1
Mar
2010
He did it and of course he did 
1
Mar
2010
Luciano was right back on top of his game today at the final of the Master of the Ocean competition. He won both the Kiteboarding and surfing competitions and right now, we are waiting for the results of the overall competition; will he be 2010 Master of the Ocean? The next Blog will have the answer…………….
25
Feb
2010
So Kite boarding season kicks off this weekend with the Master of the Ocean competition. Talented water sportsmen must excel in surfing, windsurfing AND kiteboarding in order to carry away the trophy. Individual titles are up for grabs in Kite surfing, wind surfing and surfing but the overall winner must demonstrate skill in all three disciplines - no easy task.
Our very own Luciano Gonzalez, resident sports manager at Swell surf camp Cabarete, is favorite to carry away the trophy as he has done on two other occasions. You can watch the video of Luciano kiting huge waves recently on http://www.vimeo.com/9539480
For kiteboarding/kitesurfing , Cabarete really is the place to learn; you can gather information on kite boarding holidays from this website, about Cabarete kite surf holidays
18
Feb
2010
18
Feb
2010
I feel as though I’m one of the luckiest people alive these days. Loving my job(s), my children and my partner (not in any particular order). There’s no dread about working, whether I’m teaching spinning, working in our hotel or spending some time peacefully at home or walking the dogs, it all feels good.
Our hotel has gained a strength now from it’s guests – quite hard to explain really. With each week that goes by, the new arrivals seem to be ‘carried’ through their first ‘awkward’ feeling (if they have one at all) by the people who have been in the camp for a while, with friendly greetings and a warmth that makes everyone feel almost instantly at home. Jim and I are enjoying the camaraderie that exists in the hotel and seems to go on and on, regardless of who arrives these days.
Below are some of the photos we have taken of our guests and my son Drew in the last days as they surfed or kite-boarded in this great town.
1
Feb
2010
North swell arrived today – it won’t last more than 5 days or so, so at 5.30am we were on the road with our clients to make the best of it. A spot of rain didn’t spoil our day looks at Dan’s smile – he was leaving this afternoon and had a blast on his last surf session.
28
Jan
2010
OK so nothing even changed for Cabarete after the awful earthquake in Haiti. Still Cabarete has apparently suffered somewhat from the association. It’s a shame for businesses who have made it through a difficult tourism year to have this one landed on them just as the world’s economy was looking up. Cabarete though has what it takes to survive and so it will.
We used the conditions of earlier in the week to get some photos of Luciano Gonzalez as he prepares for the Master of the Ocean event which will take place in February (roughly 3 weeks from now). Huge waves and good wind created a fine photo opportunity for this talented Dominican………. Luciano is looking for a Sponsor for his kite equipment by the way.
22
Jan
2010
We had a great day today at Playa Grande, surfing La Preciosa. We took all our clients there for a really nice day; small waves, but perfectly formed!
I have to remind people that Cabarete, and the whole of the Dominican Republic are completely unaffected by the earthquake that hit Haiti – we are all fine and there is NO damage at all here!! You will see from these photos that we were enjoying a beautiful sunny day and I took all these photos from the top of a cliff – standing a metre from a 50 metre drop – no, I was not worried that an earthquake would send me reeling over the edge.
13
Jan
2010
Cabarete unaffected by earthquake
Posted in SURF CAMP
For all those people who have been asking, Cabarete and most of the Dominican Republic suffered no damage at all from the earthquake which devastated Haiti yesterday evening.
I did not even feel the two tremors that were widely reported as being felt by most people in the town but I knew something was odd when China, one of the maids at Swell reported feeling the earth shaking. I checked the pool at the hotel and saw that the water was swilling from side to side and overspilling into the garden.
It all seemed like nothing really – no damage – so it was all the more difficult to see the devastation in neighbouring Haiti. Today has just been a sad day all round.
7
Jan
2010