ISSUE #53

In issue #53 we expose the full glory of kitesurfing around Cape Town in South Africa. There’s a reason (actually, there are many!) why so many pros and amateur riders head there in the European winter time. The weather is fantastic, the scenery is some of the most stunning on the planet, but for us, as kitesurfers, it’s the dozens of world-class spots and phenomenal wind stats that make it such a wind sport heaven. We reveal the heap of reasons why those who’ve chosen to make Cape Town their home, and why people who’ve travelled all over the world looking for the best kite spots find themselves returning to put themselves at the mercy of the Cape’s awesome

Cape Doctor sou’easter time and time again.
Cape Town is actually one of kitesurfing’s most important hubs in terms of gear development, with many brands spending all or part of South Africa’s summer season putting their prototypes up against the regularly
testing conditions. Airush relocated their operation to Cape Town a year
ago and have now developed a fully in-house working system that includes
everything from R&D and innovation to design and art. We paid a visit to
their new HQ in the Muizenberg suburb of town with a particular focus on
their Active surfboard construction system

Mark Shinn thought he was onto something pretty special when he came up
with the SuperShinn, which was released in August. A high-performance
twin-tip packed with an unusual level of user-friendliness, he invited
Jim Gaunt to take it for a spin in the choppy, real world waters of
Tenerife and to see what he was making such a fuss about ahead of the
product launch in August

It’s that time of year again – a van-full of 2012 gear landed in the
office earlier this month, including the RRD Obsession, Cabrinha
Switchblade, North Rebel, Airush Lithium and Varial-X and the Slingshot
Rally. We get to grips with these new offerings to get your late summer
season off on the best footing.

Crammed in elsewhere are ride guides to Saunton Sands in the UK and Cape
Hatteras in the USA, plus our regular standard of stunning images,
travel and technique advice and comment, columns and headline news.

Save your legs and let us deliver the world’s biggest kiting mag six
times a year.

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