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Although the sport of KiteSurfing is new, it is not a one
man invention and people have been playing with the concept for
a long
time. In fact, in China and Polynesia, kitesailing was a form of
transportation in the Pacific Rim beginning in the 13th and 14th
century! Indonesian
and Polynesian kite fishermen dragged their canoes with kites, as early
as the 12th century.
In the early 1800's, British inventor
George Pocock enlarged common
kites and flew them in groups to pull carts on land and boats on the
water. His efforts resulted in what were, at the time, the fastest
speeds on land and water.
Pocock's kites were fully controllable, using 4 lines,
just as we use today. His boats and carts could sail upwind, his boats
could beat other boats he raced against. His original patent number was
GB5420, dated 1826.
In Nov 1903, American inventor
Samuel Cody kitesailed across the English
Channel.In the late 50's, individuals used the concept of being trailed by a
parachute/wings above and on water.
In the mid 1970's, Englishman
Peter Powell developed the dual
line control and built
a 2-line delta kite with which he sailed small dinghies. These were
the first commercially successful 2-line deltas, based
on Francis Rogollo's patents of the early 1940's.
They
were marketed for use with boats and buggies, and in fact, a stack
of 6 Powell deltas was used by Englishman
Keith Stewart with a nine foot
catamaran to cross the English Channel, purposely duplicating the Samuel
Cody's 1903 crossing.
In October 1977 Gijsbertus Adrianus Panhuise (Netherlands) gets the
first patent NL07603691 for our sport. The patent cover specifically a
water sport using a floating board of a surf board type where a pilot
standing up on it is pulled by a wind catching device of a parachute
type tied to his harness on a trapeze type belt. Although this patent
did not result in any commercial interest, Gijsbertus Adrianus Panhuise
could be considered as the originator of KiteSurfing.
In 1978 Dave Culp (USA) designed his first kiteboat with the first
documented inflated leading edge kite which powered it.
In the early 80's,
Arnaud de Rosnay (France) during one of his channel
crossings, used a windsurfing board and kite instead of a sail and Andreas Kuhn (Switzerland) rode, using a ski hybrid
(close to a wakeboard) and a parapente. He pushed Gijsbertus Adrianus
Panhuise concept further by documenting it on TV - riding and jumping.
In November 1987 (filed in August 1986) Dominique and Bruno Legaignoux
(France), get the Patent US4708078 for the first self-relaunching marine
wing.
In the same period, Cory Roeseler (USA) prepared the Kiteski. He was the
first one kite sailing upwind. In November 1994 (filed in November 1993)
Cory Roeseller (USA) is granted a Patent on KiteSkiing Patent US5366182.
Cory Roeseler held the first Kitesurfing World Cup in
1991 (?) in San Francisco. There were 7 entries, including one from
Hawaii. It was televised and shown extensively on Discovery and ESPN.
Cory also entered the Weymouth Speed Trials in 1988 and won fastest boat
at the event, for a kite-powered waterski.
In 1996 kitesurfing its first worldwide media exposure as a sport thanks
to the windsurfers Laird Hamilton and Manu Bertin.
In 1997 F-One enters the market.
In 1999 Naish enters the market with a progressive line of kites that
have higher aspect and four lines, after some early work with licensed
2-line Kites from Bruno Legaignoux.
Since then the sport has been growing
at a brisk pace with many new kite manufacturers. Most kites now use a
similar design with inflatable bladders and struts which assist greatly
in re-launching from water.
In 2004 Best Kiteboarding introduced their
line of kites meant to be of similar quality but at almost half the
price due to direct sales over the internet.
To be continued...(
we hope) |
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If
you need any help with further information on the sport,
contact George of
Kiteflix
Background Information 