Harnessing the wind

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

Often blamed for bad-hair days and adventuresome golf games, windy days are just fine for professional kiteboarder Chris Gilbert.

Pulled by wind gusts, kiteboarders slice the ocean surface, launch themselves off waves and perform airborne tricks such as dizzying 1,800-degree spins (completing five 360-degree twirls) from heights of 40 to 60 feet while hanging in the air for more than five seconds.

"The biggest sensation you get is the feeling of power that comes from the kite," Gilbert said. "The kite has a tremendous amount of pull and power. It feels like you're controlling some other creature at the end of the line as it's pulling you around."

Gilbert will be one of the competitors in the $20,000 Red Bull King of the Air kiteboarding competition that runs Sunday through Oct. 5 on Maui's North Shore. With more than two dozen competitors, organizers said the contest is the largest and most prestigious in Hawai'i. The contest will be held at Kanaha Beach County Park the first three days and move to Ho'okipa Beach County Park on Oct. 3.

"It's a fantastic spectator event," said Gilbert, 35, who finished second on the kiteboarding world championship tour last year and lives in Pukalani, Maui. "It's probably one of the best spectator events in the world because of the venue (at Ho'okipa). People can sit on a nice grassy bluff and watch the kiteboarders down below."

Gilbert, who has a background in windsurfing, snowboarding and skateboarding, said competitors will be "going for it" and predicted a lot of spectacular airborne moves and wipeouts — or crashes as he likes to call them — from heights 40 feet and higher.

"In a contest like this, competitors will be pushing the limits," said Gilbert, who added the kite sometimes "floats" competitors during a crash and prevents hard landings. "So you'll definitely see some crashing. Guys are not going to be super conservative."

Neither will professional kiteboarder Julie Prochaska who took up kiteboarding in 1999 and has quickly become one of the top competitors on the circuit. Prochaska, who married Gilbert on Sept. 7, will be pre-seeded in the main event with her husband.

A former windsurfer, Prochaska, 31, said kiteboarding allows her to go "flying for a day."

"A lot of (kiteboarders) get the sensation of flying or the sensation of going bungee jumping," said Prochaska, who holds the world record for hang time at six seconds. "For me, it's like bungee jumping. But you get to be the person going on a bungee jump over and over."

Prochaska said everything becomes peaceful when you're sailing through the air on a kiteboard.

"Time kind of stops, everything gets quiet," Prochaska said. "You're up there, like a bird, hanging up in the air. Then you come back down and everything starts going again."

Prochaska said competitors will relish kiteboarding at Ho'okipa, a spot that is normally self-regulated for surfers and windsurfing during the year.

"It's a great time to be able to kite on the waves with only three other competitors at the same time," Prochaska said. "You get the whole area to yourself."

Kiteboarding has become popular worldwide with more than 50,000 kites sold last year, a fivefold increase in five years, and has more than 30 professional events scheduled this year, compared to just one five years ago.

Gilbert attributed the popularity to the "uniqueness" of the equipment — it's small, portable and can be taken to the beach on a bicycle and backpack — and because the sport is easy to learn. He said beginners first learn how to handle a small kite on the beach and graduate to the water.

"The kite will be pulling you around the first day," Gilbert said. "The instant gratification is there on the first day."

Gilbert said new equipment costs about $1,800 to $2,500, while year-old models cost about $1,200. The cost covers the kite, surfboard and other accessories such as the towing lines and control bar that kiteboarders hold onto.