K SURF C MAURITIUS PRESSBOOK 2023

O kay, so first up let’s deal with the elephant in the room. Think Mauritius and you tend to think of one spot: Le Morne. It steals the headlines for good reason, with One Eye being the headline-grabbing jewel in the crown. But for the 99.5% of kiters who aren’t planning on heading 3km offshore to one of the most revered, but also one of the gnarliest kitesurfing reefs on the planet, it is es sentially ‘just’ a nice flatwater spot inside the lagoon. These days it is also pretty busy and also – right now – a huge build ing site, as the main hotel on the spot gets rebuilt. So if you’re not going to head to the south, where else could you head? Well actually you have a whole lot of options, not least of which is to head to the east of the island and to the perfect beaches there which – it turns out – also have insane flatwater spots, but with a few less other kiters to contend with. Enter C Mauritius… THE C KITE FESTIVAL Hosted by Antoine Auriol, the C Kite Festival brought to gether a fine selection of riders whose competitive careers have spanned the last decade or so. It’s fair to say that An toine is pretty well connected in the kitesurfing world, and it seems that the number one criteria for getting an invite to the event was “must have good vibes”. You would struggle to find a friendlier crew of riders, all taking their role of showcasing the sport very seriously, with whoops and shakas aplenty. When the expression sessions were in full flow there was a tantalizing mix of Big Air (enter Tom Hebert, Hay Katz, Youri Zoon, Paul Serin and Arthur Guillebert) and full-power kite-low booted-up antics (Victor Hays and Ozzie Smith). The highlight of the kitesurfing was a 15-kilo meter downwinder which brought together pretty much an yone at the resort who had ever flown a kite, who mixed in with the pro riders for a cruise along this part of the Mauri tian coastline. Riding along this part of the coast and getting to view the insane mountainous beauty of Mauritius from the water was pretty special. As was being greeted at the end of the downwinder with a dry towel and a can of Red Bull…

CAPTIONS

Above top: The backdrop for the event was the stunning C Mauritius.

Above middle. The pros UNLEASHED. With no competition there was only one focus: fun. (And going bigger than your mates, obviously.)

Above left: The insane Yarden Sax. Antoine Auriol shoes off, drink in hand: a good day at the office...

Left: The downwinder with pros and regular riders setting off together.

Right: Tom Hebert was in full ‘send it’ mode throughout. A definite crowd pleaser.

Middle four photos: Sara Hayward Other photos: Constance Hotels, Resorts & Golf

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