Christmas 2010: Sones Charter

Mike, Clay, Cole and Pat Sones Family Christmas Surf Vacation The ultimate Christmas present to the Sones boys, Clay and Cole, was a surf trip to the Caribbean onboard the Tiki. The trip started out with solid head high surf and consistently stayed in the head high to well over-head rang for the rest of the charter. The swell peaked at Cane Garden Bay offering up to double overhead reeling rights with rides up to 300 yards or more. We surfed 6 waves in four days, which 3 out of the six waves were even new to the Tiki Crew! This just shows how wave rich the Caribbean can be if you know were to go and when to go.

Our fist session was at a wave that Mike Sones said looks like it came straight out of the Corona commercial since it was wrapping 180 degrees around a small island. Clay started pushing the limits and going deeper and deeper in front of the dry shelf until he didn't make a section and decided to give some love to the reef and bare hug a coral head earning the nick name, "He who dances with Coral Head". Luckily he's hardcore and was back in the water the next day and only missing the evening session, which his brother Cole and his dad Mike gladly caught enough waves to fill Clay's quota. Clay decided to learn how to stand up paddleboard while his stomach was freshly wounded. To our surprise he took off on the paddleboard to go explore the area like he had been doing it his whole life. Clay was back in the water the next morning with no remorse except the three slashes across the stomach that burned when he paddled. The next day the charged up surf crew surfed a shallow right hand point that the Tiki crew found last year, but mind you it was shallow without much room for error, but man this wave is picturesque with the most beautiful back drop. If the offshore winds could have been a hair lighter it would have been even that much more perfect. On the way back to the boat Drex had his eye on a left breaking really close to the rocks, which no one really wanted any part of since one error and you would be a rock climber. He couldn't take it and had to give it a try after seeing a perfect overhead set spit a couple of barrels. He ended up catching 3 solid waves and made it out with out error (thankfully). Although, one wave he kicked out about 10 feet from certain death! This wave needs to be double overhead to make it safe enough to surf since it would break out farther away from the rocks. The Tiki crew had their eye on a specific waves for 3 seasons and the Sones were the lucky charter to get to experience the head high A-frame barrel that was as good as any wave could ever get! Perfectly groomed without a drop of water out of place. To make it even better the Tiki was anchored right behind the break, which made it even that much more special for all our photos! It was a barrel fest with some perfect lines allowing for some high performance surfing. The sun setting, perfect A-frame barrels and no one out but our crew the perfect way to end the day! We hauled anchor in the early morning so that we could arrive at one of our favorite surf breaks for the dawn patrol session. To our amazement it was even better than we expected.,a right hand point break in the 6-8 foot range with bigger sets, offshore winds and peeling for 300+ yards and no one out! Captain Drex

After listening to as many hours of surf talk as we could handle, Pat and I threw on our backpacks, jumped in the skiff and off we went on our own adventure. Upon landing on the first Island, the highway was a dirt road leading to one of the two Tiki bars on the other side. We passed the graveyard where the goats are used as lawn movers, as mowers and fuel are rare here. In the distance across the marsh we could vaguely see the resident flock of pink Flamingos and wondered, how did they end up in a remote place like this? When arriving at our destination after a twenty minute Safari ride (local F250 truck with a canopy and bench seats) we walked across the hot white sand to view the most beautiful, pristine, turquoise blue water Pat had ever seen. We dropped our packs, put on our snorkel gear and went exploring the coral reef. After a stop at the Tiki bar for a couple of "Bushwackers" we headed back to the dinghy and off to the Tiki. The next day we hiked past Foxy's Tabu restauraunt/tiki bar and found our way to the bubbling pool. The view from the cliff was spectacular and we couldn't resist taking a dip in the surging waters. The next morning we launched our paddleboards, and in no time, we were standing up paddling our way to the white sandy beach for a swim. Spending Christmas surfing and exploring with their family onboard the Tiki was a Holiday they will all remember. We hope to see the Sones family back for another "Tiki Adventure". PS: Keep well and see you soon. Bev