Kiteboarding moves ahead in popularity in sailing races. There is a recent kite boarding race planned in Mexico, where the fleet will line up this Friday for a coastal race of 58 nm. This race would cover a race course from San Diego to Ensenada in Mexico. This is an international contest that would have PHRF racers who would be sailing with foiling kite boards.
One of the participants would be Nico Landauer, who is 34 years of age and has been participating in local events in keelboarding for some time. He has now traded his bag to become a kiteboarder at professional levels. He states that he came to California to pursue pro surfing from Uruguay. He has knowledge of sailing and surfing.
As kite boarding combines the best of both sports he would love to give kite boarding a try at a professional level. He has been putting his focus on it and doing it professionally, as much as he can without losing out on his regular job – he works as a manager for a Split Bareboat Yacht Charter company. He has now reached a world ranking among professional racers in this category. Landauer wants to showcase Kiteboarding to the sailing enthusiasts so that more people take up the sport.
Today the boards used in Kiteboarding are not as hard. With the hydrofoiling technology one can have speed as well as a smoother ride. The usage of kites makes the sport an energy efficient one. In this event he would be participating with a powerboat of the safety kind. He expects to complete the course in a time span of two and half hours.
The course would be different and fun, but it would certainly be a personality test as well. The ocean course would not offer flat waters, but Landauer predicts that it would not be a problem. That is because the foil angle is controlled by the legs and adjusting the angle is easier.