Blake Olsen - A kiteboarding saga begins

Four years ago, I moved from Michigan in search of endless summer. I found a piece of paradise in Key West, Florida where you can Kiteboard in gorgeous, neon-blue water, ride with board shorts in January, and explore the southernmost islands of the Florida Keys.

This winter was unusually windy and cool due to El Nino; as a result, temperatures stayed around the 70’s and the average wind speeds clocked in at around 15-25 mph. Locals who have lived in Key West for over 30 years said they have never seen such a windy winter season, which was bad for tourism companies and boats but awesome for the small group of kiters on the island. In Key West, you have two riding options: the beaches along the Atlantic Ocean or the Islands in the backcountry on the Gulf side. In the winter season, the prevailing winds blow from the north which brings cooler weather and stronger and gustier winds. When spring rolls around, we typically see warm steady winds from the east blowing in from the Caribbean. 

This kite collage video gives you a peek at some of my sweet rides throughout this fun and windy 2015/16 season in Key West.

Over my 7 years as a kiteboarder I have earned the reputation as being “The Destroyer,” destroying everything, including boards, kites, harnesses and my body. This is the first year that I haven’t broken a single piece of kite equipment, unfortunately, I can’t say the same about my body. Don’t think I’ve gone a year without breaking something since before I can remember. But if that tells you anything, the gear I’ve been riding this year is top-notch, high-quality kite gear. Cabrinha puts a lot of time and money into developing the most high-tech revolutionary kite gear on the market. That’s why I love riding for MACkite and being a part of their team because they understand that people like having options. 

With seven of the top kite brands, you can choose from different brands and gear to get the perfect fit for you.

My kite quiver this year consists of a 17m Contra, 14m FX, and a 9m Switchblade.

For boards, I am riding a 137 Ace with H2 Hydra binding which is my freestyle/freeride machine. I like to ride the Ace when I’m riding long distances through the backcountry, boosting super high, or learning new unhooked tricks. I also ride a 142 CBLwith H3 Hydra Series boots...this is my wakestyle, White Street Pier grinding board that can really take a beating. I also like riding the CBL when I’m riding super overpowered and want to have as much support as possible for hard landings. The board is a beast!

Out of my 3 kites, I would have to say my favorite is, without a doubt, the FX. I love all aspects of kiteboarding: unhooked tricks, freestyle, air-style, long-distance riding, and waves. So for me, I want a kite that can do it all. I’ve always loved C kites because of the immediate responsiveness and looping abilities but have always wanted a C kite with more depower that rides better upwind.The FX has it all. On the light wind days, we have in Key West I throw up the17m Contra and can ride in an extremely light breeze. It has an amazing low end and pulls super hard so you can still do freestyle tricks. 

One day my friend Louie and I rode 8 miles out into the Florida Gulf Stream to the reef where the wind was less than 10 mph fortunately, I still had enough power to feel comfortable to go that far out. As we were heading back the wind picked up to 20mph and I had to fully depower the kite but never felt out of control. It just amazes me how much depower kites have nowadays! If that would have happened on one of my old kites I don’t know how I would have gotten to shore. Instead, I had another epic, beautiful, and memorable day in the Florida Keys. 

Website: http://blaketheolsen.com/