Down to His Final Strike in the £5,000 Kite Challenge! | Wings & Waves S2 E5

With training officially over, "silent assassin" Van Martarello steps up alone to face Round 1 and Round 2 of the £5,000 North Sails kiteboarding challenge in gusty Atlantic conditions! After battling a mid-heat kite line tangle on the beach, two failed water starts in up-and-down winds leave his competition hopes hanging by a thread on his third and final attempt. New episodes every Thursday at 1500 UK! Subscribe to North Sails! In Wings & Waves Season 2, four rookie competitors with zero prior kitesurfing experience are pushed to their limits at Club North FeelViana in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. Guided and judged by big-air pros Francesca Maini and Cohan Van Dijk, the contestants are competing for a £5,000 cash prize and the chance to host North Sails content at Red Bull King of the Air (KOTA) in Cape Town, South Africa. Bridging high-performance sailing heritage with the raw adrenaline of kiteboarding and action watersports, North Sails puts every rider's composure, wind awareness, and seamanship to the ultimate test. In Episode 5, pro breakdancer Van Martarello takes on the solo competition heat. In Round 1 (Rigging), Van works methodically in strong, sand-blasting winds to pump his 7m North Reach kite, weight the canopy with his feet, and bury his pigtails—until a knotted tangle on his Navigator bar threatens to derail his run. In Round 2 (Water Start & Ride), Van nails his beach launch and body drags cleanly past breaking waves and downwind beginners, only to crash out on his first two water start attempts on his weaker left tack. With one final strike remaining to ride his North Prime twin-tip for at least five seconds, Van throws everything into a do-or-die kite dive. Whether you are a lifelong sailor who respects rigging discipline and wind mechanics, a kitesurfer who remembers the pressure of nailing your first water starts, or a fan of high-stakes competition, this episode delivers pure coastal drama. --- EPISODE CHAPTERS: 0:00 Cold Open: Down to the Final Water Start Attempt 0:39 Competition Briefing: Round 1 & Round 2 Rules 1:33 Solo Rider Reveal: "Silent Assassin" Van Steps Up 2:21 Round 1 Rigging: Pumping & Weighting the North Reach Kite 3:25 Mid-Heat Crisis: Untangling the Bar & Kite Lines Under Pressure 4:51 Judges' Verdict: Francesca Maini & Cohan Van Dijk Score Round 1 5:25 Round 2 Water Start: Kite Launch, Body Dragging & Gusty Surf 6:47 Two Strikes Down: Van's Do-or-Die Final Attempt 8:29 Judges' Deliberation & Total Leaderboard Score Reveal CREDITS: Pro Coaches & Judges: Francesca Maini & Cohan Van Dijk Contestants: Van Martarello, Tinuke Oyediran, Jazz Saunders, Kieran Holmes-Darby Narrator: Billy Sewell Executive Producer: Amy Gardner Location: Club North FeelViana, Cabadelo Beach, Viana do Castelo, Portugal Produced by Finite Films & TV in partnership with North Sails #Kiteboarding #NorthSails #Watersports #ActionSports #Kitesurfing --- As the undisputed global leader in sailmaking, North Sails pioneers performance-led design and advanced 3Di engineering across all wind-powered sports. From offshore yacht racing and one-design fleets to high-speed foiling and windsurfing, we build the fastest, most advanced sails and rigs on the water. Discover more at northsails.com. https://www.northsails.com/pages/north-sails-wings-and-waves?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=wingsandwaves Subscribe for more great videos: https://www.youtube.com/@North_Sails?sub_confirmation=1 --- "WW S2 E05.mp4" ---