"Manu Bertin filmed by Mat Pendle in 1996 at Hookipa, Maui Hawaii, probably the first kiteboarding footage ever.
In 1998, this video was about all that I had to figure out kitesurfing along with information on the Internet. Good things are a lot easier today!
A shot from the Wipika website, 1997-98 from
http://inflatablekite.com/wipika1997-98/Default.htm
This is all we had, two lines, no quick release and no leash (in this case). I did have a leash with the 8.5 m Wipika I bought in August 1998. It consisted of a wrist cuff attached to a line that ran a wing span width up one of the flying lines. Drop the bar and the kite is flown from a wingtip depowered.
.