The Kiteboarding in Brazil has been hot this year.... very HOT.
Shannon BEST, and by the sound of it the entire BEST crew have been in Brazil to showcase all the new kites and boards to the dealers.
Of course the BEST party was huge and the Bikini contest a roaring success!

Wow factor - Best Fest 2010. Cumbuco, Brazil. September 30 €" October 5, 2010.

Thursday
Mostly a day of arrivals. Guests are coming in from all over the world €" from Estonia to Canada to California. They all quickly settle in to the idyllic location some deciding to sit back and relax after long flights, chilling out with a drink on the beach.

Best Team Riders, staff, retail accounts, customers, and Shannon himself are all there in force, taking advantage of light breezes to test the larger Taboos and surf boards, and to enjoy the rugged beauty of the South Atlantic and the Brazilian coast€¦
Most importantly, the three winners of the Best Girls Calendar competition arrive! Lena, Brittany and Deonna make a big splash with all staff and guests.

Friday
The sense of excitement is palpable in the lead up to the big bash and bikini contest. A stage is built on the beach, along with a containment wall to hold the 600 people expected at the party. Shannon does an interview for a local TV news station sent out to promote the event.

Meanwhile, the professional fashion photographer Michael Williams and his team spend all day preparing the girls for their first shoot. Two hours before sunset they set off in buggies to a palm tree alley on the ocean. Fantastic shots.
By nightfall our crew was ready for the evening activities. The smart ones snuck in a nap after dinner€¦ By 11 pm only a handful of people were roaming the gardens and beach. By midnight there were over 600 people and the music was going strong!

The featured event of the evening brought ten beautiful bikini-clad ladies on stage for the chance to win the title of Ms. Best Brazil. Hosted by Shannon, the contest was judged by a distinguished panel of experts.

The judges showed a keen eye for their work, with Seb even assessing some of the potential competitors that didn't make it from the dance floor to the stage.
Of course no Best Girl Bikini competition would be complete without a few gatecrashers. Once again the Shannon-'girls' made their way onto the stage to display their bountiful 'femininity'€¦

After emotional participation from the crowd, and thoughtful deliberation by the judges, Georgia Simao won the crown! In addition to fame glory, she wins the chance to join the Best Girls Calendar photo shoot on Saturday.

Of course, the easiest way to join the Best girls is simply to get your body onto the dance floor. There you will find them with hands in the air€¦

Or maybe find them partaking of the ritual Best Girl indoctrination as seen at many, many parties at the Best beaches all around the globe.

Half an hour after sunrise, the DJ stopped spinning and the main party finally came to an end. No one knows for sure how long the after-parties continued€¦

Saturday
Strong winds in the morning helped people work through the excesses of the previous night and get cranking on new Best gear all day long. Spark, Armada and Profanity boards were in high demand as the smaller sized Taboos came springing from their bags to greet the stronger winds. The first rider to the beach takes off with an 8m Taboo.

Customers from all along the Brazilian coast were showing up to test the gear, scoring sessions in the chest high ocean surf and the perfectly flat lagoon. Buggies raced up and down the beach all day long returning happy riders from long down-winders.

But, the work must go on! And our fearless models once again spent the afternoon getting their hair and makeup done in preparation for a sunset photo session. This time the crew went to the dramatic sand dunes above the lagoon, and captured striking shots of the incredible display of natural beauty.

Sunday
With primary photography over, the girls are now able to enjoy kiteboarding lessons from the world€™s best €" Kristin Boese, 9X world champion, Guiness Record Book Holder, and herself an accomplished fashion model.

These girls are no shrinking violets€¦ Deonna is an experienced motocross rider, Brittany an unassuming 1st Dan in Tae Kwon Do, and Lena busted out her knee while trying to kiteboard back in June. It€™s a hard core crew. After safety instructions and €œclassroom time€ on the beach, they get rigged up. Lena is the first to master the kite and ride on a board! That's what it takes to become a bona fide Best Girl.

All staff and friends are there to encourage the girls as to learn to kitesurf. Of course you can always rely on the boys to show what they already know and we are treated to an incredible show from Shannon and Team Rider Sam Medysky on the lagoon as they perform back to back tricks. The boys start off with simple moves adding further and further complexity with each round.

Putting the Taboo through its paces, Shannon and Sam outdo each other with unexplainable moves just feet above our heads as we sit on the beach. It's all we can do to follow the tricks visually never mind consider attempting them ourselves.

Many seasoned and skilled kiteboarders sitting among us decide to stay onshore until the thrills of the show have subsided and it€™s safe to once again go out and throw down some good old-fashioned back rolls and raleys. If everyone could throw down a Mobe 540 we wouldn't need Pro-riders€¦

Not to fear though, the shade from the thatched-roof huts was the perfect place to take a rest and enjoy fresh fried fish washed down with some cold brew. As the sun headed towards the horizon, we loaded up the buggies and headed up the beach back to the hotel.

Monday
Strong early morning winds prompt a sunrise downwinder. A fleet of Taboos takes to the water right in front of the hotel and comes ashore at the lagoon several miles downwind.

The early morning hour means the lagoon is ours alone, and riders of every level find their own space to let loose and enjoy themselves, trying new tricks, incessantly repeating old ones, and some just plain old cruising€¦

We€™re back to the hotel by 9 am for breakfast. Afterwards, most of the crew repeat the same process€¦ By the end of the day stories are recounted about the legendary number of downwinders people took through the day and the experiences they had along the way. Among many other incredible events, one intrepid rider jumped a wave only to land directly on the back of a sea turtle!

Tuesday
After five exceptional days, it€™s time to say goodbye€¦ Groups head to the airport loaded with gear and incredible memories. New friends were made, old friendships renewed, new gear was tested, new faces introduced, and everyone left with a sense of incredibly happiness for the good fortune of being part of the first Annual Best Fest!

Keep your calendar free for the same time next year and you can be part of the 2011 Best Fest where we'll be demoing the latest gear once again and making sure that we uphold our reputation for the Best parties in the industry. Reserve a space for you and your friends and come and hang out with us once again- see you next year.