Kitesurfing, the sport in which a kite is used to glide over water, has an interesting history dating back to 1977. In this blog a short look back at the history of kitesurfing with cool images.
Kitesurfing patent in 1977
The history of kitesurfing goes back to 1977. In that year, the Dutchman Gijsbert Adrianus Panhuise registered the first patent on kitesurfing. His concept described a boater on a surfboard, connected to a parachute-like kite via lines and a trapeze belt. Panhuise came up with this idea when he had a sailing and windsurfing school in Corsica. After getting an old parachute, he experimented by shortening the lines and trying it on a wide windsurf board. He called this 'parasurfing'. However, without a system to reduce the force of the kite, the sport was hard on the poor. Despite his innovations, Panhuise was unable to develop his patent further due to other commitments and his patent was ultimately not exploited commercially.
History of kitesurfing in the 70s and 80s
Meanwhile, the French brothers Bruno and Dominique Legaignoux developed a more important patent in the late 70s. They created the history of kitesurfing with an inflatable kite, a design that laid the foundation for many future kitesurfing products. Parallel to this, Hawaiian Cory Roeseler experimented with the sport. In 1987 he managed to maintain altitude using hang gliders and skis. Roeseler patented a control bar with a pulley system, with which the lines could be rolled up quickly.
Introduction of the Wipika kite
Yet it wasn't until the 90s that kitesurfing became widely popular. In 1996, Laird Hamilton and Manu Bertin introduced the sport along the coast of the Hawaiian island of Maui. Around the same time, the Wipika kite was introduced, a kite with inflatable parts and a simple bridle, which made restarting from the water easier. The Legaignoux brothers marketed this kite in France and continued working on new patents. Special kiteboards also came onto the market during that period of kitesurfing history, developed by the French windsurfer Raphael Salles.
Kitesurfing history: a worldwide sport since 1998
By the end of 1998, kitesurfing had grown into an extreme sport embraced by a group of enthusiastic practitioners worldwide.
