by Nico Ostermann
Sunday October 17,2010
Boat Support and Mothership
Captain John Maldonado
Officer: Nico Ostermann
Photographer: Erin Loscocco
Boat Support and Launchpad
Captain John Vontessmar
www.kitethebay.com
Officer: Bruce Johnson
Photographer: Shal Jacobovitz
Riders
Brian Smith (Freestyle)
Alex Smith (Freestyle and Strapless Surfing)
Arnaud Vuillermet (Kitemasters kitemasters.com)
Brian Friedmann (Strapless Surfing)
Fadhly Bey (Freestyle)
The weather was not our best ally that day but we definitely made the most of it, that’ s for sure. Just look at the pictures and some are definitely worthy or royal treatments.
Everybody came (on time!) at the South Beach Marina in San Francisco around 11am where our mother ship was stationed. I was a bit nervous because I had received a dozen texts in the morning asking if our photo shoot was a go and it was raining non stop. I had replied yes on all of them, hoping for the best.
A good lunch and some Pastis later, (which definitely helped!), we decided to give it a go. Fortunately, the rain stopped and the plan was to go all the way outside the Golden Gate bridge and then gradually make our way down passing next to Alcatraz. What we wanted was shots at angles not usually seen and taking full advantage of our two boats. With the Kite The Bay jet boat, launching from the boat is possible in a very safe manner. If one kite needs to be brought back upwind, no problem, you can do so with the kite in the air at the zenith. We had enough wind to have all Bandit IV 9/10/11 and 12m on the water at the same time.
F-One riders Alex (18 year old) & Brian (15 year old) Smith; Fadhly Bey, Brian Friedmann & Arnaud Vuillermet (who came all the way from Los Angeles where he runs Kitemasters, a F-One school in LA and La Ventana during the winter) alternated between the new 2011 Twin Tips Acid, Trax, TX and SK8, as well as new Fish 5’ 4 and 5’ 6 or longer directional 6’ 2 and 6’ 4.
A couple tankers passed really close, which was great to get some cool pics, several dolphins checked in to say hi. Photographers Shal Jacobovitz and Erin Loscocco kept everybody close to the South Tower for a good time, then we all started starting going down, with the city in the background.
In the end, everybody had a blast, the Smith brothers loved their new Bandit 4 and twin tips and we ended up with some great shots.
[mappress]