It’s been wet the past few weeks, but that doesn’t stop the Cabarete crew from Kiteboarding.  With a strong storm wind and rain, the kites were pumped up, the kiteboards were strapped on and out went all the kite instructors for a great kiteboarding session.

We even managed to have a few students out learning to kitesurf, as New Zealand sailor Danielle was keen go take advantage of the solid wind conditions.  UN workers Ella and Mary, on vacation from work in Haiti also came to learn to kiteboard and are thinking of taking their kiteboarding skills to flaunt on the Haitain shores.

As the sun went down here on Kite beach, the Kite Lounge Crew came in, dried off in a solar shower (which still work, despite popular opinion) and headed to the beach bar for a beer to celebrate a great day of kitesurfing!

You see them ripping up the shore break or roaming the beach at Kite Beach Cabarete. You even see them hanging out at the Kite Lounge from time to time. For the past month, the Fantastic Four from Cabarete have roamed the beaches, ruled the sky and put DR style kiteboarding back on the agenda during their stay in Cumbuco, Brazil.
Ariel Corniel, Alex Soto, Jan Marcos Riveras and Emanuel Rondon make the perfect Dominican Team of freestylers and wave riders, and it is just the beginning… Add a couple of highly skilled female DR representatives and things look pretty bright for Cabarete kiteboarders. Audrey Meyer and Susi Mai are both in the top level of world cup kiting, and they are not about to stop either.

Cumbuco is located on the North-East shores of Brazil, and has through the past couple of years had it’s reputation growing as one of the best kiteboarding spots in the world. In the high season, which is kicking off right about now, until the end of January/beginning of February, terms as no-wind-days and rain are close to non existing. It’s windy every day in Brazil, and it’s best to leave even the mid size kites at home. “Lit on my 7″, was the usual answer to any question regarding the wind conditions. No, definitely no complaints about the wind. If any complaints at all, it must be the lack of good waves in the Cumbuco area. But no reason to cry, just get on a beach buggy and go find them. There are good wave spots around, but Cumbuco is more about flat water kiting at the Barra do Cauipe lagoon or the chop in the ocean. One thing about Brazil though… Whatever conditions you’re looking for, go find them. Hundreds of miles of coast line and every day wind, you just have to move a bit. And Brazil is big.

For the DR crew, the Brazil trip was all about competitions. As there are two world cups in kiteboarding, and both events being organized on the North-East shores, the guys took it upon themselves to enter both the PKRA in Parnaiba and the KPWT in Cumbuco. All but one being totally unfamiliar with kiting outside the DR, Parnaiba turned out to be a small challenge for the guys. Strong and gusty wind in choppy conditions, heats against some of the very best freestyle riders out there gave the four a run for their money. It didn’t really come together for the team during the PKRA event, although kicking some butts in the qualifying heats. Ms Meyer really kicked butt and finished fifth after breathing the top four heavily in the neck.
Some experiences richer and relieved about leaving the deserted beaches of Luís Correia, Piauí, where the donkeys rule the streets and Dominicans have to do without chicken, rice and beans, the scheduled 8 hour ride on extremely bumpy roads back to civilization didn’t have a bad sound to it. Being denied from the shuttle bus because of lack of space, directed to the local taxi service, having to take a big chunk out of the tight travel budget, ending up in Fortaleza surrounded by Brazilian military police after scaring a poor Parnaiba taxi driver into thinking he wouldn’t get paid. As always, the guys made friends with both the taxi driver and the police, found their motivation as no-mans land faded away in their memories. Time to go kiting again!

Cumbuco! Not that different from Cabarete, even the guys felt right at home. The wind might be stronger, and the blessing of having the reef outside the door was missing, but all in all not at all that different. Like in Cabarete, it is the wind that makes the every day life work. Without the wind this place would probably have been just another fishing village too, but then kiteboarding came along.

While Cabarete shares its excellent conditions with both surfers and windsurfers, Cumbuco is 100 % kiteboarding. Perfect for a world tour stop, no doubt about that. And as the DR crew got their motivation back, the KPWT got ready for the first event in the history with Dominican participation. Which turned out to be quite a success. Not only in the event, but as the showmen and warm hearted guys they are, the whole community will probably remember the Dominican mentality for a while to come. Jan Marcos even threw a party for the local Capoeira group for children to help motivate towards achieving their goal to one day organize a world championship event for capoeira in Cumbuco. The finances were taken care of with the price money the boys won in the competition. Because they did win, and they won big. Impressing big through all the four disciplines and conquering several spots on the podium, the KPWT Superkite Brazil 2007 was definitely in favor of the DR.

These are the DR results:

Freestyle:
1. Ariel Corniel (EH Kiteboarding, Grupo Consolidado, Lifestyle Holidays)

2. Alex Soto (Cabrinha)
13. Emanuel Rondon (EH Kiteboarding, Stonefish)

Waves:
5. Jan Marcos Riveras (Starkites, Stonefish, L’Agence, La Campaña, Nilsen&Skjaergaard Invest)
9. Emanuel Rondon (EH Kiteboarding, Stonefish)

HangTime:
1. Emanuel Rondon (EH Kiteboarding, Stonefish)
6. Jan Marcos Riveras (Starkites, L’Agence, Stonefish, Nilsen&Skjaergaard Invest, La Campaña)
7. Alex Soto (Cabrinha)
8. Ariel Corniel (EH Kiteboarding, Grupo Consolidado, Lifestyle Holidays)

Course Racing:
4. Alex Soto (Cabrinha)
14. Emanuel Rondon (EH Kiteboarding, Stonefish)

Women Freestyle:
2. Susi Mai (Cabrinha, RedBull, Animal)
5. Audrey Meyer (EH Kiteboarding, DaKine, Dare2Fly)

Women Course Racing:
2. Susi Mai (Cabrinha, RedBull, Animal)
7. Audrey Meyer (EH Kiteboarding, DaKine, Dare2Fly)

Womens Wave Masters:
5. Audrey Meyer (EH Kiteboarding, DaKine, Dare2Fly)

Womens HangTime:
5. Susi Mai (Cabrinha, RedBull, Animal)
7. Audrey Meyer (EH Kiteboarding, DaKine, Dare2Fly)

The boys are now back in town and ready to rip the shorebreak apart again. Although Brazil is one of the most popular and best kite spots in the world at the moment, for this crew there’s nothing that beats home turf in Cabarete. Home sweet Home, and stay tuned for the next DR move.

Congratulations to all the riders for fantastic results, and a big thank you to all the sponsors and the contributors that made this trip possible.

Text & Photos: Hege Holt

The Kite Lounge takes part in collecting help for the flood victims on the North Coast. Below is information on how you can assist and help the flood victims to get food and clothes.

The people on the Island of Hispaniola has suffered a tragic loss of many lives and homes due to the flooding and mudslides from Tropical Storm Noel and are in the need of urgent assistance. The government is doing what they can, but there are still hundreds of people without shelter, clothes or food.

Cabarete local Jan Marcos Riveras visited the area of Nagua just a couple days ago and saw the need for help. Below is information about how you can assist Jan Marcos in bringing food and clothes to the victims on the North Coast.

It doesn't take much to make a difference, so if you have clothes, food or money to buy food for the victims, your help will be very welcome.

There are several places to deposit your help.
* The Kite Lounge - At Kite Beach, school number two coming from Cabarete.
* Restaurant Pitú - Across from Supermercado Albertico, on the beach.
* Laurel Eastman Kiteboarding (LEK) - At Bozo Beach, on the same premisses as Restaurant Marabu

The collection will be open until Saturday night.
Transportation is arranged for Sunday morning to distribute the help in the affected areas as far as the contribution will reach.

All questions regarding depositing help, please contact Jan MArcos Riveras:
Tel: (829) 886 0424

Please check back in on this post as we will keep updating on the progress.

Thank you for your contribution to help in a difficult time!

The 2007 Strapless Kiteboarding Collective (SKC) commenced July 11^th in the Columbia River Gorge with strapless riders coming from Canada, Germany, Mexico, Australia, Hawaii, and across the United States to ride in the first grass-roots freeride event of its kind. Based on the premise of self-expression, The Collective’s intent was to explore and further the level of strapless riding in surf, park, and freestyle while sharing the fun that can be had on all different type of strapless boards.

Amongst the riders present were strapless kiteboarding pioneers Joey Pasquale, Brian Lake and Kevin “Top Hat” Senn whose influence on the North Shore of Oahu has blurred the lines of surfing, skim boarding, and kitesurfing. Also present were this year’s Triple SSS stand-out Dylan Thompson, two-time world champion Kristin Boese, North Kiteboarding’s Sky Solbach, SKC organizer Dave Tyburski, Dakine’s Chris Gilbert, Australia’s Cam Barker, Mexico’s Sean Farley, Canada’s Kyle Touhey and the Slingshot crew of Amery Bernard and Shy Mack

Day 1 July 11, 2007

With no wind forecast for the Oregon coast, The Collective stayed in the Gorge and rode light but steady East winds in the majestic western corridor between Oregon and Washington. With the lush Cascade Mountains looming in the background, the riders, all on skimboards and surfboards, had their first opportunity to show their tricks and individual styles for each other and for the cameras. Shove it tricks, ollies, and grabbed airs were standard fare and the riders made the most of the light wind conditions while escaping the oppressive dry heat of the day. As the east winds faded, the 2007 SKC had begun and the event was officially underway.

Back in Hood River later in the day, the wind was non-existent and the evening proved to be perfect conditions for wake surfing. It was arranged to have a custom rigged 1970’s Navy boat that would throw a glassy, shoulder high wave for the crew to session on their strapless boards. Blown away by the size of the wave that 16 people and thousands of pounds of ballast could throw, everyone was eager to get their turn. Less than 2 meters from the back of the boat, riders were spinning and hacking the wave to pieces. With tunes pumping over the loud diesel engine, The Collective crew partied and surfed well beyond sunset.

Day 2 July 12, 2007

The forecast for the Oregon coast looked even worse and it became apparent that the riders were not going to be able to showcase their strapless skills in the surf. With strong west wind forecast for the Gorge, the riders rode the Hood River Sandbar and its variety of water conditions. Taking multiple sessions that lasted for hours, the crew kited the sandbar pushing their limits hitting the sliders in the park, doing speed runs in the butter pond, big spins in the skinny water and swell riding and big airs out in the channel. Stand out maneuvers of the day were Joey’s back-side ollie indy grabs over the Liquid Force party island on a skim, Dylan’s wakeskate 180-shove-it over the gap-to-180 shove-it off of the up-gap-flat rail, Tybo’s BS 360 on the rail and Brian’s super smooth backside ollies to blind on his skim. With so many riders killing it, it was hard to know who to watch.

As the day progressed The Collective crew rallied as many strapless riders upwind to shoot from the Washington side. With more than 20 riders on surfboards and skims, the vibe was all about having fun. As the shutters clicked and the swell and video rolled, the critical mass of strapless riders found a taste of what Mother Nature would deny them of at the coast.

Day 3 July 13, 2007

Known for its swift current and opposing strong west wind, the Columbia River creates breaking river swell that normally exceeds 2 meters. As the wind blew all through the night, the riders woke up early for a dawn patrol session at the notorious big swell spot known as “The Hatchery”. With over head high swell and 30+knots of wind, throwing chunks and big backside ollies were the theme of the morning. Out on the water first, Sky Solbach’s and Kristin Boese’s wave experience shined as the pair comfortably showed the windsurfers how to rip up the river swell while Dave Tyburski’s skate inspired backside ollies made the onlookers wonder if he had Velcro on his feet. With a very sketchy launch off the rocks and extreme wind conditions, some of the riders decided to ride upwind to the spot from a launch on the other side of the river. Using anywhere from 4 to 7m kites, the session was one of the most memorable of the event and it blew the doors off the concept that you need foot straps when it gets really windy.

Day 4 July 14, 2007

While the days prior were primarily focused on free-riding and media, Saturday was organized as a community day to involve the public and to showcase strapless riding and its varied styles. With product demos by many of the major manufacturers, the water was littered with people riding skimboards, surfboards, and wakeskates. Kristin Boese led the Dakine Women’s Clinic and invited more than a dozen other women to go out and ride with her; David Tyburski, Joey Pasqualie, and Brian Lake led the Cabal Kite Skim Clinic getting riders their first transitions and shove-its; and Kyle Touhey and Chris Gilbert led the Naish Strapless Surfboard Clinic letting the never-evers try riding a strapless surfboard for the first time. Later in the afternoon, the Liquid Force Expression Session featured a variety of rail and park features that allowed the riders to show their variety of wakeskate, skim and skateboard inspired tricks to hundreds of onlookers before the wind began to back off.

As the wind became light and variable, it filled in just enough to get the strapless race underway. After a strong start, the racers spread out towards the upwind mark as Sean Farley, Sky Solbach, Kristin Boese, and board designer John Doyle quickly advanced ahead of the pack. As the other racers did their best to catch up, the light-wind conditions made it challenging and in a dramatic horizontal leap across the finish line, Sky Solbach claimed 1^st place by a long run, followed by a close finish between Kristin Boese in 2^nd and John Doyle in 3^rd. As the day on the water ended, the North BBQ and Beer party back on the beach was in full swing. The fading daylight signaled the beginning of the schwag raffle and SKC organizer Dave Tyburski and kitesurf icon “Top Hat” handed out ton’s of shirts, bags, jackets and other schwag to the eagerly awaiting crowd. With onset of darkness close at hand, the 100 or so supporters and participants made their way to the beach for the closing ceremony and after enjoying an elaborate fire dance performance by Shannon and Veronica accompanied by the live drumming of Samba Hood River, the 2007 Strapless Kiteboarding Collective officially drew to a close.

With the first ever Strapless Kiteboarding Collective wrapped up, its intention of innovating and exploring new possibilities of what can be done with a strapless board and a kite has come to fruition. Riders demonstrated and shared tricks they know and those that they aspire to learn. They assembled ideas for shapes of new boards and features to ride on, and created a scene for others to take notice and to try something different. While showing that they are part of a movement they simultaneously showed that what they are doing is not so far off from the other board sports from which they pull their influences.

The 2007 SKC would like to thank all of the sponsors that made the event possible including CABAL SKIMBOARDS, NORTH KITEBOARDING, DAKINE, SLINGSHOT KITEBOARDING, LIQUID FORCE KITEBOARDING, ION IMAGERY, WWW.TEKKOPHOTO, CABRINHA KITEBOARDING, KITETHEGORGE.COM, KITEBOARDING MAGAZINE, SBC KITBOARD, and WWW.KITEFORUM.COM

The 2007 SKC could not have been made possible without the help of a lot of people. Helping with production and coordination efforts was Kirsten Andrews who works on live sport event production with ESPN, and NBC, Lance Koudele of Ion Imagery-Event Photographer, Gregg Gnecco of tekkophoto.com and nwliquid.com-Event Videographer, Aaron Sales of Kiteboarding Magazine-Race Director, and Joby Cook- Park and Features

Race Results:

1^st Sky Solbach
2^nd Kristin Boese
3^rd John Doyle

It’s time again. Bozo Beach Cabarete hosts the PKRA Kiteboarding World Cup with local riders showing off for the judges. Only a few days ago, the new Dominican Kiteboarding Association, ADK, finished off the first official championship in freestyle kiteboarding. Two wild cards were handed out with the titles junior and senior Dominican Champion, and today two of the local guys proved why they are considered two of the very best riders in the country. DR Champion 2006, Alex Soto, and junior champion 2007, Ariel Corniel, pulled some amazing stunts in familiar waters and passed through to the semi finals.

Especially impressive was the recently injured Alex Soto, who had to pass on the opportunity to defend his title during the national championship. His fellow competitors decided to give Soto the wild card in any case, and Soto justified the decision by beating the three times world champion Aaron Hadlow today.

There is no doubt that the guys are on a world class level, and it will be very interesting to see how far these two riders can reach.

In category female, Susi Mai and Audrey Meyer represented the DR through single elimination, but didn’t make it through to the semi finals. But all hope is not gone, as the two powered girls will get another chance in the double elimination. There are definitely possibilities if Mai and Meyer kick in and show their true calibre. Meyer did a good first heat and passed through, but met her match in the second round.

Mai and Meyer will hopefully get the opportunity already on the second day of this popular event.

Last year one of the 2007 newcomers arrived in Cabarete as and ended up going full time PKRA after spending time at the Kite Lounge training. Norwegian snowkiter Kari Schibevaag i(28) is once again back in Cabarete for the world cup event. She is currently ranked number fiv, but have potential to make it even further up on the lists. The Cabarete stage is a hard one as most of the top female riders find this event their favourite. Kari didn’t make it through the single elimination because of relaunch problems during her heat, but the blond Scandinavian gets another shot in the double elimination rounds this week.
But Kari is going for it, and the KL Team is there cheering her on. Good luck to miss Schibevaag!

photos: Hege Holt Words: Hege Holt

Three days of impressive Dominican kiteboarding has left organizers, spectators and riders wanting more! After years of working towards presenting Dominican kiting through an association, it finally came together this year and gave the kiteboarding world a peak into what is going on in one of the hottest kiteboarding destinations there is. As the adrenalin takes a rest and the riders are back to training for more events, the Dominican Kiteboarding association already prepares for next years tour. After this success it is highly possible that the riders will have the opportunity to show themselves through more than one stage the next year. In the meantime, new and talented riders will rock the bays all around the country to aim for a challenge against the new champions.

On the last day of the contest, the spectators got to see a caliber of young junior kiteboarders whom most likely is the future of kiteboarding. Already, these young riders are pulling tricks on a world class level, and with the support they saw through this first annual official kiteboarding championship, the possibilities are endless for future competitions.

It was hard to anticipate who would make it to the top in the junior finals, but both riders gave it their best and left it up to the judges to set the scores that would eventually crown the new champion.

Robinson Vasques is a 2007 newcomer in competitions and rocked his way all the way to the finals against long time favourite Ariel Corniel. Ariel holds an extremely high technical level and took it all the way this Saturday. The 13 years old Robinson got close, but is still very satisfied with his own accomplishments.

Ariel Corniel is now to be considered the best junior kiteboarder in the Dominican Republic.

Congratulations to them both and all the juniors, for their effort and hard work!

Price giving took place at Kite Beach Hotel Saturday night, with an introduction in Dominican power problems. There’s no such thing as 100% guarantee for power in the country, and unfortunately the local rock-and reggae band Open Minds had to struggle to get their music across to the public. It usually works out in the end, and the price giving was finally introduced in late night hours. Organizer Jose Armando Mieses got to hand out a wild card for the new Dominican champion Emmanuel Rondon (18), and some neat prices for in total six of the best national riders.

Partying in to the early morning hours, celebrating a new era in DR kiting, riders, staff and visitors completed the success with big smiles.

Thanks to all sponsors, staff, riders, spectators and media for giving this first annual Dominican Kiteboarding competition all their support and believes. ADK looks forward to a new year of progressive kiteboarding!

Word & photos: Hege Holt

A perfect day in kite paradise! The third and final day of the first official Dominican Kiteboarding Championship crossed the finish line in the name of success today. Mother Nature blessed Kite Beach Cabarete with what can only be determined as the perfect day. Kite Beach Hotel hosted a great number of spectators, and the riders gave it all on the water. In great sportsmanship the riders competed against each other hunting for the grand title as the new Dominican Champion to rule the throne for the year to come. Both juniors and seniors hold a level of kiteboarding that is impressive and amazing, and what the spectators saw today was nothing but world class riders.

Category Open was equally intense with extremely high level and hard competition. Through single elimination, quarter and semi finals, one by one had to retreat to the beach to watch some of the riders that can easily any day make an impression even in the world cup.

In the end, one rider took it all the way and can well deserved take place on the top of the podium at the price giving ceremony this evening. Fighting against the young and talented Luis Alberto in the finals, 18 year old Emmanuel Rondon is now to be considered the best Dominican kiteboarding athlete. Emmanuel is a local Cabarete rider who is always to be found on the water. In light wind, strong wind, gusty or whatever wind. This rider has progressed with the speed of light throughout his young career and will do his best to fight the best in the upcoming world cup event next week. Emmanuel is being given a wild card for the PKRA as a reward for his riding.

Congratulations to Emmanuel Rondon with his new title Dominican Kiteboarding Champion 2007!

“I am very happy to finally make it all the way to the top, but I have to admit that I didn’t really know what my level would be compared to the other riders. For a long time I haven’t felt like I’ve had the right kite to help me give my best, but now everything has come together and I feel absolutely satisfied with myself.

The event has been very nice, and the wind has been good every day. The judging in particular has been good, and we have been blessed with fair and good judges. I don’t think they’ve made one single bad decision about any of the riders, and I think we all feel that way.

Now I’m going to rest and focus towards the PKRA CAberete world cup event in a few days, but first I will celebrate with a party and an Open Minds concert here at Kite Beach Hotel this evening.”

- Emmanuel Rondon, the Dominican Kiteboarding Champion 2007

Copyright Hege Holt

They are the future of kiteboarding and had the day all to themselves. Day two of the Dominican Kiteboarding Championship presented a level of young kiteboarding that showed the crowd how big a kiteboarding factory Cabarete is and how promising the future looks for these juniors.

Ariel Corniel has been in the game for a while and again confirmed through his aggressive riding that he is still progressing and on his way to the top. But several riders gave him hard competition during the heats, and there is no way to anticipate who will hit the top spot in the finals. Young talent Luis Alberto met Ariel in the semi finals and set the water on fire. Luis again pulled his high double handlepasses, but Ariel Corniel presented more variation that put him through to the finals.

Robinson Vasques especially impressed the judges with clean, aggressive and varied riding against Papito in the semi finals, and the judges gave young Vasques the pass for the finals. Head judge Luciano Gonzales was close to speechless regarding the impressive level of these up and coming juniors.

- The juniors show us that there is a great future in Dominican kiteboarding. They are giving everything and go big and ride hard. During these junior heats we have been especially impressed with Ariel, Luis and Robinson, and we are looking forward to seeing what these guys can do in the future. But in general, the level is very high from all the riders, he says.

The wind was light on the second day, but the forecast looks good for a final day of successful ADK Dominican Kiteboarding Championship. Category Open is ready for launch, and Kite Beach Cabarete will for sure continue cheering for the DR kiteboarders. Thanks to Nuestro Bar Cabarete, day two was celebrated all night with barbeque and chill out time to load up for todays finals.

The last day will determine who is the best rider in the country and send one more rider off to the PKRA World Cup stage here in Cabarete.

Copyrighs: Hege Holt