Under the Hood… Ocean Rodeo

Ocean Rodeo

PHOTOS SAMUEL CARDENAS AND JAY WALLACE

2021 marks Ocean Rodeo’s 20th year in business. Over that time they have contributed some pioneering technology to the kite industry, from quick release systems to their super light ALUULA material. We talked to founder Richard Myerscough about the last 20 years, their proudest moments and what they foresee for the future.

TAKE US THROUGH WHAT LED YOU TO MOVE INTO THE WORLD OF KITESURFING, AND WHAT YOUR FIRST PRODUCTS WERE?

Like many that ended up in the kite industry, I had a competitive windsurfing background which introduced me to the sports industry at a young age. When photos of kiting started showing up in the late nineties, it looked amazing to me, a windsurfer. It was appealing as it needed less wind, and the jumps were huge – I just had to have a go! At the time I was heavily committed to my first business venture in wetsuits and drysuit manufacturing. From 1991 to 2010, I was the co-owner of Whites Manufacturing, which ultimately became one of the world’s leading manufacturers of drysuits. Our main markets were diving and military, however when I started to kite I was spending a lot of time in cold water – that led to the birth of the Ocean Rodeo brand, and the Pyro drysuit. This was in 2001. Kites came along a year later and was all down to Ross Harrington, a famous windsurf sail and now guru kite designer. Ross was making very nice inflatable kites in his garage between 1998 and 2001, and at the time there was virtually nothing to buy locally. So we went for it and added kites to Ocean Rodeo in 2002. Our first kite was the Bronco: pure C kite power and built to take a beating!

HOW HAS THE KITE INDUSTRY CHANGED IN THAT TIME?

The business side has changed considerably. We now have some very large players, including the largest sporting goods company in the world, Decathlon, selling kites, then we still have a cross section of direct selling discount brands, and then the premium brands that seem to use a blended distribution model of online and retail shops. These retailers offer both great online and brick-and-mortar service, plus lessons. The sport has certainly matured and stabilized, and the brands that have done it right are becoming more dominant and established. It seems in the last year we’re seeing fewer new brands looking to jump in. In kiting itself, perhaps one of the most exciting changes is the new ISO standard for control bar release systems. A solid sign that kiting is maturing, and the brands and national sailing federations are working together to improve safety, which is all very good for the end user.

YOUR TEAM IN CANADA IS KNOWN FOR BEING KIND OF A BIG KITING FAMILY, WHO ARE HAPPY TO DISPENSE ADVICE. HOW IMPORTANT TO YOU IS IT THAT IT REMAINS A CORE KITE BRAND, OWNED AND RUN BY REAL KITERS?

The majority of top brands are run and owned, at least partly, by passionate wind sport lovers. I feel that to be a leader in any business, the boss should be an expert and be really tuned into the sport. It helps to be able to ride so you can come to your own conclusions on what the future might be, and ultimately drive the future direction of the business. For Ocean Rodeo, I still test and work on each and every product in the line-up with our design team. And of course, as the boss, the buck stops with me.

We still have much more in the innovation pipeline to offer our kiting customers, and we will always remain true to kiting... with one notable exception: we are also now hooked on wing foiling, which is a great business fit for us. We are working with the same materials and process, and we know how to make wings, plus the distribution network is identical. All our dealers also sell wing foiling equipment and are asking us to develop this product line, in particular wings using ALUULA. Wing foiling will be a big part of Ocean Rodeo in the future.

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The ALUULA Composites engineering and chemistry team.

OCEAN RODEO HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME PRETTY KEY DEVELOPMENTS DURING THAT TIME. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT TWO OR THREE OF YOUR PROUDEST CREATIONS?

This is a tough question as we have over 50 patents at Ocean Rodeo. From drysuits to zipper designs to control bars to new material, there are so many to choose from. One would be our first kiting patent in 2001 – the hand-activated push away release for trim loops, and the bar activated ‘punchout’ trim loop release. This patent went on to become a key one in the sport of kiting as it set the foundation for today’s safety systems. It was involved in several legal battles and taught us all about the importance of patents and how to use them!

Another proud moment was the Surf Drysuit in 2007. For cold water surfing it was found to be a touch too expensive, however it found its ultimate home as a high-performance diving drysuit with a unique performance delivered by a dual layering system. This patent was ultimately acquired by the Aqualung Group in 2010. Today the Aqualung suits are a game changing product in the dive market.

The latest proud moment would be the development of the super light ALUULA material, introduced into our new A-Series kite range in 2020. This has transformed our business and become our raison d’être. It is most certainly the boldest move of my business career, attempting to make a completely new type of material, and then launching a new business from it. ALUULA was totally spawned from the Ocean Rodeo design and ownership team. You’ll have to check back in a few years for an update on this one because we are sure having a lot of fun making kites and wings right now!

“We will shortly be releasing our HL Series which stands for Hybrid Light. These hybrid kites and wings are crazy light and strong.”

SO WOULD YOU SAY THIS HAS BEEN A REAL BREAKOUT MO MENT?

100% yes. Everything that flies generally benefits greatly from being lighter. For about six years we’ve been tinkering in the background on this project, however the market was able to see the results of the work in one year. We have cut the weight of SLE kites in half and designed new technologies to work with this new composite material. This type of innovation is disruptive... and hard not to notice. Right now we are really stoked to have the lightest SLE kites on the market, and the gap will only continue to grow in the coming years between regular Dacron/ripstop kites and ALUULA/composite built kites.

CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE ALUULA ACROSS THE WHOLE OCEAN RODEO LINE UP?

Yes, we are moving to use ALUULA composite at least in some parts with all our kites and wings. This has already begun, and we are very passionate to see how far we can push down the weights and maintain durability. We will shortly be releasing our HL Series which stands for Hybrid Light. These hybrid kites and wings are crazy light and strong and make use of ALUULA around the primarily Dacron airframe.

“WE ARE AT THE START OF THE MATERIALS RENAISSANCE. USING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY IN MATERIALS WE SHOULD SEE NEW THRESHOLDS IN LIGHT WIND PERFORMANCE.”

WE’VE SEEN THAT YOU’RE ALSO NOW DEVELOPING AN ALUULA WING, THE GLIDE. THIS NEW SPORT HAS SEEN TRULY BALLISTIC UPTAKE… WHAT IS ALUULA GOING TO BRING TO THE PARTY HERE?

We, like most brands joining the wing party, are having a ton of fun learning and designing gear for this new sport. For sure having a stiff airframe is key, and this is where we have focused our efforts on our gen 1 ALUULA series wing. What we really like about ALUULA is using it for the boom – it is so light and stiff. For one-handed drifting the wing stays flying as you accelerate with the wave. Keeping the weight down on the boom end is key to great drifting. The lighter the wing, the easier the transitions, plus it is highly responsive, has great pumping power and is stable in the gusts. So we have the Glide HL with ALUULA boom and Dacron leading edge coming out in April, and then the Glide A-Series (all ALUULA frame) coming in May.

IT’S BEEN AN ODD TIME FOR GKA RIDERS. WHAT HAVE YOUR TEAM RIDERS BEEN UP TO THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC?

Our World Champion waverider Carla Herreira has been working hard training in Tarifa and getting organized for the OR signature store opening in Tarifa. Also, Carla and Rodri (of Kite Fun Tarifa) have been testing a lot for us this year as we have some exciting new kites in development. Reece has also been training hard. He lives in Tofino, Vancouver Island, a surfing paradise and is on the water almost every day. I think he is enjoying traveling less as the conditions are so good at his front door! As a Mechanical Engineer and a key designer at Ocean Rodeo, he is also working full time on the design and testing.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE NEW STORE IN TARIFA?

We’ve never had our own brand shop in Europe, so this is our starting point. All of us at OR love Tarifa, such a great spot! We’re excited to be working closely with Carla and Rodri and the location is amazing, right on the main strip, lined up with the other brand shops as you head into Tarifa. We’ll have all the latest gear including demos of the A-Series kites and ALUULA wings.

SO, WHAT DO THE NEXT 20 YEARS HOLD FOR OCEAN RO DEO..?

ALUULA has given us a breath of fresh air and I feel that there is 20 years of exciting design opportunity ahead for the entire wind industry. We are at the start of the materials renaissance. Using the latest technology in materials we should see new thresholds in light wind performance. Perhaps two or three knots of wind will become a riding option, ripping on glass smooth water with easy-to-use foil boards, riding surf breaks that could never be ridden before due to wind turbulence, or getting glass smooth wave faces. Beginners will be able to go out in lighter wind, which is less intimidating than strong wind. And I hope new levels of Big Air, wave riding and speed all come from these materials improvements as they are worked into exciting new products that let us ride more. Wouldn’t it be nice if every day could be a kite day? That’s our goal and we’re almost there… ■

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Mechanical Engineer Liam getting to grips with the 3D printer.

BOTTOM

Reece Myerscough admiring the new material.

ALU/CARBON HYBRID FOIL RANGE

MODULAR SYSTEM

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