Our sport started way back when, since its inception we’ve largely stuck to doing our thing on a board, a few riders have tried it on skis and now hydrofoils are making waves. Well I’ve tried the future and its boat shaped.After speaking with Peter Renssen, the brains behind the Kite Tender project a few months ago and talking about the great sailing around the Isle of Wight and Cowes week, he threw the boat on the roof of his car and drove from Holland to my home spot on the IOW. Peter and I put the Kite Tender boat through its paces, taking it out to pit it against boats much larger to see how it performs. Getting speeds on 21 knots and averaging 17 knots, this little two man kite powered dingy is a formidable sailing machine that has an interesting future.
If you are skeptical about it now, Tom dares you to have a go in one as even if you can’t Kiteboard, this is a great training tool and could help to bridge the gap between sailing an Kiteboarding into the future. Could this be the worlds first commercial kite boat? Check out www.kitetender.nl for more information on the project.
