The Kiteboarding Racing Circuit
The kiteboarding racing scene has existed for about three years now. It started out with local border cross races and down winders. As the racing started to emerge more and more people have been catching on to it. Now kiteboard racing has grown into the challenge of owning the world speed record. Currently the american world speed record is held by Rob Douglas at 49.84 knots making kiteboarding the fastest craft on the water.
Course racing has taken on real rules from traditional sailing. The rules use the same terminology such as starboard; port, tacking, jibing, capsized just like sailing. The gear has been evolving at a rapid rate. It started out with bigger twin tips which worked better for light wind and now directionals have hit the scene because of their lightwind and upwind performance.
For course racing the new thing is quad fin and twin fin. The quad drives up wind better, then a twin fin but can’t quite hold the angle. The twin is much faster downwind. On average the fins that most competitors are running are around 8 – 11” long. The boards are mostly around 6’ and 2 – 4” thick. I recommend getting your hands on a board and start playing with fins and you will be in the game. Keep in touch with your local shop to get involved in the races!
Damien LeRoy