Kitesoul Magazine #22 International Edition

On Saturday, December 16th, history was made
as Nick Ziegler, Rich Gardner and Damien
LeRoy were the first to kiteboard through the
Gulf Stream, crossing the Atlantic Ocean from
Pompano Beach in Florida to Bimini, in the
Bahamas, by hydrofoil. It was an international
adventure and a challenge never attempted
before on a foil!
Conditions that day were questionable, but the
team was ready for action. A small cold front
was passing through but the big question was
when would it hit? The Florida marine forecast
showed winds of 10 to 15 knots and a one to
two foot swell and, at 12:24pm, Nick hit the water
in winds of just 5mph! It was tricky, but not
impossible, to keep a kite in the sky and so
the challenge was on with Nick, Rich & Damo
all riding 15 metre Cabrinha Contra kites and
getting up on their foils.
Everyone questioned whether they would make
it one mile, let alone 63 miles to the Bahamas,
and then during the four plus hour-adventure
they fought cramps, marginal winds, excessive
winds, tankers, clumps of seaweed, and the
nagging wonderment at what might be lurking
below. After a tough slog, the three adventurers
made landfall at 4:41pm on the beautiful
beaches of Bimini Sands Resort. They covered
the full 63 miles distance in 4 hrs 17 minutes,
landing at Bimini Sands in the Bahamas all in
one piece and fully stoked!