Union Island - A Kitesurf Paradise

On our various trips to Brazil over the last 6 years we keep running into Ocean Rodeo team riders / promotional gurus Jeremie Tronet and Linn Svendsen. The lovely French-Caribbean / Norwegian couple have now set up their own kite centre with school in the Grenadines, mainly serving the passing yacht trade. See: www.kitesurfgrenadines.com

So knowing that this pair wouldn't settle somewhere with anything less than amazing kite conditions, we thought we might go and check it out. We shot a bit of video of Sarah kiting which you can watch below. This gives you a good idea of how good the conditions were :)

After a very good autumn/winter season in the UK the long range forecast all of a sudden looked very bleak, so we booked a cheap flight to Barbados with Mr Beardy Branson Airways, organised the transfer hop flight with Mustique Airways (thanks Keisha) who offer an excellent range of reliable winged caravans.

From above (Pic stolen from Hannah Darling)

So after some Twin Otter hi-jinx, some confused but amusing conversations at customs about what was in the huge kite bags, and the arduous hotel transfer (30 second ride on a golf buggy), in what seemed like no time at all with the time difference, we had travelled from a freezing and drizzly Gatwick to sunshine, palm trees and clear blue water. We stayed at the Anchorage Yacht Club, which mainly acts as a transfer point for luxury tourists travelling over towards the Palm Island resort. The hotel is about 100m from the kite spot and is extremely convenient. The staff are very helpful and friendly as well, and the Wifi runs as smoothly as the supply of Pina Coladas.

Not too shabby view in front of the rooms at the hotel

The wind over the duration of the trip was excellent, with 10 out of 12 days kiteable and really it was more like 11 out of 12 but one morning we were particularly hungover. The wind follows a daily pattern. It kicks in at about 8 in the morning and is at its strongest (18 - 20 knots) until around 1pm. It then has the courtesy to mellow out a bit over lunch time (although it's still rideable) to allow you to have a leisurely lunch. By 3pm it's back up to speed again, and gradually gets stronger until sunset. We quickly settled into a routine, and found an early start and a long lunch, possibly with short snooze afterwards, let you have 2 or three hours in the morning riding quite hard, and then a more relaxed sunset session before cocktail hour. As you can tell it was pretty tough over there, but we coped.

The main spot set up is very good as well, with a large lagoon protected by a reef. It's shallow and flat, and great for training, the bottom is a mixture of old coral and sand, so nothing much to bump into. You need to be confident upwind to ride here, and stay away from the airport end which is marked by some buoys. The tides are tiny, so not much to worry about there.

Wang Ping

There are very few kite spots with in-water bar/BBQ services. Happy Island was built by an enterprising local who kept dumping conch shells on the inside of the reef until there was enough reclaimed land to build a bar on. All the yacht tenders moor up there for a stunning sunset and Jeremie sometimes puts on a big air show much to the delight of the punters.

Happy Island Sunset

From a beginners point of view the best bet is to head off downwind to Frigate with the school and enjoy the huge amount of space, and boat support. If the wind switches a little more easterly (away from the normal north east) the potential for freestyle down here is spectacular. It looks like a few years ago they started building a huge dock for more boats, and they must have run out of cash and work stopped, leaving a man-made spit creating some rather tasty flat water. Running downwind to here from the centre is worth the ride just for the experience of hopping in and out of the reefs. Half way down is an enormous turquoise bottomed lagoon which is worth hanging around in for some time. Frigate island itself looks like somewhere a Bond villain might have his lair. It's extremely spectacular.

Frigate from above

Jeremie and Linn can further amuse you by organising day tours to the other islands close by. We went up to Mayreaux for a quick kite on a little reef break, and to the Tobago Cays, and stopped somewhere they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean, where a month or so back, part of a Russian space rocket washed up rather bizarrely. This was a great addition to the trip. Everyone likes messing around on boats. We finished up the day with a sunset downwinder in light wind back to Union with the boat following.

Russian space rocket anyone?

Every full moon they are running a beach party at the centre, where the whole Island comes out to enjoy some dancing, rum and night kiting. It's an eclectic mix of locals, yacht dwellers and kiters, and made for some amusing moments.

Check the moon.

Food wise, high recommendations need to be given to:

Big Citi - the local canteen diner above a yellow building in the square. This is very reasonably priced, the food is tasty Caribbean dishes like conch stew, BBQ chicken and a sandwich called the 'mumbler' which was absolutely off the chart if you are into chicken.

Captain Gourmet - Just off the square towards Ashton, this is run by local French folks, and as you would expect provides great breakfasts, bread, croissants and most importantly coffee. They also import luxury goods from France and all over the place, so if you need some champagne or confit de canard in a hurry, this is the place to come. Watch out for the chocolate muffins.

Marie's Pizza Place - Located opposite the ferry dock, Marie became our temporary mother for 12 days. Initially she wooed us with amazing seafood pizza and pasta, and then let us order what we would like the next night the day before and she would source it. This meant every night we had delicious home cooked food with a French twist. This was great compared to other small island experiences we had like in Cape Verde where the food was generally terrible.

So all in all it was an amazing trip, and very do-able for a two week holiday. A huge thanks go to Jeremie and Linn for showing us a great time and sharing their spot with us. I think we would definitely be back, the potential for waves is also very good in the right conditions, and we didn't really touch on that on this visit.

This time last year.....

Remember the good times?

So last year we were graced with decent ground swell from the south and some cranking north westerly wind, and this year we seem to have nothing but light offshores and fog, which is all well and good for surfing but the kitemonster is literally clucking to get out.

Bored out of my tiny mind yesterday, I decided to take advantage of the massive spring tide (0.4m low) and go and see what makes this wave jack up so nicely.

Mordor. Wouldn't want your leash stuck round that.

OK, so you are always aware that it's rocky under there, but I wasn't expecting it to look quite so evil. This is definitely a no leash situation (board or kite leash for that matter) The only saving grace is that I normally only ride this at a highish tide meaning that if the proverbial did hit the fan there would be some safety margin. The wave also isn't exactly heavy so chances of being taken this far downstairs would be fairly slim. So as you walk out west from here, further towards the sea it shelves off pretty steeply down to sand. When I had my mega washing incident a year or two back I swam in and clambered out over similar stuff, the secret being to duck dive the wave as best as possible, and if it does throw you down, protect your head.

The mind boggleth....

Extreme Dog Walking - 2012 storms

Ever wondered what the sea would look like with wind gusting about 60 knots? Well Bert, Donna, Finn and I decided to go and have a look this morning.


 The swell wasn't as big as we have seen it recently but it was really windy. On the cliff the wind would do it's best to knock you over in the gusts.

South Devon Kite Club 2011 Christmas Video

We made a very last minute video for the local kitesurf club (www.sdkc.co.uk) Christmas dinner a few weeks ago. As usual this was shot and edited in a hasty fashion, but I did actually manage to bang a tripod out for the evening and we got some nice light, even if the waves were really small, it was bolt onshore, and Sarah wasn't riding at her best! She was stacked on a 9m and strapless. I may reuse some of the footage for the English Riveira Part II, the yet to be planned or even thought about sequel. The evidence stacks up below:

2011 Advent Storms

It's been a big old week down here in the South Hamsters. For once, Windguru didn't under cook the forecast and we got dealt a serious week of big wave, and big wind hi jinx. It's been the longest storm we have seen down here in the last four years of Devon. The week previous we were fairly sure most of it would be to windy to kite, but it actually turned out alright.

Slapping the close out with a salty Go Pro on Tuesday 13th

 Monday was one of the best days for progression before the storm really hit. Powered 9m and the swell had arrived before the storm kicked in. There were nice rides to be had, but if we are honest, it was a little too onshore, made up for by how clean it was. We got a couple of good hours in the morning, and packed up just before the wind went crazy.

Extreme 6m weather

 Tuesday was the strongest forecast, with 35-55 knots predicted on the Guru. We went down set up, only for a mega squall to arrive which left us sheltering under the 6m in a hail storm. Quote of the week from our recently retired friend Bert was "I feel like one of those f@*king penguins off frozen planet"

Thurlestone working with no wind

 Sarah and I both got an hour or so on Tuesday on the 6m Da Vinci, in humongous swell. When it gets hairy, this is still the kite we turn to. We literally pull it off the dusty shelf in case of emergency. In the end I actually got a few decent rides, which I wasn't really expecting. The swell period was so large that there was a lot of space between waves at high tide, meaning you had plenty of time to jibe and prepare to haul your arse over the white water going out. It was actually far safer than some days we have with smaller swell, less wind and shorter period. A windsurfer managed to lose his rig and was swimming in about 300m out and half way across the bay from where his rig was. I hovered around him and watched him in which he was very grateful for indeed. The current was ridiculous with the river flowing out full of Dartmoor's brown sheep shit and tannin rainwater. I obviously earned my karma points here as straight after that I got the best five waves of the day. It was very eerie out there with the low sunlight and mist. Another squall was building behind me, so I called it quits and came out of the water extremely euphoric, and for once the Go Pro worked and I forgive it for getting salty.

Burgh Island Bigggies

Wednesday came and went with very unstable weather. We rode for 20 mins or so, but it was literally 10 to 40 knots as the squalls came and went. Not exactly conducive to fun and we got quite cold. Thursday and Friday were spent doing work and repairs, and in the morning in between the storms I went out and took some photos of a few reef / point spots that have potential to work on big swells in WNW. They were firing, but the wind wasn't quite right. 20 dgrees further north and I would have been all over it. With the onset of Manflu hanging over us like a bogey encrusted overlord, we stayed out of the water and in front of the wood burner. But we know where to head, and when, next time and the exit strategies are in place.

In fact next week looks like it's on. The winter of love continues.

There are more pictures from the weeks antics and scoping here:


December Scoping Album

BKSA Wavemasters 2011

After a fair amount ‘umming and ‘arrring and due to yours truly smashing up my gammy ankle the previous week, Sarah and I postponed our loose idea of an autumnal trip to warmer climes, and with Jet ski in tow, headed across the bridge to the BKSA Wavemasters in Cornwall. Dicky Gowers had called us a few weeks previous and asked to borrow it for safety cover. I said fine, as long as I didn't have to sit on it all week.

Jetski Phil

We arrived at our luxury static accommodation at the St Ives Bay Caravan park. It turned out to be a very topical place to be with the Dale Farm eviction going on. Still, after a little modification it was very comfortable, and after burning most of the North Sea gas reserves, it was also fairly warm. Sound proof it wasn’t. We were sharing with friends Neil and Lisa for the week, who became even more familiar by the end of the stay.

Biggies at Godrevy

Day one greeted us with bright sunshine and humungous surf . The view from the floral cushioned Horizon Contessa was pretty spectacular down towards Godrevy. Mr Vento hadn’t arrived yet, but he was scheduled to turn up before lunchtime. After the rider meeting at the Café, unsurprisingly the Girlies were on first as the wind filled in. It filled in faster than expected, and as Pro Kiteb*tch for the better half I pumped up 6, 7 and 9m PD4 kites whilst her ladyship literally crapped her way through the pre match nerves. Unfortunately disaster struck, and the council had decided not to unlock the gates to the track to Godrevy meaning the man left in charge (BKSA Vice Chairman, and all round nice guy, Pete Shaw) had to make some frantic phone calls to get the key. The competition couldn’t start until the Ski was on the beach. After an hour the gate then got opened, only for Jetski man Phil to find the access road to the beach had a chuffing great big sand dune across it.

Grinning like a winner

After all this unfortunate messing around the 11am start had turned into more of a 1.30pm start. Good conditions were being missed and it was quite frustrating. Anyway, the ladies eventually got off to a good start, with head high plus conditions with about 25-30 knots slightly side off.  Sarah’s first heat was against good friend of ours and local pocket rocket wave slayer Debbie Kennedy. Sarah didn’t ride that well, and came in a bit peeved, but made it into the next round where she was against another friend of ours, Welsh lovely Sarah Eager of Blast Kiteboarding and a plucky young Scottish lady called Sammy Wiseman. Suddenly Sarah seemed to click with the conditions, and in the relatively short 7 minute heats she scored three nice long waves with some powerful turns. This got her into the next round against Steph Bridge. For those of you not in the know, Steph is 3 x World course racing champion, and just got a 3rd place at the KSP tour (the international wave event). A formidable opponent to say the least. Sarah thought she was done for , but was pleased with her performance in her last heat and went into it quite relaxed, changing down to a 6m. She got three good waves with some nice slashy turns in the pocket, and cruised in not expecting to win. She was oblivious to the fact that Steph hadn’t had a great heat.

Cheeky session at Marazion on the way home

So much to her surprise, she had progressed to the final against Debbie. At this point she said to me she didn’t really mind who won, and again went in extremely relaxed. She worked her way out back, and took two or three quite large waves with her usual smooth style, made one very committed top turn and took a big one right on the head! She cruised in casual as a cucumber.

So after a rocky start, she won it. British Champion 2011! The key point being is that she relaxed, didn’t think about the other competitors and results and just rode.

The rest of the week was spent getting through the men’s heats which in the end ran in very small conditions. Light 1-2ft and almost bolt onshore.  It was still a good display of riding, specially the strapless guys with the top five all at a ridiculous level. The great conditions from the first day didn’t really reappear.  A jam session was held later in the week in some light but nice clean side off conditions (Sarah came second in this). This was a good laugh, and much less serious with twenty minute heats and three or four riders out at a time in quite technical conditions.
 

There has been a lot of feedback from various sides on how this event should be run in the future. I think this is a very positive thing, as the people involved are a really good group, and we have some very high level riders in the UK. It should be a showcase of talent, and definitely deserves more media coverage, sponsorship and more hands on deck to help coordinate. There has also been talk of making it a series, or running more of a jam format which takes the pressure off, and maximises time on the water. It will be interesting to see what happens. A huge thanks to Pete, Phil, Josh, Tessy and flag girl Lisa for soldiering away all week in chilly conditions.

Le Champ

Lastly the British Wavemasters was won by two South Africans, with both Sarah and Richie Sills hailing from the land of Springbok. Trevor Hale won the seniors though, and I think he’s from Devizes (Wiltshire’s hidden gem) so well done Trevor for keeping the British end up.

Lekker

The top three women were also all on 5 line kites. Funny old world isn't it?

JN PD4 12m 2011

I have used PD4 12m available for £450

It's 6 months old, and in very good shape, and the material is still crisp.

There is a 2" canopy repair just tucked behind the LE, so well hidden.

Colour is Green LE, white/grey canopy as pictured above.

This is very nimble for a 12m light wind kite for freestyle and the largest kite I use for wave riding. It is comparable to a Vegas, Torch or other high depower C shape kites with a 5th line.

See: HERE for more info.

Drop me an email:

info@jn-kites.co.uk

JN Bouddok 138cm 2011

Ideal board for heavier riders, or for lighter conditions, stomps upwind and can handle a lot of power. Light concave makes for easy landings.

Parabolic outline for superb grip, and easy edge and release.

Wood core, and made in the Atomic ski factory in Austria.

3 months old in mint condition.

Liquid Force Luxury pads and straps.

£275

The summer of wind 2011

Last year we were starting to get a little depressed by the lack of wind in the UK. We had two fairly iffy seasons. In a place where most of the trees near the beach have all grown at a 45 degree slant from being battered by the prevailing south westerly, the evidence wasn't stacking up.

A friend of mine works in renewable energy research, and has access to MET office data. He said the wind stats last year were the lowest in 150 odd years. Most of the turbines performed under capacity compared to what was forecasted.

This year has been ridiculously windy in comparison, and with decent southerly swell from the hurricanes whizzing around in the Atlantic we have had some great wave sessions and new spots have been opening up.

This sort of wind is also very good for business. We can watch our sales figures go up and down literally like the wind.

So the moral of the story is to keep the faith.

In the wise words words of King Crimson:

"I talk to the wind , The wind cannot hear"

Morocco - Camel Toe Adventures

When one of your best friends calls you whilst on his honeymoon, telling you that the new wifey is getting extremely annoyed because of the 40 knot wind blasting her at the swimming pool, it's time to get the devil out of Devon and slap some Moroccan waves for a week or so. Our mission was to save his new marriage with cunning, girly chat and distraction techniques.

My oh my, it was rather windy though, Sarah and I were both using a 6m PD4, which rather annoyingly blew off down the beach and had a little coral incident mid-week.

In Essaouira bay, in front/downwind of the hotel, it was extremely gusty side-off with the wind coming over the Medina, which was pretty terrible car crash style riding frankly, so we hired a Dacia, which is similar to a mid 90's Fiat, but with none of the refinement, and a clutch and gearbox comprising of Edam. We trotted up and down the coast to a few spots.

20km north of Essaouira is Moulay, a fairly deserted little town full of windsurfers. This is quite a short launch with a kite but there is a nice point / reef break and a lot of wind. A top tip would be to head there early and get out on a 9m before the wind kicks in fully and the windsurfers head out, thus avoiding crowded waves. Saying that, even when it did get busy later in the day everyone was courteous. If you want some space you can hack upwind 200m in front of the cliffs and still get great waves with plenty of space.

Sidi Kaouki is about 20km south of Essaouira and is another windsurfers' spot of choice. This is more of a beach break, and there is a lot of space. Again we would kite here before it started nuking as it was slightly side-off and clean as a whistle. The sand bars let the waves peel gently downwind and it makes for rather delightful down-the-line riding. It can be a fairly steep little wave here that can give you a right old slap if you get it wrong. It was great fun strapless. We did a hilarious downwinder with camel support, but that's another story.

Sarah wrote a lovely article for Kitegirl magazine located here:

Kitegirl Morocco Article - A wave to Essaouira

Here's the Morocco slideshow: