KiteFoil Racing in Florida

The kite-foil class is on the rise! On November 6-8 local foilers in St Petersburg, FL, hosted a foiling kite board regatta and clinic.

On Friday before racing, competitors were given tips on how to nail the elusive foiling tack and gybe. After the Q and A, everyone hit the water to work on the maneuvers.

On Saturday the RC was able to compete one race before the wind died. Despite a dismal forecast for Sunday, the RC was able to get in 5 solid races. The racing took place on Tampa Bay near the skyway bridge. 31 competitors came to compete and test their foiling skills. The racing was challenging, athletic and crazy fun! Just like any other regatta, there were battles throughout the fleet. For the newer competitors, just making the time limit is an accomplishment. For the more experienced veterans, a small mistake can be costly.

The breeze was light for most of the weekend ranging from 7 to 12 knots. The breeze was strongest in the morning so our first start on Sunday was at 8am. The performance of the foils and foil kites in light air is amazing. Competitors were easily hitting speeds over 20 knots.

For our regatta the average age of competitors was 37 with the oldest being 63 and the youngest being 15. 70% of the competitors were from Florida, but we had people from as far as California, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, South Carolina, and New Jersey. Thanks to all the RC and sponsors who helped make this event possible including Hooked on Kiteboarding, Delta Hydrofoils, Ikitesurf, and Flyboy covers.

If you want to get involved in some fast fun racing, where all the gear can fit in your car and you don’t need to find a crew, then come join the kite-foil class! We would love to see you on the water.

Here are results: http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/11152#_newsroom+results

More pics here at the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1650529788556445/

Report by Zack Marks