Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine January 2016

IT
was on the island of Martinique, around 1998, that my dream
started. I remember lying down on the family hammock, flipping
through the pages of the first kitesurf magazine ever printed and
dreaming about learning to kitesurf.
In those times, kitesurfing was in its beginnings. No one really knew how to
get started or what gear to use. We were young. With a couple of friends playing
with makeshift kites and our surfboards, we had to get creative — and God
knows we were.
A few years later I was winning my first Caribbean championship and started to
travel around the world for different competitions.
I quickly realized that I wasn’t made to compete all year long. I was more interested
in discovering new countries by meeting the local people, learning new languages
and finding remote spots very few people had the chance to explore.
Living these amazing experiences comes with the need to share them, and this is
when I started to get interested in movie making and photography. These were the
perfect tools for me to share my experiences around the world, share my dream with
everyone and help them build a dream of their own.
I spent ten years living out of my suitcases, changing destinations every few
months and discovering the world. I didn’t have a town or island I would call home
any more, but the Caribbean had a very important place in my heart that I knew I
would have to go back to.
I first discovered Union Island in St. Vincent & the Grenadines ten years ago during
a sailing trip with Captain Toph, a skipper friend from Martinique whom I was
helping out. I totally fell in love with Union Island and it became first on my list of
places to live one day.
Union Island wasn’t a kite spot at the time; no one was actually kitesurfing much
from the island. The beach at Clifton was small but the beauty of the lagoon and the
wind conditions were so special. It was hiding an amazing potential.
Four years ago the big adventure started when I opened my first kitesurfing school,
JT Pro Center, right on Union Island. We partnered with the Anchorage Yacht Club;
luckily the owners understood that we could bring a certain number of kitesurfing
guests to their hotel.
SHARING
THE DREAM
by Jeremie Tronet
JANUARY 2016 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 13
Bringing a new kind of tourism to Union Island has been a blessing. Union Island
is often considered by sailors as a place to stop for a day: just time to get groceries
and buy some water and leave. Most people are missing out on all the things the
island has to offer. Union Island should be a destination rather than a layover. The
island has countless beautiful beaches, some very nice little bars and restaurants,
and since kitesurfers have discovered it, there is a constant flow of people visiting
the island and staying a few weeks or months at a time and enjoying every second
of it. This new infatuation for the island is starting to attract new business owners
and companies full of ideas that are making the island a new hub for activities and
things to do. The nightlife is also growing and becoming very diverse with the Full
Moon Beach parties from December to May at the kite center on “kite beach”. It is a
one-of-a-kind event with no entry fee, mixing all music genres with a light show and
a big fire on the water, mixed with a great kitesurfing show.
All of this is finally pushing Union Island in the direction it deserves to be: a decent
tourist destination with unique attractions and amazingly friendly people.
Anyone can learn kitesurfing and have the best time of their life; there is no age
limit. The idea behind the JT Pro Center is to finally share the dream with everyone,
not only with the magazines or on videos, but for real. Anyone can now experience
that dream, come and kitesurf at one of the most beautiful kite spots I have ever
seen and feel the amazing Caribbean vibe Union Island has to offer.
This is also one of the most convenient kite spots for sailors from all around the
world where they can come and kite right next to where they anchor and keep an
eye on their boat while having fun.
One of the things we are the most proud of at the JT Pro Center is to have taught
some of the local kids on the island a few years ago. Some of them have become
professional and are now teaching for us at an international level. Seeing the opportunities
this sport is offering to the new generation is a great encouragement and
reward for us.
Back in my hammock 14 years ago, if I knew how far kitesurfing would have got
me I would have never believed it. I have lived my dream and I keep on living it here
on Union Island where anyone can come and visit and share it.
With reliable tradewinds pouring into a reef-protected harbor, Clifton Harbour on
Union Island has become a Mecca for kitesurfers.
For more information about JT Pro Center, visit www.kitesurfgrenadines.com.
Also check out Happykite kiteboarding school at www.happykitegrenadines.com.