Don Montague

Don Montague

Don Montague in Alameda in 2013.
Born Donald Lewis Montague
Alberta, Canada
Occupation Watersport athlete, designer
Notable work Kiteboat Project, Makani Power

Donald Lewis Montague is a Canadian-American watersport athlete and designer.[1] He is President of Kai Concepts, co-founder of Makani Power, and the head of the Kiteboat Project in Alameda, California.[2]

Career

In 1982, Montague moved from Canada to Santa Barbara, CA, and then to Maui, HI to pursue a career in windsurfing. After touring professionally in the Windsurfing World Cup, Montague began designing sails and other windsurfing equipment as Head Sail Designer at Gaastra Sails.[3] Later, while working as the head of Research & Development at Naish, Montague became interested in the idea of using kites to harness wind power in watersports. While being involved in the development of the first kites for Naish in 1997,[4] and helping to create a software that increased the speed of kite design modifications,[5] Montague became an avid kitesurfer. In 2006, his interest in wind-related technology led him to engineers and fellow kitesurfers Corwin Hardham and Saul Griffith, and together they created Makani Power, an Alameda, California-based company that develops airborne wind turbines for commercial use. Makani (the Hawaiian word for “gentle breeze”) was acquired by Google X in May 2013 and is still considered a pioneer in wind powered energy systems.[2][6]

Kiteboat Project

Montague’s interest in kite power led him to create the Kiteboat Project.[2] Currently the project is part of Kai Concepts, a Bay Area team known for testing the limits of kite propulsion and experimenting with technological advances in watersport technology.

References

  1. ↑ "Fastest man on the water". CNN. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Specter, Michael (20 May 2013). "Inherit the wind". The New Yorker. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Lang, Paul (14 December 2012). "The Kiteboat Project". The Kiteboarder. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Wind is Big Business for Makani Power". The Kiteboarder. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Kitesurfing, InMotion. "History of Kiteboarding". InMotion. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Lardinois, Frederic (22 May 2013). "Google X Acquires Makani Power And Its Airborne Wind Turbines". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
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