The F-ONE Team head to Corsica to shoot the new gear, with worldwide travel up in the air the decision was made to stay closer to home, turns out there is a lot more on offer on your doorstep than you might think! Click here to read the full story!

It's been an issue for lots of brands this year, new gear needs photo shooting, but with the world locked down, the usual locations were out of reach. If anything that's forced a change that has been interesting to see. F-ONE are known for their faraway trips each year, but this year it was different…

2020, the year life, as we know it, took a turn we wouldn't forget! After being in lockdown for weeks, the only light at the end of the tunnel was the hope that we'd be able to ride again, someday soon. We eagerly anticipated our first session back on the water, and that feeling of pure freedom.

Travelling has never been so unpredictable, with flights being cancelled, borders closing and reopening and self-isolation enforced, our need to organise a team trip was still stronger than ever. There were quite a few challenges we faced, but the trip made it all worthwhile.

Raphael Salles had been talking about organising a team trip to Corsica for years, and in a world filled with uncertainties, we felt like it was a smart move to stay closer to home; should things change at any point in time. Why would we need to travel halfway across the world? Raphael loves Corsica, and he was extremely excited to show us around.

We decided a boat trip would be ideal. That would allow us to be in the right place at the right time and still allow us to reconnect with the team yet disconnect from the rest of the world. We felt free, it was liberating.
This would be our first trip post lockdown. Mitu and Marcela were already stuck in Europe. When the borders reopened in early July, we took a chance and decided it was time to organise our trip with our European team riders. Raphael Salles, Micka Fernandez, Marcela Witt, Liam Whaley, Maxime Chabloz, Paul Serin and Mitu Monteiro. Matt Georges, Olivier Sautet and Ydwer van der Heide would be joining us as the Media team. Finally, we were all packed up and ready for an adventure in Corsica.

As we flew above Corsica, it was apparent that we'd made the right choice. You could tell how much the island had to offer, and we hadn't even landed yet! Matt, Paul and Marcela took the ferry with a van loaded up with our gear including, kites, boards, wings and foils; all the toys we could possibly need on our trip!

Loading the boat with all the equipment was a nightmare, but we managed! The team is usually buzzing at this time of the year, eager to try out the new gear. This year, with everything that's been happening, the riders haven't been as involved in the R&D process, and this would be the first time they would get a chance to ride the final products. We had no time to lose, we set sail.

Our first sail was breathtaking; glittering white cliffs, different shades of blue, and the rocky island - you'd think we were in Seychelles. We anchored on Lavezzi; a tiny island between Corsica and Sardinia. It was then and there that we set up and went out for our first post lockdown session, scoring gold with a beautiful sunset session on our kite foils; I won't forget that session anytime soon. At that point, we knew we'd made the right choice and that this trip was going to be pure bliss.

I spoke too soon! That night, the wind picked up, and we didn't get any sleep as the catamaran had been rocking all night, uncontrollably. The next morning, we woke to a sunrise so incredible, I didn't even think about how tired I was! A quick dip in the sea and an excellent breakfast to start the day right. This was how we'd start our days. We would then look at the forecast, and the captain would take us to the best place to ride for the day.

Rigging a kite from a boat is not the easiest, but it's worth it! We followed the catamaran on our foils, in the middle of the sea, far away from the crowds. Pure freedom! We also used our wing foils often as they were a fantastic way to explore new spots, and they were much easier to launch from the boat! The team were so keen to improve their wing foiling skills that they even created new tricks!

Life on the boat, you don't get a lot of privacy, but we didn't need any. We had been separated for the months of lockdown, and it just felt good to have company and be together. With a team of riders under thirty, you'd imagine that their phones were always in hand, but that wasn't the case. When we were waiting for the wind, we played cards, snorkelled, danced, read books, etc. We spent hours and hours at the dinner table, just chatting away.

That night we anchored at in a sheltered cove, where we could ride on the outside, but more importantly, we could get a goodnight's sleep.

One morning while the guys were out snorkelling, they found a massive amount of rubbish, which they picked up and brought back to the boat for us to throw away when we got back to shore. It was sad to see how this remarkably preserved island can be so mistreated by tourists.

After 10 days at sea, we decided to go explore Bonifacio for the day. Corsica is so rich in terms of landscape. That day we went to the highest village of south Corsica (1000m above sea level). Giant trees were bordering a vast clear lake. After a great lunch eating some of the best Corsican cured meat, we visited Bonifacio; a breathtaking cliff-top citadel from the 9th century. There is a distinct vibe in Corsica. It is hard to describe, you can feel the fusion between France and Italy, it is raw and wild and has so much to offer.

Later on that evening, we headed back on the boat to cross the Bonifacio Straits Natural Reserve, heading towards the northern island of Sardinia. The conditions were ideal for a freestyle session testing out our 13m² WTF C-shape kites - perfect.

That night, we anchored in a gorgeous blue lagoon. The next day we couldn't believe our eyes. You could literally swim with your eyes open and see everything clearly.

We spent two beautiful days with excellent conditions allowing us to score strapless freestyle sessions and even some big air tricks. Downwind trips with our wings and foils were just unreal. What a way to end this trip!

During these uncertain times, we were lucky to share two weeks together, enjoying the conditions of one of the most stunning places in Europe.

By Chloe Scamps

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