Notes from the road

Published articles

• Downwinding Brazil: The Ultimate Kite Journey Along the Coast

  There are kitesurf trips, and then there are downwinders in Brazil. It’s not just about riding from point A to point B, it’s about following the wind for days, sometimes weeks, along one of the most consistent coastlines in the world. You wake up, check the wind out of habit, and smile because you already know the answer.

• Four European kite spots where you ride in the afternoon and eat exceptionally well at night

  Long-haul isn't always necessary. Between May and September, within three hours' flying time of most of Northern Europe, there's a handful of spots with reliable thermal wind, warm water and surroundings where the supply of good restaurants, vineyards and boat charters more than compensates for the absence of a palm tree outside your door.

• Kite trips with a partner who doesn't kite: how to make it a great week for both of you

  Every kitesurfer with a non-kiting partner knows the scene. You spend four hours on the water, come back euphoric, and find someone who has spent the entire afternoon on a sun lounger and now knows exactly how many pages were in that book. Nothing is said about it, but dinner that evening has a slightly different temperature than the night before.

• Le Morne, Mauritius: where five-star luxury meets a world-class reef break

  There are places where you can kite well. There are resorts where you can sleep beautifully. And then there is Le Morne, where the two sit so close together that you can walk to your board in a bathrobe. On the southwestern tip of Mauritius lies a lagoon that already looks improbable on a map: flat turquoise water, ringed by a reef where the Indian Ocean breaks, with the silhouette of Le Morne Brabant rising behind it. The mountain is a UNESCO World Heritage site, though mostly you'll notice how it steals every photograph.

• Soma Bay or El Gouna? Two very different faces of luxury kitesurfing in Egypt

  Five hours in the air. No jet lag, no connection, no vaccinations. If you live in Northern Europe and want a long weekend or a week of guaranteed sun, the Egyptian Red Sea is the most efficient kite destination there is. And unlike a decade ago, you no longer have to compromise on where you sleep.