With an unquenchable thirst for time on the water and diverse equipment and riding styles, Alby Rondina, Annelous Lammerts and Lucas Arsenault are an unbeatable team to represent Cabrinha for the 02 Collection shoot! Join these three international athletes for 12 days in Sardinia in this exclusive IKSURFMAG article!

The Cabrinha Ohana is unique. We live in all parts of the world and might not see each other for a long time, but when we meet again, it's like no time has passed, and it feels like the last time we were together was yesterday. We are a close-knit family with a strong passion for what we do that tightly connects us. The company is constantly evolving, which motivates us to strive to be the best, both with product development and our riding.

Maui has always been a favourite shoot location for the Cabrinha team, where we have our company headquarters. Most product shoots over the last decade have occurred on home soil, but we have had the opportunity to get outside of the box over the previous two seasons. For 02, the shoot landed in Alby Rondina's backyard. What better place than the diverse scenery of Sardinia, where we could enjoy crystal clear water, freestyle sessions in butter flat water, and fun sessions in the waves!

Our trio has more than 30 years of combined experience as part of the Cabrinha family, with Alby Rondina being the 'eldest son' at 18 years with Cabrinha! So, it was only natural that we make a stop at ProKite Alby Rondina in Sicily before continuing together to the shoot location of Sardinia. Lucas arrived from Canada, where he's been exploring all the kite spots his home country has to offer over the past year, and Annelous took a break from her Formula Kite race training to join us from the Netherlands. We had a tremendous asset in Cabrinha rider Markino Orrù, who lives in Sardinia and has a kite centre in the southwest. His local knowledge was vital in helping us find the most beautiful shoot locations to fit the wind. 

Cabrinha shoots are always super fun because we all share the same passion and vibe, going big, having fun and delivering for the cameras. It doesn't get much better than riding the newest gear with all your best friends and the most talented media team following you! Behind the cameras, we had photographer Lukas Stiller and videographer Laci Kobulsky. They kept the spirit high even though they literally had to walk miles along un-accessible roads carrying suitcases full of flashes, cameras, batteries, and snacks. 

While we had a lot of products to shoot, we all shared the same excitement to try the new Cabrinha FX2. It's an entirely new kite this year, and designer Brodie Sutherland did a stellar job with it. Lucas, with roots firmly planted in freestyle, was the ideal rider to showcase this kite; he's ridden each evolution of the FX since it was released. The new higher aspect shape directly improved the forward drive explosiveness with its 4-line setup. Lucas was blown away by how an easy bridle modification impacted the performance by converting the kite to a 6-line setup. For him, this year felt like a big progression forwards, a significant improvement in the freestyle department without compromising any big air abilities. The FX2 truly has two different personalities, and they're both brilliant.

Annelous spent most of her time in Sardinia riding the Moto. It's one of Cabrinha's easiest kites to fly with a comfortable, direct feeling. For her, it's the one kite you can use for all disciplines, whether it's foil, surf, jumping or even some unhooked tricks. She has spent the last few years diversifying her riding, with foiling becoming a huge passion, as it allows her to spend more time on the water than ever. When it came to this trip, the Moto was a favourite for getting out and foiling in any conditions! 

The Switchblade is a legend in the Cabrinha lineup, and Alby has been riding this kite from the start. The design progression has been wild; in the early days, the Switchblade had pulleys on the bar, pulleys on the kite, solid bar pressure, and performed like an old C-kite, but it was still massively popular! Now, it's feather-light, has an incredibly simple bridle, and a direct feeling in the sky. Beginners can learn on this kite and work on their first jumps and rotations, and then there's Camdyn Kellett throwing extreme kite loops in Cape Town on the same kite! The extra hang time that can be achieved with the 02 Switchblade is fantastic, and we're excited to see kiters up their game, no matter what discipline they ride. With our varied shoot conditions, the Switchblade was Alby's go-to kite. 

We constantly push each other to go bigger or hold the grab longer. The motto this year was "go higher with the kite lower". It's hard to agree on the best session of the shoot because there were so many! We had heavenly conditions for 10 out of the 12 days of our shoot. From flatwater in Porto Pino and Porto Botte to Sant'Antioco with conditions so perfect, we weren't willing to get off the water even after the sun had set!

Perhaps the most memorable experience was riding a rare south wind in Porto Pino, with clear blue water, white sand and dunes surrounding the spot. One day, after shooting foiling, the wind got strong enough for us to ride twin tips. We couldn't resist checking out the flat water near the port entrance, with its breathtaking backdrop. After a few fishing boats passed us on the way into the port, we saw the police boat approaching at full speed with the sirens on. We raced to the beach to deflate, pack down, and make ourselves scarce, which meant finishing the day early and heading for a drink at the beach bar. 

After a couple of rounds, the music started, so we stayed for a few more! Lucas had been trying to learn Italian during the trip and, despite his best effort, only managed to learn a couple of sentences. One of them was "Buon Compleanno", which is Happy Birthday. He could say that one very well, so you can be sure a few of the ladies at the beach bar heard that one! We stayed dancing until late into the night; it was an epic party and a great way to finish a crazy day! 

On the very last session of the shoot, we went to an entirely new spot with kickers and swell to chase those last few perfect shots. Cruising through the ocean behind the swell line to capture aerial shots with the drone was incredible. The scenery from the ocean looking back upon the land was stunning, especially when the surrounding mountains lit up with the sunset. It was surreal; the way we as kiters can experience nature, feel its power and ride with it is always an amazing thing.

The trip was an incredible success. We had better wind conditions than we could have hoped for, beautiful sunshine, stunning locations, and endless amounts of pizza. As a team, we are extremely motivated. Everyone did their parts which made our mission both easy and enjoyable. Departing at the end of a Cabrinha shoot is like saying goodbye to family, but we are always close no matter how far away we are spread across the world.

Annelous went off to keep ticking things off her bucket list, like tow-foiling in bigger waves and sending even bigger kite loops on the new FX2. Alby headed back to Sicily, where his kite centre will reopen at the beginning of April, loaded up with new Cabrinha 02 gear. You'll be able to spot him at demo events around Europe in the Cabrinha RV, where you can try out the latest gear and join him for a cold beer! And Lucas got on a flight back to Canada, where he plans to get out and ride as much as he can, with the hopes of fewer travel restrictions so he can chase wind and waves!

As always, the camaraderie between our group is relaxed and fun; we've become great friends over the past few years. Kiteboarding is our passion, and we have all chosen to revolve our lives around it. All of us have come together to be a part of Cabrinha at different ages, with different accents and languages, styles and backgrounds. We all share the same love for the sport, are proud to be on the Cabrinha team, and beyond stoked to share the 02 season with you!

 

Videos

'Here & Now' - Cabrinha 02 Teaser
By Annelous Lammerts

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