Today we towed K2 to the St. Francis Yacht Club in case the wind was favorable for a boat test with the CNN crew. The eventual wind proved to be very gusty, and we left the boat at the dock, but Don kitesurfed with Johnny and Erika Heineken and Chip Wasson, and some of Johnny’s other friends. The CNN crew filmed from a RIB off Crissy Field. (Don has a red kite with a pink stripe; Johnny and Erika have yellow kites; Chip has a blue kite.)
Yesterday three journalists from the CNN International program Mainsail arrived to film us and others in the Bay Area for their segment on kite power. Don and Dudu and Johnny Heineken met up with them last night, and this afternoon they arrived in the shop to interview Don. We took them out on the water with K2, so Shirley Robertson, the show presenter and a two-time Olympic gold-medalist in sailing, could helm the kiteboat. The wind was unusually strong and very gusty by Treasure Island, so after a few attempts there with smaller kites, we packed up and moved to the center of the bay, between Hunters Point and Alameda. The wind there was much more manageable, but not quite […more]
Another test of the new steering system today. We had a lot of success controlling the kite, including sailing through the sea-wall gap and making an impressive kite recovery at the end of the test. We were able to get on the foils a few times, but no sustained foiling. The sea state was really choppy–at one point a fish landed on the Protector–but the wind was only slightly stronger than yesterday.
Today three French journalists from the program Thalassa on France3, one of France’s national public television stations, visited to film a kiteboat test. Their half-hour program will profile interesting San Franciscans and should include some footage of Makani as well. We had a very successful test, foiling near Treasure Island and in front of the city, and we were able to get each journalist on K2 for a short time.
