The aesthetic differences between a lake resort in Italy and the dusty moon-like landscape of Fuerteventura could not be starker. But that’s part of the charm for Pietro Kiaulehn, who uses his time spent on the island to develop his knowledge of every aspect of its wild landscape. And that includes its rugged and often dangerous coastline.
Photos: Ronny Kiaulehn
Since I can remember, I always spent a good part of my wintertime in Fuerteventura every year, alternating it with Lake Garda where I live the for the rest of the year.
The island is like a second home for my family and me: my father was there as an 18-year-old windsurfer the first time and later as a windsurf tester and developer for many years. At that time, alongside working on sails and boards he also designed and developed windsurf harnesses with a completely new concept which set the pace for today’s semi rigid harness designs, in some ways.
💎 Premium Content Ahead! 💎
*You will receive our weekly Friday Pump newsletter, plus the latest features, gear tests and giveaway announcements.
“It’s a place where I can be in the water every day, doing the sports I love, mainly wing foiling, and tow-in surf foiling.”
Mainly thanks to Klaus, I’ve learned a lot about the island over the years, the extremely delicate balance of nature due to the lack of rainwater, how to sow potatoes and how to pollinate edible plants with cotton swabs because of the lack of bees on the island.
It’s a place where I can be in the water every day, doing the sports I love, mainly wing foiling, and tow-in surf foiling. In December and January, I had plenty of days of good conditions, and I traveled to all the best spots along the often-perilous North Shore. There are so many good spots where you can jump into the water and have fun without causing any trouble to other surfers. Here I can push my gear to the limits… My Naish Hover 50l and 75l, together with the Matador LT and Wing Surfer MK4 wings. I try to put as much stress into them as possible, with speed and intense high jump sessions, just to confirm how good their strength and durability really is. It never fails to surprise me what they’ll take.
In my opinion it’s important to know how every single spot works and if the conditions are good enough to have fun and to be safe at the same time. That’s why I think you should always pay attention to what the local surfers do. They’ll know all the ins and outs.
It happened on a North Shore spot recently. The south wind was particularly strong, completely offshore. At a first glance it was wonderful… a very powered and constant wind. I could have tried my Wing-Surfer MK4 3.0 for the first time. I was pumped and ready to jump into it. But having waited for a bit and observing the water for longer, I noticed there were a lot of rips heading out to the open sea. Nobody was in the water and nobody was thinking about getting in the water on their wing foils in those conditions. One little mistake would have meant not to being able to get back to the beach anymore, maybe the loss of your gear, and then just hoping that someone would call in a rescue. It had happened just a few days before.
So, it’s better to be wise and head to another spot, perhaps on the east coast. It might not be so powerful on that side, but it’s less risky for sure.
It’s all part of getting to know this wonderful island better.
Now subscribe to the world's best foiling magazine!
To get the latest premium features, tests, gear releases and the best photojournalism in the world of foiling, get yourself a print subscription today!
The River Elbe – one of Europe’s longest rivers – winds its way through Germany’s rural heartlands until it reaches the thriving industrial metropolis that is Hamburg, which sits just upriver from some of wingfoiler Alexander Reese’s preferred session spots. Dodging the passing maritime traffic is all just part of the fun…
READ MORE
Hoping for a convergence of just the right conditions for a planned product shoot in Fiji, Kiran Verma came up against a few hitches as they motored between islands. But making the call to look just that little further turned out to be the right one…
READ MORE
Lift Foils has a reputation for producing both high-quality eFoils and foils. CEO & Co-Founder Nick Leason has been front and center of this since day one. We got a little insight into his R&D processes for both sides of the business…
READ MORE
