Hello,

I just wanted to touch base and bring you up to speed on my activities since my departure from Best Kiteboarding and tell you about my new company and venture, KiteSurf.

For background, I was introduced to the sport in 1999 by Kitesurf.com. Facing productions difficulties with their licensor at the time, KiteSurf’s owner supported my departure to start, with a few investors, Best Kiteboarding in 2003. My number one goal was to build the best gear possible and have fun, because in all truth, that’s what kitesurfing is, Fun. Indeed, for the first few years it was fun and it showed in the great response we had from everyone along the way to becoming the largest kite manufacture in the world!

As the company expanded, our controlling investor’ priorities shifted and a new management team was hired. I never got involved into the finance or management of the company and had little to say at the time but the dwindling bottom line became the most important thing and the bean counters stepped in, attempting to control not only the business but also the design and development of our products. This was catastrophic and their involvement led to poor quality and failed designs resulting in a collapse of the sales. Although touting his Harvard degree and proclaiming to be the only one qualified enough to manage a company of that size, the new CEO proved to bring about the collapse of Best Kiteboarding from a $21 million a year of sales to less than $4 million last year.

This was the beginning of the end and it is with great frustration that I watched the company that I founded and which was carrying my name make one mistake after another and completely lose sight of its core ideas. Having been diluted along the way, but for voicing my repeated objections, I had no say in Best Kiteboarding direction and we finally parted ways at the end of 2012. Contrary to what was published, it was not on very good terms.

Returning to my sources, I joined once again with KiteSurf this past January and was able to go back to my initial philosophy. Without having to deal with large corporate politics and bureaucracy, I’m finally free again to design, build the best kitesurfing equipment on the planet and most importantly to once again have some fun. After assembling a team of the most talented individuals within their respected fields in the industry and who share my philosophy, we have designed and tested a new line of kitesurfing equipment which we are ready to bring to the market.

The design of our new kites reflects a combination of both old school and new school directions both in shape and graphics. Working without restraint and with an enthusiastic and competent team we were able to achieve our goal and create two unbelievable kite lines.

The MP kite meets all our expectations; light, responsive, massive wind range and lift. This kite jams up wind, capitalizes on any condition that is thrown at it and rides through gusty squalls. From beginners to advanced riders, the MPs (available from 5m to 13m) were fine-tuned to provide any rider with the performance they expect from beginners to advanced riders. The MP is available now.

For light wind, extra lift and racing, we also designed a second line of high aspect ratio kites, the SB (only in large sizes from 10m and up). The SB should be available within the next 2 months.

Our web site will be up in a few weeks but you can already go to KiteSurf.com were we posted a bit more information and some pictures of the new gear. If you want to view and test the MPs and you are in south Florida (USA) or in Catalina (Colombia) contact me so we can be arrange for it.

Air-head.com would like to thank Shannon for keeping us up to date on what he is doing, we are sure this range of kitesurfing equipment will perform every bit as good as it looks, whatch this space for more information on what Shannon is doing.

Ant Baker

Ant Baker and the team offer instruction in the UK, Egypt and in Hawaii and their instruction will ensure you get the very best from your water time

sit back and enjoy the show

Heres what Drew at Action Van told us…

With strong market links in Windsurfing, Sailing, SUP and Mountain-Biking, ActionVan have been building CamperVan Conversions that stand up to the job in hand. Using hard-wearing materials with functional design features and kit carrying solutions an ActionVan is an essential piece of kit for any extreme sports enthusiast.

Wether you are planning a Surfari to the West Coast, a Trek in the Scottish Mountains or a Weekend Regatta, an ActionVan will get you there and provide comfortable accommodation throughout your stay, along with adequate storage for all your favourite toys.
Added features include: Heating, Roof Racks, Bike Racks, Board Racks and Tow Bars so no excuse to leave anything at home!

ActionVan offer a full or part conversion service, working on either customer supplied vehicles or supplying new or used vans through our local dealer network.

If you are thinking of having a van conversion done, Why Not Try Before You Buy?

Our CamperVan Hire Service is now up and running with LWB VW T5 conversions based on our “Park & Ride” and “Two Berth & Surf” models. All the flexibility and comfort you need for any Event, Road Trip or Festival. A great way of deciding just what you want in your own ActionVan.

Put your Dreams into Motion with: The Ultimate Van Conversion & CamperVan Hire Service

In the last couple of months Dan has been globe trotting with a trip to Maui with the Cabrinha kitesurf team and no sooner had his feet got back to the UK he was on a flight Egypt bound… You will see from the footage Dan had a great time.

In Dans own words…. “So I had a great time in Egypt mainly training for this years competitions but to also to start off one of my first series of monthly podcasts for this year. Not only that but I have been shooting new content for my 2010 website with Craig from Blue Juice Multimedia. The new content and full podcast is dew to be online in a week or so at Dan Sweeney. Here is a little teaser of whats to come. Stay tuned at Air-head.com for updates.

Cheers Dan”

You can find more out about Dan Sweeney at his web site when it goes live soon this young guy is an up and coming Kitesurfing star to stay tuned for the latest on him and his travels.

Keep checking back for the latest from the Airhead team… Ride safe

Big Salty has launched a new and unique service to all water sports users to help them keep up to date with conditions that they are interested in as soon as the latest data hits our servers. Users can either set Wind Alerts or customise swell and wind conditions to trigger their email alerts.

The alert system works alongside the Watchlist concept of having a series of beaches that are of particular interest to a user. A user may decide to setup email alerts for one or more of his locations and also decide whether he wants to set the conditions manually or opt for the Big Salty Wind Star Rating.

Don’t search for the 50 year storm; let the 50 year storm search for you.

The different trigger options in more detail:

Wind Alert:
Uses the Big Salty Wind Star Rating as the basis for triggered emails. The Big Salty Wind Rating rates wind of all sailable directions for a location. So this is great to use if you don’t know the location very well but want to head there when the wind is right to hit the water.

Custom Alert:
The most flexible of the two options, the Custom Alert allows you to set a minimum and maximum wind strength for each wind direction at your location. It also allows you to set a minimum swell period and swell height for each relevant swell direction at your location.

This should allow you to customise alerts to tell you when the location is just right for windsurfing, kitesurfing, surfing, SUPing, sailing, snorkelling or just about anything. If you know your location well or even think you do, this is what you need.

For more info on how to use the service check out the following link:

wind and swell alert guide

If that doesn’t answer your questions, give them a shout in the forum.

Loads of news coming up for the winter season… make sure your kit is ready for the coming months… the Airhead will be back soon

Kitesurfing codes of conduct:

Be sure you can handle the prevailing weather conditions
Always assist fellow kitesurfers when launching and landing
Always use an effective kite safety leashing system
Wrap your lines when not in use and secure kite properly
Keep a reasonable distance between you and your fellow kitesurfers / beach users
A kitesurfer must know the navigation laws and abide by them at all times
If you ride alone, let someone know you are out and what time you will be expected back
If you lose your kite or board whilst on the water, always report it to the coastguard General Information

Specific Location Risks:
This area is only for competent kitesurfers ( no learners)
Please use set up and launch area only
This area is only kiteable at certain tidal times and wind directions
There is an exclusion zone (please see map)
Stay clear of all nesting birds, flora and fauna (max fine £5000)
No landing on spit
No flying of kites on land
Please stay 50m offshore at all times
Please use boardwalks

General Information:

Please keep clear of Landing and Launching kites
Beware Kite Lines – do not touch
Always stand upwind of kite flyers who are on land

BKSA Web Site

The Airhead team would like to thank Bracklesham Board Riders for the information, it is a hard thankless job making sure that beaches stay open for all users… top marks to them for the hard work. You may also want to take a look at an earlier posting on the Airhead Blog on Pagham Harbour

As always keep checking back for the latest info on the world of exciting sports… Snowboard news coming soon.

IKSURFMAG

The kitesurf magazine is going from strength to strength and this issue is packed full of some fantastic kitesurf travel articles, as well as the first tests for some of the 2010 equipment. There is also the ever popular technique article with Christian Black and Karine and a great interview with Mallory de La Villemarque, arguably the man with the greatest name in kiteboarding! Add to that some of the best kitesurfing pictures they have ever run and you have a recipe for an awesome magazine! Be sure to check it out! IKSURFMAG

With a huge flat water lagoon and a fantastic wave spot 5 minutes away, Dakhla offers something for all levels of kiter. Its tranquil setting next to the Sahara, along with consistent winds and warm temperatures makes it a no-brainer choice for an Autumn kiter’s getaway near to perfection.

The Hooked-on group trip will run from 13th – 23rd October. The tent accommodation is located right on the lagoon so all you need to do is wake up, step out of your tent and set up your kite! Pro kiters Soufiane and Momo Hamaini will be on hand to show you the perfect spots, and take you on downwinders, included in the price. Hooked-on Founder and IKO instructor Dan will be giving riding tips as well as making sure you get the most from your holiday!

So if you think this sounds just perfect for you to escape part of the winter get yourself booked on the trip.. you know you do not want to miss out… further details check out kitesurfing holidays

The Airhead will be back soon with the latest and greatest information from the world exciting sports so tune in and bookmark this site for the low down.

This lad knows most of the local kitesurfers and he is going to be completely lost without his board, his Mum tells me “its a great board and it suits him just fine… with chance it will turn up.. I hold out a small amount of hope”

The Lost Board.. Can You Help ??

So if you find it please let us know and help this young guy out… if you kitesurf you know what loosing your board would do to you so please keep you eyes open for it when your at the beach.

Thanks for your time and help on this one… the Airhead team…