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luke
My first visit to Vela Baja was inspired by an article in American Windsurfer written by Berkeley “windsurfing widow” Patricia Adler. She wrote a compelling tale of sending her husband off to the Vela Windsurf resort in Baja, Mexico, to keep him happy, but subsequently deciding to check the scene out personally — and getting hooked.
I had talked my own windsurfing widow, Pat, into reading that article and then miraculously into joining me for my first Vela Windsurf visit. As fate would have it, in spite of a month-long postponement due to a medical emergency, our new schedule had us arriving in January of 1996 coinciding with a major pro windsurfing race event at Vela Mexico, and even more importantly with better winds! It seems there’s often a silver lining in what initially appears to be a disaster.
We flew down and on the flight met another Berkeley windsurfer also going to Vela Baja. Cindy wanted help schlepping her gear and to share the van ride, and we needed advice as to how to manage the process and what to expect.
Our trip went well, even though it was my first experience with large ocean swells. However, my struggles with local sailing conditions were more than offset by watching the Pritchard brothers, Berkeley Bob (Huberman), Chris Wyman and other famous windsurfers compete in the races.
We stayed at the most convenient accommodations for Vela Mexico visitors — the Playa del Sol hotel. Mornings started with a welcome session of stretching and yoga. This was something even my wife enjoyed — when she wasn’t still snoozing that is. Next up was the morning windsurfing demo, which was always beneficial, and guest introductions.
Meals were special events, with excellent breakfasts, bag or sit-down lunches and boisterous dinner meals, sometimes enhanced when tequila bottles were passed around the room. And speaking of tequila, we were introduced to the true subtleties of the Baja Margarita — employing the aphrodisiac local herbal liquor, Damiana. That led to an embarrassing episode at the airport departure gate where the Mexican customs agents teased me about my carry-on liquor purchase.
We departed quite pleased with the total experience of Vela Windsurf — the facilities, the gear, the food, the camaraderie, and the ambiance of Los Barriles — and most importantly, already making plans to return.
Subsequent trips followed like clockwork and resulted in many special moments at Vela Baja. The following still stand out for me, more than a decade later.
The second year, my wife’s novice windsurfing daughter joined us, in spite of Vela Windsurf’s admonition that Baja is not an ideal location for learning to waterstart. However, they had to reconsider that advice after applauding Amy’s endless “walks of determination” and her ultimate success.
One visit, we were jonesing on the beach, frustrated from lack of winds. But again, our exercise guru had the cure. He provided a multi-hued collection of fingernail polish for our morning session and told us that if we painted our toenails, the Wind Goddess would surely answer our prayers. So I did — and she did.
Another trip began with the usual 3:30 p.m. arrival at Vela Baja with good whitecaps. Typically, guests must wait until the next day to be checked out prior to sailing — quite frustrating given those whitecaps! However, in this instance my prior visits and clear adrenaline rush resulted in Vela’s Lynn Lestock saying to me, “Just get out there where the dolphins are!” What a rush to head out to a single-file line of perhaps 100 dolphins heading north. Getting close was even more thrilling as I realized just how big they were, jumping all around me. As I started to head back towards shore, I saw a spout from what I thought was just another large dolphin headed on a collision course with me. I then realized that it was about 40 feet long. It’s not a dolphin, you idiot. It’s a whale headed straight for me! After a brief consideration of my options, which were basically none, the whale settled matters by blithely diving under my board and continuing its journey south. Reporting back to the shore crew, I gained the moniker Moby Dave.
Other memorable events included arriving in Los Barriles to find that a local rustler with a pickup truck had lassoed and towed away the only ATM in town. Another time, I was induced by a wind snob from The Gorge into trying to fly her practice kite while we sat in the sand, with her acting as my anchor — since there wasn’t enough wind for her maximum tolerated sail size, something like a 4.5. Fortunately, I didn’t take her advice to try a harness, as we were dragged all over the beach (but at least I could let go). The local contractors working on a house were quite amused when I crashed the kite into a nearby palapa hut. Another noteworthy event was the architectural tour one year with Rebecca and her mother Pam Telleen, current and past managers of Vela Baja.
In conclusion, and especially now that the Playa del Sol’s pool is heated and there is a kiddies play garden, I can highly recommend Vela Baja to both windsurfers and their respective widowers/widows/families. The staff and gear are superb — and the venue can’t be beat. — David Fielder
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