Sunrise Reef Break

After our pre-dawn ritual of café con leche (the DR has some of the best coffee in the world) and pastries from the local “panadería” in the back alley behind our condo, it was time to gear up.

It’s about a three minute walk across the cool morning Carribean sand from the Palm Beach Condos in Cabarete to the Vela Windsurf Center. Our gear had been laid out for us by the fantastic staff from Vela: three surf-oriented SUPs from Star-board, leashes, and carbon fiber paddles with each of our names masking-taped on. After strapping on my new GoPro Silver with the Chesty strap, we paddled out to the reef while the sun broke over the Dominican mountain range and turned the water flawlessly turqoise. Upon reaching the reef, about a fifteen minute paddle, we were greeted with chest-to-head-high ”A“-frames that gave us ample choices of left or right-handers. We were treated to clean, longer period swell that allowed for long rides and more than a few “party waves”. After three and a half hours of the georgeous reef break, we paddled in for some fresh coconut milk (simply offered by lopping off the top of the fruit and sticking a straw in), fresh fruit smoothies, and made to order breakfast from Voy Voy the Vela beachside restaurant and bar. While we fueled up, the resort flags started moving to foreshadow the afternoon breeze. Next up: 3-4 hour windsurfing/kitesurfing session for the afternoon! Living the dream.