Barbados With The Burke’s

Written by Kelly, STSF founder.

My partner for this trip was Tim Frater, a good friend and STSF supporter. Tim is the brains behind the Putt & Strut charity event that we put on yearly to help raise funds and awareness. He was also on the Barbados trip last year so he was excited to come back and see what the kids had accomplished.

Traveling in and out of Miami is always a bit hectic but we got there and all checked in with no problems. When we were on the runway the pilot got on the speaker and said over on the right side of the plane we would be able to see Air Force One. I had seen it before but isn’t everyday you get to see the plane. People were super excited! The flight was super mellow. The view from the plane flying over the Caribbean is unreal. It must be the bluest water on the planet. Before we knew it we had touched down in Barbados. Soon enough we had our bags, exchanged our money and signed the paperwork for the rental car. I convinced Tim to drive since you have to drive on the other side of the road here. He usually does pretty well but I get a little too stressed. So I just sit back and chill. It’s about a 10-minute drive to the Burke’s house, which is where we stayed. The Burke’s are a surfing family. The Dad, Alan used to compete professionally and now the boys are following in his foot steps. Josh is now 18 and is a professional surfer who travels the world competing and doing freesurf trips. He absolutely shreds. Check out this wave!!!!!!!!! Jacob who is 14 is following right behind Josh competing and progressing with the sport very quickly. He will also blow your mind with how well he surfs. They have a nice two-bedroom rental called Cheez Don Bread in case you ever need a clean place to stay. We pretty much threw our bags inside, unpacked the boards and waxed up for our first surf sesh. The waves were pretty small but we didn’t care. Later on that night we joined the Burke’s for dinner. I had my first chance to try flying fish. It was exciting and the fish was great, especially with some of the spicy Bajan sauce I added. It would be the last of the good meals we had:( We chose to cook our own food to save money which resulted in a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and egg sandwiches.

The next days were spent tooling around the island checking it out and surfing.

Our sponsor for this trip was Surfr so we spent some time checking out cool spots to add to the app as a tool for surfers to use to find good spots to eat and stay. It is similar to Yelp but it is for surfers and designed by surfers.

Sunday was the day that the kids were to show up for our event. It is always exciting to meet new kids who want to surf. Rumor was that some of the kids from last year were going to “try” to come to this event. Usually when I hear the word try I chalk it off as a no but I was wrong☺. There were three kids who showed up from last years event. It is so cool to talk to them and see what has happened in a year. I was able to catch an interview from one of the kids named Jason. He is a super great kid with aspirations of becoming a firefighter.

One by one the new kids trickled in and soon enough Alan was introducing who Share The Stoke Foundation is and Tim went on to talk about the work we do and why it is important. It is always very thrilling to hear other people talk about the work we do. It is even more awesome to see other people be ambassadors for STSF and give the boards to deserving kids like Josh has for the past two years. This is Josh pictured with our Barbados themed Going Coastal Project board.

I imagine when a younger kid receives a board from a pro surfer like Josh it is exciting for them. After the boards were handed out Josh and Jacob worked with the kids showing them how to put on a leash, put on traction pads and put fins in. Even the kids from last year were sharing the stoke and helping out the younger kids with all the surf gear. When I think about surfing and how it brings people together I am so greatful. This sport continues to fill my soul on a daily basis. For me, through surfing, anything is possible and I hope that the kids we impact can have that experience too. I was speaking with one of the surfboard recipients, Lydia about surfing. I was telling her about all the opportunity that is out there with surfing, so many gifts but you have to be open to them. How exciting for her at such a young age to have surfing.

After all the festivities we had about an hour before we headed off to the airport. We drove down to Oistins, a happening area of town with restaurants and a fish market. We spent a few minutes there filming and checking out what the local fishermen brought in for their catch.

I couldn’t believe my eyes at all the fish and other sea creatures they had gathered. Barbados is abundant with fish. There are also a happy island and ready to share their bounty with the tourists. See you next year Barbados!