Sainte Anne
Kiteboarding in Sainte-Anne, Guadeloupe
December 2017
Along the southern coast of Grande-Terre, Sainte-Anne has reef-fringed coastal waters exposed to Guadeloupe’s prevailing easterly winds. These conditions support kiteboarding, also called kitesurfing, a wind-powered sport in which a rider controls a traction kite through lines and a bar while travelling across the water on a board. Adjusting the kite’s position changes its pulling force, allowing the rider to control speed and direction or perform jumps.
George Pocock’s experiments during the 1820s demonstrated the potential of kite traction by using kites to pull boats and his kite-powered charvolant carriage. These experiments were important precursors, but they were not records of modern kitesurfing in Sainte-Anne. The modern sport developed during the late twentieth century, aided by inflatable kite designs that could be relaunched from the water.
By the time these photographs were taken in 2017, kiteboarding was an established competitive sailing discipline. Formula Kite, the hydrofoil-racing form of the sport, made its Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Games.
