The Kite Man and The Sea
The Triple Crown of Aitutaki
Eight months ago, I stumbled upon a picture of a beautiful atoll somewhere in the South Pacific. I was so fascinated by it that I decided to locate the atoll on the map and find out more about it. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this outrageously remote place is not only accessible for tourists but it is also, in fact, a top kitesurfing destination for New Zealanders and Australians! There was no way back, I had to go and see it! “Aitutaki – here we come.”
The basis of Aitutaki is a coral reef that sits atop an extinct 4000-meter high volcano precipitously rising from the ocean floor. The reef itself is roughly the shape of a triangle with sides of about 12 kilometers. It encompasses the main island of Aitutaki and many small islets (motus) on the perimeter of a stunningly beautiful lagoon. The motus are tiny and uninhabited but they have some of the nicest beaches with champagne sand and picturesquely tilted palm trees. Aitutaki spans an area of only 16 square kilometers, it is hilly and very lush. The best way to explore this tropical botanical garden is by bicycle or motorbike. Some of the roads are paved but even the dirt roads and paths are well-kept and fun to explore. There are roughly 1800 local people living on the island who are friendly, cordial, and easy going. Everybody knows everybody, people help each other, there is no poverty, and there is no crime in this well-functioning community. Isn’t that wonderfully refreshing?
The Aitutaki lagoon is touted as one of the most beautiful places in the Pacific. It measures about 45 kilometers in circumference and it is approximately 3-25 feet deep. The barrier reef protects the lagoon so well that sharks have no access to enter. There is only one passage on the west side of the island where small boats can pass through this natural fortification. When a big cargo ship arrives twice a month to bring supplies, it has to moor outside the reef while much smaller barges are sent out through the channel to receive the goods.
Raging beast
During the first week of our stay, 25-30 knot trade winds blew constantly, day and night. It was absolutely fascinating to see, hear, and feel the overwhelming power of the 15+ foot waves crashing into the reef. While the ocean was angry, we could still SUP and kite in relatively flat water inside the lagoon. One day, I rigged up my 9m Sonic and kited right up to the barrier reef as close as I could. The massive crushers rolled towards me and thundered forcefully onto the outer side of the reef, not further than 100 meters away. I felt the mist, I marveled at the deadly force, but the reef absorbed it all and allowed nothing but small ripples to come into the lagoon. It was like touching a raging beast while standing behind Plexiglas.
My wife and I crisscrossed Aitutaki on our bikes many times over during our stay. After one of our rides around the whole island, I started to have a strangely familiar nagging at the back of my mind: “Could I also SUP around the island, and kite around the lagoon?”
SUPing around Aitutaki
While I was seriously doubtful that I could kite alone around the far-reaching lagoon, I was quite determined to SUP around the island. When the strong easterly winds finally subsided to 15-20 knots and the high tide cooperated with my plan, it was time for me to push off. I started from Etu Moana, our boutique resort on the leeward side of the island, and by the time the sun rose at 7:10am, I was already battling the elements around the northern shore. The headwind and the currents became so brutal that forward movement grew impossible. I landed on a beach and started to walk with my SUP along the coast but my progress wasn’t any easier. My inflatable paddle board wanted to fly away in the wind and I had to wrestle with it while walking on coral, shells, and sand. After having trudged about a kilometer, I was so frustrated that I decided to get back on the water and battle the waves and wind on my knees.
I slowly edged all the way around the airport and then finally floated through a narrow channel into the inner lagoon. I continued to paddle along the perimeter to explore a few motus and to check the wind conditions along their leeward side. This portion of my journey was beautiful beyond words. I paddled in solitude along untouched pristine beaches and overhanging palms. When I was abeam the southern tip of the main island, I turned downwind, crossed the lagoon, and continued in the calm waters of the western side of Aitutaki all the way home. It took me over 6 hours to SUP only 25 kilometers, and I felt as exhausted as if I had paddled across the whole ocean.
If you look at the Google Map satellite image of Aitutaki, you will find dark dots and lines scattered all over the lagoon. Those are not artifacts, but coral heads and ridges that are officially called coral bommies. A bommie is a stand-alone coral structure that can be as small as a beach-ball or it can grow all the way up to the surface and measure tens of meters in diameter. Snorkeling in such a maze is like a dream because each of these coral structures functions as an individual universe for hundreds of species of fish. On one of our snorkeling trips, we saw clams that were more than 50 years old and bigger than a regular suitcase. As you can imagine however, boating or any fast water-sport can be extremely hazardous or even impossible in such treacherous waters. A local fisherman told me that the lagoon was deadly for boats at night and during those times when the water surface reflects like a mirror and there is no way to see what lies beneath.
Kitesurfing around the lagoon
Kitesurfing from the main island is practically impossible due to very shallow water and bommies sticking out everywhere. Luckily, there is a daily boat service for kiters to one of the islets in the lagoon, Honeymoon Island. It is more like a sandbar with a small palm forest in the middle which provides convenient shade and daytime refuge for kiters. Riding conditions at Honeymoon are truly incredible; no wonder there were about 10 to 15 kites flying in the air every day while we were there.
When I first appeared on Honeymoon Island with my kitesurfing gear, I was getting those strange looks I always get from kiters initially when I travel to exotic places. Foil kite, large twintip board with a dagger, seat harness, impact vest, reef boots, wetsuit, camel pack, board leash… “Where did this clown come from?” Yes, my gear may be a bit unconventional but I usually don’t kite the way most people do. Every item of my equipment is essential and has an important role during my long-distance kitesurfing pursuits.
After about 10 days of our stay on Aitutaki, I finally felt that I was ready to kite around the lagoon. At that point I had visited virtually every corner of the lagoon either by SUP, kite or boat, I had set foot on almost every motu or a sandbar, I understood the wind behavior, I had memorized the tide times, and I had a lot of practice kiting among the bommies during my regular vagabonding sessions. I was familiar with the tourist boat itineraries but I was also aware that there is no coast guard service on the atoll. If anything happened, I had to rely on myself and myself only. To further complicate my goal, I was also aware that my distance from downwind shore would be as far as 7 kilometers at certain parts of my journey. These were serious facts that I had fun wrestling while vacationing with my beautiful wife on one of the most remote atolls on Earth with tourist services. All things considered though, I concluded that my goal was attainable and not life threatening.
I started my journey from Honeymoon Island shortly after 10 am. The wind was steady between 17-20 knots and I flew my Flysurfer Sonic 11m kite. At first, I enjoyed kiting with other kiters, throwing some jumps and practicing tricks but after a while, it was time for me to disappear into the distance. I knew that nobody would be alarmed and start looking for that “crazy guy with a black kite” because they all knew me by then, understood my skill level, and were used to my distance kiting shenanigans.
Instead of crossing the lagoon from Honeymoon to the main island right away, I kited about 3 kilometers upwind because I wanted to have a nice distance from the deadly reef on the downwind (western) side of the lagoon. Shortly after our arrival on Aitutaki, a kiter made some brutal decision-making mistakes during her session at Honeymoon Island and ended up being dragged outside the reef into the massive swell of the wild Pacific. Even though there were other kiters and a boat nearby, nobody was able to help from the inside of the lagoon. To her extreme luck, there was a fishing boat outside the reef that came to her rescue. I figured that one kitesurfing drama in a week was more than enough for Aitutaki and so I was determined to never get blown anywhere near the western reef.
When I started to cross the lagoon towards the main island, I was fully focused as I knew the next 4 kilometers would be a really shitty place to make a mistake. The low tide was approaching and so my eyes were on the bommies. Navigating between the coral heads and watching the schools of fish was a lot of fun. The intense turquoise color of the water and the overall beauty of the lagoon was so overwhelming that there was literally no space and time in my soul to be afraid. I loved my ride far, far away from everywhere.
When I reached the northernmost point of my journey, Ootu Beach, I waved at a few surprised kayakers and continued towards the most popular islet of all, One Foot Island. Along this east (upwind) side of the lagoon, I was going to pass beautiful islets with spectacular sand beaches and large shallow areas inviting play. Unfortunately, all that marvelous scenery was just a big trap for my kite. Thick jungle and high coconut trees on all of these motus create a considerable wind shadow and air turbulence on their leeward side. I was aware of this situation thanks to my SUPing adventure and so I kept a healthy distance. This leg of my trip was admittedly a bit ballsy as the downwind coast was kilometers away and swimming to safety would have been practically impossible. If a disaster had struck, my plan was to swiftly abandon my kite and without any hesitation start swimming to the nearest upwind motu. In case of temporary exhaustion, I planned to rest on a bommie.
When I reached One Foot Island and its picturesque sandbars, I knew I had the most “dangerous” part behind me. I could see two anchored tourist boats and a few people wading from one sandbar to another. I was happy to be back within the reach of “civilization.” It was around 1pm and so I was in no rush to leave this paradise. I marveled at scenery and enjoyed throwing a few big jumps for my audience and their cameras. After a while, I kited a short distance to reach Motukitiu, the furthest islet in the lagoon, my dreamed-of pinnacle of the trip. Motukitiu was so far from Aitutaki that I could feel like I had truly reached the end of the horizon! This was raw living, this was as close to Nirvana any “kite man” can get. I wanted to absorb it all. I was having the most amazing kitesurfing time of my life.
I could barely see Honeymoon Island in the distance as it was 10 kilometers away. There are no motus along the southern side of the lagoon, just noisy surf breaking on the reef. I knew this portion of the lagoon very well as I had ventured into this area regularly during my other sessions. There were some large shallow areas along my route where, in case of trouble, I could stand up, perhaps untangle my kite, and relaunch.
In a while, I got close enough to Honeymoon Island to recognize small dots as kites above the horizon. Everything seemed in order, the wind was magnificent, and so there was no reason to hurry. This kiting adventure was pure joy and I didn’t want it to be over.
When I landed my kite on Honeymoon, some of the guys were kiting, others were sitting in the shade of the palm trees, drinking from coconuts. “How far did you go today bro?” When I told my story, a few fist bumps and high-fives flew in the air, Bryn handed me a coconut to join the party, and I quickly slid into the proper pace of kitesurfing life on Aitutaki. I felt like I could stay there forever.
Note: Inspired by Brian Talma, the world’s renowned waterman and windsurfer of Barbados whom I met in 2013. Brian holds the Triple Crown of Barbados for kiting, SUPing, and windsurfing around the island. While I am one of the few people who has successfully kited around Barbados, I could never complete the Barbados Triple Crown. I am proud however to hold the Triple Crown of Aitutaki for biking and SUPing around the island, and kiting solo around the vast lagoon. Action!
