On The Fly
Issue 92 / Thu 7th Apr, 2022
In a round-up of the latest industry news, this issue, we go behind the scenes of the newest kiteboarding film on Netflix, Into The Wind. The World Class Kiteboarding Academy fills us in on their semester in South Africa, and we visit the hottest new spot on the GKA tour, Salinas del Rey. That's not all! Hear travel updates from your favourite pros and up-and-coming talents as they session worldwide. It's all right here in On The Fly!
INTRODUCING // Lorenzo Calcano
If you've been kiting in the Dominican Republic, you've undoubtedly seen this talented rider soaring through the sky! As a recent addition to the CrazyFly team, Lorenzo Calcano is ready to take it to the next level!
"I've been on the beach from a very young age because my family lived by the beach. When I was nine years old, my cousins and friend motivated me to start kitesurfing. Every day that I kited, I had more affection for it and more desire to learn. Now, I have 14 years of experience in the sport.
In the Dominican Republic, Las Terrenas is one of my favourite places to kite because there is a beautiful climate and dreamy beaches. I love Cabarete because the wind is stronger and the waves are great. And Las Salinas, at the south of the island, is an awesome spot with strong wind all year long.
I'm so happy to be part of the CrazyFly team, alongside Liloo Fourré and Posito Martinez! They have high-quality products, and I am using the Sculp kite and the Legend board for freestyle. I love to combine the Hyper kite with the Raptor Extreme board for big air. My goal for 2022 is to get a good result in each competition that comes up. I'm excited to represent my sponsors and the Dominican Republic!"
BEHIND THE SCENES // Into The Wind
Kitesurfing has made it onto the small screen, with Polish film Pod Wiatr getting an English dub and releasing internationally as Into The Wind. If you've been too busy kitesurfing to binge-watch all the newest releases on Netflix, you may have missed this one! We had to find out what went down behind the scenes of the latest major kitesurfing production, so we reached out to director Kristoffer Rus to find out more!
When you first saw the script for Pod Wiatr, were you excited to help bring the story alive?
Just the notion of being at the Hel Peninsula in the summer, shooting a feature film with extensive kitesurfing scenes, brought a warm smile to my face. I was born and raised in a seaside town in Sweden, so salty water and wind are something that makes me feel at home.
Did you anticipate realistically capturing the kitesurfing components of the film would be a challenge?
I was prepared for a challenge, but not the huge challenge that the water scenes turned out to be. Every day, reading wind stats with the production crew and planning water, boat, and aerial shots with the actors and stunt coordinator were great fun but very hard. Mother nature has a tendency to make you feel humble, especially when you have many shots to do and the wind disappears or the other way around, a storm comes and we need to rescue all the kiters in the water and secure our crew. But overall, I believe that the conditions were very kind to us. Thank you, Mother Nature! We actually made rituals every night for us to have great weather conditions to shoot. I guess it worked!
How long was the filming period for the film? How many of those days were spent filming kitesurfing?
We shot for 34 days over a period of 2 months, and I believe that around 30% of that time, we spent in or on the water shooting kite sequences. However, that doesn't mean that 30% of the movie is kiting scenes. It takes much more time to shoot action scenes on the water than dialogue scenes in a hotel. Nevertheless, the kitesurfing scenes really seem to resonate with people from all over the world.
Poland has so many talented kitesurfers and some stunning beaches! What was it like working with local kitesurfers, like stunt double Marek Rowiński?
Without local kitesurfers like Marek Rowiński or Maciej Szulikowski, this movie would not look as spectacular as it does. We were surrounded by experienced ocean people that were deeply involved in the preparations and the actual shooting. At ABC Surf in the village of Kuznica, Hel Peninsula, the actors learned to kitesurf long before we started the production of the film. Already in March 2021, the actors were brave enough to enter the water in spite of close to zero temperatures and icy winds. So, in many of the shots on the water, you can actually see our actors surfing in the movie. But of course, the most spectacular freestyle tricks are made by Marek Rowiński - a passionate, highly skilled kitesurfer with heaps of positive energy!
Are you a kitesurfer? Did spending so much time at the kite spots inspire you to give it a try?
I've been fascinated by surfing for a long time, often forcing my family to go to Fuerteventura for holidays to catch some waves. But as we prepared for INTO THE WIND, crew members also wanted to learn and understand how it works. So, together with the crew and actors, I found myself spending quite a lot of time in the water learning to kitesurf. Now, I have an IKO level 3 certificate and can independently enjoy kitesurfing! I'm hooked, really hooked, and just waiting for the season to start at Hel Peninsula!
MALDIVES // Youri Zoon
Riding in the Maldives is always something special to me. The first time I came was in 2016, for the Raalhugudi Kite Fest. Every year since then, I have been coming back and seeing the sport grow each year. This year, I was there to help out with the first-ever kiteboarding competition in the Maldives.
I was lucky to squeeze in some sessions myself! The Maldives has light wind days, but with the right gear, like this 15m Machine Light Wind from Slingshot, I rode every single day. Cruizing around the island in crystal clear water is just pure bliss!
WORLD CLASS ACADEMY // Polly Crathorne
Waiting to pass through customs amidst the rest of my fellow sleepy passengers from the UK overnight flight, I reflected on the last time I was at Cape Town International Airport. At the end of our quarter in South Africa in March 2020, the news was breaking of the magnitude of the pandemic. Two years ago, I was handing our World Class Kiteboarding Academy (WCKA) students personal protective equipment in the form of dust masks sourced from the hardware store. I naïvely waved them onto planes destined for their family homes in Mexico, America, the UK, Mauritius, Germany, Holland, Canada, Belgium, Egypt and Portugal. I did not know that this group of twenty students, who had spent between one and four years travelling, studying and kiting together, would not be able to meet again for their final term at high school or their graduation ceremony.
Fast-forward two years. I felt jubilant to be back on South African soil for the first time again with this year's WCKA cohort. I have been Head Coach, Literature and Social Studies teacher at the travelling High School for kiteboarding students for four years and taught in multiple destinations. South Africa remains a favourite destination for our students and staff for the culture, the landscapes, the people, and, of course, the conditions.
We began our time in Langebaan, the stomping ground of our WCKA alumni Luca Ceruti, before transitioning to WCKA alumni Camdyn Kellet's backyard, Cape Town. Each morning we were spoilt for choice for workout locations in the Table View neighbourhood. Pull-ups in the park's jungle gym, swimming in the surf break at Blouberg or running to Big Bay and back with iconic views of Table Mountain and the city dominating the horizon. Then we would head back to Rosie's on Coral Road for the school day, with a full roster of all the core subjects.
Faithful friend of World Class, Rosie, hosts the school in her cosy kitesurfing backpackers' accommodation. I was reminded of the unwanted guests we brought with us two years ago. Head lice! It turns out talented kitesurfing kids can also suffer from the same insect infestations prolific at my non-kitesurfing, non-travelling school growing up. School projects this quarter included a home composting project in science, a rap on racial injustice in South Africa in history class, investing on the virtual stock exchange in economics, kite edits in media productions class and 'build your own experiment' in chemistry class.
After six hours of lessons at Rosie's, shouts of "kite meeting" would echo around 'campus' and we gathered our gear and got down to Blouberg beach. We kited our socks off in all sorts of conditions this year. Then, at sunset, with sand blowing into our smiling faces, we folded up our 7m kites and discussed whether the dorsal fin we saw in the water belonged to a sunfish or something more sinister.
One big air day, we held our school competition at Blouberg. Students competed in heats for honour (and a tiny replica King of the Air trophy from a souvenir stall in Greenmarket Square). Grant Mayo took the win, impressing the judges - alumni Luca Ceruti and Camdyn Kellet - with his smooth boogie loops, while Lukas Hanson's backroll kite loops and Joppe van de Poll's kite loop late backroll on the final buzzer sent spectators wild and had them tied for runner up.
There is a sense in Blouberg that you have your finger on the pulse of the kite industry. Whether that's being in the presence of Big Air royalty as they sailed into the new territory of "double loops", or kite brand dealer meetings taking place in the neighbourhood; or having magazine editors, like IKSURF's Crystal, just across the road. This season, there was a buzz as the easing of covid restrictions allowed businesses to open, tourists like us to filter in, and competitions to run again. We were thrilled to be part of it.
STORM SESSION // Gijs Wassenaar
The forecast was insane, like never before, and it was about to hit Holland! Looking at the predicted wind, I decided to get myself a 5m the day before the storm arrived.
On the morning of the storm, we could see the wind getting stronger by the minute, so we prepared our 7m kites. As a group of experienced kiteboarders, we kept an eye out for each other, but the wind started gusting 55-60 knots after about an hour. A few minutes later, we decided to pack up our 7m’s and pump our 5m kites. I had to attach the lines to it indoors because it wasn’t possible on the beach - with snow goggles on, we were still getting sandblasted!
When I launched the kite, it behaved pretty well in 60-70 knots of wind! The main problem was the current in the water; even when I was just cruising, I drifted downwind. The police and coast guard came because someone had called, suspecting there was a kiter in trouble. Luckily, there wasn’t, and I could reassure them of that. They said if I went out again, I’d be on my own, so that was the moment I decided to call it a day! It was intense, extreme, but all under control with trusted people around to keep it safe.
GKA // Salinas del Rey, Colombia
All eyes were on the action at the GKA Freestyle World Cup, which just had its first stop of the season in Colombia. For the first time, the GKA Kite World Tour arrived at the windy paradise of Salinas del Rey. On Colombia's Caribbean coast, kitesurfers from all over the world came to experience one of the country's best kite spots.
With ten different countries represented in the rider's selection, Salinas del Rey saw some of the world's best kitesurfers enjoying their spot and competing for the season's first podium. The excitement and energy were apparent amongst the 22 men and six women competing in the event. Included in the crew were several talented Colombians, including 2019 GKA Freestyle World Champion Valentin Rodriguez.
One of the rising stars of kiting, Juan Rodriguez, was stoked to have a GKA event in his home country and even more stoked to make it on the podium in 3rd place, behind Brazil's Manoel Soares in 1st and Carlos Mario in 2nd. Mikaili Sol started her season off strong on the women's side, claiming her 1st place spot, with Bruna Kajiya from Brazil in 2nd and Rita Arnaus from Spain in 3rd.
Spectators on the spot and following along online were treated to an action-packed event in a beautiful kite spot that promises to be one of the hottest new destinations in South America.
Salinas del Rey, located just outside the small fishing village of Santa Veronica, has an incredible point break that barrels down the coast. On the inside, flat water is available, thanks to the protection from the point. With warm water, windy conditions, and the option to kite in either waves or flat water, it's clear why this spot has made such a strong impression in the kiting community!
The wind in northern Colombia blows side onshore and is consistent from December until April. With warm water and no chance of rain, you can leave your wetsuits at home.
While Colombia might seem a world away for many visitors travelling from Europe or North America, where most of our readers are, there are plenty of convenient available and two airports near the spot in Barranquilla and the major hub of Cartagena.
There's nothing like riding in a still up-and-coming spot with uncrowded water and peaceful beaches. With the perfect conditions broadcasted to the kite world during the GKA event, that is sure to change soon! Perhaps a visit to Salinas del Rey, Colombia, is in order... Sooner rather than later!
ZANZIBAR // Squatter Reuben Taylor
I’m a Maasai from Arusha. It's hard to understand, but my family has never sent me towards any target or focused on developing talents. I've decided to step out on my own to find things that inspire me. I have found my passion for kitesurfing.
Paje is one of the best kite spots in the world. The shallow flat water and stable wind in the lagoon are perfect for teaching and riding freestyle. It is protected by a reef and at high tide, is an ideal playground for wave riding.
I'm an IKO kitesurfing instructor. I enjoy teaching because I can see the pure happiness in my students when they can finally perform any task given. I love to see how the students are learning and progressing in each step, in every new thing they do, and in each challenge they overcome. The emotion that is felt in each new kiter is amazing. Regardless of condition, age, origin, or profession, all people can do it.
When I ride my kite, I have an amazing feeling of freedom inside me. It's me, wind and the ocean together.
CATCHING UP // Katarzyna Lange
As a kiteboard girl, my life is all about travelling. The end of the year always means going to Brazil, a paradise on earth, where it's always windy, and the lagoons are perfect for freestyle. With my close friends, I spent two months in a little fishing village with the sweet water lagoon of Guajiru. The secret is staying in the small Pousada Surf Village, with its surfy vibe, an owner with a long kiteboarding history, and a quiet lagoon just a short drive from the village.
On this trip, my focus was to make unique video material showing a high level of riding at one of the best kite spots and featuring my favourite boards. We found picturesque scenery with a strip of palm trees at a small lagoon for a wakestyle session on the Game Changer 142cm. Not disturbed by any human, the spot turned out to be perfect. Next, I switched to the Nobile NHP SPLIT board; It's the best board for kite travelling and new technology freaks! For fun, I always do big air and old school. It keeps my mind fresh while still improving my overall skills. The best thing is, when performing new manoeuvres, there's no need to train for weeks on end; you just give it a try!
I always appreciate my time spent in Brazil cause it's packed with kiteboarding in every way! It's been a tradition for 14 years and will continue!
Wishing you all windy days!
Kate
SOUTH AFRICA // Lee Harvey
I've been coming to Cape Town since 1999, and this is my 16th trip. It was great to get away after a hard year of Covid in the UK, unable to go any further than 10 miles from the house. We stayed in Big Bay (near the busy Blouberg kite beach), but always keep an eye on conditions to score down south.
These photos are from my favourite kite spot in South Africa; Scarborough. On this day, there was no wind when we got there, so I surfed until I felt the southeast coming. I pumped up my 7m Neo SLS when it switched on to catch some waves! The water was freezing cold but crystal clear with light offshore wind and heavy waves in front of the rocks. There was no one else out; it was a dream session.
Videos
By IKSURFMAG
