first foreign tourists that had ever lived in San Pedro. People at the street whispered and looked curiously at us during the first weeks. On the way to the beach you shouldn’t be surprised if you see a horse feeding on the pave-ment. Or a pig… Kiting The beach is three kilometres long and extends from San Pedro to la Punta, which is the most popular kite spot on the

island. The sand is as white as a chalk and the water is crystal clear. The wind comes from east, which is straight offshore, and normally increases from 12 knots in the morning to more than 25 knots in the afternoon. In the beginning it feels a little unaccustomed to ride in offshore wind, but as soon as you get to know the local fishermen that make up the rescue team (which is unavoidable) you feel much safer. Even though the beach is long, it can get pretty crowded. Everyone wants to ride closest to the beach where the water is as flat as a parquet floor and where the rescue is near. Coche is perfect for learning new tricks. There is nothing that disturbs you except a few fishermen and the birds that follows their boats. When you get tired of riding flat water, you take a taxi to the other side of the island, which takes about 15 minutes, and you’ll have a nice wave spot all for yourself. The waves aren’t very big, but can be clean when the swell is big. From Coche it is only a one hour boat trip to the beautiful island Cubagua. It really looks like a postcard. You kite in a small sheltered bay with flat, crystal clear water and cross-offshore wind. Usually the owner of Hotel Coche organizes one-day excursions to the

island. He is also the owner of one of the five houses on the island. The house is beautifully placed in the bay where you kite, and while you’re having a great session he prepares a big lunch with fresh, grilled fish, chicken, and lots of other delicacies. You leave Coche or El Yache at around 10 in the morning and get back at around 9 in the evening. It is definitely worth to go there as it costs 45000Bs (13 Euros) including all food. Ven a Kite is the name of the national kitesurfing cup of Venezuela. From the 21st to the 24th of February a competition was held at Coche. The event was sponsored by the local beer producer, Polar, so it was a huge party. The competition was divided into three categories, long distance, hang time and freestyle. The Swedish visitants did a good job as could be seen in the results. 1st Freestyle men: Mike the Knife 1st Freestyle women: Anna Sparre 1st Hang time men: Christian Dittrich (5.8 s) 1st Hang time women: Anna Sparre (she also 5.8 s) 1st Long distance: Leo the local The end of the day doesn’t mean that the wind stops, but as the sun goes down you’re probably too tired to keep kiting anyway.

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Once again it can take awhile to find a taxi since the drivers seems to hide away just before sunset. When you finally find a taxi the driver can equally well say that you are too sandy to enter the car (which is a good excuse for him to go and take a beer instead of working) or he can decide to bring his beer drinking friends to at least make the work a little more fun. The Coche pace When you live at Coche you slowly start to adapt yourself to the pace of the island. You walk slower, get dressed slower, prepare the kite slower, and so on. We called it “the Coche pace”. People here don’t work too much, not because there aren’t anything to do, but simply because they don’t feel like it. The ones that work are either taxi drivers or fishers, while the

rest of the population take it easy in their chairs on the pavement and check out what happens on the street. A day off When it doesn’t blow (which almost never happens) or when you’re too tired to kite, an excursion to Porlamar can be a nice change. Porlamar is the biggest city at Isla Margarita and is about 20 minutes by taxi from El Yaque. Most people start with a visit at Conejero, the market that has all the clothes you can imagine, loads of stuff you don’t need, and some really nice fruit drinks. The centre of Porlamar has some nice shops and good access to the Internet. You can also find some really good burgers and lots of sweets in the different market stands. A place you don’t want to miss after just eating rise and fish for a while is

Sambil. This is the biggest shopping mal in Porlamar and there you can find all sorts of junk food and the best ice cream in the world. Be prepared The only reason to think twice before you decide to go here is that your stomach may regret it. Venezuela is probably the country that has the most and the worst stomach illnesses in the world. The first evening here, Christian drank something called filtered water at the hotel. He still wishes he hadn’t. Some weeks after seven of us ate shellfish at a local restaurant and the same night everyone of us got sick. Now, several weeks, and a couple of hospital visits, later some still suffers from stomach problems.

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Good winds, friendly people, an exciting culture and absolutely no stress are some of the things you could expect from Coche.

Now when we have to go home after nearly three months in this kitesurfing paradise we know that we will miss many things

at our favourite island. Isla de Coche is a very special place and we highly recommend you to take a trip there!

Isla de Coche, short facts: Currency: Bolivar. One USD is worth 1950-3000 Bolivars (9 March 2004) depending on where you do the exchange. The official exchange rate at the bank is 1950. In shops, restaurants, and at the street you’ll get 3000. Bring USD, credit cards means official rates. Language: Spanish. Few people speak English. Religion: Catholicism Cost of living: Food: 10,000 Bolivars/meal Housing: 75,000 Bolivars/week Transportation to beach: 2000 Bolivars per trip Windy season: Best winds from January to May. Kite size: 14 in the morning, 8-10 in the afternoon. Climate: Warm water, no wetsuit needed. Strong sun, bring a rash guard and strong sun protection. Kite spots: La Punta. The main beach at Coche. Offshore wind and totally flat water. Rescue boat available. Isla Cubagua. Access by boat (1h). Cross-offshore and flat water. Tropical and beautiful scenery. El Yaque, Isla Margarita. Gusty winds, crowds, and choppy water. Great nightlife. Living: El Palangre. Simple but cosy living at a Venezuelan family Hotel Oasis de Coche. Pretty cheap hotel. Good prices if you stay a longer time. Hotel Coche Paradise. All inclusive. To eat: Safiros restaurant at El Palangre. Cheap and good Venezuelan food. Pizzeria, San Pedro. Really good pizzas, hamburgers, sandwiches, and cookies. El Boyo. Cheap fish restaurant. Hotel Coche Paradise. Great buffet.

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Boards 2004 Text: Jonas Hörnstein The kite may be the most important part of your equipment, but the significance of the board should not be underrated. Indeed it’s the kite that gives you the power and to a great deal determines how fast you can get upwind and how high you’ll be able to jump, but most of the time you won’t even think about its presence. The board on the other hand has a more direct presence and more directly contributes to the overall feeling of the ride. Here we try to guide you through the enormous variety of boards on the market so you can find the board that gives you exactly the feeling you’re after. Classification of the boards To describe every board on the market in detail is more or less impossible. Instead we have to generalise and try to group the boards into various categories. Traditionally the boards have been divided into three different classes: directional, twin tip, and mutants. Directionals are designed to be ridden in one direction and hence have a front and a back. The twin tips are totally symmetrical and works equally well in both directions, which means that you don’t need to turn the board when you want to go in the opposite direction. A mutant can be seen as a mixture of the two previous types as they work in both directions but have one preferred direction. While the classification of the boards into directionals, twin tips, and mutants, give interesting information about their design it isn’t enough for a potential buyer. Ninety percent of the boards on the market could be classified as a twin tip even though there are huge differences between them. An alternative way to classify the boards would be to classify them according to their range of uses. Is the board designed to be used on flat water, in choppy conditions, or in breaking waves? Should it be used in strong or light wind conditions? Is it designed with beginners or pro-riders in mind? However, to cover all combinations of these variables one would need lots of

different classes that would also be overlapping. It would simplify for the buyers if industry would agree on a few different classes in which the boards could be arranged. Today there are no such classes. Instead the boards are described by parameters such as length, width, weight, stiffness, outline, and rocker. For those who are familiar with the terminology and the mysteries of board design these parameters give very accurate information on how the board will feel in the water. For the rest of us it gets more or less a pure guessing game. In order to improve the odds of finding the right board we give a short introduction to how the different parameters affect the board’s behaviour on the water. Finally we exemplify how these parameters can be combined in order to create boards for specific types of usage. Length and width We start with the most obvious parameters, length and width. The more wet surface under the board, the earlier the board starts to plane. Beginners and heavier riders need a little bit more area than light weight, experienced riders in order to get going and be able to go upwind. To get a larger surface under the board we can obviously choose to increase either the length or the width. What we choose has a big influence on the characteristics of the board.

A long and narrow board gives a smoother and more controlled ride. It is easier to get a lot of rail in the water to get upwind and the board doesn’t bounce out of the water as easy when the water is choppy. On the other hand that bounciness may be desire as it gives you a good lift when you kick the board out of the water. Such a board is often said to have a good “pop”. In short you can say that for a certain surface area, the shorter the board is the more pop it will give you, but it will also be more unsteady in the water. It can therefore be an idea to first consider the kind of conditions you will use the board in and if you first of all want a comfortable board that gives you a good grip in the water or a board with more pop. From that you can get an idea of what could be a good length of your board. If you primarily use the board in flat-water conditions and like to pull off the latest wakeboard tricks, a short board like 120 cm or even less could be good for you. If you, on the other hand, usually ride in choppy conditions and like to be able to dig down the rail and push hard in the turns without worrying of the board loosing its grip, a board of at least 130 cm could be better for you. The width is then determined by how much you weight and in how strong winds you will use the board. The heavier person and the lighter wind, the wider a board will be needed.

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Rocker and outline Ok, this far it has been quite straight forward and not that difficult. Next we will look at the influence of the outline and the rocker of the board. With outline we mean the bending of the rails of the board and with rocker we mean the bending of the bottom line. We start with the rocker. On a directional board the bending of the bottom line is often divided into rocker and scoop, where the rocker line is the bending in the back of the board and the scoop is the bending in the front. For a twin-tip board those two will be identical since the board is symmetric, and here we will not distinguish between them. In short it can be said that the more rocker the smoother the board will behave. The rocker stops the board from digging down into the waves, especially when the board is ridden flat, as after landings or in the transitions between one rail and the other. What you loose with a lot of rocker is mainly light-wind capabilities and pop. It isn’t only the amount of rocker that matters but also its distribution. It is common to have a relatively plane surface in the middle of the board that helps the board to start plane, while the last centimetres of the board have relatively lot of rocker so that it will turn smooth and so that the front of the board doesn’t dig down in the water. Sometimes the rocker even has a step in the far ends of the board that further prevent the nose to dig down after landings etcetera. As usual there is a downside also with putting most of the rocker in the ends of the board. In this case the problem is ones again that we loose pop. For the outline we have the same ground principles as for

the rocker, that is, the more curve the smoother ride but once again to the prise of less pop and ability to plane. It is often in the interplay between the rocker and the outline that the secrets of a well working board lies. How well this work is of course very hard to tell by less that trying the board. The common recommendation is lots of curve in the board if you want to have good control in the turns, especially if you want to ride waves, and less curve if you like to jump and do tricks. Flex If we add length, width, outline and rocker we get a rather complicated formula. To complicate things further we add the flex of the board. A board with lots of flex “eats up” the bumps in the water. Instead of bouncing when the board hits a bump, the board bends which make it easier to maintain the edge in the water. The result is a smoother ride when the water is choppy. The flex also make it possible to use less rocker since the rocker increases when pressure is applied. This can be practical since this way you can have a board that starts to plane early and in the same time turns well and maintains the grip in the water when you push it hard. The downside is that the board can loose speed when you land hard after a jump, as it then tends to bend a lot. A board with too much flex can also give a spongy feeling. Other things Apart from the parameters above, there are lots of other parameters that we have chosen to not treat in detail as weight, volume, fin placement, and bindings. The common recommendation is that the lighter the board the better, but a certain weight can be needed to stop the board from flying

away during board-off tricks. The volume is more or less insignificant once you are powered up and riding, but it helps to get the board to plane and to maintain the speed when the power in the kite disappears. This is mainly of interest when you are riding waves and want to ride without having a lot of power in the kite. If we look at the fin placement a classic design with four small fins, one in each corner of the board seems to work well in most cases. If you want extra grip in the water you can have one or two additional fins on the heal side of the board. As for the bindings, normal foot straps are recommended, as they are easy to get into and provide sufficient support. Different models Finally I’ll try to classify the boards according to a number of different usages. I’ve chosen to divide the boards into four different classes: beginner boards, freestyle, wakestyle, and wave boards. However instead of trying to classify all of the different boards on the market into these four categories I’ve confined myself with exemplifying how the different parameters above are combined in order to get a board of a given class. We start with the beginner boards. A slightly bigger board make it easier to get up and get going. First of all a beginner board is longer than the average board, usually starting from 140 cm and up. A wider board also make it easier to get going, but a too wide board can make it difficult to get the edge down. The board should preferable be of a twin-tip model so that the beginner doesn’t have to worry about turning the board. To get a good grip in the water it can be good to have quite a lot of

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curvature in the rocker and in the outline and maybe an extra fin or two on the heal side of the board. The freestyle category is a rather broad one. In this category I include all boards that are designed for high speed and good control, even when the conditions are difficult. This type of boards suites both the average freerider and the competitor that want to pull off the highest jumps. A board in this category is often between 130 and 140 cm with a width between 34 and 38 cm depending on whether the board is designed for light or strong winds. Also in this category you will mainly find twin-tip boards. The wake category consists of short and relatively wide twin-tip boards with lots of pop. The

length can be 120 cm or even shorter with a relatively flat rocker line and not too much of curve in the outline. Even if the boards are mainly designed to provide lots of pop for the latest wake-style manoeuvres, they can also be very fast if the water is flat so you can remain control. If we look at the wave boards this is a relatively undeveloped category. Here we are mainly looking for a board with a good grip in the turns. To be able to pull off a good bottom turn we need to have a fair amount of rail to dig into the wave. A too short board doesn’t give the desired stability that we want in the turns. We also need lots of curvature in both the rocker and the outline, even more than on a freestyle board. To further increase the grip it the board can be equipped with longer fins

in the back of the board. On the other hand we don’t want the fins in the front of the board to grip during the turn. It is therefore usual to have smaller fins in the front or no fins at all. A symmetrical twin-tip board is therefore less suited for wave riding. It is therefore common to use directionals or mutants, or at least to make it possible to adjust the placement of the footstraps towards the back of the board and provide the board with different sized fins. Another thing with the waveboards is that you might want some extra floatation in order to prevent the board from loosing speed when you do a cut back and don’t have any power from the kite. Lots of people even recommend the use of traditional surfboards instead of the kiteboards that can be found on the market today.

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Airush The designers at Airush have been working hard and produced not less than 20 different boards for the season 2004, which give a very complete line. Here you can find everything from pure beginner boards like Square one and square two, classical directionals, mutants as fusion, several different twin-tip models as switch and compact, and a number of specialised boards. Of course this gives a very wide range to choose from but personally I find it a little messy. Anyhow it is nice to see that Airush isn’t afraid to push the limits in their designs. Misfit is one interesting example of this where they have designed an extremely short board that is finless. Another interesting concept is the wakeskate that doesn’t have any foot straps.

AHD AHD has three different lines to choose from. Etik is a mutant designed for early planning and good upwind ability rather then wave riding. T-type is a relatively big and easy-to-use board, designed for learning and freeriding. Nostro is a shorter and more advanced board will lots of pop.

Best Best is a new brand for the season that has quickly become known for selling cheap kites and boards directly to customers without using a retailer network. The board line may not be very impressing with only one design to choose from, but the design looks nice and should work for just about anyone. The board is constructed in two different materials with different weight and price.

Square one 179 49 4,7

Square two 155 45 4,2

Directional 172 41 4,0

Fusion 142/150/158 38/38/40 3,1/3,3/3,5

Switch 135/142/150/155 39/41/43/45 3,1/3,3/3,5

Misfit 90/115/120 34/35/41 1,9/2,3/2,7

Compact 133/138/140 36/37/38 2,9/3,1/3,3

Wake 136/146 38/40 2,6/2,8

Wakeskate 125 38

Pro Toy 119 38

Luengo 125 38

Etik 157/162 38/40 3,4/3,6

T-type 145/158/171 34/37,5/40,9 2,6/2,9/3,3

Nostro 133/137/141 37/39/41 2,6/2,8/3,0

Best pro board 118/124/130/138/144 38/39/40/40/41 2,4

Best board balsa 118/124/130/138/14438/39/40/40/41 2,1

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Bic Bic’s designers Marco Copello and Richard Boudia have developed a number of assymetric twin-tip boards called Airflow. The idea to use more curvature on the toe-side isn’t bad at all since most of the people only use this side when they turn. The boards are quite big and mainly designed for freeriding. Cosmic has a more traditional twin-tip design and is developed for wave-riding with the possibility to move the straps towards the back of the board.

Cabrinha New for this year is a beginner board called Prodidgy. Apart from this Cabrinha keeps their Vari Pro, Icon, and Lab rat. While these lines are overlapping each other when it comes to size they all have their own specific characteristics. Despite the name, Vari pro is a rather easy-to-use board. Icon is a slightly smaller board that offers lots of pop and works well in waves. Lab rat is a narrow board with lots of flex, ideal for difficult and choppy conditions.

Fanatic Fanatic has three twin-tip boards in this year’s line: Easy Rider, Joy Rider, and Sky Rider. Easy Rider is designed to be easy to use and has been provided with a generous length. Joy Rider is a wide allround-board that works especially well in light winds. Sky Rider is relatively small and narrow in order to make it easy to maintain the control when used in strong wind or by lighter riders.

F-one F-one has two beginner boards in their line, Explorer and Fiftyone, as well as two more advanced boards, SK8 and Style. The advanced boards are provided in three different series with different combinations of length and width, which gives a huge variety to choose from. SK8 has lots of rocker for hard wind and waves while Style provides early planning.

Airflow 142/162/175 34/37/39 3,0/3,0/3,3

Cosmic 130 37 2,4

Vari Pro 138/148/158 38/39/40 -

Icon 130/140/150 35/35,5/36 -

Lab Rat 130/140/150 34/34,5/35 -

Prodidgy 158 41 3,5

Easy Rider 159/168 41/42 2,9/3,1

Joy Rider 118/128/144 38/40/40 1,9/2,2/2,5

Sky Rider 124/130/138 34/36/38 1,9/2,1/2,3

SK8 128/129/136/ 137/138/139 35//37/31/ 33/35/37 -

Style 128/129/130/138/ 139/140/148/149 35//37/39/35/ 37/39/36/37 -

Explorer 156/160 38/43 -

Fiftyone160 50 -

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Gaastra Gaastra’s line is one of the most complete on the market. With the exception of Sky Pro 133 Gaastra has only twin-tip boards in their line. Sky Pro 133 is one of two boards especially design for Gaastra’s team rider Sky Solbach. The board is one of the new generation of mutants that works almost as good in both directions. The other board designed for Sky Solbach, Sky Pro 136, is a traditional twin-tip that is a little wider in the front and the back than Gaastra’s more allround oriented twin-tip Contact, and therefore gives a little more pop. Apart from those boards Gaastra has several other twin-tips models in more odd sizes. Drive II is a slightly bigger board designed to work well even for beginners. Micro is, as the name suggests, the opposite – a small board designed for hard wind and/or lightweight kitesurfers. Satellite is an extremely wide board designed to be used in light winds and with big kites. Finally, Ride is another big board intended for beginners.

Naish Naish revolutionized board design when they introduced their Stubbie last year. The Stubbie was extremely short which simplified tricks and gave a good grip in the water. The Stubbie is still there this year but it hasn’t replaced the more traditional models. Naish has everything in their line: several mutants as MTX and Mutant, even more twin tips as Thorn, TT pro, and Haze TT, and also an extremely big beginner board called Softdeck TT.

Sky Pro 136 136 38 -

Sky Pro 133 133 - -

Contact 136/141/148 36,5/38/41 -

Drive II 156 40 -

Micro 124 36,5 -

Satellite 117/135 41/46 -

Ride 170 44,5 -

MTX 132 37 -

Thorn 123/129/135/141 34,5/37,4/38,4/41,4 -

TT Pro 122/128/134 36/41/47 -

Mutant 4’7”/4’10”/5’0”/5’4”40/42/40/41,2 -

Haze TT 135/145/157/170 37,8/38,3/37,3/40,4 -

Stubbie 115/127 37,0/43,5 -

Softdeck TT 188 45 -

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North North’s boards are designed by John Amundson. The boards can be divided into four lines: Sumo that is their beginner board, Defender Line that can be used both as a beginner board and a light wind board for the more advanced riders, Dragon Line that is designed for advanced riders and hard wind, and a number of Pro Models that are designed especially for North’s top-riders and those who have really high ambitions with their kitesurfing. RRD RRD have worked hard for the 2004 season with lots of interesting news on both their board and their kite ranges. Their XX-boards are among the absolute lightest on the market with a weight of less than 2 kg. They are extremely thin and flexy. With not less that 8 fins they give maximum grip in the water. BS/Classic are pretty allround-oriented boards that suits just about anyone. Bidi is a more pure beginner board. Apart from those main models they have Blob that is an extremely small board for tricks on flat water, and PeekaBoo that is a mutant intended for wave riding. Takoon Takoon has several interesting models. Vegas is Takoon’s freestyle board. The smallest board in the line is an exact copy of the board used by Takoon’s team rider Herve Boure and needs a lot of wind to perform at its best. Interstate is a longer and more narrow board, perfect for cruising around. It has an asymmetric flex with a softer toeside, which simplifies turns. Mong is a pure wave riding board designed for Franz Olry. Kool 163 is Takoon’s beginner board.

Jaime Pro 128/130 37,5/40 2,0/2,0

Cindy Pro 122 34 1,8

Dragon 133/135/138 35/37,5/40,5 2,0/2,2/2,3

M2/M1 125/148 36/39 2,0/2,5

Defender 143/148 39/40 2,4/2,6

Sumo 155/162 41,5/43 3,1/3,5

XX 120/125/125/130/130/135/135 34/34/35/35/ 36/38/40 1,7/1,8/1,9/2,0/ 2,0/2,0/2,2

BS/Classic 140/150/160 38/37/39 2,1/2,2/2,4

Bi-Di 170/180 40/45 3,7/4,2

Blob 100 41 2,0

Peekaboo 138/148 38/40 2,5/2,7

Vegas 128/128/138/138 35/38/36/39 1,85/1,95/2,1/2,4

Interstate 139/151 33,8/37,4 2,5/2,9

Mong 128 36 2,4

Kool 163 163 40 3,5

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Kite school: jumps Text and images: Jonas Hörnstein High jumps are without a doubt the thing that most distinguish kitesurfing from other water sports, and probably the reason that most of you got into the sport. At least it was for me and to my delight I noticed that it wasn’t hard at all to get the first taste of some air. Unfortunately I also noticed pretty soon that it was a long way from the first small jumps to the really huge jumps and the modern wake style jumps that I saw the pros pulling off. Here we take a look at the different techniques and how to do to get your jumping to the next level. Wake style or classic style? As already mentioned there are two different styles with which a jump can be performed. We start by looking at the main differences of the styles before getting into how to best execute the jumps. In the classical style we mainly use the power of the kite to get lifted out of the water. This is done by redirecting the kite in the opposite direction to the one we are riding and then back again as shown in the sequence below. The alternative is to use the speed of the board and pop the board out of the water while the kite remains low in the power zone instead of redirecting it up over the head.

The latter technique is called wake style since it imitate the way you jump with a wake-board after a boat since the boat for natural reasons cannot be redirected up over the head. Until recently the classical style by far has been the most popular one. It is also the classical style that gives the highest jumps with most hang time, but as more and more tricks are being adopted from the wake-board scene, wake style jumps are also getting increasingly popular.

Despite the wake style jumps not being as high they can be at least as spectacular since they are performed with full power in the kite and at high speed. Equipment Those who have paid attention to the previous articles about kites and boards may have noticed that there exists different equipment for the different styles of jumps.

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Fortunately you don’t really need to go out and by two different sets of equipment, but can use any combination of kite and board for both of the techniques, but there are some differences that are worth to mention. For the classical jumps where you use the kite to get lifted out of the water a kite with a high AR combined with a narrow board with lots of grip is the optimal. To make a wake style jump the opposite is preferred, a wide board and a kite with lower AR. The reason to use a lower AR is that they stay deeper down in the power zone, whereas kites with high AR tends to stay very high up in the window when ridden. A kite with high AR can therefore easily fly out of the power zone

when you pop a jump. However there are some tricks to avoid that this happens, but before discussing that we will take a look at the classical jumps. Classical jumps A classical jump is illustrated in the sequence below. The trick is as mentioned to redirect the kite in the opposite direction to the one you’re travelling and then turn it back over your head once the board leaves the water. The height of the jump depends on many things, but the main ingredients are high speed and good power in the kite. To boost up the height further the redirection has to be quick and powerful. The main difficulty is to maintain the edge of the board throughout the whole re-direction. This can be simplified by starting the redirection with the kite in a higher position, like 60 degrees from the water.

Once in the air there is not too much to think about except making sure that you get the kite back in front of you before landing. Try to land with the board flat and with the body weight straight over the centre of the board. Then it is just to start edging again and pick up speed for the next jump. Wake style jumps Finally we look at how to pull off some powerful wake style jumps. Once again, speed and power are the main ingredients, but instead of the redirection of the kite it is a powerful pop that turns those into a high jump. One of the concerns is, as mentioned, to avoid that the kite looses the power when the jump is initiated. The trick to avoid this is to get the kite further down in the power zone. This can be achieved by slowly turning the kite up and then back down in the same time as you fall off a little with the board to avoid getting lifted. The jump is then initiated with a short and powerful pop while the kite is maintained low. In order to not move the kite during the jump it can be good to keep the hands close to the centre of the bar, and don’t forget that a real wake board move is performed unhooked from the chicken loop!

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More kites… Text: Jonas Hörnstein In the last number we gave an overview of the biggest news on the kite market for 2004 and presented the kites from most of the biggest brands. However some brands hadn’t come out with their new kites in time for the first number so in this issue we complete the presentation with seven more brands and take a look at their ranges for the season. Among the seven we found both pioneers such as Wipika and F-one as well as several new and interesting brands as Advance kites, Best, and EH.

Advance kites Previously known for their foils, Advance has made a completeturn for the season and now presents a tube kite. The reasonfor the turn is that they consider that they have managed tocombine the advantages of the foils and the tube kites thanksto their Repower-system. According to Advance the Repowersystem gives a more constant pull and better control overwhere the kite is situated in the air. The new tube-kite goesunder the name Kobra and has a relatively high AR. It isintended for experienced users and has a wide wind range andlots of lift. Apart from the Kobra, Advance continuous todevelop foils, but those are mainly intended for land use.

Best Best has caused lots of headlines with their aggressive pricingwith up to 50% lower price than their competitors. The low priceis a result of cutting off the retailer network and selling directlyto the clients on Internet. Best have three different kites in theirrange. Nemesis is their high performance kite, made for highjumps and freestyle competitions. Yarga has a lower AR whichmakes it easier to use and well suited for different tricks likekiteloops and wave riding. Finally they have the Grunt that is amore pure beginner kite with a low AR that makes it verystable.

EH Eric Hertsens that together with his collegue Peter Stiewedesignes kite for Best kiteboarding and others, now releaseskites under their own brand, EH Kiteboarding. Under their ownbrand they try out more innovative design solutions. EH hastwo lines that are updated continuously during the year insteadof releasing new models yearly as most of the other brands.The two models they offer are EH Freestyle and Wave. As thenames suggest, Freestyle is a kite with high AR intended forfreestyle while Wave is a kite with a little bit lower AR intendedfor wave riding and the latest wake-style manoeuvres.

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F-one F-one has been in the game for a long time and hascreated a huge range of kites for the 2004 season. Most ofthe kites are updates from the previous season though.Mach3 replaces Mach2 as their top-of-the-line model andrequires an experienced user to perform at its best. HW2 isa special kite designed for strong winds and hence onlyexists in small sizes. Dream is F-one’s most versatile kite. Itstill has enough of power to jump high, but in the same timeworks well for both wave riding and speed sailing. Finally F-one has two beginner kites: 4U and L2K.

Wipika Wipika is one of the real kite pioneers and is still one of thebiggest brands even if they have had a relatively low profilein Europe the latest years. Their range is one of the biggeston the market with five different models to choose from.WIP is designed together with Flash Austin and offersmaximum lift and good upwind abilities. AMP+ is anotherhigh performance kite, but is a little easier to use than theWIP. Matrix has a slightly lower AR and can be placed inthe gap between pure high performance kites and mediumAR-kites. Hydro 3 has a medium AR that makes it stableand easy to manoeuvre. Finally they have Core that has alow AR and offers the possibility to be ridden with either twoor four lines. Core is a pure beginner kite.

Windtech Like many other, Windtech has chosen to go for threedifferent models, one with high AR, one with a medium ARand one with a low AR. Windtech’s high AR kite is calledZenith and is designed for the more advanced riders andoffers lots of power for high jumps and good upwind ability.Rebel Pro has a slightly lower AR and isn’t at all aimedsolely for pros as the name might suggest. On the contraryit is easy to use and is even equipped with a fifth line thatmake it easy to start the kite. Quantum is a pure beginnerkite that can be used either as a two-line kite or a four-linekite.

RRD RRD made most of the people raise their eyebrows whenthen managed to sign up last year’s world cup winnerMartin Vari to their team. Another noteworthy news for theseason is their new high performance kite Type-Z. Theletter Z comes from their patented Zipping Power Control.Through one or more zippers it is possible to adjust theangle of the struts and thereby make the kite more or lesspowerful. This is supposed to increase the wind range ofthe kite. Another news for the year is their Type-6 that isdesigned for freestyle and wave riding. Type-5 remains asa more easy to use kite.

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Interview with Eric Hertsens Text and photo: Kristina Karlsson Eric Hertsens has long been known for his amazing boardshaping, based in Cabarete in the Dominican Republic. His boards are famous all around the globe, ridden by the likes of Flash Austin and other high profile riders. Now, having gone into the business of creating kites he is well on the way to global success and kiteworld domination. I met up with Eric on a windy day at Kite Beach, Cabarete, to ask him a few questions. What made you want to create kites? The reason is simple. I am a big guy and there just wasn´t anything on the market that suited me. My business partner Peter Stiewe has a lighter build and had the same problems of finding a kite that he liked. So, we decided to build our own kites. What goal are you trying to reach? Our goal from the beginning was to create custom kites, but for the moment there is no market for it. So now our main goal is to push the boundaries and continue our research and develop high performance kites (EH) in limited numbers. During 2003 only, we produced more than ten new versions of our high performance size 12 kite. The best thing is that we can build a kite and then test it immediately in our own back

yard. (Eric´s shop is five minutes away from Kite Beach). Another part of our business is to create kites for other companies such as Liquid Force and Best Kiteboarding. With these kites we cover more general and broader perfor-mance kites. When is a kite perfect? The perfect, imaginary kite, would be ONE kite that could be used in all winds. But being very unrealistic I would have to say that a kite with good pull, perfect manoeuvrability and control, long hangtime and good depower would be the perfect kite. Achieving the perfect balance between these factors is very hard and that´s why we spend so much time on R&D in our company. Where did you get your skills?

I never went to school to learn how to create boards or kites. I have learned through trying. It helps being a perfectionist who never gives up. I started with a hammer and a saw and today I´m designing and creating high tech equipment for kiteboarding. How do you think kite-boarding will develop in the next five to ten years? It will become more mainstream. The safety systems keep developing and that´s what´s making kiteboarding more accessible to the mainstream. Don´t get me wrong. It will still be an extreme sport, considering the nature of it. For more information about Eric Hertsens and his kites and kiteboards visit: www.erichertsens.com

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Above: A content Eric Hertsens, Below: Eric’s workshop in Cabarete

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PKRA Austria Text: Anna Sparre & Christian Dittrich, Photo: Kitequest.com, Anna Sparre & Christian Dittrich The first event in the PKRA World Cup was held in Austria at Neusiedler See, not far from Vienna. If the sun shines the wind usually picks up to about 16 knots in the afternoon, but the weather shifts a lot and the wind can equally well pick up from 4 knots up to 30 knots in a few minutes because of some other weather phenomena. Since the lake is far from the see and surrounded by mountains the wind is pretty gusty and it is not an easy task to choose the right kite. The competition is held far out from the beach which make it difficult to see what size the others are using and whether they are well powered up or not. If you choose a too small kite you risk not being able to keep the height and stay in the competition area so it better to go for a bigger kite and risk being overpowered. The week before Austria, the first of four events in the European Championship was held in Knokke, Belgium. We were there, but unfortunately the wind wasn’t strong enough to complete the whole ladder and no winner could be picked. Instead the time was spent on other activities such as paddling kayak, surfing, mountain boarding, and of course beer drinking. A few heats were completed though, and Anna even managed to get her share of the price money. Our Dutch friends from Team Coolskin were also present and we decided to go together from Belgium to Austria. They have

two big vans that make the journey more comfortable. Team Coolskin consists of three Dutch and three Spanish pro-riders. New for this year is Ceasar Portas from Spain and he really impresses on the water. Monday at lunch we had been driving the whole night and were getting close to Vienna. The summer had definitely arrived here as we passed flourishing valleys, green mountains and road-workers stripped to the waist. In the car we were chewing on chocolate and thinking about the competition. It

felt a little nervous since we hadn’t had much wind and possibilities to train during the spring in Sweden. Anna had just got her new Takoon kites and hadn’t had time to get used to them, but hopefully there would be time to kitesurf a little in the evening. When the registration was finished on the Tuesday we went directly to the other side of the lake since the wind was offshore at the competition area. The competition started first on Wednesday so we had a day to get used to the conditions and prepare ourselves for the competition.

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Luckily the wind increased from around 10 knots in the morning to around 25 knots in the afternoon and we got a perfect day of kitesurf in the shallow Neusidler See. There were a number of flat sand islands out in the lake and behind those the water was as flat as it gets, perfect for training different wake style manoeuvres. The lake is so shallow that you can actually stand on the bottom everywhere in the lake. Quite surprisingly when you are 1000 meters from the shore and put down your feet in the bottom clay. The weather forecast for the competition wasn’t looking good, straight offshore wind and rain showers. The first shipper meeting was held at nine on Wednesday and the first start was scheduled to half past eleven. Anna found out that she would go man on man with Cindy Mosey in her first heat. Cindy won the world cup title last year and is one of only two girls in the world that can do air handle passes, so it would definitely be a hard one. Chrille had Alex Tritten, Ben Meyer and Oliver in his first heat, and was

quick to pump up his kite and lay out the lines. He chose a 10-meter kite as the wind was increasing the whole time. The competition area was placed 500 meter off-shore since the wind was blowing offshore, so one had to rely on the wind reports from the competition boat. Close to the shore there were almost no wind at all and you had to work the kite hard and sometimes even loop it to get out. Once in the competition area the wind was so strong that two of the buoys had drifted away. The first heat was postponed for half an hour and during that time the wind increased further. During the heat the wind reached 36 knots and it was more a question of who could stay within the competition area than what tricks they could make. The competition was quickly nick-named ”the survival”. Chrille managed to finish his the heat in second place and moved on to the next heat. When it was time for the women competition the wind was changing up and down pretty much and there were constantly new wind reports from the

competition boat. Most of the girls decided to go on either a nine or a 10-meter kite. The first heat started and Anna that was in the forth heat decided to make her way out to the competition area already then in order to be sure to make it out in time for her heat. She was happy to be able to use a small kite since we had been training on small kites the whole winter and it felt like the only possibility to be able to beat Cindy Mosey. As the second heat finished a big black cloud piled up, but the competition went on. Most of the girls were out waiting for their heats or trying to get back to land. When the third heat started, lightning was seen at the horizon and suddenly the wind drastically increased. The competition boat measured gusts up to 56 knots during the following 10 minutes. Anna tried to dig down the board in the water and hold on while most of the girls were flown away and had to pull the quick release. Those that managed to hold on didn’t dare to go near land, as they feared to run into any object.

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Jet skies and rescue-boats worked hard to collect kites and boards until things calmed down again. However the wind never turned normal again and the competition had to be cancelled for the day. The following day started completely windless, but around three it suddenly got windy. Since the girls competition had been cancelled the day before they were first to start. The wind was much weaker than the day before and the girls went out with 14-meter kite or larger. It was hard to perform at the best as the wind was shifting between 8 and 18 knots and we were surprised many times as many of the top-names were knocked out by the newcomers. Two fifteen years old Dutch defeated among others Mark Doyle, Will James, José Luengo and Chrille. Leo from Venezuela won over Andre Phillip and Gianni Aragno won over Martin Vari. All in all it was a difficult competition with lots of unexpected results.

Apart from the freestyle com-petition a slider competition was to be held, which meant that different obstacles like sliders were put in the water and could be used to perform different tricks. Apart from the presence of the sliders it works exactly as a freestyle competition, i.e. it’s about doing as hard tricks as possible, with as much speed, power, and height as possible. The best with the event in Austria was all the other things that were organised around the competition. As a competitor you also had lots of benefits. For example we got free food and drinks in the food-tents where we could choose from anything from Thai-food, Italian food, or of course several Austrian dishes. There was also a VIP-lounge where we could relax, check Internet, or have a beer. Every night there was a big party and people from all over Austria joined in. Big tents where put up that could take up to 100.000 people and where the competitors could buy drinks for one Euro.

Even if competitions in Europe often are more about waiting for wind than actually kiting, it is great fun and as said there are lots of things happening around the competition so you never get bored. It is also fun to get to know all the riders on the tour and also to check out all the prototype boards and kites they bring along. Results: Unfortunately the competition couldn’t be completed so no single winner could be declared. Instead the four girls and boys that had made it through to the semi final were declared as winners. Those were: Women, shared first place: Cindy Mosey Ingrid Köllbichler Petra Goeschl Kristin Boese Men, shared first place: Aron Hadlow Lousiano Gonzales Jaime Herraiz Gianni Aragno

About PKRA PKRA (Professional Kite Riders Association) was founded more than three years ago by a group of professional kiteboarders. Among those were Flash Austin, Chris Gilbert, Julie Prochaska and Mauricio Toscano. The reason for starting PKRA was that the main sponsor of the existing tour left both the tour and the riders to their fate. The riders then took the things in their own hand and created a new tour. Mauricio Toscano from Italy is currently the leader of the organisation. There are around 50 to 60 entries for the men and between 25 and 30 entries for the women to each event. The selection is based on competition results and experience. Once at place a qualification competition is held and 16 women and 32 men respectively are allowed to enter the main event. Some places are reserved for pre-qualified riders. The number of PKRA-events differs from year to year, and in 2004 seven events are held. The two first are hold in Austria and Belgium, and thereafter in Cabarete, Venezuela, Fuerteventura, Germany, and finally in Brazil. In every event a freestyle competition is held, but in addition there can be a hang time competition, a long race, a speed competition, or a slider competition. Usually the competition is organised as a double elimination. This means that after the completion of the first ladder, everyone get a second chance. In the second ladder those that went far in the first one has an advantage as they don’t have to start from the bottom. The winner of the first ladder only enters in the final of the second ladder and so on.

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Below: The authors Anna and Christian. ”Finally Chrille just wants to make clear that certain parts (about stripped road-workers) have been written entirely by Anna.”

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Mondial du vent 2004 and a new world speed record Text and photo: Mathieu Turries / www.alohaphoto.nu There were lots of people and very much wind on the eighth ”Mondial du vent” in Leucate, France. With 35-40 knots wind the first days where dedicated to kitespeed. 28 gladiators, including Sebastien Cattelan, Malik Bouchenafa, and Mark Shinn…, were ready to give everything to beat Robby Naish’ record of 38.47 knots! After two days of competition, Sebastien Cattelan (Wipika) holds the first place with several runs around 35 knots, but Sylvain Maurin (Takoon) has the highest single speed with 36.84 knots! With equally lots of wind on the third day, the eagerly awaited freestyle competition took its start. Bertrand Fleury entertains with unbelievable kiteloops. Unfortunately he has to retire

from the competition after a sick kiteloop where he ends up breaking to ribs...! Instead we get to see two amazing semi finals with Mark Doyle up against Etienne Lhote and Franz Orly against Charles Deleau. There is an interesting competition between Charles and Franz, who have two completely different styles with short lines for Franz and long lines for Charles. In the end it is Etienne Lhote (F-one) and Charles Deleau (North) that make it to the final. Despite Etienne riding really good with lots of style, it is Charles Deleau that wins the final with very high jumps! La Tramontane, the local wind continuous to blow on the forth day. The organisers decide to

go for both Kitespeed and freestyle. In the Kitespeed event the fastest runs are around 35,8 - 36 knots, made by among others Mark Gondar (Takoon) and Raphaël Salles (F-one). In the freestyle competition we get to see impressive rides by Luciano Gonzales and Malik, but the big surprises come from the young generation with Leeshai Miller, Aaron Hadlow, Remi Branco (F-one), Thomas Coquelet (Cabrinha), and also Kevin Sudrat (Julien’s brother) that pull off several really nice Raileys and several other wake style tricks. The weather forecast announ-ces even more wind for tomorrow…

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Sebastien Cattelan held first place in the speed competition after two days…

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…and the forecast was right… Today the wind reached 50 knots and at one o’clock the huge Manu Taub (Takoon) becomes the fastest man in the world with a kite: 37.79 knots! A few minutes later, Mark Gondard (Takoon) also beats Robby’s old record with his 39.46 knots! On the girls side Charlotte Consorti (F-one) manages to beat Tuva Jensens record from last year with her

33.24 knots. (Note that Tuva’s record from last year was 33,23 knots…). On the sixth day the conditions get calmer again, and make possible the start of the women freestyle competition. It is Sandrine Meunier (Naish) that shows most variation and takes the first place. Also making a good competition is Fabienne D’ Ortoli (Cabrinha). Daphnée

Laliberté from Cabarete didn’t perform on her best in her second European competition (the first one was last week in Les sables d’ olonne), but be sure that we will see more of her in the future… The wind drops during the afternoon and doesn’t come back again. The competition finishes with the following results:

Kite Speed Women: 1/Charlotte Consorti (F.One), 2/Muriel Cipoulon Men: 1/Marc Gondard (Takoon), 2/Manu Taub (Takoon), 3/Sébastien Cattelan (Wipika), 4/Raphaël Salles (F.One), 5/Sylvain Maurin (Takoon), 6/Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha)… Freestyle Women: 1/Sandrine Maunier (Naish), 2/Fabienne d’Ortoli (Cabrinha), 3/Petra Goeshl (Flexifoil), 4/Tuva Jansen (Takoon), 5/Ida Ferrière (Wipika) Men: 1/Charles Deleau (North), 2/Etienne Lhote (F.One), 3/Mark Doyle (Slingshot), 4/Franz Olry (Takoon), 5/ Thomas Coquelet (Cabrinha), Rémi Branco (F.One), Bertrand Fleury (Slingshot), Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil)

…but fastest and happiest of them all was Manu Taub that made a new world record with his 39.79 knots.

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KPWT, Les Sables d’Olonne Text: Jonas Hörnstein, Photo: Christophe Michot and Paul Eric / KPWT The first event in KPWT, Kiteboard Pro World Tour, was held between the 3rd and 10th of April in Les Sables d’Olonne, Vendée, France. Around thirty competitors from eight different countries were fighting for the 30 000 dollar price money. The competition was held as a wave competition, but unlike last year’s wave masters, jumps were also counted. However the competitors were recommended to focus mainly on the wave riding as this was given the highest weight, but still try to do at least a couple of good jumps. The first days of competition offered pretty weak wind. Instead of starting the main competition a trick competition was held were only the best

trick counted. Hervé Bouré from France, the total winner of last year’s wave masters, showed that he also mastered the latest tricks and won the trick competition with a handle pass in the wave. On the forth day the wind finally arrived and the main competition could start. The waves were initially small but with the rising tide the waves picked up in size and during the day the conditions became really good! The early heats offered some surprises as several of the top-names from last year were eliminated early. The competition was held as a double elimination, which meant that everyone got a second

chance to get back into the finals. The eventual final was held between Felix Pivec, Australia, and Julien Sudrat, France. Those two ended up as number two and number three respectively in last year’s wave masters, and both are specialists on riding waves. This time it was Julien that was the stronger of the two and took the win in the final. In the girls competition it was Tuva Jansen from Norway that took the first place after a tight final against Fabienne D’Ortoli, France. On third place we found the big surprise of the competition – the 10-year-old Gisela Pulido from Spain.

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