The Reef, Vieux Fort, St Lucia

Coverboy David

2007-05-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Homeboy David Hastilow graces the cover of the May 2007 Italian 'Surfers' magazine. Last December, David and four of his team mates from the Cabrinha pro team (Cameron Dietrich, Damien Leroy, Susi Mai, and Clarissa Hempel) toured the Caribbean on a yachting safari, checking out some of the top kiting spots in the region. The tour kicked off from David's home location at The Reef Kite + Surf in St Lucia and took the riders as far north as the islands of St Martin and Anguilla.

According to the magazine's website, the accompanying article is a 'Speciale Caribe, alla scoperta di 5 fantastiche isole dei caraibi' which we believe is an in-depth story about the copious amounts of pasta consumed by the pro team while visiting five fantastic Caribbean islands - but our Italian is not so hot, and the article might be about something entirely different.

David is sponsored by The Reef Kite + Surf.

The man with the midas touch

2007-04-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

Edward 'Vaval' Emanus (age 71) dominated the track at the 4th annual senior games held at the national stadium in Vieux Fort. Vaval added four gold medals in the 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m relay events, to his already weighty collection of gold from other senior competitions held both at home and regionally. He puts his success down to a generally healthy lifestyle, regular training and of course the streamlined aerodynamics of his 'go-faster' Reef lycra vest - congratluations Vaval!

St Lucia Kite Fiesta 2007 - a huge success

2007-03-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

Limbo dancers, fire eaters, snake charmers, live bands, calypso serenaders ... and of course lots of kitesurfing action - this was the first ever St Lucia Kitesurfing Fiesta held at Anse de Sable beach on 16th - 18th March 2007. The fun, pro-am competition was one of the fringe events organised for the 2007 Cricket World Cup which is currently being hosted by the West Indies with several first-round matches played in St Lucia. The event was organised by the Southern Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) in collaboration with The Reef Kite + Surf and was sponsored by Hawaiian Tropic, Red Bull, Transcend Clothing and The Reef.

Over a two-day period, riders from Guadeloupe, Barbados, Costa Rica, UK, USA, and St Lucia competed for cash prizes, slogging it out in freestyle, course racing and big-air sessions and wowed the crowds with innovative expression sessions. The mood of the event was fun, fun and more fun.

Cabrinha pro-rider Damien Leroy flew in to judge the event and with the help of David and Rachel Hastilow, kept everyone's eyes glued to the action with riveting commentary. One often heard remark from spectators was: "I didn't think it would be so exciting."

Results:

Women's Freestyle

1. Beth Lygoe (UK)

2. Melissa Gil (Costa Rica)

3. Rachel Hastilow (UK)

Women's Course Racing

Men & women rode the same course and Beth Lygoe was the overall winner.

1. Beth Kygoe (UK) - overall winner

2. Melissa Gil (Costa Rica)

Men's Freestyle

1. Yoann Guignot (Guadeloupe)

2. David Hastilow (UK)

3. Evan Ponka (USA)

Men's Course Racing

1. David Hastilow (UK)

2. Evan Ponka (USA)

3. Yoann Guignot (Guadeloupe)

Want to see more Kite Fiesta action?

Here are two things you can do:

1. Make sure you're here for next year's Kite Fiesta 2008

2. Visit our gallery

Paula Deen films Food Network special at The Reef

2007-02-28T14:01:00.000-08:00

Paula Deen, the Food Network's Queen of Southern Cuisine and star of "Paula's Home Cooking", visited The Reef to film a TV special featuring the Reef's own creole home cooking. She was accompanied by equally famous sons Jaime and Bobby who were eager to try out some kitesurfing with our resident pro-rider, David Hastilow.

While the guys discovered the joys of bodydragging,

Paula and husband Michael tucked into some of The Reef's 'good ole home cookin'.

... So was our cooking all it was cracked up to be?

You betcha!

Visit Paula's website
More behind-the-scenes pics in our gallery soon ...

Clinton Bolton and the Best Odyssey

2007-02-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Best Odyssey yacht arrived in St Lucia and the folks onboard spent several days kiting with us at our home location of Anse de Sables bay. Best pro-rider Clinton Bolton (see pic) accompanied the trip from Grenada to St Lucia stopping along the way at Curriacou, Union, Tobago Cays and Canouan.

Click here for more info on the Best Odyssey

Cheap at half the price:

2006-11-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

At only US$1.70 a glass, should we should be charging more for our seamoss punch?

Lucinda and Kemry Hughes took a "procreation vacation." The couple — expecting their first child in April — credits the trip for their pregnancy.

Couples go on 'procreation vacations'

MIAMI — When Lucinda Hughes heard she would have to drink sea moss elixir while vacationing in the Bahamas, she was certain it would make her sick. Sure enough, three months later, Hughes is very sick — every morning — and expecting her first baby in April.
She got pregnant after she and her husband went on a three-day Procreation Vacation at a resort on Grand Bahama Island.
It's part of a trend in which hotels around the world are luring couples who are trying to have a baby. Resorts are offering on-site sex doctors, romantic advice and exotic food and drink calculated to put lovers in the mood and hasten the pitter-patter of little feet.
Even some obstetricians are promoting the trend. Dr. Jason James of Miami said he often encourages couples trying to have a baby to sneak away for a few days, and he often sees it work.
"One of the most easy, therapeutic interventions is to recommend a vacation," James said. "I think the effect of stress on our physiology is truly underestimated."
Hughes and her husband, Kemry, went to the Westin at Our Lucaya Grand Bahama Island, where the three-night Procreation Vacation starts at $1,893. They lounged on the beach, swam in the pool, sipped pumpkin soup and enjoyed couple's massages. Hughes and her husband also were also served an age-old Caribbean fertility concoction three times a day: sea moss, the Caribbean's version of Viagra, mixed with evaporated milk, sugar and spices. (She said it tasted like an almond smoothie.) ...

Extract from story By Kelli Kennedy, Associated Press Writer

Photo Shoot at The Reef

2006-11-19T13:53:00.000-08:00

For four days, The Reef played host to the models, photographers, make-up artists, lighting crew & dressers of the "Boston Proper" catalogue. The photo shoot featured the spring collection in preparation for the next edition of the catalogue.There are more pics of the 'behind-the-scenes' action in our gallery, so the fashion-conscious amongst you can get a heads-up on what will be 'in' next season.

ATV Jungle adventure

2006-11-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Reef Kite + Surf team spent a day out with Kurt of ATV Paradise tours exploring Fond Estate on the east coast of St Lucia.This is an amazing ATV tour of what was once a fully-working plantation (some of the cultivation has now been cut back) and the approx. 4-hour tour covers 14 miles on existing plantation roads. The route takes you through fruit orchards, banana plantations, rain forest and mangrove to a secluded atlantic beach.

En-route Kurt treated us to a feast of fruits picked straight off the trees, and the swim in the cool forest river was the highlight of the trip.

You can book the trip through the Kite + Surf centre if you'd like to experience this natural side of St Lucia. More pics in the gallery.

Cabrinha Pro Team on Demo Tour

2006-10-30T13:39:00.000-08:00

5 Riders, 4 Islands, 2 Weeks, 1 Boat
TRY OUT ALL THE LATEST KIT at The Reef!
7th-8th Dec 2006

Winter is rapidly approaching, the sea temperature is dropping, if you are already starting to get the winter blues then why not plan a trip to the Caribbean and meet up with the Cabrinha guys who are sailing around the Islands with a boat packed full of the latest kit.With a choice of 4 locations to visit come and meet the guys, try the new kit, see what everyone is raving about. What better excuse is there to plan your winter vacation?
Join up with International Riders, Cameron Dietrich, Damien Leroy, Susi Mai, and National Riders, Clarissa Hempel and David Hastilow, as they show you the new kit, how to use it and give you those all important pointers on riding technique. Each location has been chosen due to the amazing conditions available so check out the contact details for each location.

Demo Dates:

St Lucia: 7th - 8th December 2006 - www.slucia.com/kitesurf
Martinique: 9th - 10th December 2006 - http://www.airfly972.com/
Guadeloupe: 12th - 13th December 2006 - http://www.akc.fr/
St Martin: 19th - 20th December 2006 - http://www.gokitesurfing.com/

Leave your wetsuit at home, grab your boardies or bikinis and make your way over to the Caribbean for the chance to try the new Cabrinha kit and enjoy some winter sun.

For more information check out:
http://www.cabrinhakites.com/ or
http://www.caribbeankitesurfari.com/

Liquid Dreams - watch David Hastilow's video

2006-07-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

Click here to see David in action.

Vin Diesel in the house ...

2006-07-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

David joins Cabrinha team

2006-07-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

David Hastilow has joined Cabrinha as a sponsored team rider. You can read his bio on the Cabrinha website here. Dave is also a certified IKO kite instructor and teaches at The Reef Kite + Surf. He recently featured in a photo shoot for the center.

This summer Dave has also been checking out some 'secret' kite spots around the Caribbean with 'Captain Ben' who knows the islands like the back of his hand. More about the Captain, his boat and our soon-to-be-launced CARIBBEAN KITE SAFARIS & DOWNWINDERS in a later post!In the meantime, here's a sneak preview:

A wedding with Scottish flair

2006-05-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Wedding bells rang and champagne flowed for Sarah & Stuart today. We wish them all the very best in their new life together.

May 2006: Daphnée LaLiberté

2006-05-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Daphnée is sponsored by VIRGIN mobile, AAER systems, EH kiteboading, SOÖRUZ wear, DAKINE, ZEAL optics and travels the world competing in PKRA World Cup events. She is also an IKO Examiner and spent time with us in St Lucia leading an instructor training course, training, and doing a photo shoot for her sponsors.

Visit Daphnee's blog with info about her St Lucia Kite trip

May 2006: Instructor training course

2006-05-01T05:05:00.000-07:00

LIVE YOUR DREAM
Become an IKO kitesurfing instructor

IKO INSTRUCTOR TRAINING COURSE
8 - 12 MAY 2006The Reef Kite + Surf, St Lucia

Click for more info ...

March 2006: Christiaan Brouwer

2006-03-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

Former Dutch Champion and PKRA pro rider, Christiaan Brouwer spent 3 weeks in St Lucia with us for a training session. Read about Christiaan's St Lucia Kite trip (written in Dutch)

February 2006: Nevin Sayre

2006-02-19T05:09:00.000-08:00

Nevin Sayre is famous for his accomplishments in windsurfing, spanning the early days of the Windsurfer One Design class to the high-performance Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) World Tour and accumulating more than 20 national and international titles along the way. He is a five-time U.S. National Windsurfing Champion and director of marketing windsurfing, kitesurfing for BIC Sport USA.. During the US Presidential elections, Nevin was 'outed' as Senator John Kerry's kitesurfing buddy!Nevin spent 2 weeks at The Reef Beach Huts with his family and friends and declared it "the perfect place for families and kids. Windsurfing ... kitesurfing .... something for all levels ... uncrowded - there are not too many spots like this left in the world."