Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast, about 186 miles east of Puerto Rico and is split between the Dutch and French.  It is the smallest inhabited sea island to be divided between two nations.  Most business is transacted on the Dutch side of the island and most kiteboarding spots are on the French side.  The airport is on the Dutch side and has runway that ends/starts at a public beach.  This beach is right between two bars so tourists would go get loaded and hang on to the fence while 757’s took off and landed.  When the planes took off the sand hit them so hard they would be bleeding and sand would be blow a good 100 yards into the ocean.  Crazy!!!

The typical winds blow from the East so the north east part of the island is the best for kiting.  A few of the spots are Oriental Bay and Embouchure Bay.  I spent most of the trip in Philipsburg with a French couple (Vince and Sandra) aboard “Carolina” their 40′ aluminum sloop.  Vince is starting a 6mo sailing adventure around the Caribbean, like any great adventure.  He had to make a few “sacrifices” to make it happen one of which being quiting his job (although he did say he can get it back after the 6mo).  Anyway, I so jealous of the whole ragtag crew of the “Carolina” including Jean-Philippe whom I only spoke with never met, but will be arriving on the boat soon.  Wish them the best of luck with their trip, and hopefully they’ll have lots of wind.   

While we were there, the wind was light so no riding to be had, but we talked with some of the local kiteboarders and kiteshops.  If you’re traveling there give the shop a ring at 281-508-6485 or email us at houston@xlkites.com and we’ll forward the local kiteboarding info. 

Here are some pics from the trip.

The new buzz from slingshot is the debut of one of the easiest flying kites on the market for 2010.  The Slingshot key is a delta hybrid kite.  We were able to demo the new key a few weeks ago in various wind conditions.  The reason we’re so pumped about it here in Houston is because of its light wind ability for our summer teaching season. 

So here is the skinny:
They Key’s bar pressure is more than the RPM but a lot less than the T3 so it provides feedback to the rider but not fatige.  In extremely light winds the kite will reverse relaunch by pulling on both rear lines at the same time.  In high winds the kite depowers as much as a normal bow kite.  In the air the kite is slower than any of the other kites slingshot is making this year, so it is a good choice for beginner to intermediate riders.  I do have to say I was surprised by the jumping ability of the kite when I took it out in higher winds.  The kite comes with a super simple bar and lines set that has a below the bar leash attachement that is similar to the Cabrinha IDS system.  I personally self rescued on it and it worked great.  The normal Slingshot stopper ball has been removed which is great for new riders and will avoid accidental power lock from a sliding stopper. 

Overall, very impressed with the kite and believe it will be the best kite for new kiteboarders for 2010.  Super stable, easy to fly and depower, with plenty of performance.  The kite price is the best part!!!  You can get a complete setup with slingshot board and kite for less than $1560 totally complete.

Chris from HQ will be on hand for a demo at the Levee riding area tomorrow, Tuesday 2Feb10 from 9am to noon. There will be light winds but a good time to checkout some of the new foils from HQ including the scout, Hydra, and Neo. The Neo is HQ’s newest foil design which is a relaunchable water foil. Similar to the neo is the hydra which is a trainer kite version of the Neo that allows students to take their trainer kite in the water for body dragging.

Meet XLKITES in front of the convention center Wednesday am for a surf session in the waves. The wind should be out of the ENE which is side shore and should be great for surf riding. We’ll be out there till 11am or so.