Ok, so the headline is little misleading, but it’s really all about catching your attention to read the rest of the story. I’ve just finished up 5 days on Grand Cayman with Kyle Rattray, Ryan Doyle and Ricky Gonzales. Nothing like a quick trip to the Caribbean in the middle of winter to put a smile on your face.  While it’s not your typical shred destination, it’s didn’t fail to disappoint at all. It’s truly a tropical paradise; I don’t think I’ve ever seen the ocean so blue or the water so clear. Our host for the week was Justin Schmidt of Turtle Sports Ltd. Justin has been on the island for a few years and is the only guy with a legit wakeboard set-up.  

Since the trip is going to be featured in the next issue of SBC Wakeboard Magazine I don’t want to give too much away, but here are a few highlights:

Because it’s a former British colony (or maybe a current one, I’m not sure?) everybody drives on the left. I managed to get our rental van back in one piece with no bumps or bruises to either vehicle or passenger. I think the guy at the rental car place was sure that he wasn’t going to see his van come back in one piece. It felt like learning how to drive all over again, but backwards or maybe left-handed.

Ricky's pointing at the oncoming traffic that I'm about to narrowly avoid. Levitt photo

Our first day was a write off because of bad weather, so we set out on a random course to explore the island. Completely by accident and because a road detour we went to Hell – I know, that’s one hell of a detour (pun fully intended). Grand Cayman’s version of Hell consisted of a couple of gift shops, a post office, a guy selling fresh coconut juice and a weird looking limestone rock swamp. Of course the rest of the day was filled with “hell, yeah”, “hell, no” and “what the hell are you looking at” jokes.

It was ironic that Doyle's wearing an AC DC shirt when we went to Hell. Levitt photo

Paying tribute to our forefathers, we spent some time at the Black Pearl skate park, the largest poured skate park in the world. We quickly learned that concrete is a much less forgiving medium than water. Next to the skate park was a Flow Rider; the one that's shaped like a real wave. This thing is completely crazy; we basically got served the entire time we rode there. Ricky, Rattray and Doyle got the hang of it by the end while I used the excuse that I had to shoot more photos instead of receiving more beat-downs. I think I still have whiplash from the thing. Props to JR for letting us ride and showing us the ropes.

Flow Rider operator JR showing us how it's done. Levitt photo

Despite the windy conditions, we got out behind the boat several times. The crystal clear, bright blue water made for some great photos. Justin has a Mastercraft CSX, which when loaded down with enough people threw a good wake with lot’s of pop. The guys put on a demo in front a bar located right on the beach on the last day. I even managed to squeeze in a quick wakesurf set as the sun was going down.

Looks like somebody needs to lose some weight for bathing suit season. Doyle photo

Check Rattray's blog for another perspective and look for the full story in the Summer Issue of SBC Wakeboard Magazine.