Mauritius

Mauritius — Indian Ocean kitesurf/foil destination. Freddie spent a week here for a kitesurf event, recounted with “funny shenanigans” in the most recent episode (Ep 147), which also gives the episode its title.

What Ep 147 adds:

• Freddie went as media (via Sarah, Kite Mag editor and Rich Boughton’s wife) to a resort-hosted flat-water kite event — a marketing exercise flying in athletes, influencers and media. His verdict: a waist-deep flat-water lagoon walled off from swell by a sharp reef; great for beginner/intermediate kiting but “disappointing” for a wave-rider. He kitesurfed briefly, did a ~30k downwind with ~70–75 kites (organiser Antoine Oriel warned against riding outside the reef), jumped the reef to ride head-high shore-dump and cut himself up, and saw his first turtle — but never rode a wave or foiled.
• A French-speaking nation Freddie knew little about beforehand; he bumped into Jean, who runs a wing school there (they’d met at Guy & Emma’s wedding). Big-air kite pros present (Clément Huot, Lorenzo, Hannah Whiteley, etc.) were mostly on Flysurfer Sonic kites.