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kristinThe ABC Islands. Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. The three stooges of islands: each very fun, each very different. Very. Aruba; large hotels, hot night spots, sun and sand and wind. Curacao; decidedly Dutch culture, filled with color and mixed Caribbean flavor. And then there’s Bonaire….
Bonaire has always been known as a flat water windsurfing spot. It has somehow remained hidden behind the consistent publicity of it’s neighbor, Aruba, perhaps because people started windsurfing on Aruba first, perhaps because Aruba has hosted several international windsurfing contests, perhaps because it is just Bonaire and the people there prefer it that way.
So it’s with very mixed emotions that I tell you about Bonaire, a place which I feel is certainly one of the best overall windsurfing locations I have ever visited. The primary reason is that there is truly something for everyone, no matter what their ability, in and around Lac Bay, the main windsurfing spot on Bonaire.
The water is warm (82 degrees average temperature), the air is warm (82 degrees average temperature), the wind is incredibly steady (15-25 knots, varying no more than 2-3 knots in a day, depending on the season), there’s a mile long white sand beach, the incredibly beautiful turquoise Bay has a perfect white sandy bottom, and there is flat water, shallow water, chop, waves, and just about everything else you could want.
No, there are no high rise hotels and not a whole lot of raging night life (although there is some). Bonaire is decidedly laid back. The people are friendly, the pace is slow, and the roads are uncrowded and very un-manic. The food is excellent and reasonably priced, accomodations vary from simple and cheap to a bit more luxurious and upscale, and the main windsurfing area-Lac Bay-has only 2 small windsurfing operations (Jibe City - ask for Ernst, or Roger’s - ask for Elvis). Just to the south is a ”natural” resort, making for the occasional (and usually humorous) unsolicited wildlife viewing, but there’s never any sort of beach-front frenzy going on. Things here are very low key.
Sound good? Here’s the rundown.
A - Beginner
This is the place. Period. While there might be other places on earth which seem made for learning to windsurf, and perhaps even some just as good, I can’t think of how any could be better. Wonderfully warm, waist deep, absolutely crystal clear water with virtually no rocks or other underwater obstructions to worry about. Lac Bay is waist deep for several hundred yards out and the mile long beach means there is plenty of room to get things figured out without crashing into anyone else.
The wind blows directly on shore, so no worrys about ending up in Venezuela. Novices can easily walk their gear a couple hundred feet into the Bay and have a fun, easy and totally safe experience, while those who have learned to sail up and down wind and turn the board will have smiles from ear to ear. For kids, I can’t imagine a better atmosphere. Indeed, a bunch of local grommets (age 6-12) show up every afternoon after school and go ripping around.
Because the wind is so incredibly steady, Bonaire seems the perfect place to learn to water-start. Both windsurf centers offer lessons and really good rental equipment. So if you go there for a week to learn you can progress up the technique ladder as quick as you want with no limitations.
B - Intermediate
So, you’re working on your jibes. Sure is a lot of work, isn’t it? Especially when the wind is gusty and the water is choppy. Want to get them wired? Come to Bonaire. There are a few other places perhaps as good to learn-Margarita, Aruba and Pamlico Sound (Hattaras) come to mind-but there are certainly none better than Lac Bay.
One of the usual obsticles in learning to jibe is that every time you fall in you have to get the board maneuvered around and water start again. Very tiring. But not herre. Since the water is 2-4 feet deep forever, you can spend all day getting your jibes wired without getting exhausted. I’ve seen total beginner windsurfers actually making some jibes within one week.
Working on your jumps and chop hops? Go a little further out into the Bay and there are superb little wind swells to fly off. Trying to sail faster? Pick a line along the outside reef where the water is dead flat and learn to pressure your feet, rake your sail and get your harness lines dialed. You can’t help but improve!
C - Advanced
Think Bonaire is all about flat water? Think again. What do you think is just outside that big reef which so wonderfully protects Lac Bay? Open ocean. Big swells. BIG! And waves. Lots of waves. Whoda thunk it!
A few tacks out to Cai at the north end of the Bay brings you to a shallow channel between the reef edge and the shore where, when the surf is big, the water which pours in over the reef into the Bay now surges out. The huge masses of rushing water meet with the outside ocean swells and wind and bammo-a series of head to double mast high waves.
This is not the baby beach, and both of the rental operations discourage recreational sailors from heading out there. But the reality is that if you’re good enough to tack up into the channel, and you’ve had some wave sailing experience, you can probably handle it on a small to medium day. Alternately you can drive directly to Cai and launch in the channel without tacking upwind. That’s what the handful of local sailors do. And the best part is it’s NEVER crowded.
A great adventure is to head out from Cai and sail all the way around the south tip of Bonaire to Kralendijk (the main town). Depending on the wind and your mood, this can take from 45 minutes to 3 hours. You start on a beam reach port tack stance, flying along the east coast (staying just offshore of the wild, pounding surf!), round Lacre Punt and the Willemstoren Lighthouse while reaching dead downwind for a mile, then go ripping up the west coast on another perfect beam reach starboard tack.
Since the island is flat and there aren’t any big obnoxious hotels, the wind blows everywhere! If you get to Kralendijk too quickly and still want a tour, head out around Klein Bonaire and do a complete circumnavigation before heading into the beach for a cold beer on the beach. Nice!
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