Windsurfing
My first choice for vacation/recreactional activity. I’ve been windsurfing for 20 years. My home sailing waters are the Great South Bay out of Fair Harbor, a small villiage on Fire Island, New York.
In the Winter, I try to vacation somewhere that has windsurfing. Bonaire, a tiny Dutch island 50 miles off of the north coast of Venezuela, is my favorite destination. This is one friendly island. Very low key and eco-friendly. Most of the tourists come for the diving and snorkeling which is concentrated on the western side of Bonaire with its beautiful sunsets.
The windsurfing is on the undeveloped windward side at Lac Bay – a large, gorgeously clear, shallow, reef-protected bay with constant, moderate trade winds. There are two good windsurfing shops and two restaurants and an optional-clothing resort on the bay. The rest is sand or mangroves.
Then there’s the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda, BVI, where I’ve stayed a half dozen times, most recently in 2003 for the annual HIHO windsurfing adventure. It’s a beautiful place. The sailing is good, there’s excellent equipment and plenty of other activities when the winds are light.
I’ve also windsurfed: Key West, Tortola, St Croix, Nevis, Antigua, St. Barts, Cabarete in the Dominical Republic and off the islands of Puket and Ko Sumui in Thailand.
