Big Boys Play @ Baby Bay!

After almost a whole year without kiting, I need a good two weeks of rehab in Dahab to get fit again. For a long time I just can’t get the edge into the choppy water of the lagoon properly. I shout at them. Over time, the jumps finally get higher.

It fascinates me how infinitely long it takes to reposition my jumping leg. It’s so simple: start quickly, fall off, hit the edge, kite back, pop and take off. Always the same, for 25 years. But it’s only here, five years after the changeover, that I’m back up to just under nine metres with my “new” jumping leg. With the old jumping leg, that and more was no problem at all. I’m working hard to break my old record – and I’m as happy as a child about every jump I nail.

Dahab 24/25

Although I hardly use my “good” old jumping leg at all, it’s already quite worn out halfway through my month here. Ok, a couple of transitions unexpectedly went over six metres in the rather stubborn and strong wind in Dahab. The hard landings in the low eastern end of the lagoon caused me to bend my knees a few times.

The wind rarely stops in Dahab. I’m turning into a wind snob. I now call below 18 knots “calm” and work. I set up the 13 Edge twice – but the wind picks up by five knots within minutes each time, making the 13 clearly too much. The XR 10 is my favourite kite anyway. My sweet spot with it is between 25 and 30 knots – and there are several of them. On some days, the wind only turns to the north-northeast very late or not at all. As long as it’s coming from the north-north-west, it’s much more stubborn. In the lagoon it then gets very tight with overtaxed students and an extremely low tide due to the full moon.

I’ve had enough on a day like this. The wind is strong and good – but there’s simply not enough space in the lagoon. I’m ready for Baby Bay: where the big boys play. Baby Bay is located at the end of the peninsula in front of the lagoon in a small bay. Firstly, the wind is stronger here and secondly, it comes fully offshore over the beach. Behind it are ten metres of the finest flat water. Only local kite freaks and long-term Dahabibis frequent here. With my one month here, I’m certainly the goldfish. No one jumps less than 5 by 30 metres – and some really good ones do kiteloop boardoffs at over 15 metres.

Every second, the kitesurfers here are flying really high over the busy launch ramp. The right of way rules are British. Right hand in front drops and swerves. Left hand in front goes full throttle towards the launch ramp. With ten kiters, the flat water area is already quite busy. But everyone rides considerately – and sometimes gives up a jump if there isn’t enough space. Very pleasant. The big airs in Baby Bay all jump to the left – my favourite side. You can also jump to the right directly in front of the rocky beach towards the lee – but then you land in the middle of Egyptians swimming. Where the water patrol would cut you in half here, you just hear “ahhhhh” from the mouths. People die differently in Egypt.

At 52 years old and 100kg, I can keep up surprisingly well in Baby Bay. The 7.5 metres I reached today are certainly still achievable, because the ramp really is an absolute dream. It somehow reminds me of the Balneario in Tarifa. Only a bit more littered – and with two dinghies as lifeboats. The next stop in the offshore wind would be at the Happy Life Village Hotel, about five kilometres away. But even when the boats aren’t there, some Dahabibis go out “Alhamdulillah” style. I have a good hour of fun until I make my way back to the lagoon and the Soul Kiters.

You have three options to get to Baby Bay. All of them suck. Option one is expensive, option two means a big unsafe diversions, and option three is simply dangerous. The expensive option is by taxi. From Dahab Lighthouse, the three kilometre drive costs a nice 200 EGP, currently just under four euros, because of the gravel road on the last few metres. You can also kite around the peninsula from the lagoon. This is the long, but not particularly safe option. The end of the sandbank is in the lee of some luxury resorts. Especially in the afternoon and with weakening gusty winds, the way back is probably quite difficult. Several kiters have already drifted off.

I decide to take the shortest but definitely the most dangerous route. At the southern end of the lagoon, I head straight out onto the sandbank. There are a few sharp but clearly visible corals in the water in front of it. On land, directly west of the lagoon, there is only one small spot without sharp rocks full of broken pieces. Be sure to check out the path beforehand without a kite! After the stones, you walk over 200 metres of sand. Here too – but especially near the two low walls you have to cross – there are again shards of glass and a few vertically standing broken bottles. On the sea side, you have to walk a little upwind to get to a section with less sharp rocks – but the entrance is only really good at the very end of Baby Bay. The locals probably drive straight in here by car for good reason.