TheKiteMag

I know, I can’t quite believe it either… I must say that I am equally proud and stoked to be introducing the half-century edition of the TheKiteMag. From a very small beginning, where I put together a 24-page ‘sample’ of TheKiteMag which I lovingly packaged into envelopes and sent off to the main kite brands, followed by a lot of phone calls, and then a mini-tour around Europe to meet the brands geographically closest to me and try and persuade them that TheKiteMag was worth getting behind… To now… Fifty issues on. And it feels like a whole lot of water under the bridge since then, and a lot more than that under assorted boards too… I was thinking about how many sessions I squeeze in between each issue, and I…

The true partner to the surfboard rider. Enjoy the BANDIT S4’s easy-to-fly nature, impeccable handling, and ultimate power control in all conditions, and improve your surfing skills in no time. With an extensive and perfectly fine-tuned sail engineering, the BANDIT S4 is highly responsive, intuitive, and capable of super drift, offering sharper performances and more stability and efficiency than ever before. SAIL ENGINEERING 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 PHOTO: Anthony Lietart, RIDER: Mitu Monteiro, @fonekites, www.f-one.world…

CW: This trip was wild! Pretty much everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong. The waves were tiny the whole two weeks, so it was super hard to make the movie we went there to make. It was quite stressful for us (especially Ozzie) as Airush was expecting a nuts clip. We only really got one okay day for wave riding, and in that session there were a heap of surfers out who weren’t too impressed… This trip was so different to all the other times I have been to this spot – usually the wave is too gnarly for surfers to be out at the same time, but because the swell was so small, we were generally dodging surfers in our sessions. Other than that the trip…

KEAHI DE ABOITIZ It is amazing to see the talent that has come out of the Dominican Republic with guys like yourself and some of the other riders that have had some great results on tour. How did you get your start in kiting? I started kiting when I was only nine years old, in Cabarete. My brother Ariel was a great inspiration for me. He is truly the one that pushed me into the sport and motivated me to keep going. Cabarete is one of the best spots to kite in the whole world, so honestly it has been amazing to practice my skills in this awesome country and surrounded by such talented riders. HANNAH WHITELEY You always seem to be the happiest, most upbeat person on the beach. What is your secret?! I…

Nestled pretty much halfway between Squamish, BC and Hood River, OR, the Puget Sound region of the Pacific Northwest is home to many amazing kite spots that allow for year-round kiting. Fall, winter and spring months bring southerly winds at a near consistent pace with anywhere from 15 to 35 knots, which is perfect for Seattle-based kiters to get out and enjoy kiting right in their backyards, at popular spots such as Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, Edmonds Marina Beach just a few miles to the north, or Iverson Beach a bit further north on Camano Island. Another really popular spot during southerly storm winds is Double Bluff Beach on Whidbey Island. Just a few miles drive after the short 20-minute ferry ride from Mukilteo to Clinton on Whidbey Island,…

In November, Jeremy Burlando took part in his first Red Bull King of the Air competition, and is also about to compete in the Big Air Kite League’s Final Stop in Cape Town. We found out more about what he did to prepare and the gear that helped catapult him to high heights. When we first arrived in Cape Town there was not much wind, but then it started picking up so I had some good sessions with proper wind at the main event site. We also had a car so when it was light at the event site we drove around to find more wind so I could keep training. We had the full Slingshot Big Air team in Cape Town so it was fun to train and push with them.…