Peter McKewen stormed his way to victory at the 2015 Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton, in Western Australia.
The amateur kiteboarder surprised everyone by escaping a massive wind hole and finishing the 19-kilometer downwind marathon in first place, in just 34 minutes and 39 seconds.
McKewen, 32, didn't have any tactics. He competed with an 11-meter kite for the simple reason that "it was the only one I had so it was this or nothing! I'm lucky it worked for me today."
"It was a rollercoaster out there. I'm pretty tired – at one stage my kite went into the water but I managed to get it back up. It's so great to be able to race against some of the best in the world."
The sixth edition of the Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton had 115 kiteboarders. The Southern Hemisphere's longest open ocean kiteboard race also had a female winner: Steph Bridge finished the challenge in 37 minutes 47 seconds. She was sixth overall.
"Anyone can win in an endurance race. It was intense, hard and tactical – the type of race I love. It was a bit of a lottery in the middle with dips in the wind, so I'm really happy to win it again this year. It's one of my favourite events to compete in each year," concluded Bridge.
2015 Red Bull Lighthouse to Leighton | Results
Men
1. Peter McKewen (AUS), 34:39
2. Andrew Cooksley (AUS), 34:41
3. Martin Dolenc (CRO), 35:20
Women
1. Stephanie Bridge (UK), 37:47
2. Alison Child (AUS), 40:54
3. Larissa Roth (AUS), 41:00
Twin Tip
1. Dale Stanton (AUS), 38:42
2. Floris Dielen (AUS), 40:32
3. Matt Curran (AUS)