Interview with Philippe Ancelin, a passionate kiter and instructor
When is the first time you landed here and how did you get informed about the potential of kiteboarding as sport here?
My first time in Brazil was in 2016 while supervising a Downwinder between Jericoacoara and Atins. Then I also went around Natal and Sao Miguel Do Gostoso for a kite camp. It gave me a chance to enjoy quite a few brazilian spots. For the last week of this awesome journey I had an opportunity to come around Pontal Do Maceio. A friend of mine was teaching here in a school called Cocokite. The school was runned by Kaelig and Dianne Ziarkowski. As they needed an extra instructor for a couple of days I came around to bring an extra hand to the team and enjoy one more brazilian spot. I must admit that this place turned out to be the one I liked the most for some reasons that i’ll explain later on.
Can you tell us about the wind calendar of this region?
Basically, the wind season starts in June and keeps going relentlessly until the end of January. June, July, December and January are usually easy going with an average of 12/15 knots. The wind is usually more consistent between August and December with an average of 15/20 knots and sometimes a bit higher. It makes it ideal for learning also for advanced kite lessons. Coming here to train allows you to try new tricks in a forgiving strength of wind which wouldn’t be the case if you go up north as the average wind strength is around 25 knots.
There are many areas in the world and in Brazil one can kite, what makes Fortim special?
Fortim/Pontal in my view offers many advantages. First of all, as I said before, the wind conditions are perfect for learning and training. We also enjoy flat and shallow water at low tide and a very entertaining « bump and jump » spot at high tide for strapless kiteboarding. The area is far enough from a big city to feel the thrill of an adventure but still close enough to the airport so as to make is easy to reach (less than 2 hours drive). The area is rather calm and also pretty safe and secured so as to feel free to make the most of it with no pressure of any kind.
Is there a risk of being overcrowded by kiters ?
I guess the risk of being overcrowded does exist everywhere and answering « no » to this question wouldn’t be honest. Nevertheless, we do enjoy a big spot which can welcome a fair amount of people without having the feeling of being overcrowded. So far, I never felt surrounded when kiteboarding here and I guess we have a bit of time ahead of us before such thing happens.
How many kiting schools are there and how does it go to being licensed?
To open a kite school you need to get a proper licence (alvara). You also need to have certified instructors. At the One Launch Kite-House every one is certified and we take teaching kiteboarding very seriously so as to provide the best quality lessons ever. I think there are about 3 kiteboarding schools so far in this town, ours included.
Pontal de Maceio, Fortim is also known as a village of fishermen, how do you find the balance with them, are there designated areas for kiting and fishing?
Interesting question. Fishing remains one big activity for this village and it should remain so. We tend not to use the « central beach » for kiting and when people go fishing around the kiting area we always try not to interfere with them. It surely isn’t always easy to satisfy everyone but we do our best. Some local people also find through our activity a chance to be introduced to kiteboarding, learn another language and make a first step into tourism and all the different kinds of jobs it can bring. This shouldn’t be forgotten and without kiteboarding it wouldn’t be possible.
Let us speak about this sport, known is an action sport combining aspects of wakeboarding, snowboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, skateboarding and sailing into one extreme sport.
As you just said, this sport a basically a big mix of everything. Before getting into this sport I was actually into windsurfing, skateboarding, surfing and so on…. When I discovered kiteboarding I saw the perfect combination of all my passion it it wasn’t hard to fall in love with it.
How difficult it is to learn for a beginner?
The most important thing is to be selective when it comes to the spot and the kite school you’re going to learn with. There is a little bit of everything out there and being picky can make a big difference on your learning. Is nothing difficult to learn how to kite, all you need is a bit of time and motivation and it’s always worth giving it a try.
What is the time average for learning this sport? Do you have tailored classes for kids and older people?
I would say it’s like getting a driver’s licence. It can take between 8 and 20 hours of lessons to get enough skills to become an independent rider. Once again, the spot and the instructor can make a big difference. I wouldn’t we have « tailored » lessons for kids and older people but I can guarantee that we constantly adapt depending on the needs of the student so as to provide the best quality lessons.
Can a person with a disability learn here in Pontal de Maceio?
I would say it depends on the disability. There are solutions for people that are unable to walk but we don’t provide such lessons here in Pontal as they require a special environment. Nevertheless, if you do have a disability, you can still contact us and we’ll let you know if we can do something about it.
What is the price in RS for such program depending on hours, say 6 sessions of 2 hours?
For a 6 sessions package (12h) you would pay around 2000 RS for semi-private lessons (2 students for one instructor) and 3200 RS for private lessons.
As matter, of practising this sport, kiters also need to rent houses or rooms, do you have any information about the way they get through and can you tell us about the bed capacities Fortim, and more particularly Pontal de Maceio has? What about restaurants?
The One Launch Kite-House can provide some accomodation (8 bedrooms) and the village of Pontal de maceio does provide many different options. There are some guest-Houses (pousadas) like Brisa Do Pontal or Vila Jodi. Some Houses to rent like Vila Loira or Vila Atlantica and also hotels with all inclusive service like Vila Selvagem or hotel Pausa.
Concerning restaurants we used to struggle a bit but it’s getting better and better. We have an excellent meat restaurant called « Praia Pub » and a Lovely pizzeria called Vila Caïçara. When it comes to lunch time the best option remains the « barracas » where you can enjoy grilled fish, diverse seafood and other local specialities like the famous « bolinas de queijo ». As I said, Pontal Do Maceio provides more and more when it comes to restaurants.
Pontal de Maceio, Fortim has met a real blossoming when it comes to investment, how do you see it in 5 years when it comes to the sustainability and kiting as sport?
The most important thing to me is to remain in an idea of preserving the shore and providing good quality lessons so as to keep this place attractive and welcoming. As long as we keep on working hard in order to provide the best I truly believe that in five years time we can make it a « world kiteboarding hotspot » with everything one needs to spend an excellent family kiteboarding holiday.
Philippe Ancelin is an international kite- boarding instructor You may reach im via www.onelaunchkiteboarding.com
Note. This interview was conducted by the PR manager of Albaimoveis. Copyright of Albaimoveis. October, 2019