Sign and forward the petition to have ISAf (sailing.org) recognize the kite speed record. It looks like the WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council) has recognized Alex record but that the real problem is the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) as they don't recognize kitesurfing as a sailing category.

http://www.petitiononline.com/kite50kn/petition.html

This is the petition text:

To: ISAF (sailing.org)
We are truly disappointed in your decision to not recognize the kitesurfer's speed records and breaking the 50 knots barrier.

All of your requirements for speed events and their rules have been kept.

Kitesurfers are driven by wind and ride on the surface, according to your rules. And kitesurfers are recognized worldwide as sailors.

The undersigned do hope you will change your position and give honor to the riders who broke the 50 knots barrier and holding the record for the speed on water, solely driven by wind.

Those on the west coast will surely appreciate that the new F-One Bamboo Surfboards are produced by Fire Wire, the well known and respected San Diego surf manufacturer.

They have their own factory in Asia operated by Australian management and they liked the Bamboo technology so much that they just released the RapidFire Hybrid Technology.

More at www.firewiresurfboards.com

World record set by Alex is currently in limbo. Check out this article from the New York Times.

November 25, 2008 - Save The Waves Coalition announces a groundbreaking new event, "The Value of Waves Roundtable," taking place Friday, December 5th, 2008, in Half Moon Bay, CA. The first-ever event will be at brand-new Oceano Hotel & Spa at Pillar Point Harbor, in the shadow of the word-famous big-wave break "Mavericks." The Roundtable will bring together thought leaders and experts from multiple fields to discuss wave and coastal protection within the context of Save The Waves' new global initiative, the World Wave Sites Program.

More at http://www.savethewaves.org

We just received this today. Check out the new graphics of the upcoming 09 F-One Twin-Tip. Prices and specifications to come soon. More about the 09 board collection here.

We will receive a couple samples of the Signature next week in two width. You can get one here. General availability will be March 09.

I think the best summary of our trip to Peru is from Ryan A:

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Baterias, Lobitos, Tres Cruces... Wow. "Kiting Peru - 2008" was a fun adventure I'll never forget. The food, the breaks... Sheesh. Gustavo (El Ogre) was an adventure in himself. I only regret not surfing some of those lefts.

Brian: Huge thanks. Your planning and execution is appreciated by all. You might have to spend more time down there: Peruvian air seems to resolve your sinus problems, and the lefts ought to help your back. (Mmmmm. Long endless lefts!)

Ryan L.: Assisting in Brian's foot surgery will be one of life's memories. It gives me confidence for handling future incidences. Speaking of memories, thanks for taking lots o' photos.

Bruce: I promise I'll try an F-One. Maybe next time at Waddell. Are you looking forward to riding rights again?

Nico: As we flew over the coast of Ecuador, I think I saw your board in an equatorial gyre. Thanks for taking photos.

John: Lefts or rights, no one rips off wave tops like you. I think the kites you gave Gustavo will do well for his school/rental operation.

El Diablo:-) Get a man-board dude. Yours has too many female parts. BTW, Lupe got my email somehow. She's tracking you down. She's saving up to come visit you. It sounds like she's got big plans.

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Huge thanks to Gustavo and Paolo, best guides EVER from Mancora Kite Club and to Gary Siskar of Samana Chakra in Mancora. And of course to all the cook in Peru, where the food is truly amazing. Special thanks to Monsieur Pisco and everything else that made this trip quite unique.

Photos by Ryan L. and Nico O.

Nico Album 1 - Week 1 - Click here
Nico Album 2 - Week 1 - Click here
Nico Album 3 - Week 1 - Click here
Nico Album 4 - Week 1 - Click here
Ryan L Album - Week 2 - Click here

KPWT : Mitu Monteiro et Kirsty Jones in Essaouira, Morocco

In Essaouira, the KPWT ends its year with the wave event. Conditions were excellent at the local spot called Moulay. Mitu (F-One) beat everybody and grabs first place.

MEN WAVE MASTERS RESULTS
1. Mitu MONTEIRO (CV) – F-One
2. Jesse RICHMAN (US) – Cabrinha
3. Abel LAGO (SPA) – RRD
4. Jan Marcos RIVERAS (RD) - Starkites

WOMEN WAVE MASTERS RESULTS
1. Kirsty JONES (UK) – Flexifoil
2. Ania GRZELINSKA (POL) – North Kiteboarding
3. Kari SCHIBEVAAG (NOR) – Ozone
4. Céline COLLAUD (SUI) - Slingshot

More at www.kpwtessaouira.com

4th Annual Contest Jan 22-25 2009

Registering for this competition allows you to participate in the 11.5 mile island crossing race, the buoy course racing finals, the trick competitions, and the SUP and paddleboard race.

You will also receive a souvenir lycra jersey to keep.

Registration before Dec 15th is $60 USD
Registration after Dec 15th is $80 USD
Processing fee: $3.50

- Fundraiser for our local schools!!
- 11.5 mile downwind Race from Cerralvo Island to La Ventana course racing finals
- 4 days of Expo with demos from the top 18 manufacturers
- Paddleboard race
- trick contests

Sign up on line right here starting October 1st. Limited to first 150 racers to register. Book your rooms before they are gone.

Visit Palapas Ventana Website for more info.

Bjorn Kaupang (F-One pro snowski rider) made a new snowkite film called "Dimensions" with the best riders in the world. You can check the trailer here.

More information on http://www.snowkitefilm.com

Check out the new F-One website where you can find useful information about all the F-One certified dealers across the US, including Hawaii, as well as contact info to inquire about becoming a F-One dealer.

URL: www.f-onekites.us
Email: info@f-onekites.us

Here are the sizes and expected availability for the 2009 F-One twin-tips lineup:

New School Freestyle: ACID
127 x 37
130 x 39
132 x 40.5
Available early march.

Freestyle/Freeride: TRAX
132x38
134x39
136x40
Available early 09

Freeride: TX
132x38
135x39
Available end 2008

Cruising: FLUID
135x39
140x40
140x42
Available early March 09

Light Wind: 50pro
150x45
150x48
available early March 09

And maybe a Fluid for kids, in 127x37

2009 Bandidos review size 7m 8m 9m 10m 12m

By le prof aka Frank Wittke 6’0 200lbs

I’ve been testing the bandidos for the past two month and compared them with the 2008 bandit.

The good things:

1) All the good things about the ’08 bandits are still here: incredible range, HUGE depower, very powerful for its size ( usually one size smaller than other brands) fast turning and direct C kite feeling, same huge floaty jumps, easy auto re-launching from water, and very easy self launch and self landing on the beach.

2) In the big sizes : 12m , 10 m and 9m that I tested, the kites seemed more powerful than last years although they seem to pull less because of the noticeably reduced bar pressure. Testing the ’08 11m and the ’09 10m back to back at Crissy was an eye opener. In marginal wind I had to move around the 11m to keep it on a plane and felt a slight pull on the 55cm bar vs virtually no pull on the 45cm bar of the 10m and no need to power it in the lulls. I tried briefly the 12m last week and I was fully powered on the 12-16 knots at wadell with the new recommended 45 cm bar. I thought about getting a big bar (55cm) for it but I don’t think it will be necessary anymore.

3) The small sizes 8m, 7m, and even the 5.5 (that I tried for a few minutes) feel the same or smaller than last years. Especially comparing the ’08 7.5 vs the ’09 7m, I had to powerstroke the 7m more often, but the bar pressure is so light that it is not a problem, and the kite are so fast.

4) The new bars come with a red stopper ball that you can adjust with an Allen key. It took some time for me to adjust to the shorter lengh of the depower line, especially in the waves when I’m used to a complete kill of the power on the bottom turn, and even though I got used to it, I decided set the red stopper ball to it farthest position on the depower line, so the incredible depower is still there! But it’s nice to be able to set the stopper ball for a shorter travel when doing freestyle moves.

5) The bars come with a set of 22m lines + 2m extensions already mounted, so no need to buy a extra set of short or long lines ! I set one bar with 22m and one with 24 and I’m set for all conditions, I had a dream session last week with the bandidos 9m on 22m lines in the usual up and down fall wind at Waddell when most riders were on 11m cautions and 12m Cabrinhas.

6) One noticeable improvement is that the kite seems to park itself better in the surf especially when bottom turning toward the waves and the lines get slacked. I did not realize it was a problem with the ’08 until I flew the new ones and realized they stay in the air much better.
The kite seems to be more balanced on the front line which helps the kite float instead of backing up in the window. This also seem to advantage the unhook riding as I did not need to adjust the settings and pull on the depower strap before unhooking like I used too with the ’08.

7) Last year on very gusty powerful winds (35-40kt) the wings tended to fold a little giving you some jerking feed back on the bar. You could decrease this by pumping the kite extra hard (those French kites like it hard, baby !) and not going to the extreme depowering knot on the center lines which unfortunately enhanced this unstabilty. Well , with the added attachment point on the bridle and the added pulley, this seems to have been taken care of. The kites feel very solid and stable .

8) All the kites and bar come “ready to fly “ with no adjustment needed. The dos seem less sensitive to stalling or back flying than the ’08. I even used my “secret” tuning tip of pulling on the outside lines adjustable straps (red and green) to “add”power buy shortening the rear lines, and the kite flew a little further back in the window with more power without stalling when the wind slowed down.

A good friend of us, Max Mogren embarked on this sailing/kiting trip from the Gorges to who knows where... for sure heading south. I saw them in San Francisco, where they stayed a couple days. Real adventure... They were in San Diego several days ago, ready to go to Mexico. Their blog is a lot of fun. You can check it out here http://oilfreefun.blogspot.com/.

"The Trip Without End" is a no-budget, sustainable kitesurfing adventure. "La Sin Fin" is our 27 foot, 35 year old sailing home. Overloaded she holds three people, 6 boards, 12 kites, and even some backcountry ski gear. With luck, she'll carry us around the world in search of the perfect session. We teach to spread kiting and stay fed. Contact us for lessons or other info. maxmogren@gmail.com. Check back to see if we're still afloat!

Click on the map to see their progression:

Any form of kiting is highly addictive. Do not participate in this sport if you are having difficulties at work, school, with your marriage or family. You will feel the addiction after your first trainer kite session. It will leave you with the need for more. Feeling the power of a big kite and the adrenaline high that comes with the act will deepen the addiction. Once kite riding, you will spend countless hours watching weather reports and fabricating your own weather predictions. You will spend excessive late night hours on kite forums. You will begin spending a large sum of money on kites, boards, and gas. You will alienate yourself from the general population with your constant kite chatter with few people to understand your addiction. Participate in this sport only if you have a strong constitution.