The co-inventor of kitesurfing released "Kitesurf: Du Rêve À La Réalité," a book that promises to reveal the details behind the creation of the world's first kite sail.
In 1984, and inspired by the famous "Jacob's Ladder" catamaran, French brothers Bruno and Dominique Legaignoux developed an inflatable wing that would change watersports forever.
The trial-and-error process eventually culminated in an outdoor activity that rapidly gained millions of participants worldwide. Today, kiteboarding is an exciting sport that can be enjoyed both in the water and on land.
The new book written by Bruno Legaignoux tells the whole story and invites some of the pioneers of the sport to unveil how they got in touch and helped boost kitesurfing into the modern age.
Laird Hamilton, Mike Waltze, Pete Cabrinha, Don Montague, Neil Pryde, Laurent Ness, Franz Olry, as well as Rob Douglas, Nicolas Parlier, Christophe Martin and Leif Leriche reveal everything you need to know about the past, present and future of the wind sport.
"This book tells our story; it reflects my truth and that of the speakers. The different topics are discussed without taboos or reservations about our first difficult years, our determination, our successes and our failures," explains Legaignoux.
"I would like this book to be also a source of hope for all the future inventors who invest their body and soul in their projects and find themselves facing an aberrant industrial property system."
Bruno Legaignoux, who has always preferred the word "kitesurfing" to "kiteboarding," sold the depowerable bow kite patent to Best Kiteboarding in 2015.
Today, he lives in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, since January 2000. Bruno believes the sport should have its own world governing body, independent from sailing and surfing.
"Kitesurf: Du Rêve À La Réalité" is available in French via Altal Éditions, and an English edition is in the making.
