Cape Town is The Ultimate Kitesurfing Destination
12 October 2020
For six months of the year, kitesurfers from across the globe descend on Cape Town to take advantage of our legendary winds and to ride our waves.
German Speed Kitesurfing Champ and director of Kitekahunas, Dr Wolfram Reiners, considers Cape Town the world’s top kitesurfing destination. In this Q&A, he explains why.
How popular is Cape Town with kitesurfers?
Most Capetonians are unaware of this, but Cape Town is the central hub of kitesurfing worldwide. The city is quite famous. We get kitesurfers from all over the world here every season, they include doctors, dentists, CEOs, managers, bankers, directors, entrepreneurs and engineers. These men and women are committed to the sport. If you work in London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York or the Middle East, you often have to travel to another country or continent to practice the sport. The sport has quite addictive traits. Cape Town has developed more and more into a central hub. People speak of it being the world’s capital of kitesurfing.
Where are the pro kitesurfers that spend most of their time in Cape Town from?
Our estimations are that there are about 500 000 kitesurfers worldwide, mostly from the US and Europe. Kitesurfers that spend a lot of time in Cape Town annually come from Holland, Germany, France, the US, Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. Brazil is also very big in kitesurfing. The sport is about 20 years old and for the last 10 years or so it has exploded in Cape Town. Cape Town is a hot destination for especially pro kitesurfer between October and March, our windiest season. Pro kitesurfers spend the summer training here. It’s the ideal place to train for pro tournaments.
On average, how long do international kitesurfers stay in Cape Town?
Tourists come for two weeks, that’s the standard. The pro kitesurfers stay for up to two months during our season. Everyone meets here in December and January. Cape Town is the world’s kitesurfing meeting place.
Why do kitesurfers prefer Cape Town?
We have the most fantastic wave conditions. We have a lot of wind, 80 – 90% wind days during the season, which is amazing. We also have legendary waves here, which is conducive to the discipline of wave surfing.
How long have you been in Cape Town and what do you enjoy most about the city?
I’ve been in Cape Town for about 11 years and love everything about the city, so much so that I’ve opened a business here and live here now. It’s my home. The most beautiful city on earth. Working and living here is amazing. My customers and kitesurfer friends from all over the world fall in love with the city as soon as they arrive here. It is the mecca of wave kitesurfing internationally. People do two continental flights for this. An eye surgeon from US was here recently, he watched our videos online every day and decided to fly here and enjoy our city. That is something that makes us very proud.
You describe kitesurfing as the most joyful sport on the planet. What makes it so special?
Everything. I was born and bred in the Alps of Germany. Everyone who gets exposed to this sport, gets addicted to it. And in Cape Town, you get so much more. The scenery is absolutely stunning, to kitesurf with Table Mountain as the backdrop. You can’t get that anywhere on earth.
