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Toby
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Powered By Slingshot Kites Surfers Cross the Atlantic

Postby Toby » Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:48 pm

Slingshot News:

Powered By Slingshot Kites Surfers Cross the Atlantic

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Turks and Caicos–December, 2013. Enable Passion successfully concluded its first project: the HTC Atlantic Kite Challenge. Six kite surfers departed on November 20th, 2013 from René Egli in Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), to cross the Atlantic Ocean and arrive at Blue Haven Resort and Marina in the Turks and Caicos Islands on December 17th . In the first-ever relay of its kind and the longest ever ‘downwinder’, covering a distance of more than 3,700 (6,000 kilometers) across the Atlantic Ocean.

The six kite surfers were accompanied by the Double A (a Lagoon 500 catamaran) with four crewmembers including the Dutch sailing professional Erik Van Vuuren as team captain. Every kiter accomplished two shifts of aproximately two hours per day – one in the daytime and one at night. This approach enabled the team to cover the entire distance in 27 days.

The “Enable Passion” Atlantic Crossing Team’s kites of choice were from kite manufacturer Slingshot Sports. These kites played a crucial role in allowing the team to succeed with their goal of crossing the Atlantic.

"Slingshot is known for making strong and trusted products. They also have a very wide range of kites and boards that are crucial for this crossing. We had 6 riders that came from different backgrounds and riding styles, so for us to be able to kite 24hrs a day for up to three weeks, we needed to make sure that each one of the riders had the right board and the right size kite for all conditions.” Said the “Enable Passion” organizer Filippo van Hellenberg Hubar.

More specifically, the team chose to ride Slingshot Rally kites and the Turbine.

“The Rally’s are incredibly stable and allow precise control. They are also great in light winds and allow easy re-launch. We trusted these kites so it was easy for us to make the decision on what kites we wanted to fly” Says Eric Pequeno of the Enable Passion Team member.

Another Slingshot Kite that was crucial in the crossing was the Turbine kite. This kite is 17 Meters and allows the team to be on the water in 5 to 6 Knots of wind.

"The Turbine was on the water for the majority of the crossing. Without having that kite for all the light wind days it would have seriously affected the success of this crossing. The Turbine gave us more days on the water and, that resulted in less days at sea" Says Max Blom team Kite Coordinator of the Enable Passion Team.

In addition to Slingshot Sports, other sponsors included HTC, Mystic, Urge, GoPro and Blue Haven Resort and Marina.

To learn more about the crossing go to: http://enablepassion.com


About “Enable Passion”
The Enable Passion foundation is a non-profit foundation that strives to inspire people in realizing their passions, by organizing and carrying out extraordinary and pioneering projects. Foundation Enable Passion launches its first project: the HTC Atlantic Kite Challenge.

About “Slingshot Sports”
Over the last 13 years the Slingshot crew has dedicated endless time and effort, channeling their passion for watersports to people throughout the world. Established in 1999, Slingshot Sports LLC has worked diligently to establish a solid reputation in the kiteboarding, wakeboarding and standup paddleboarding market by manufacturing high-quality products, setting innovative construction and design standards, and dressing it all up with an image that is unique, edgy and young.

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