Gabriele Steindl: Professional Kitesurfer & Freelance Writer - Action, Lifestyle & Travels

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Shandrani Mauritius Kitesurf II

Unfortunately the weekend passed without the so anticipated wind – we tried it all: wind dance, wind songs, prayers etc … for us – Jaime, Will, Martin, Jeff and me – ‘competition-geezers’ it was just the ‘usual competition dilemma; for the organizers and sponsors who put so much work into the event, it was a little harder to understand, how it could be possible that on a super perfect spot like this, during windy season, so many days passed below 10 knots….

Saturday, the 17th of July was another beauuutiful morning in paradise. It was the day of the scheduled ‘downwind race to the beautiful Isle Aux Cerfs’. All competitors of the Shandrani Kitesurf were optimistic and we loaded our equipment onto huge catamarans to be taken to the starting point of the race. Unfortunately the wind was blowing from the wrong direction plus it was very light. Most of the riders still gave it a go – also me, and the time that I was going, I was screaming and laughing out loudly due to pure joy and appreciation for the beauty of the ride in the turquois blue waters.

Unortunately, like everyone else – except for Jaime and Will, who were the only ones to finish the race which was rather an upwind than a downwind, on surfboards! – I got stuck along the way as the wind died. Nevermind, I was lucky and found a little ‘coral bank’ in the middle of the sea where I sat down waiting for the wind to pick up again….unfortunately, it never happened. In the meantime some other riders joined me on my little island and we decided to go back to the hotel which now was downwind … we just made it back there.

In the evening we had a great dinner at one of Shandrani’s four restaurants and a few drinks at the bar afterwards.

Sunday, the day of the freestyle competition….mh, a b s o l u t e l y zero … zip … rien … nada …. nevermind, there were loads of people and it was really good fun hanging out with the Mauritian kite-community.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank again all the organisers – Mr. Pismont, the GM of the Shandrani, Alec, Laurent, etc. – and sponsors – mainly www.beachcomber-hotels.com and www.airmauritius.com; further www.osmosis-rodrigues.com www.mauritius.net www.eisos.com www.northkites.com – who made this event possible plus all the people who looked so wonderfully after us – amongst them Patrick from habit clothing www.habitclothing.com and ‘Lolo’ (Frederic) from Le Mourne X-Kiting www.kitesurf-mauritius.com and Laurent from Le Gall www.legallclothing.com ‘Merci beaucoup!’ to all of you!!!

I spent the last days of my trip on the other side of the island, in the South West, rockin’ in the wind and waves of beauuutiful Le Morne.

Mauritius is paradise and I hope I will be getting another chance to visit this perle in the Indian Ocean soon!

YES, I got more than one chance to come back to Mauritius paradise. These words I’m writing on 20.07.2008 whilst transferring old posts from the previous to the brandnew version of www.kitegabi.com shortly before it’s launch in summer 2008!!  Ever since my first visit of Mauritius in 2004, by now I have been back more than three times and certainly plan on returning soon again 🙂

Over the years a number of my articles about Mauritius have been published in several languages and different publications. Check out my feature on the ‘Kiteival 2007’ (inauguration of the Kitesurf Festival in Mauritius) in German published in Kiteboarding.de Magazine  or my Spot Guide to the island in German, French, and Russian, as well as the write-up of a french journalist to the ‘Kiteival 2007’,  in the local Mauritian paper the ‘Scope’,   have fun!