Kitesoul Magazine #18 English Edition

68
KITESPOT
Pohnpei - Micronesia: a different perspective of a familiar place
were all wrong.
OUTTER REEF DOWNWINDERS:
Once meeting back up with Discovery after our visit
at the Nan Madol ruins, Captain Tom suggested we all
pump up our kites and do a down winder along side the
boat as we make our way to the next anchorage where
we spent the night. After all, why ride the boat to the
next destination when you can kite?! Pohnpei is surrounded
by a fringing reef that creates a protective lagoon
around the island. These reefs are filled with life.
They are shallow enough that they keep boats away,
but deep enough for someone on a kite to be able to
check them out up close and personal. The ability to
explore fringing reefs on a kite with the support of the
vessel has to be the biggest advantage of any kite trip
aboard a boat.
For several hours, both Jason’s and myself blazed in
and out over the reefs seeing a variety of marine wildlife
that we would have never been able to see without
our kites.
ANTATOLL:
We had done about as much exploring as we could
around the island of Pohnpei so we decided to venture
away from the main island and see what the recently
designated marine reserve, Ant Atoll had to offer. Ant
Atoll, located on the west side of Pohnpei has one of
the most unique passes I have ever seen! An “S” shaped
path is carved through the reef of the atolls. It’s also
the only pass! Normally a shoreline slowly tapers off
into the deep blue, but the strong current flowing in
and out of this specific lagoon has created an instant
drop off in the pass. Dropping instantaneously from