After two years of a pandemic, lockdowns, and isolation, what better way to kick off the summer than by having our IKSURFMAG / Tonic Mag Kite & Wing Demo weekend!

The Beach at Littlehampton is fantastic if you haven’t visited it yet! It’s just a short drive from London, Portsmouth, and Southampton, so you can visit all the usual south coast spots. The spot is tidal, and at high tide, it is ideal for foil sports and freeride kiting; when the tide drops, the water flattens out behind some small sand bars and becomes perfect for freestyle kiting. So you could have a flat-water session in the morning, a foil session for lunch and another flat-water session in the afternoon - sounds ideal. The Beach Cafe has a great breakfast, lunch & dinner menu, indoor, outdoor and rooftop seating. 

Most brands arrived on Friday afternoon, including Emma Beckinsale, Duotone Kiteboarding UK, Mike Birt from Airush, AK Durable Supply Co and Shinn UK (Ktwo), and Tom Beaton Ozone/Flysurfer (Maxtrack Limited). The brands were welcomed by Rou Chater and Jen Tyler, as well as a solid 20-knot breeze and blue skies!

First, lunch was in order, followed by a wing session! Finally, we ended the evening by enjoying beers with a live DJ on The View at The Beach!

By the break of dawn, we were ready for the big demo day on Saturday morning!

All the brands, including ION, Fanatic, Freedom Foil Boards, Armstrong, Unifoil, Naish, and others, set up impressive demo areas on the beach, pumping kites and wings, and putting boards and foils together - it looked amazing! You even ordered the sea breeze to kick in by 10:00 am, and it did!! 

It had been a while since we’d seen so many flags flying, pumping wind, sunshine, and so many people on the water. Most of us stayed on the water until the brands started packing up around 7 pm. After that, it was time for dinner and beers at The Beach, followed by live music at The View (upstairs).

Duotone’s ‘Save our Playground’ beach clean-up on Sunday morning couldn’t have been more timely! We were already at the venue waiting for the wind to kick at the venue, so this was the most productive activity! One hour and a half later, as we approached the end of the clean-up, the wind was blowing, and the action was not going to stop!

All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better turnout! The latest equipment was abundant on a platter for you to demo, the sun was shining, and the wind blew all weekend. All you needed to bring was yourself and a wetsuit! We want to thank all the brands that came - we’ll be doing it again soon - 100%! 

By Jen Tyler
Italian/Egyptian Jen Tyler grew up on the sandy beaches of the Red Sea and has been on the IKSURFMAG & Tonic Mag team since 2017.

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