Pimp Yo Kite - The Kiteboarder Magazine

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By Paul Lang Mission to the Greater Northeast I started to worry when I realized the plane had been sitting on the runway for about 15 minutes. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have to go back to the terminal, but this should take no longer than 30 minutes or so.” You never want a trip to begin this way. After a series of almost comical blunders, we finally took off four hours later. Delayed My plan was to fly to Les Íles de la Madeleine in northeastern Canada, on assignment to get photos and a story at the only North American PKRA stop. The delay caused me to miss the last flight out of Montreal, so I ended up spending the evening in a random hotel drinking with a bunch of Canadians. The next day, I finally arrived at my destination, a full day late and with no luggage. On the way to the event site, it became instantly apparent that Madeleine is an absolutely stunningly beautiful place. Every house is painted a different color and looks immaculate. Yards look perfect. Even the houses that are under construction look neat and tidy. Lobster season ended just weeks before my arrival, so the lobster boats had been hauled and placed in their owners’ front yards. I later found out the creative colors have a practical history. Until a few years ago, no house in Madeleine had an address. You simply gave directions based on house colors. Skunked Upon reaching the event site, I jumped out of the car, ready to get some work done after two days of traveling. On the beach I found a bunch of kites, the best riders in the world, grey skies, and a complete lack of wind. All of the competitors were playing volleyball, flying kites on the beach or just sitting around waiting for wind that never came. Because of my delayed flight, I had missed the first day of the contest and arrived on the first of four windless days. Most kiters like to sit on the beach and cry when the wind doesn’t blow, but many competitors took the opportunity to see more of the islands. Les Íles de la Madeleine is made up of nine islands, many of which are connected to each other with strips of sand. There are miles and miles of rideable beach on both sides of the road and the water can be warm enough to ride without a wetsuit. The beer is great and the food is absolutely fantastic. Wind The windless days were spent touring the island, playing on the beach and wakeboarding. Just as we were all about to lose hope, the wind kicked in on the last day of the comp. The skies were grey and rain was occasionally coming down, but the wind was up and the riders were eager to take to the water. The race course was quickly set up and the course racing event was run with all competitors on the water at the same time. It was great to see kite course racing, a competition accessible to average riders, at a PKRA event. The freestyle event also went off with the best young riders in the world breaking out their most technical tricks in between periodic rain squalls. The finals had just been completed when another rain squall pushed through, completely shutting down the wind. Reality Check Sometimes the glamour of professional kiteboarding is not what it seems. I spent three days traveling, so I could hang out on a beach and watch one day of kiting. I am sure the pros were as frustrated as me. A four day event ended up being stuffed into one. Despite the marginal conditions, the trek to Les Íles de la Madeleine was a great experience and opened my eyes to the reality of professional kiteboarding events. The dedication of the pro riders who traveled 15 to 20 hours to ride two heats is the story that most people never hear in the PKRA press releases. As my plane departed the island airport, I felt lucky to have had the opportunity to adventure to Les Íles de la Madeleine. With the right conditions, this place could be a dream trip for anyone. Sometimes you have to reality check yourself and remember to enjoy your travels, even if you just end up traveling. FINAL RESULTS Men’s Freestyle: 1) Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK) 2) Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) 3) Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherelands) 4) Mikael Blomvall (JN Kites, Sweden) Women’s Freestyle: 1) Kristin Boese (Best, Germany) 2) Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland) 3) Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil) 4) Jo Wilson (Naish, UK) Men’s Course Racing: 1) Shawn Richman (Cabrinha, USA) 2) Damien Leroy (Cabrinha, USA) 3) Dirk Hanel (North, Germany) Women’s Course Racing: 1) Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil) 2) Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland) 3) Melissa Gil (JN Kites, Costa Rica) Aaron Hadlow shows off his world champion form. Lens: Emilie Couture The pride of the locals shows in their houses. Every house and every yard is kept immaculate. Lens: Paul Lang The winners take a moment to congratulate each other before getting on the podium for the media. Lens: Emilie Couture 74 Kite racing breaks into the international scene for the first time at a PKRA event. Lens: Emilie Couture 75
Brian Wheeler doing the no-hander lander. Lens: Jon Malmberg Hugo Ljunberg takes a beating during a strapless surfboard session. Lens: Ludvig P. Julie Simsar pays the consequences when she comes up short on a kiteloop. Lens: Carlos Delicado 76 This is proof that Ruben Lenten doesn’t always land every sick kiteloop. Lens: Jon Malmberg A competitor misses a huge handlepass during his heat at the Bridge of the Gods. This one is going to hurt. Lens: Jon Malmberg Brendan Richards feels the pain at Waddell Creek. Lens: Kim Kern Charlotte Simsar never thought this wipeout would end up in a magazine. Lens: Carlos Delicado. California Xstreamline Sports CA Action Watersports (318) 827-2233 CA Aquan Watersport (650)593-6060 CA Board Sports (510) THE-WAVE CA Board Sports (415) 929-SURF CA CaliKites (619) 522-9575 CA Captain Kirk’s (310) 833-3397 CA Delta Windsurf Company (831) 429-6051 CA Helm Sports (650 )344-2711 CA Inflight Surf and Sail (562) 493-3661 CA Kite Country (619) 226-4421 CA Kitesurfari (562) 596-6451 CA KiteWindSurf (510) 522-WIND CA Live2Kite (415) 722-7884 CA Long Beach Windsurf Center (562) 433-1014 CA Mako Surf Skate Snow (949) 367-1300 CA Malibu Kitesurfing (310) 430-KITE CA Manta Wind & Water Sports (858) 270-7222 CA Mission Bay Aquatic Center (858) 488-1000 CA Monkey Air (310) 457-6896 CA Murrays (800) 786-7245 x23 CA Offshore Surf Co (760) 729-4934 CA OOTO Kite School (650) 960-1721 CA Soul Performance (310) 370-1428 CA Sky Kitesurfing School (925) 455-4008 CA VELA (800) 223-5443 CA West Coast Kiteboarding \(619) 813-2230 CA Wind over Water Kiteboarding \(650) 218-6023 CA Windsport ( 619) 488-4642 CA Kite Island (925) 212-2915 CA Xdream Sportz (858)481-9283 CA Xstreamline Sports (310) 518-1972 CA Xtreme Big Air (805) 773-9200 CA Colorado GAYLAN’S (720) 887-0900 CO Into the Wind (303) 449-5906 CO Larson’s Ski and Sport (303) 423-0654 CO Fuze Kiteboarding (303) 683-5033 CO PKS (970) 376-3159 CO Connecticut Orbit Marine Sports (203) 333-3483 CT Tri State Kites (800) 510-0865 CT Florida Emarald Coast Kiteboarding FL (850) 235-2444 Learn 2 FLy FL (386) 986-9637 7 Kiteboarding (305) 664-4055 FL Ace Performer (239) 489-3513 FL Big Kite Miami (305) 303- 4107 FL East Coast Kiteboarding (954) 295-5778 FL Extreme Kites (904) 461-9415 FL Extreme Sports (321) 779-4228 FL Jupiter Kiteboarding (561) 373-4445 FL Ft. Lauderdale Kitesurfing Co. (954) 410-5419 FL Hydrotherapy (850) 236-1800 FL Island Style Wind & Watersports (941) 954-1009 FL Island Surf and Sail FL (954) 927-7002 FL Kite Surf the Earth (888) 819-5483 FL Kite World (321) 725-8336 FL Liquid Surf & Sail (850) 664-5731 FL KiteMare (877) 829-0015 FL Miami Kiteboarding Inc. (305) 345-9974 FL Sandy Point Progressive Sports (386) 756-7564 FL Sea & Sky Sports (850) 598-3735 FL Ski Rixen (954) 429-0215 FL Tampa Bay Kiteboarding (727) 798-2484 FL Waterplay (800) 841-1225 FL Watersports West (888) 401-5080 FL Xrated Kiteboarding (888) 401-5080 FL Georgia High Tide Surf Shop (912) 786-6556 GA Locus Kiteboarding (404) 509-4229 GA Hanag20 Kiteboarding (912) 223-7856 GA Hawaii Action Sports Maui (808) 871-5857 HI Aloha Kiteboarding Academy (808) 637-5483 HI Caveman Kitesurfing (808) 389-4004 HI Extreme Sports Maui (808) 871-7954 HI Hawaiian Island Surf and Sport (808) 871-4981 HI Hawaiian Watersports (808) 262-KITE HI Hawaiian Surf & Sail (808) 637-5373 HI Kailua Sailboards (808) 262-2555 HI Kite High (808) 637-5483 HI Kiteboard Center (808) 276-2667 HI Kiteboard Maui
Page 8 and 9: Tahitian legend Moe Gould has made
Page 10 and 11: Rider: Bill Kraft Lens: Gavin Butle
Page 12 and 13: Caicos is becoming a popular Caribb
Page 14 and 15: 18 Blogkite.com Dear Editor: Congra
Page 16 and 17: New Feature! Online Links’ Here i
Page 18 and 19: John Amundson never thought Western
Page 20 and 21: Sky gets a taste of Gnarloo’s leg
Page 22 and 23: 34 I first met Laura when I helped
Page 24 and 25: By Adam Von Ins, Elea Faucheron and
Page 26 and 27: By The Kiteboarder Staff We were si
Page 28 and 29: Pimp Yo Bar Grip It: If you are usi
Page 30 and 31: Yes, Turkey has waves. Miguel drops
Page 32 and 33: Game Time All of us have had those
Page 34 and 35: Soul Rebel If you have learned to k
Page 36 and 37: By The Kiteboarder Staff Every issu
Page 38 and 39: 16 15 14 1-6. Start the move like a
Page 40 and 41: Lens: Hugo Ljungberg SLINGSHOT RANG
Page 44: Hawaiian Ocean Sports (866) 488-548

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