Competitions, kiting, cameras, 'copters and other assorted craziness...

Hola. Happy belated summer solstice to one and all! I sincerely hope that summer has finally arrived in Europe and North America.

Lots and lots going on here in El Yaque. Let's start at 'other assorted craziness' and let's work our way backward to 'competitions, kiting, cameras and 'copters.' Well, the 'other assorted craziness' is actually the world's best kept secret, that I will now share with you guys, in spite of considerable risk to my well-being. I am sure there are more than a few folks that would rather this info stayed private. However........

I am sitting on my terrace writing to you on June 30th - and the cups and saucers are tinkling in my kitchen cabinets. Why, you ask? Because the wind is howling. And has been howling, every single day since the end of March. That is 3 months of solid wind. Not every other day, or once a week. I mean, every single solitary day - for 3 months straight - with no end in sight. Al and I are anticipating at least 3 more weeks of wind, before we head off on our vacation. And by wind, I don't mean 12 knots. I mean, the kind of wind where Al is perfectly powered on a 4.7 meter sail, and the kiters are out on small kites by the end of the day. So, reason Number 1 for coming here in April, May and June is:

A lot of this.....

And the good news continues. Not long after the Easter holidays, most airline companies begin to offer discounted fares to tropical destinations. They figure that with the onset of spring, travel to tropical destinations lessens, as people begin to enjoy warm and sunny weather in their home countries. But, let's be realistic. According to my sources, summer has not yet arrived in Northern and Eastern Europe, it just arrived in Canada about a week ago, and I shudder to think what is going on in the Scandinavian countries. I have photographic evidence of friends sitting around a bonfire by the Baltic Sea last week, wearing ski jackets. My point is, real summer only starts in July, so there is plenty of opportunity, 3 months in fact, to travel here very inexpensively, to enjoy great wind in a sea that does not require the sailor to wear a 5 mm thick wetsuit. So, reasons 2, 3 and 4 for coming to El Yaque in the spring are:

This......

......instead of this....

This.....
.....and this.....

....probably with a little of this.......

.....instead of this.......

To top it all off, the hotels and posadas here ALSO drop their prices during what they call 'low season', making the cost of accommodations much lower. The windsurf and kitesurf centres also offer reduced prices for rentals during this time. So, the best reason to come to El Yaque in the spring, aside from alot of this:

....is not having to part with alot of this.......

.....resulting in alot of this......

Another great reason to come to El Yaque at the end of May, is this:

.....the Margarita Wild Winds Pro-Am. Resurrected this year, after a short 5 or 6 year hiatus, this event was a huge success. The Wild Winds showcased both windsurfing and kitesurfing this year, and attracted both major international talent, as well as our local former, present and future champions.

As this is a pro-am, one of my favourite amateur disciplines to watch are the kids races. These kids, many of whom are already awesome windsurfers, have so much fun racing each other, while learning the ropes of a bona fide competition. Check this out.....

Look at this little guy, winning this heat of the kids slalom...... I mean, this is priceless. I think he weighs about 20 pounds soaking wet, with his harness on! He may be all of 6 years old (they start them off young here.....), but look at his form. Excellent! Not to mention the sail number on his sail - V -1. Venezuela #1! This kid has ambition!

And here's his little baby brother - in training.......with his sail caddy!



And here are all the kids - on the podium.

Mark my words - the future world champion is among these children..... Love it!

Colette Guadagnino, (former world champion free-styler, and competitor at this competition)..........

........one of the main organizers of this event, asked if we wanted to host a professional photographer at Casa Nora during the Wild Winds. We said no problemo. So, please meet Richard Hallman, a.k.a Ricardo - photographer extraordinaire, all round extreme athlete, and resident of Hood River, Oregon.

Ricardo's assignment was to photograph the event, to photograph the competitors, to photograph El Yaque, and to write an article about his trip for Kiteboarding magazine. Happily - even though he worked really hard, he also had some time for kiting, windsurfing, mountain biking with Al, and even a little partying. Ricardo - love your job, dude! Our guests at Casa Nora during this time were some pals of ours:

Arti and Lii:

....and Davis and Aija....

While the primary reason for their visit to El Yaque was to research a location to start a new restaurant, they also couldn't resist the allure of the wind, and ended up learning to kitesurf. In fact, Al and Davis became kitesurf-learning buddies. Check out the smiles on these two, after a kite lesson with Wim.

So, while Ricardo was working hard organizing early morning photo shoots, that yielded photos like this.....

......and this......

.....and organizing sunset photo shoots that yielded photos like this......


.....this......

......and this......

..... the restauranteurs at Casa Nora were busy experimenting with and perfecting their culinary delights, like this......


.....and this......


.....resulting in some pretty well-fed and happy people like this......


During his first day here, Ricardo met with Colette to get an understanding of the itinerary, and the schedule of the competition. And he already managed to get some pretty cool photos, like this.....

......this.......

....this......

.... this.....


....and this.

Ricardo and I were walking on the beach, when he said to me, 'Listen, I can get some great photos of the event, of El Yaque, of the competitors, but what would really put this assignment over the top for all of us, would be if you guys could arrange for me ...... a helicopter. The aerial shots of the beach, of the slalom events etc, would be the killer photos for this event.' Slightly stunned, I looked at him to see if he was joking, and I was met by a poker face, but with a slight challenging twinkle in the eyes. I thought about it and said, 'Y'know what, we might not have paved roads here in this village, nor a proper home address, but I betcha we can indeed, procure you a helicopter.' Ricardo grinned and said, 'If you get me a helicopter, I will try to arrange it that you and Lii join me for the ride'. And so, when you find yourself in an outrageous situation such as this, you gotta call in the big guns. So, I went to find Colette. And Colette found this.....

.....resulting in Ricardo being able to get photos like this.....


.....this.....



.....and this.


Pretty cool, and a job well done by Ricardo.

The Wild Winds event offered many other distractions apart from the actual competitions. There were giant fiestas every night on the beach, there was a windsurf free-style exhibition one night. In the following photo, Gollito, Kiri and Taty wait for the night surf to begin.

There were performances by local Venezuelan bands and dance groups, adding some lively local music and culture to the event.

And of course, there were the closing ceremonies that included the handing out of the trophies to the competitors. Congratulations to everyone who participated, but especially to the winners!


And a big thank you to the organizing committee!



So, if you guys ever needed an extra reason to come to this windsurfing or kitesurfing paradise in the spring, aside from the great wind, warm water, sunny weather, low off-season prices, remember to consider the Margarita Wild Winds Pro-Am - usually held at the end of May. Come and be blown away, not just by the wind, but by the spectacular talent of the competitors!

Ricardo - many thanks for the awesome photos, and we will see you and Natalie in Brasil!!!!Richard Hallman can be reached via his website at http://www.freelanceimaging.com/ for his professional photography services.

Next blog: 'Killer Mountain Challenge' 2009