No one was missing last week-end at Shandrani Hotel, in Blue Bay on the south east coast. Many kite boarding ?amateurs? had come to share their passion, to compete, and to meet the world champions. In the pro category, there was Argentinean Martin Vari, second time world champion, Americans Will James, Jeff Tobias and David Tyburski, Spanish Jaime Herraiz, Austrian Gabriele Steindl, the only woman champion.

The Beachcomber group had decided, for the fourth edition of the Shandrani kite surf event, to extend the event over a week. From Monday to Friday, there were initiation classes with instructors; a crossing was planned for Saturday from the hotel to Ile-aux-Cerfs, and on Sunday, an exhibition of performances by the champions and a competition for ?amateurs?, judged by the pros.

No one was missing except the wind. ?The employees of the Shandrani have never seen anything like it. Since Monday, we have not had any wind and yet this site is always windy during the winter!? says Mickaël Le Luron, the Beachcomber marketing executive.

During the week, the absence of wind did not really handicap the learners. But, on Saturday very few of the sixty riders who did the crossing made it to l?Ile-aux-Cerfs. Many of them ended up on boats. Among the pros, David Tyburski fought for more than an hour and a half then decided to go back but he could not make it the other way either; so he landed on a beach and asked some Australian tourists to drive him back to the hotel.

Until next year...

On Sunday morning, everybody was still hoping that they would have a chance to kitesurf. At 9.30 am, the DJ started to play music and the world champions were ready to judge the 25 ?amateurs? registered for the competition. But at 11, the wind was still too weak and everything had to be cancelled. ?Everybody is very disappointed. But the pros understand. They spend their lives waiting for the right wind?, explains Mickaël Le Luron.

However, the kitesurfers went back home with photos of their idols, happy to have spent time with those champions they admire. The pros also seemed happy with their stay in Mauritius. ?I had a chance to ride at Le Morne,? says David Tyburski, ?and it was fabulous. It is so dramatic with those waves and the mountains in the background.?

He also enjoyed meeting the ?amateurs?: ?It is always great to share this passion with other kiters. And I like the feeling that I have something to bring them.? They all hope to come back next year? with wind.

Gabriele Steindl, number 6 in the female world ranking

This Austrian girl, aged 28, has the ?typical kiters? attitude?. Long, blond hair, a perfect tan, a tiny tank top and loose colourful shorts. And a swimsuit underneath. Always ready to jump in the water. She discovered kiteboarding two years ago, as she was working as marketing manager for an adventure travel and extreme sports magazine, in Hong Kong. ?I was already very sporty, practicing snowboarding and wakeboarding.When I discovered kitesurf, it became an obsession. I had the feeling that I had to learn this sport.?

During a business trip in Bali, in 2002, she took a kite course. After that single class, she became addicted. She bought her first equipment and decided to quit her job. Her motto : ?Life is not a rehearsal.? Her dream was to travel and kitesurf. So she did. She spent five weeks in Morocco, where a Moroccan kite-pro gave her lessons in a heavenly spot ?blue lagoon and the desert in the background. Then she headed to Venezuela, where she practised very hard all through the winter. And she became a professional.

Looking back, she is quite amazed how her life has radically changed in two years. She used to work in finance and marketing in London, then in Hong Kong. She had a lot of responsibilities and a quite well-ordered life. Now she does not even have a home. Her life is totally dedicated to kitesurfing.

All through the year, she travels around the world with her board, following the competition schedule and her own desires. She travels alone but she always makes friends during her trips. She is the only female champion to come to Mauritius this year. (?Me with all those men?, she says, a little blasé, while many girls would kill to take her place?)

But there are more and more women in kiteboarding: ?Three years ago, there were only two or three pros. Now we are fifteen to twenty on the female ranking.? Her next destination? Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, for the world championship. And if one day, she decides to settle down, where would it be? ?Maybe Brazil? Or Mauritius!?