NY experience
07.10.08
From Brazil I flew straight to New York to visit the new Best Kiteboarding Center in Amityville on Long Island for a photo shoot and advanced clinic. I had been very much looking forward to spend a few days in the big city and in civilization between my trips to Brazil and the upcoming trip to the Cook Islands.
Kiting in New York still sounded kind of weird to me though – but not for much longer. Just a few hours after I had arrived I was already out there in the sound, all set up with the new 2009 gear and with our photographer Gavin at my side. And it was beautiful – surrounded by I don’t know how many “grass-islands” and shallow waters and with the sun shining for us I very much enjoyed my first afternoon in Amityville. Even though the wind was not quite strong enough to ride and shoot – I was totally amazed by the spot that the Best Kiteboarding Center NY had to offer. Over the next 2 days we all rode together in nice strong winds (even our CEO Ian Huschle came out for an early morning session) and tried to shoot as many good pictures as we could. www.bestkiteboarding.com/Best-NYC
Unfortunately as the weekend came closer the wind died and it did not look great for our “Bustin it with Boese and Laying it down with Laurel” advanced clinic and we had to call it off in a last minute decision on Friday afternoon. Even though the clinic did not happen, the big Keg Party on Saturday evening was still on and we now had all the time in the world to prepare for a great evening. I was soon to find out that not only the kite spot was a very special one, but also the center itself had to offer a lot and is not only the perfect no wind training center but also a great party location. The big trampoline with bar hanging off the ceiling was a great attraction for everyone and the place for our little handle pass contest (I lost against Brian… yeah, I admit!). To mix it up John gave in amazing show with his jojo that everyone very much enjoyed (me especially!) and our punch was not as bad after all and made everybody happy (together with the keg of course!).
After a late night I slept in and woke up to a nice surprise the next morning – the SPA 190 had invited my team manager Stacey and I to come over for a massage and we were both excited to go. When we got to the spa we got even more excited though as it turned out that SPA 190 was not just your general spa but an extremely nice one with great massage therapists and a very special atmosphere. I can not tell you how much I enjoyed my treatment there and how great and relaxed I felt afterwards. I can only recommend this service to every kiter in the NY area – especially after a long session! www.spa190.com
To make my last day in NY even more enjoyable we all went to the city in the evening… walking down 7th ave to the meet packer district where we first had drinks in a bar on a roof top of a hotel (what an awesome view!) and afterwards a big team dinner with Ian and his wife Lorrie at an Italian place. After a unforgettable week with the team and at the center this last day made me want to come back even sooner and even though we had do call of our clinic this time – there will be a next time for sure! See you soon again NY!
