Starting on the 16th of June the PKRA Cabarete kitesurf world cup is held right here at Cabarete’s main beach, Bozo. I will be cheering for dutch world champion Kevin Langeree and Youri Zoon, Clare and the kids will be cheering for the English people on tour.

Another exciting event is the World cup of football, needless to say not taking place in Cabarete , but can be watched at all the local Cabarete bars on big wide screen tv’s. England just had a dissapointing start against the USA, Holland is up on Monday against Denmark.

What’s been going on at Swell in the last few weeks?

More repeat clients coming back, people that initially stayed with us in February and March have returned for more kite surfing,SUP and surfing so clearly these clients like Cabarete and Swell surf camp which we are very happy about.
Another good thing was that ,what was supposed to be a quiet month, May, turned out the be pretty much the busiest month we have had since opening 5 months ago. The rest of Cabarete town was almost dead and Swell had almost 100% occupancy with a great buzz and vibe going.

We have started the first ‘expansion’ of Swell: a new kite / surf storage room, so all your gear can be nicely stored away within the camp.

What have we been up to besides work?
-Drew (13 years) is really into his kitesurfing these days.
-Euan (10 years) is starting to learn the kitesurfing with Luciano.
-Clare is loving the stand up paddle surfing, and is also trying to squeze a few kite surf hours in the afternoon when she has time.
-I have been sharing my windsurfing kit with Luciano, we both really enjoy being back doing the windsurf thing. ( in fact I am looking for a good 5.2 wavesail so if anyone has a good windsurf sail for sale, let me know).

Next few weeks
Lots of clients coming to swell to learn kitesurfing, surfing, SUP and some windsurfers as well, so should be good if this wind stays here.
More cheering for the football matches and the kiteboard worldcup.
Maybe a few parties?

Join us in the Caribbean surf town of Cabarete

Hasta pronto
Team Swell surf camp

Luciano invited 2 of his kite friends, Moe and Calivin

Here’s some pics of this excellent kitesurfing day

From left to Right: Clare, Luciano, kalvin, Ken and my best friend from Holland Willie.

Willie and Ken getting ready for some good kitesurfing

Luciano showing of his new strapless kites tricks

ken getting “attacked” by the dogs.

Willie kitesurfing to cabarete

Our friend Coco also showed up at la Boca

The wind didn’t full cooperate, which is normal this time of the year, so the windsurf event wasn’t full finished, but that didn’t matter, the results that mattered where in and Swell’s own Luciano Gonzalez took the title righfully back.

I think there was no question about who was the best overall surfer and kitesurfer in the comp. Luciano’s surfing has been killer, ripping Encuentro’s waves every morning, taking spinning classes with Clare’s for his Fitness and stamina has paid off. Clear winner without a doubt.

Here’s some kitesurf pictures from him

More ripping the waves:

Congrats to Luciano
aspiring to be a Master of the ocean? Luciano gives surf and kite surf lessons here in Cabarete for Swell surf camp clients

Why is Cabarete learn to kite paradise?
-Warm water
-Steady trade winds
-Side onshore winds ( so you always float back in if something bad happens)
-Large beaches

When is the best time to learn to kite surf in Cabarete?
The strongest winds are to be found in Cabarete between March and September, however year round you can find at least 3-4 days with enough (10+ knots) wind to start kitesurfing.

Where can I find the best Kite surf school in Cabarete?
There’s a lot of kitesurf schools in Cabarete ( 10+) but not all are recommended, what to look for in a kite school?

So where do I go when I want to learn how to kite in Cabarete?
We work with 2 good schools in Cabarete, that have been in business for 5+ years and a solid track record for teaching kiteboarding in a safe and fun way.

Alternatively for if a clients at Swell wants to be taught by Luciano Gonzalez, our in house pro, then that can also be arranged. We at Swell kite school have the latest 2010 kites / boards helmets and vests.

More info about learning to kite surf in Cabarete can be found here. Or just contact us via this page

Oh and in case I forget, we at Swell wish Luciano Gonzalez good luck in trying to win the 2010 Master of the Ocean event , held at Playa Encuentro,.
He has trained and worked hard enough for it.

Strong wind and solid 2,5 overhead waves created the perfect setting for a photoshoot of Luciano Gonzalez riding strapless on a surfboard at Encuentro, the local surf spot here in Cabarete.
How big was it?

How was Luciano Gonzalez handling those waves…………. very well………why? Because he is one of the best wave kite surfers in the world.

How did he handle riding strapless in those big waves…….excellent…….most of the time……

At the moment 2 very talented film guys are making a movie about Luciano and Swell, and this epic day of kitesurfing at Encuentro, cabarete will be in it…stay tuned.

Want to improve your wave riding skills with a kite? Luciano works for Swell Surf camp full time, and especially in the summer months he will be available for our kite surf guests to give clinics and advanced kite lessons.

You like some white water?

Anyway, We have been getting lots of requests from surfers wanting to stay with us on their surf holiday, but we have also been contacted by kitesurfers wanting a cool place to stay in Cabarete, and because our place is called”surf camp” they get the impression that swell might not be THE place for them.

Wrong…..

Surf, kitesurf, windsurf, sailors or just sunbathers, everyone is welcome in our place.
Also don’t matter whether you are a pro or are in need of surf or kitesurf lessons, we can provide you with all.

Hopefully some pics can be posted tomorrow.
Hasta Pronto

Where is Puerto Plata? – NY Surf Film Festival 2009 from NY Surf Film Fest on Vimeo.

I like thse video’s promoting the kite or surf holidays here in cabarete, so if you finmd any more of thse vids, let me know.

On the surf side of things: there’s a new swell on it’s way so good surf starting this weekend.
The broken naish SUP is being fixed, so hopefully that will also be back in business soon.

No need for a pro rider, since the best kitesurfer of the Dominican republic is Swell staff member Luciano Gonzalez.

Luciano was on fire, getting closer and closer to the lens, and nearly killing the photographer, or so he though.

Full of the photo shoot is on Flickr.

Some more samples here

This afternoon, we take delivery of another big container of furniture, etc. More and more enquiries to deal with each day – it looks like Christmas may already be pretty full!

We are not taking photos now (for publication) until completion as all the items currently being done are the finishing ones and we’d like to keep them under wraps until everything is ready.  See you soon at Swell

Some strong wind came from nowhere yesterday – we both went out.  Me on a directional board and a 9m kite – should have taken a 7 as I was hanging on for dear life and Jim went windsurfing.

The kiter doing the board-off transition in the photo is one of  the world’s top riders.  Jan Marco Riveras is from Cabarete and one of the nicest people living in the town, modest and kind.