waiting period and unfortunately the wind
didn’t come until the last days of the waiting
period. This kept a lot of us on our toes. It
was almost to the point where it was a bit
stressful. Waiting and waiting for the wind,
we were all getting a bit anxious to get the
event underway. Every day we would get an
email update in the morning from Sergio (the
event race director) to notify us of the current
forecast. For several days in a row he would
give a 48 hour wind warning but as we got
within 24 or 12 hours of the day the forecast
would change and we were left waiting again
for wind. Finally the wind came! Just before
the two week waiting period was over. We
finally got the green light from Sergio that
there was going to be wind the following day.
It wasn’t looking so strong in the morning but
it should good promise for the afternoon.
We got up that day around 10am for a
skippers meeting. The wind was light but
ride-able. We waited until the afternoon to
start heats. The plan at this point was to
try and get the first couple of rounds over
and done with and finish the event on
the next day which looked promising for
wind. I had both Ruben and Gianni in my
first heat. Both riders who had done well in
previous King of the Airs and very skilled in
high winds. It was a bit of a different feel on
the beach as the wind wasn’t nuking, most of
us were rigging 11m kites. We weren’t sure if
they were going to run the event or not with
the wind conditions. They finally made the call
to start the heats with most of us competing
on 11 or 12m kites. I was alright with the
bigger kites as it made it easier for boards
offs and high handle passes. Those riders
who are more into the radical mega loops like
Lewis Crathern, Ruben Lenten, Sam Light
and several others weren’t sure about the
conditions. Regardless of this, we all went
out. With the lighter winds and trying to loop
an 11 or 12m kite you can imagine there were
several drop outs where rider’s kites weren’t
“
For several days in
a row he would give a 48
hour wind warning but
as we got within 24 or
12 hours of the day the
forecast would change
and we were left waiting
again for wind. Finally the
wind came!
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