One of the most surprising “sports” I discovered while visiting the island, and something I’ve never heard of being played anywhere else, is something called “the ‘biner game.” Inside the dining hall, under the huge palapa roof, the staff have a simple string hanging down from one of the overhead beams. A carabiner is tied to the bottom of the string around chest high. On the wall opposite is a simple metal hook, at just the right height so that if a person swings the carabiner on the string toward the hook with exactly the right speed and angle, it’s possible to catch the ‘biner on the hook, but anything even slightly off the mark ends with a clean miss or you hit the bottom of the hook and bounce off. With a little patience, finesse and luck, the average beginner gets a successful ‘biner hook after 20 or 30 tries. And then they’re hooked, as in addicted.

After a bit of practice some folks are hooking on every few attempts. And that’s when it gets interesting because there’s a tradition on the island of trying for consecutive hooks — not an easy thing to do. And the elite of the sport compete for the highest number of consecutive hooks. A friend of ours, Bob Walker, is the current reigning champ with eight consecutive hooks — a nearly impossible feat.

Despite the fact that we’ve been playing ‘biner game on the island for over 19 years, I surprised to find that we have no photos of anyone swinging a ‘biner. Lucy searched through thousands of pics hoping to find one to accompany this blog post and … zip!

If you have a photo of the ‘biner game, please post it on our Facebook page or send it to us at slickrock@slickrock.com and we’ll post it here.

Thank you Rob Greatrix for sending this photo!

David Paltiel wrote: "That’s crazy… my kids spent so much time playing that carabiner game and this is the only photo I have. It’s not exactly what you’re looking for but the best I can offer…" Dave, we love this picture, even though it doesn't show the game.

Scott Eddowes wrote us: "This was the closest thing I have to a picture of the carbine game." Bingo, Scott!

Larry Arnstein sent a picture too: "Hey, we have a nice picture of the 'biner! Here it is." Thanks Larry!

The sun is shining and the easterlies are blowing in Belize. I had a fab time with Vela guest Mike Hauty and the Slickrock staff who also got in some awesome sessions. Slickrock lead guide Mark Hopkins can officially now call himself a kiteboarder, he’s riding up wind, doing transitions and even throwing in the odd downloop. I’ve also had some perfect riding time and almost all our guests have been giving the trainer kite a go.

Mike gave me the following feedback:

“Vela Belize is a perfect spot for the (slightly) experienced aspiring kiteboarder. The tradewinds are blowing most days, no crowds to contend with; the excellent gear is well maintained and experienced and enthusiastic instruction is available. The sandy bottom of the sand flats which are over 2 miles long are the perfect spot for transitioning from kite flying to board riding. The kite raft is the quintessential landing and rescue rig. The plethora of none kiting activities is perfect for non kiteboarding family and friends. Tired of kiting?…go for a pleasant kayak to snorkel a stunning reef or stand-up-paddle board in the waves”. (Mike Hauty, Feb 2011)

Mike has been taking one half day kite session (we are out on the sand flats for about 3 hrs) each day and participating in other activities for the remainder of the time. He has been diving, snorkelled a handful of different patch reefs, seen heaps of tropical fish (with a guide to name them), surfed a kayak, done a bit of windsurfing, chilled out in a hammock and just has stand-up-paddle boarding left to master….what an action-packed island adventure.

When a kiter imagines their ideal, fantasy kite location they undoubtedly think warm, clear water, 15 knots, white sand, palm trees and good beer. Add to that 3km of waist deep sand flats, an isolated dream island with both surf and flat water, plus the occasional giant spotted eagle ray meandering by and you get Long Caye at Glover’s Reef, the best kitesurfing in Belize.

The easterly trade winds consistently provide perfect conditions, and a great wind angle for the surf break and flat water spots alike. The sand flats less than 300m from the island provide a perfect teaching environment where we launch from a raft in waist deep water. Shallow, warm water, no other kiters and no obstacles to worry about; students progress quickly with almost 100 % of their kite course being hands on in the water and leave as extremely happy new kitersurfers.

Long Caye is also a fantastic freestyle venue, I compete on the British freestyle tour when I’m in the UK and spend my winters training new tricks, this is the perfect place, where else could I find a huge, shallow flat water area, and have it almost all to myself on my days off? Whether you are a beginner, a wave rider, just want a big kite flying experience or wish to learn unhooked tricks Long Caye is the place. Once you’re ‘kited out’ there is incredible diving just 100m off the island where the atoll drops off to……ft, paddle boards, surf kayaks, surf boards, windsurf equipment, sea kayaks and enough patch reefs to satisfy even the most enthusiastic snorkeler, and of course, some very well positioned hammocks. The team on the island are fantastic and laughs are plentiful, sunsets are stunning, the food is awesome and stars are insane….I’m a very lucky kitesurf instructor!

Belize windsurfing video
Belize sea kayak and snorkel video
Belize paddleboarding video
Belize private island video
Belize kiteboard training video