Getting invited to step on board a sailing yacht with your kite gear to explore stunning spots around Sardinia sounds like a dream, doesn't it? Well, that dream became a reality for Eleveight rider Jan Burgdörfer. Read all about what life was like on this kite and sail adventure in this article!

"Hey Jan, Sardinia is happening! You can book your flights now." This was the message I received from Philipp Mohr on the 24th of May. Philipp is Eleveight's area manager for the DACH region, which includes Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. When I saw that message pop up on my phone, I couldn't believe that the idea of doing a product shoot on a sailing yacht in Sardinia was about to become a reality. 

A few weeks later, I arrived at the Costa Smeralda airport in Olbia, Sardinia. After waiting a bit, Philipp and Marc, whom I hadn't met in person before, came to pick me up. When I saw his cheeky grin and heard him use the word "geil" (a German word used to express that you're extremely hyped!) about ten times in the first minute of conversation, it was immediately apparent that Marc was as excited about this trip as I was. If I had to pump a kite every time he used the word "geil" throughout our journey, I guess none of you reading this article would ever have to pump a kite again! The trip was finally happening, and we were all hyped, despite a less-than-promising forecast.

Marc Rosendahl is the guy who had the idea to bring kiters out to the sea and away from the overcrowded beaches, combining the complementary sports of sailing and kiting. In February, he sold his charter company to focus entirely on his new project, Kite2Sail. For the inaugural trip, we, the Eleveight team, three journalists and some friends of Marc, were the lucky ones to be invited to test the concept of Kite2Sail and to shoot our new product range. His positive attitude accompanied us throughout the whole trip.

Day One, the 8th of June, began with all of the stuff we had to do before we could set sail. There was a lot of gear to pack onto the yacht, with a load of Eleveight kite, foil, and wing. Afterwards, we decided to take his motorboat for a spin to explore the area and look at potential shooting locations. Even though this was the plan, we were quickly distracted by all the enormous mega yachts floating around in the beautiful bays of the Costa Smeralda. Lucky us that Andreas Fritsch was with us. He is an experienced sailor and journalist working for the Yacht Magazin in Germany, and he showed us around and told us interesting facts about the yachts we were passing. 

Day Two brought a light breeze that cooled down the hot air in the Marina Dell'Isola, the base harbour of Kite2Sail and the starting point of our yacht trip. We didn't waste a moment of wind and piled into the motorboat to score our first session. With 6 to 9 knot winds, we launched the 12m Eleveight RS+ from the boat. Sören got lucky and caught a gust immediately, so he could get on the foil instantly despite using a bar with only 15m lines. Sören Cordes, aka the Content-King, was the other team rider on this shoot. You need to get very lucky to see him without a camera in his hands, mouth or lines, if not all simultaneously.

Helen Fischer and Arne Schuber, the two passionate photographers on board, started to fill up their SD cards immediately. Unfortunately, the wind died after an hour, so we had to return to the harbour. We finished the day in the Il Segreto restaurant, where you have a stunning view of the beautiful bay.

Day Three was the day we finally set sail in our two yachts, one beautiful monohull sailing yacht and the Kite Voyager, a large and comfortable catamaran and the main boat used on Kite2Sail trips. After two hours at sea, we suddenly felt the wind pick up as we passed a huge rocky island. Keen to get on the water as soon as possible, we quickly set up the platforms at the back of the catamaran (where we can rig, launch, and park our gear) and got out on the water for a foiling session. Slicing through the Mediterranean Sea's deep blue water between the insanely high and rocky islands was amazing. Being able to go wherever the wind blows with these sailing boats provides a whole new dimension to kitesurfing, especially foiling.

As soon as I felt the wind picking up, I changed the foil for our light wind twin tip, the Process. Even though the wind was still relatively light, I managed to sneak in some jumps. Going downwind, we found a spot that immediately earned the moniker of "Little Cape Town". It was a beautiful bay in front of a huge rock, looking very similar to the famous Table Mountain. Checking the wind forecast while eating insanely good Italian pasta for dinner, prepared by Marc's wife Marcella, we were sure this spot would be the perfect shooting location for the next day.

Day Four started with a morning yoga session on the floating platforms behind the Kite Voyager, which turned out to be quite the core workout as they were rocking along with the motion of the sea. Warmed up, we pumped the kites and went for another foiling session. Half an hour later, the wind started to get stronger, so Sören, Philipp and I took out the Master, Master C+ and our Wingfoil equipment and went for some big air tricks at this breathtaking spot. Arne was shooting from the water and had an idea for a photo of me jumping with the Kite Voyager and the big rock as a backdrop. Because of the wind direction, I had to take off upwind of the catamaran, which turned out to be quite scary, but, in the end, I also wanted to get that shot, so I did what had to be done!

Since Little Cape Town was very close to our base marina, we decided to head back there for the night. The Day Five forecast wasn't looking too promising, so Marc, who knows the area very well, suggested we head to Porto Pollo. No sooner said than done, we raised the sails and went to the most famous wind and kitesurf spot on the island. We weren't expecting much, but we arrived with a light breeze blowing in the bay of Porto Pollo, perfect conditions for a foil session. Since the others were not as optimistic as I was, they decided to prepare some Aperol Spritz to start the evening early. After an hour of foiling, which ended up with quite a lot of swimming, I figured it would be more fun to join the party!

As the sun set, we went to the beach with our dinghy to have dinner at the beach bar. Somehow, shots of Mirto, a disgusting local herbal brandy, appeared on our table. Soon we were the only people left, so we started dancing on the beach. Marc's local manager, Alessandra, got the sense that we were hyped to go out partying and told us about a party happening at a bar only a hundred meters away. We ordered one Negroni to go and walked over to join the fun. A few hours, some Negronis and one great party later, we finally made it back to the catamaran. Once back there, not everyone was ready to go to bed, and Arne and Sören went night wakeboarding right in front of Steve Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, mega yacht. All in all, a night to remember.

Day Six was off to a relaxing start, with some light wind foil and wing sessions before we decided to explore the beautiful town of La Maddalena for the night. We looked at the wind forecast and could not believe our eyes; there was a perfect Scirocco (southeast wind) forecasted for Little Cape Town the next day.

Day Seven started with a quick sail over to Little Cape Town, where we decided to shoot directly from the beach, which allowed for perfect flat-water conditions and a steady 15 to 18 knots of wind. It was finally my time to take the new twin tip, the Commander AG Pro, designed for World Champion Arthur Guillebert, and the 14m RS out on the water for some proper wakestyle tricks. I could not stop smiling between my tricks, with Helen and Sören there to capture that epic session. These dreamy conditions with no other kiter at the spot amidst remarkable turquoise water were simply out of this world.

Unfortunately, the bay soon started to get crowded with motorboats. Luckily, they were not afraid of me jumping around them but enjoyed the entertainment. 

It was the perfect ending to this fantastic trip. None of us on board had been on a kite-sailing trip before, and we had no clue what to expect. The only thing we knew for sure was that it would be an adventure, and it was! In the end, we all agreed that this was a trip we would remember for a long time to come.

Often, the best trips seem to fly by, but this trip felt longer than its seven days. Not because it wasn't a great trip but because there were so many new impressions for each of us, and we took that time to savour every moment. 

Grazie Mile to everyone on board, especially Marcella, Marc and Eleveight, for making this trip possible. It was fun in its purest form!

See where the wind blows next on Instagram with @janburgdoerfer!

By janka.koncekova

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