Santa Barbara Kiteboarder Sets Sights on Paris Olympics

Evan Heffernan carried $3,500 worth of carbon fiber out toward the shore at Leadbetter Beach.

“No touching the wings,” he warned. “They’re sensitive to oil. It would interfere with the flow of water.” The two wings, or hydrofoils, were attached by a four-foot-long mast under the board that Heffernan would be riding out to sea. He described the assembly as “an underwater airplane.”

Curious onlookers gathered around as Heffernan spread an elongated sail on the sand. The breeze was steady, and now he was ready to roll. He pulled on a padded wetsuit and an impact vest, then a helmet. He harnessed himself to the sail and raced into the surf with the board, securing his feet in straps. The blue sail, a giant kite, rose and filled with air. Under its pull, the board instantly lifted above the surface. Knifing through the water, Heffernan sped past the swimmers’ buoys, and so rapidly did he fly downwind that he was a mere speck outside the breakwater in a matter of seconds. He would spend the next several hours cavorting offshore, the foils sometimes breaking the surface as he pirouetted in the air.