Straight off Dartmouth’s stress griddle, I joined my parents and brother for a complete change of pace – a Caribbean Paradise. I have never seen anything quite like the deep, crystal blue-green ocean surrounding Turks and Caicos. Paddling around, I could see the bottom as clearly as if it were only a few feet deep.

For a week I spent most of my time in the ocean, either standup paddling, boating or kiteboarding. Paddling tandem SUP with my mom was especially fun, but the kiting takes the cake for challenging.

With a wind filled 12’ wide kite pulling me, if I didn’t get the board on my feet quickly enough I was dragged toward shore. If I let go of my board and lost it behind me, I struggled to swim back upwind for it. But when I finally stood up, leaned back against the kite and flew on top of the water it was an amazing feeling. The ride ended when I highsided, and pressure washed my sinuses. But for those few moments, I was flying.

up up and away

After kiting, it was great to hang out with the family, grab some delicious food, share stories, and even practice some spinning moves with washed up bamboo.