Strapless in Indo

This is a very late session report from January 23-24 as I was waiting on some pictures to be sent to me.

While I was in Singapore I took a weekend trip to Trikora Beach which is on Bintan Island in Indonesia. The island is an hour ferry ride from Singapore, and the beach is another hour car ride from the ferry terminal. I tagged along with a local instructor who was teaching for the weekend which made the logistics of the trip pretty easy.

Neil, the instructor, has a pretty sweet setup where he teaches out of a resort on the beach and gets special rates, gear storage, etc. for all his students and local kiters. He also has locals that help launch and land kites, as well as retrieve students that end up downwind! The resort is on a lagoon which provides several miles of butter smooth, warm water.

SaturdayI got skunked, which put me in a pretty crappy mood, especially because when the wind picked up a little and I tried to get out I forgot I had my sunglasses on.... that was the end of them. Being a cheap grad student, I didn't stay at the resort saturday night, but at the Shady Shack, which was literally a bunch of wood shacks on the beach. Probably one of the best nights I have had hanging out with the owners family and a bunch of exchange students that were also staying there.

Sunday had slightly better breeze, so I borrowed Neil's skimboard and rode strapless and finless all day. Super smooth water made things easy and it was one of the best sessions I have had. Skimboards are addicting, and I can't wait to find a used one for light wind days around Boston. Worked on ollies and pulled off a couple gybes- not bad for the second day I have ridden a skim.

Overall, it was a great way to spend a January weekend!

Session Pictures: