Caribbean well kept secret Kiteboarding
Paradise found:
SANDY BEACH (Anse de Sables
Bay) – Vieux Fort – St. Lucia June 21 – 27 2003
by Kinsley ThomasWong.
Through out day and night, there is always a constant
cool breeze. I am not quite sure if the wind ever stops
blowing here. Just 30 short steps from my beach bungalow
at the Reef Center,
I stand on the soft white SANDY beach with the warm
turquoise crystal clear water inviting me to swim then to bask in the hot
sun. During the last 5 days, I woke up at 7 a.m. and everyday I found the Atlantic trade
wind blowing steady side shore port tack 18-24mph wind. Small
whitecaps dotted the aquamarine water of this Atlantic side of the island.
Everyday while I was at Sandy Beach, there were no
other kiteboarders. Just
Sandy Beach, me and my F-One 9M kite and Underground 110cm board. By the time I finished my morning kiteboarding session from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.,
Ed D.H., an avid windsurfer from Connecticut
and his signficant’s Faye K. helped to keep
the beach busy on their windsurfers. I can’t believe
myself such a Kiteboarding Paradise exists nowadays in the Caribbean!
The Sandy Beach is long and slopes off slightly where
you can stand 20 meters from the beach on the low tide day. Mainly it is flat water sailing here with occasional chops
and small shore break waves. As you can see on the
picture, the Anse de Sables
Bay is closed to leewards so there is no danger of drifting off out
in to the sea. There is also a safety boat at Club
Mistral here.
Normally during the month of June and July, I usually
visit my favorite Caribbean Kiteboarding
Island: Cabarete – Dominican
Republic or paraglide in Annecy, France.
This year, I arrived to St.
Lucia after a week long expedition in
St. Vincent and The Grenadines
to help Mr. Cyrill Prescott assessing Paragliding
and Kiteboarding sites to
promote tourism to St. Vincent. You can read more information about my expedition trip to
St. Vincent and The
Grenadines here: http://www.XtremeBigAir.com/StVincent
Sandy Beach of St. Lucia is a big bay located conveniently
2 to 3 minutes taxi ride from the Hewanorra International
Airport (Airport code: UVF) in
Vieux Fort of St
Lucia. Air Jamaica
and US Airways are the two major airlines that fly frequently from LAX,
New York, Miami
to UVF. Otherwise, American Airlines fly to SLU
Airport where you have to take
1 hour taxi ride (about $US45 to $US65 each way) from SLU
Airport to Sandy Beach. From St.Vincent, I made a mistake
taking the LIAT which flies to Barbados
then to St. Lucia. You can fly directly from St. Vincent
to St. Lucia
on the Caribbean Star Airline in less than ˝ hour as St. Vincent
is only 20 miles south of St. Lucia. Just make sure that your destination airport is UVF.
Cecile, a friendly windsurfer/kiteboarder
and a longtime resident of St. Lucia
who manages Club Mistral Windsurfing/Kitesurfing
center as well as the Reef Center
-StLuciaKiteboarding.com, will be glad to help you with all your needs for
windsurfing/kitesurfing rentals, lessons, tours,
taxi rides, etc. while you are visiting St.
Lucia. Club Mistral
carries a full range of the latest Windsurfing and Kiteboarding
Rental Equipment.
Historical wind data show that the prevailing Atlantic
NE wind at Vieux Fort blowing consistently from
15-25 kts during November through June. July and August usually have hurricanes so the wind could
be good or extremely strong. April and May are some
of the driest months here. In June there are occasionally
shower rains through out the night and day so be super careful of dark rain
clouds while you are kiting: a common sense that you need to develop while
kiting in any tropical places as the wind always get stronger right before
the dark Virga rain cloud comes, sometimes up
to 40-50kts in matter of seconds.
There are no solicitors or vendors on the beach to pester
you with their goods while you are relaxing on the beach here. Rarely, you might get awaken by a herd of horses trotting
through the beach as someone had letting them running loose. During the week days after 5 p.m., there might be a few local Vieux Fort residents swimming in the bay.
At Sandy
beach here, there are two windsurfing/kiteboarding
center: The Tornado Windsurfing Center and Club
Mistral/TheReef/StLuciaKiteBoarding.com center. The
Tornado Windsurfing
Center is currently closed for
holidays and will be reopened in November.
StLuciaKiteboarding.com is open all year around. StLuciaKiteboarding.com operates ClubMistral/Skyriders
and the Reef Center. Club Mistral center offers a large range of windsurf and
kiteboard equipment for instruction and rentals. The Reef Center
offers killer breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks right on the beach where
you can dine and enjoy the cool ocean breeze and gorgeous ocean view. The Reef Center
currently has 4 beach bungalows which suit guys like me perfectly who just
want to roll out of bed, walk a few steps then kiteboard
all day long. A vast variety of other sport activities
one can book through StLuciaKiteboarding.com such as horseback riding, Piton
Volcanoes, Tropical Rain Forest and Water falls day hiking trips, Scuba
Diving, etc.
A four hours hike to the Gros
Piton is highly recommended. This is a full day trip
to the top of this gigantic volcano top. The local
food here is mainly West Indies style with lots of
fresh seafood like Dolphin, Ahi Ahi, Tuna, etc. Fresh fruits
such as Mangos, Love Apple, Sugar Apple, Bananas, Pineapple
are widely available.
Important facts:
Best time for winds: December through July with the
best months: December – March, June
Wetsuit: Shorty or Lycra
Activities: Kiteboarding,
Windsurfing, Fishing, Horseback riding, Hiking, BBQ, Boogie boarding, Relax
on the beach, Botanical Garden, Waterfalls, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling
Airport Departure Tax: $54 EC = $21USD per person
Health Regulations: No immunizations required.
Language: English
Electricity: 220V. Adapter
plug is necessary.
Tipping: 10%
Internet: Several Internet Cafes are availables.
Visit http://www.StLuciaKiteBoarding.com
to book your accommodations, kiteboarding lessons, etc...
I really had an incredible time in St. Lucia and
just can't wait to get back there soon!
Read Kinsley ThomasWong's Other Xpeditions in Venuezuela, Annecy, etc. at : http://XtremeBigAir.com
Go XtremeBigAir,
Kinsley ThomasWong
http://XtremeBigAir.com