Fifer and former Bell Baxter High School pupil Ian Sanders spent Christmas day walking the beach beside the balmy waters of Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.
A fortunate man, readers may think, except it was all part of a day’s work for Ian, kitesurfing instructor and co-owner of Exotikite Kiteboarding School in Los Barriles, Baja Sur.
“Although we’re in the winter season, temperatures are in the seventies with strong winds out of the north,” Ian said. “This makes Los Barriles the ideal place for kiting and windsurfing over the Christmas holidays.”
Water sports enthusiasts from America, Canada, even far-off Europe, arrive in droves at this time of the year at Cabo San Lucas Airport, one hour’s drive to the south. Many end up at Exotikite in Los Barriles, taking their first lessons in kite-boarding from Ian and his team of instructors.
“First, we give students on-land orientation, then progress to body-dragging on water (when the instructor holds on to his student as the kite pulls them through the water) and, finally, let them go solo. However, instructors keep in radio contact with students through a walkie-talkie fixed to the kiter’s helmet. That way, we can walk along the beach at the kiter’s pace, feeding them guidance and encouragement while they’re on the water.”
Naturally, Christmas day becomes just another day for student and instructor alike. But Ian is quick to admit that, apart from the ultimate satisfaction of watching his clients’ sense of achievement as they master the skill of kiting, there are plenty of fringe benefits.
Ian laughs: “Blue seas, blue skies, warm sunshine, beautiful, sandy beaches and awesome scenery what’s not to like?”