The History of Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing is by far the most exciting water sport in the world. And every year more and more people catch the bug and they never look back. Even in Scotland – especially from autumn when the proper winds kick in! So what makes this sport so amazing and how did it all began?

Even though kitesurfing properly took off in the early 2000’s, back in 1800’s George Pocock has been already using four line kites to propel ships and carts, avoiding the “horse tax”. Then again in the 1903 Samuel Cody managed to cross the English Channel using a small canvas boat and a kite.

But it was really the two French brothers, Bruno Legaignoux and Dominique Legaignoux, that have designed a kite that made the kitesurfing more accessible. In 1984 they have patented a inflatable kite design that has taken our sport to another level and has allowed emerging companies to improve on the Legaignoux brothers design.

Let’s look at the “Upwind: Launch of a sport” film. Get yourself comfortable, grab something do drink and see how kitesurfing looked like before schools, crowds of kites in the air, safety systems and even inflatable kites. It’s thanks to these pioneers we can enjoy kiteboarding in its current form!