Waves

There are many great kitesurf locations in the world. Flat water with wind is relatively easy to find. There are also lots of great waves, some with good launch sites and access. But there are very few places in the world where you have a selection of world-class waves easily accessed from the doorstep of your hotel. Le Morne has 3 amazing waves and 3 other fun walls to choose from as you head out from the hotel. The Kitethrills Wave Riders Package includes wave caddying, boat support, and dedicated personal communications for ultimate security in the cross-offshore winds.

 

 

One Eye – The Legend

 

JC enjoying some perfection - Pic Ollie Jacobs

 

This is a beautiful wave indeed. Arguably the best kite surf wave event ever held was here at One Eye when the Kite Surf Pro World Tour visited in 2012. There was another fantastic World Tour event held here in Sept 2016 for the Global Kitesports Association.
For most kitesurfers, One Eye needs no introduction. It is a wave on their all-time bucket list, with a legendary reputation.

One Eye can be very fast, but also has a more friendly side when the swell is more southerly. She can be huge; handling monster waves, but the consistent gradient on the reef allows the smaller waves to break in just the same way. One eye is quite a predictable and easy to read wave, no matter what the swell size or tide.

 
Host and wave coach Mike Walker - Pic Ollie Jacobs

 

One Eye will eventually close out for almost all rides. The shoulder will always break. So the standard completion is to read the wave and turn downwind toward to your kite and over the back. If you’re pushing for the pocket or barrel you may need to escape the close-out upwind toward the reef. Either way, misreading the wave and getting caught by the lip is an experience to be avoided at One Eye.

The SE trade winds blow across and up the face of her walls. The wave face is smooth and well manageable at high speed that is sometimes required.

Riding One Eye is sure to put a smile on your face, adrenalin in your veins and some food for your soul.

Manawa – The Friendly Giant

Mike Walker - Classic Manawa - Pic Ollie Jacobs

 

The other famous left-hander of Mauritius is this wave with a reputation for delivering the goods more consistently than any other in the region.

It gets big! Manawa is located at the most exposed point of Mauritius right on the SW tip of the landmass. It drops off steeply here and its location allows the reef to pick up all the swell.

It’s very ride-able. Being a bit deeper, and dropping into a deep channel on the shoulder, means the wave face is less steep, the wave crumbles more than throws forward, and the shoulder often remains unbroken despite some very long rides.

 

John - Carving up clean Manawa - Pic Ollie Jacobs

This wave is a great place to prepare for more challenging conditions across the channel on One Eye. It has a nice cross-offshore angle to the trade winds, it’s also fairly easy to read and generally offers less punishment for errors of judgment. You’ll need good skills here to get a good ride in the pocket, otherwise enjoy the shoulder!

Chameaux – The Quality A Frame

 

Chad - Chameaux - Pic Ollie Jacobs

 

Cham-Ohhhhh sits at the top or start of the long wall known as One Eye. On mid and smaller swells chameaux is often fairly distinct from One Eye but on the bigger swells the walls can become one long uninterrupted ride. She breaks left and right however the right-hander is generally a very upwind run into some gnarly shallow reef.

Down the line to the left is often good for three or four of the best hits you’ll have. Confidence can build on Chameaux as the end of the wave is near. Don’t under estimate it though. Chameaux throws some pretty heavy lips and packs a punch.

A common mistake here is to ride it too long, trying to milk it all the way into the reef where it gets shallow and when you turn, you’ll have the next bigger waves and their riders to avoid. Its best to enjoy the first few hits and acknowledge the end when it comes, by turning back toward the deep blue with a huge grin and buzzing smile on your dial.

Small Reef – Back to Reality

Ok we all love wave kiting waves and most of the world rides in cross on shore winds at 2 – 6 foot standard. This is small reef. On the inside of the big reef pass, with the wind trying to blow you into the sheltered flat water, small reef is a great place to build confidence.

The right-hander is upwind in the trades, the left is down the line.

Small reef will challenge newcomers to the waves in secure place. There is an upwind current here often making the water quite bumpy. When the swells are huge small reef is just big, so it’s a great back for the occasional crazy days.

Small reef is a great for surfing before the wind picks up and is a also a nice long ride for SUPs.

Platin Rouge – The Underdog

Generally left un-ridden until the August crowds arrive. Platin Rouge is actually a very fun wave for the more advanced.

It is a shallow left with perhaps the most open barrel of all Le Morne’s waves. Unfortunately for the pit hunters, its usually quite an offshore wave. Its also on the inside of the main reef and is a bit smaller than the other advanced waves.

It’s a great option for paddle surfing before the winds picks up, but its even too shallow for that on the lower tides.

The Inside Rollers – Designed for first-timers

There are a few spots in the lagoon, one right in front of our hotel, that get reformed waves rolling through to stand up and break. These are generally knee to waist high waves with clean faces. The cross-shore to cross–onshore trade winds give a first timer an excellent opportunity to ride a safe friendly wave down the line to left and learn the rail to rail feeling while positioning the kite correctly. The perfect place to learn and progress.

Kitethrills Wave Caddying

Kitethrills is the first in the world to offer a pro wave caddy service. With our bluetooth communications, and waterproof SLR cameras, and in 2017 a drone camera, our professionals will guide you to the reef, give you coaching to help your technique and even pick up the best waves for you to ensure you beat any crowds and get the waves you came for.

We talk you through the moves as you do them, advise where to hold your kite, when to drop in and bottom turn, when to cut back, and importantly when to get off the wave, all the while we will be taking photos of you from the shoulder, and keeping an eye out for hazards – like the next wave behind you. You’ll progress faster, get better waves, secure some great photos and get the best kite thrills you could imagine.

You’ll get confidence to get amongst waves you might otherwise be happy to leave to others. We will build your skills throughout the trip and speed up you progression. We love seeing people progress and seeing the stoke in their eyes after a good session.
Our lessons and the wave set-ups cater for all levels, from first timers to the worlds best pros. Lessons are catered for your level and designed for progression and fun. We will get the photos of you ripping at the same time.
It doesn’t get better than that!

East Coast Downwinder

For intermediate kiters and above the east coast downwinder is an awesome event that we try to do at least once a tour.  We load a bus and head to the east where we catch a boat to a heritage island on the fringing reef.  From here the kiters launch and head north with the trade winds along the eastern reef, either taking a few waves or enjoying the flats.  Spectators enjoy the scenery from the boat.  After about 12km, the kiters cross the lagoon back to the main land, enjoying some of the best flat water conditions imaginable, where we are greeted with a BBQ lunch of lobster and fish served on coconut leaves with rice, rum and beer.  Before the second kiters downwinder, we head to a spectacular waterfall into the ocean of the Great River of the South East.  The final trip is a shorter downwinder crossing beautiful blue lagoons, channels and bays.