Russian and American Kitesurfers Crossed the Gulfstream & the Florida Strait in a 6 Hour Tour

Russian and American kiteboarders crossed the Gulfstream and the Florida Strait both located in the Atlantic Ocean. The group set off on February 4 from Bimini Island in Bahamas and finished their transition at Key Biscayne Beach in Miami, US. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) February 06, 2022 - The event was dedicated to the inclusion of kitesurfing in the Summer Olympic Games program.

Participants planned to start the tour on February 3rd, however, due to high waves they decided to postpone their departure for one day.

The team covered the designated distance of 108 km (67,11 mi) in 5 hours and 55 minutes. Initially it was assumed that the route would be 85 km (52,82 mi). Average speed during the tour reached the 18 km/h (11,18 mph) mark.

Safety of this adventure was provided by an escort boat. All participants had their GPS trackers attached to them with data of their whereabouts sent directly to boat captain via a radio channel.

For en route communication all kitesurfers were provided with a radio set with 5 km (3.1 mi) of coverage, as well as a headset that operates within 600 m (1968 ft). Emergency call equipment was provided too.

The international group includes the famous Russian kitesurfer Konstantin Aksenov, as well as Vladimir Popov, a professional traveler and entrepreneur, and Chris Ribot, a kitesurfing coach.

By taking the shortest route between the Bahamas and the United States we want to draw attention to certain disciplines of kiteboarding. It has recently become a new Olympic sport and will debut at the 2024 Summer Games,” Konstantin Aksenov said who owns the world record for crossing the Bering Strait on a kiteboard.

Vladimir Popov stated that after the route is covered an application may be submitted to include this passage through the Gulf Stream and the Florida Strait in the Russian Book of Records.

“Uniqueness of our tour was enhanced by the fact that we tested three types of boards under very weak wind conditions. We also used the largest available kiteboard of 15 m (49,21 ft) in line length,” Vladimir Popov stressed.

For his part, Chris Ribot highly appreciated the standard of preparation for this tour:
Со своей стороны Крис Рибот высоко оценил уровень подготовки данного перехода:

“I am very glad to be part of the team that managed to carry out this extreme transition. Preparations for the event were held at the highest level, as we had all the necessary equipment that ensured safety of each athlete en route.”

It is not their first route for Konstantin and Vladimir. They previously travelled 203 km (126.1 mi) across the Indian Ocean from Mauritius to Reunion island. This achievement found its position in the Russian Book of Records. In 2019 the kitesurfers did it once again. In the same 2019 Vladimir and Konstantin tried to cover the extreme Sakhalin-Hokkaido route. Unfortunately, sever weather conditions did not allow them to secure the record.

Chris Ribot entered the team for Key West – Cuba trip, as well as Miami – Key West crossings.

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