skin, and with SPF of 30 I never wore a shirt or gloves ALL week and never had a burn or blisters to speak of. It was sunny everyday in the 80's and the breeze and waters were always cool.
Aruba is definitely a place of diverse
sailing conditions depending on where you sail. From Fisherman's
Huts you can get to a variety of conditions that go from ripple flat water
to 20 foot waves, all within a
10 minute sail. The farther
west you sail, the bigger the waves until you are in breaking waves that
are over mast high. I had the pleasure to sail in all of these conditions
and enjoyed all of them immensely.
My only complaint is that the gustyness
of this place is crazy. You can be overpowered on a 5.0m sail and
with in a few feet it is dead calm.
No joke. I think it is this
gustyness that causes all the hands to get shredded and blistered.
Luckily I escaped with barely a blister to speak of but have seen how it
can happen.
The first day was the hardest. Getting used to conditions that sometimes reminded me of lake sailing back in New York was a challenge. Here on Cape Cod the winds are much steadier and you can pretty much hook in and turn on autopilot and cruise. In Aruba you have to be on your toes, looking upwind for lulls and gusts that are coming down the way. This is definitely NOT a place for beginners if you had a choice of Hatteras, NC or Aruba. I think Hatteras, with steadier winds and waist deep water is a much better place to learn.
Once I got used to the condition,
the fun began. I played a little while on the inside and the blue
hi-way. It was fun. I eventually wound up sailing on the west
side of the island, by the California Lighthouse. Here is where the
fun of Aruba is hidden. I am sure many people travel to Aruba and
never venture out this way. You are missing out I would have to say.
Here I found waves in the 10-15 foot range and
had a great time launch big airs
and backside wave riding. Later in the week I came back here to find
waves in the 15-20 foot range. It was incredible. Definitely
the biggest waves I have EVER been in, and I was in Aruba. Can you
imagine it. I wish I had more time to sail this spot because there
is much to exploit with its walls of water and steady winds. Yes,
here you will steady winds, although lighter than on the lee of the island,
as they scream across the waters.
Later in the week a large swell
hit the island and there was breaking waves on the lee of the island in
front of Rogers and Sailboard Vacations that made for some nice Side Off
wave riding. The gusty winds
made it a challenge but it was
fun to be able to do some down the line wave riding right off the beach
were my friends and family watched. There were alot of forward loops being
pulled off this day. A great day to learn as well.
O'well... I am home again to gray and cold Cape Cod. It was a fun trip and I will definitely be back for New Years again next year. Check my follow up articles for a more complete journal of the weeks activities.
L8rrr....
---
Marc Lefebvre (US-775)
Cape Cod Windsurfing Association
Gear: Berky/NeilPryde/Fiberspar/Finworks
Phone: (508)862-3282
Email: lefebvre@iwavesolutions.com
URL: http://www.ultranet.com/~lefebvre/
Motto: "Windsurfing is life,
the rest is just details!"
torna all' INDICE
REPORT ISOLA MARGARITA acqua calda, vento sicuro:
una mecca per il windsurf!
Marzo 2003: 20 giorni sempre
in acqua: il vento non è mai mancato; salvo qualche giorno (in cui
si doveva uscire con 5,.5-6,.5 mq) in genere il vento soffiava sopra i
25-30-35 nodi, costante e caldo. L'acqua è calda e non proprio piatta,
ma piuttosto chopposa davanti la spiaggia (perché l'acqua è
bassa, si tocca per 300 mt), ma al largo ci sono belle onde di 1-2 metri.
Ad El Yaque non c'è altro
oltre al windsurf, ma c'è 
il
ristorante pizzeria di Enrico&Ernesto! Questo è Ernesto, lo
sputnik di El Yaque! Spaghetti garantiti al dente; pesce a volontà
e bistecche indimenticabili.
|
REPORT: Author: Kevin Meyer (meyerkl@ix.netcom.com)
|
WINDSURF
PARADISE HOTEL
click here |
We arranged our vacation at the last minute through Vela. We had a difficult time with the other windsurfing/package outfits, and BIC never even returned our phone calls, which perhaps explains why there was no-one (literally) at the Margarita BIC center last week. Monique at Vela was extremely helpful, and did a fantastic job of setting up travel reservations at the last minute.
You know it is going to be a
good week when you are nearly blown off the air stairs while getting off
the plane in Margarita.
The Vela outfit in Margarita
is probably the best, with the largest selection of new Neil Pryde sails
and primarily F2 & Tiga boards. For some reason there was hardly anyone
in Margarita our week. The week before was packed, but our week was at
less than 30% capacity for most outfits, and as I said before BIC was at
zippo. This gave us novice waterstarters (we had taken some initial lessons
last Thanksgiving in Maui) room to float around. The beach must be jammed
during peak seasons.
The El Yaque windsurfing area
is a fantastic place to learn, with shallow (4' max depth) water out several
hundred yards. The wind is side shore from left to right looking out. There
are small swimming areas on either side of the 400 yard wide primary beach,
and some shallow underwater grass out by the platform (at the end of the
shallow area). A small reef at the outer downwind corner of the primary
area can be dangerous, as it is often only 6" below the surface. This cause
a few sudden stops, with resulting dramatic acrobatics. There is some small
chop, generally less than a couple feet. The water is very very warm, and
a wetsuit/shorty is only required if you are sun sensitive. I lathered
myself down with SPF-15, then 8, the 4, and did find by the end of the
week. Booties are necessary due to some nasty urchins in the grassy areas,
and that bloomin reef. Sailing is frm 10:30am to 5:30pm, with most people
taking a break for lunch. We began to skip the morning session by the end
of the week due to simple fatigue. At 5:30 the staffs from the various
outfits gets to go out, which is great to watch while downing
multiple Polars!
The Vela staff was fantastic,
and especially helpful to us relative beginners. They offered a 30 minute
free class every morning at 10:00am, dealing with a wide variety of subjects.
The staff was also available for advice, and duct tape. I say duct tape
because you WILL need it! Even with gloves, everyone we saw there had blisters
on every finger by the end of the second day; we never had a problem in
Maui or San Francisco, so it must be something in the water. At 10:30am
you can take rigs out, and due to the low number of people, we never had
a problem getting equipment. There are probably 25 or so wave sails, the
same number of race sails, and a smaller number of oddball types. Approximately
40 or so boards, arranged by length.
Everything is set up only a
few yards from the beach, which is a huge advantage over Maui, even with
the "Easy Riggin" guys to help you out. All of Vela's staff are fluent
English speakers, with a couple of Microsoft dropouts (who have obviously
found the true meaning in life!). Never met Tom and Kathy, perhaps because
I hand carried them tickets to Maui complements of Vela. I would strongly
recommend renting from Vela as opposed to the other outfits in El Yaque
(Fanatic/SpinOut is next best) due to their equipment selection and very
helpful staff.
Some specific daily notes:
Day 1: brilliant sun, somewhat low wind (relatively, as you will see), and very light 1' chop. Most people sailing 5.0's by the time the wind cranked in the afternoon. The daily seminar was replaced by a thorough orientation. Started on a Tiga Rebel shortboard and a 5.5 sail to work on the water start.
Day 2: Some haze, low wind but building from 5.5 to 4.5, with me sailing a half size larger to work on the waterstart. Getting better! The Vela seminar covered foot stance. 1' chop in the shallow area.
Day 3: Very hazy and humid, but more wind. Move to a larger Tiga Renegade and a 5.0 sail, and began to nail almost every waterstart! The duct tape is being used up rapidly! 1-2' chop in the shallow area. Don't forget suntan lotion on the ears! (I did!) The seminar covered both planing and non-planing jibes.
Day 4: Clear brilliant sun, stronger wind, with most people using 4.5's. Perfected the waterstart (thanks to the wind!). The seminar also covered waterstarts. Many people took the trip to Coche this day; we didn't as you need to be very proficient at waterstarts due to the offshore winds. Swells were 2' in the shallow area.
Day 5: Clear and begining to nuke! Most people sailing on a 3.5, I used a 4.0. Worked on hooking in, and was successful a few times, and generated some rather amusing acrobatics the others! Chop was at least 2'. The Vela seminar covered tacking.
Day 6: Hazy and humid, but an incredible wind. Couldn't see too much on the beach due to the blowing sand. 3.5's as a maximum. I started at a 4.0 on a shorter F2 Xantos., but soon went to a 3.5 as well with no problem nailing every water start. Generally 3' chops. The Vela seminar covered board techniques. The Vela staff couldn't resist the wind, and by the end of the day Web was out there doing loop after loop after loop (if I find a scanner I'll upload some great telephoto's of him!). We had to leave the next day, but it looked like the wind was going to continue to increase. What is the cross sectional area of a boom and mast without a sail?
The bottom line: a great time! I highly recommend Vela, but I also recommend asking how many people have already booked for your week. Read my next post for "the rest of the story."
Section 2 - The Rest of the Story
This is part two of the Margarita Trip Report, and covers “the rest of the story.” If you want the windsurfing information, see part one! Email me if you have any other questions. The bottom line: a great place, if you can handle it’s ruggedness. Think twice about taking a non-windsurfing significant other... it is too windy to lay on the beach, and there ain’t much else to do! By the way, at this time there are 170 Bs per dollar.
To and From Margarita
Most people will fly Viasa to Porlamar on Margarita from either Miami or New York. I am told that the New York flight originates in Europe, and is on a new widebody with good attendants and decent food. The Miami flight is not. It is on a very old 727-stretch with the tiny overhead compartments of yesteryear, far too few flight attendants, and some very mysterious food. Arrive at the Viasa counter in Miami a couple hours ahead of time to avoid a mob scene. The plane actually left on time, and arrived early due to high tail winds. One latin american custom that you may have to get used to is the clapping when the plane lands... I don’t really want to know how that custom arose. I have also heard that the pilots were the ones rejected by US airlines. You know the windsurfing will be good when you are almost blown of the air stairs disembarking from the plane. Customs is a breeze, and if you carry everything on you will be out of there in five minutes.
My flight back to Miami left
Porlamar at 8:20am. It is advisable to arrive at the airport two hours
ahead of time to avoid another mob scene at the ticket counter. The customs
area outside the terminal opens at 6:30am, so if you arrive earlier your
bags will not be checked. Viasa only checks in one flight at a time, so
people wanting to check in for the 9:30am New York bound flight had to
wait until all the Miami people were checked in, although it really didn’t
matter since the New York flight was delayed by 8 hours. Our flight back
left on time, and customs in Miami for US citizens is very quick. There
is a $20 departure tax payable at a small window in the Porlamar terminal
after checking in, and a 1000 Bs tax payable at the ticket counter; I watched
the ticket agent deftly put this cash into her pocket. Use the restroom
before you go to the airport, as the sign for the restrooms points to an
area beyond the security zone, and the security zone doesn’t open until
7:30am, even though the metal detector operators will be there an hour
ahead of time reading the paper. Make sure you confirm your return flight
a couple days ahead of time; we bumped into a couple of people who had
reservations canceled. You can do this at the travel agency in the El Yaque
Beach Hotel, which will cost you 400 Bs. This covers the cost of the cellular
phone call to the airline;
there is no direct phone service
to El Yaque, so cell phones are everywhere.
First Impressions
I used to live in South America, so I knew what to expect. Those of you who have never visited a third world country will be in for a shock. Margarita is rugged, often dirty, with very poor unmarked roads (except for the main highway to Porlamar), considerable relative poverty, and dogs running everywhere. The people are happy and quite nice to talk to, though. Most tourists are from Venezuela and Germany, with a small minority from the US. The languages are therefore Spanish and German, with a smattering of English. Some knowledge of Spanish will be very helpful! Food is cheap, with steaks costing $6 or so.
Do not drink the water. Period. All fresh water on Margarita comes via an undersea pipeline from Venezuela, and there is strange stuff growing in this pipeline. There is no reliable running water to El Yaque, so you will see water trucks delivering water to the hotels every day. This includes ice, although I know the Hotel California quadruple-filters it’s ice water (NOT it’s tap water). Use bottled water whenever it can get in you, such as brushing your teeth. A 1.5l bottle of water will cost 200 Bs. Be safe... drink Polar! Also watch out for lettuce and veggies that aren’t cooked. We put that stuff on our burgers without any problem, tho.
We stayed at the Hotel California, and I highly recommend it. It is across the street from the beach, but every room has a view of the beach. There are four floors of rooms above the ground floor lobby and restaurant; I would advise getting a room on a lower floor as the water pressure is negligible on the higher floors. We ended up using the shower by the pool to rinse off, then spend 30 minutes trying to get shampoo out of your hair back in the room. The Hotel C has a nice pool, which is refreshing after a long day of sailing. The only other pool I saw was at the Hotel Atti, up the road behind the Hotel C. The second shift desk clerk at the Hotel C, Yliani, is very nice; say hi from Kevin and Pierre if you see her. The Hotel C is pushing it’s “Club California” program, where you can buy 15 weeks of lodging to be used at any time in any combination over ten years, for $4200. Works out to a good room price, especially factoring in inflation, if you plan to return often. We didn’t, but we did get a free t-shirt for listening to the speel. The Hotel C is owned by a Canadian, who is also a great sailor.
One morning we woke up and saw a wild horse grazing at the Hotel C. The next day there were two. The next day a kid was trying to ride one of them. By now there may be a racetrack.
The Hotel El Yaque, El Yaque Beach Hotel, and Windsurf Paradise are all nice hotels right on the beach. The Fanatic Fun Center and Windsurfers Oasis are also right on the beach, but lack some of the nicer creature comforts; these could be great deals for those on a budget. The Vela center is located in the Windsurfers Oasis.
Restaurants
Most of the hotels have their own restaurants; the one at the Hotel California is ok for breakfast. The one in the El Yaque Beach Hotel is great for lunch, and has a good personal pizza that we ended up eating almost every day. The Pirana in the BIC Center down the road has great mega nachos and burgers, and is operated by a Canadian. The top floor restaurant in the Hotel Atti has great steaks for around $7, as does the Windsurf Paradise. Get used to stray dogs wandering through the restaurants. Many hotels will have special nights, such as “Italian Night”... our experience was that they aren’t worth it. Expensive with very few people, tho that is perhaps due to the small number of tourists our week.
Nightlife
Be serious. After a day of sailing, who has the strength? Happy hour is great, from 5 to 7pm. Our favorite spot became the outdoor restaurant at the El Yaque Hotel as it provided a great view of the staff from the windsurf outfits showing off after they closed at 5:30. There’s a great waitress named Eglise at the El Yaque; say hi from Kevin and Pierre if you see her. The second best happy hour is at the Pirana with Polars and mega nachos. You will probably sail all day, have a large number of Polars (a very good local beer... especially when you’re tired!) for Happy Hour, find some food some place and down some more Polars, then go back to the Hotel C bar to have even more Polars while watch some great windsurf videos.
One night we went into Porlamar to the Mosquito Coast. It opens at 7:30pm and has great burgers. The waiter tried to sell us LSD. The disco action there begins around 11:30pm, too late for our tired aging muscles.
Taxis
You will immediately notice that all taxis in Margarita are rather beat up, and they have all of their windows darkly tinted except for a narrow 5” horizontal strip in the middle of the windshield. Makes for great night driving. Always negotiate the fare before getting in the car. They seem to take advantage of you if you don’t speak Spanish. The fare from the airport to El Yaque should be 900 Bs during the day, a little more at night. From El Yaque to the airport it should be 700 Bs. From El Yaque to the Mosquite Coast in Porlamar it was 1200 Bs, and 1500 Bs returning later that evening. There is a taxi stand across the street from the Windsurf Paradise, and there are almost always taxis available.
Rental Cars
You don’t need a car if you plan on windsurfing only as everything in El Yaque is accessible by foot. We rented a car our last day by going to the airport, where there are booths for Hertz, Avis, etc. As you approach the booths, a bidding war breaks out among them for your business. We ended up going with Hertz, which gave us 30% off their normal daily rates. Worked out to $50 for the 24 hours, including mileage, insurance, and filling half the tank for a total of 300 Bs. Venezuela is a member of OPEC, so gas is incredibly cheap. We rented a small four door with AC, stick shift, and some kind of lock/alarm gizmo. They will take 15 or 20 minutes to completely inspect the vehicle in your presence and demonstrate EVERY control and feature. When you return the car they will do the same, so plan on it, and don’t bother hiding any damage... they will find it. The agencies open at 6am, which made it convenient for us to return the car the next day before our early flight.
The rest of the island
We used the above mentioned rental car to drive around the island a little. Left at 9:30am, and drove up to the north coast via Juangriego and Playa Las Aguas, returning via Ascension and skipping Porlamar. When the cab took us into Porlamar to go to the Mosquito Coast, we noticed a large amount of construction leading to several detours through rather undesirable neighborhoods. There are NO marked roads on Margarita... no numbers, just infrequent small signs indicating the destination town. The main roads will go through the middle of the towns, taking unmarked turns through residencial neighborhoods. There are several German hotels on the north coast, and Playa Las Aguas is very spectacular. In the Ascension area you can drive to the top of the tallest mountain on the island, where it is perpeturally cloudy so you can’t see a thing. There is also a small Spanish fort in the area. Some knowledge of Spanish is very helpful so that you can ask directions. There are a very small number of cops on the roads, and they are always on motorbikes, two chubby unhelmeted cops per bike. I’m not sure where they put an arrested criminal. Or even if they arrest criminals at all.
Souvenirs
There are very few places to buy t-shirts and post cards in El Yaque. The shop in the Windsurf Paradise hotel has the best t-shirts, but has very random hours. The only post cards we saw were at the travel agency in the El Yaque Beach Hotel. The windsurf outfits had some t-shirts, but only in small and medium sizes.
The bottom line
It is
a great place to visit if you are a windsurfer. Non-windsurfers at El Yaque
better bring books.
Best
restaurant: Pirana
Best
happy hour: Hotel El Yaque
Best
happy hour waitress: Eglise at the Hotel El Yaque
Best
hotel: Hotel California
Best
hotel desk clerk: Yliani at the Hotel California
Best
windsurfing outfit: Vela
Best
looking female tourists: the Germans at the Windsurf Paradise
Best
place for gals to find skinny white guys in tiny speedos: the Germans at
Windsurf Paradise
Best
shower: the pool shower at the Hotel California
Best
steak: Hotel Atti restaurant
Best
lunch: El Yaque Beach Hotel
Best
and only beer: Polar
Author: Dave Oltman (daveo@magincnet.net)
on 5 May 1995
| WINDSURF
PARADISE HOTEL
direct on the beach. Very few meters from your room you find 3 windsurf centers: Happy (F2), CNS (DHL), Planet (Fanatic). A few tens of meters away on the same beach you have several more windsurf schools and renting centers: Mistral, Shark, Vela, etc. The hotel has essential rooms designed for windsurfers, some on the garden floor, some with a beautiful terrace over the spot. Swimming pool, jacuzzi and breakfast buffet on the room price. PRO: it's right on the spot, good value for money and discounts to my friends: just ask for Naida and say you are a friend of Piero (don’t cheat! you need a code number from me: get it here) CONTRA: several rooms with no balcony means that you cannot hang your wet stuff when you get out of water. You cannot charge your room for bar, snack, lunch or dinner, so be prepared to go around with cash. There are no banks in El Yaque… |
a pochi
metri dall'acqua e da 3 windsurf centers: Happy (F2), CNS (DHL), Planet
(Fanatic)
|
ADICORA
Adicora is located on the east side of the Paraguana Penninsula, about 40 miles south of Aruba. We decided to check this place out because we had heard that it had the winds of Aruba with sizable surf to jump andride. All that is true, and here is the story...
THE WINDSURFING
There really is excellent wave sailing in Adicora, just like they said there would be. During the 7 non-travelling days of our stay,it blew every day except one, and even on that day it was probably sailable with a large (5.5) sail and a slalom board. On theother six days it blew in the range of 20 to 30 knots. Usually, my 4.7 was the call (I weigh 160 lbs.) but on one day I was ableto use my 4.2. We were told by the locals that the wind was really bad during our stay and that 4.0 conditions or better aremore normal. I didn't complain.
The main area for sailing in
Adicora is a huge clay beach that extends north and south all the way up
the east side of thepennisula. The waves here are very small (knee high)
at the northern end of the beach where an offshore reef cuts them down.
This area was good for the beginning
waves sailors in our group. The waves gets bigger the further south you
go until about a kilometer away they reach shoulder to head high
on an average day. We were told the waves can get way overhead in thewinter
if there is a big swell or anytime if the wind nukes. The waves break very
gently, so even when they are big there is no problem with gear
damage.
The main beach faces straight east and the trade wind angles in slightly from the northeast, making the wind almost dead onshore. Fortunately, there is just enough angle to the wind so that getting out is no problem and port tack jumps are easy and plentiful. In fact, we got more and higher jumps in Adicora than anyplace I've ever been including the Dominican Repuplic and the Gorge. If you like to jump on port, this is your spot!
There are many other places to sail on the pennisula that each have their merits. On the north side of Adicora there is a beachtucked into a little north-facing bay that has good flatwater on the inside with bump and jump on the outside. We didn't sail there, but saw some of the locals putting on a show. The Vacaciones Moustacho outfit rents HiFly boards from this beach.
One day Carlos and "Shorty" from the Bic center drove us to the downwind side of the pennisula where we sailed a flatwater spot called El Pico. I couldn't get over how similar El Pico is to Fisherman's Huts in Aruba. There is a shallow bay with clear water and strong wind blowing straight offshore. The main difference between this bay and Fisherman's Huts is that it is totally remote and undeveloped. You can reach for a mile or more in unobstructed wind on dead flat water.
There is another spot on the northern coast called Matagorda that sounded particularly intriguing, but we did not sail there. Supposedly, it has side-offshore wave sailing with starboard tack jumps in clear blue water. The only problem is that it's totally infested with sharks. Carlos told us that twice he had taken people there and ended up having them badly injured by sharks.
OTHER INFO
There are some problems with Adicora. For one thing, it's pretty hard to get to, especially if you bring gear like we did. Foranother, it's not set up for tourists the way places like Margarita are. Staying there is a true "local" experience. Being able to speak some Spanish is almost a necessity. There is some pollution and a lot of trash everywhere, including the beach and thewater. On the other hand, I have never felt more welcome anywhere than I did in Venezuela. The Venezuelans were extremely open and friendly to us wherever we went. We felt like heroes!
The main places that deal with
windsurfing are the Bic Center and Vacaciones Moustacho. I have already
rambled on enoughin this posting so if you would like specific details
email me at daveo@magincnet.net. Ciao!
BONAIRE
Author:
Date: 06/28/97
Just came back from a great week
in Bonaire, renting with the Mistral / Naish center ("The Place", affiliated
with Roger's in Aruba). Very happy with the conditions, the gear,
the instruction, and the laid-back, beautiful island that is Bonaire. How
can you beat a 4-square-mile waist-deep bay of clear turquoise water, AND
the chance to see pink flamingos and iguanas?
Author: David Holt
Date: 08/26/96
We were in Bonaire for a week
in early Feb. First time there. The wind was not quite as promised. One
day of 5.0 to 5.5, one day of 6.0 and the restwere marginal wind
most of the day filling in to 6.5 wind between 4 and 4.30 pm for an hour
or so.
Plenty of other things to do,
wonderful diving, great people. Jibe City Bonaire: Great people, up to
date (95 and 96) BIC and UP gear. Also some Tigas. The new Veloce
boards are fast and somewhat easier to sail than the Vivaces. New UP twin
cam sails are good for the type of sail they are. Ernst, Enello(?)
and the other people there are great. Developments: Mistral are building
a facility (rental) next to Jibe City. It will be a pity if the shallow
bay area becomes overcrowded. Air Aruba had two planes out of service
leading to some loooooong delays on the way down. We were impressed- the
flight got in at 12 midnight, and the rental agent (Bel Air Sunset
apartments) was at the airport to meet us. The instructor from the Fanatic
school near Jibe City was there to meet his guests! A great vacation
which could have used some more wind! Any reports from elsewhere in theislands?
Info from: Ed Foster erfoster@netcom.com
I've been there three times and
enjoyed it very much, and it did wonders for my jibes. Windsurfing is at
Lac Bay on the
windward (east) side of the
island and most of the hotels/condos are on the west side, about a 20 minute
drive away. Eating out is expensive and there are some nice restaurants;
Richards is the only one I can name of the top of my head. Hamburgers atthe
Green Parrot are great and reasonably priced. Soroban beach resort is the
clothing optional place next to Jibe City but it
seemed to have mostly middle-aged
people who could afford to lose a few pounds - hey, that sounds like me.
I didn't get there this year
and heard that it's been a low wind year for that whole area of the Caribbean.
Bonaire is also a
scuba diving paradise and I mixed the two, alternating sailing and diving
days to give my hands and muscles a chance to recover from sailing.
I hightly recommend it. If you want more information, email me.
Info from: Unknown name windsurfsr@aol.com on 21 September 1995.
I was in Bonaire at the Hazen's
last February. The attention was great. The sails were in good shape, althought
they weren't absolutely
top shelf(mostly aerotech twin cams). The boards were good Fanatics or
Alphas. I would check to see if they havepurchased any new equipment since.
The did have Gecko 278's and 265's which were rated tops by the British.
I wanderedover to the BIC center and wasn't impressed by what they had
even though it was a larger operation.
Fiji Site Report
Info from: Alfred Vome alvorne@maui.net on 17 October 1995.
We were in Fiji this time last
year. Great place but the best windsurfing is on two small privately owned
islands Namouto and Magic.Very
exspensive $80-100 per night including food'nice waves no crowds. Book
before you go as accommodation is limited.
--------------------
TURCHIA: CESME - ILICIA - ALACIATI
Stralcio di corrispondenza :
Non ho portato l'attrezzatura. Nella zona ci sono almeno 3 ottimi spot dove si
può noleggiare tutto quello che vuoi nelle migliori condizioni. Sul posto ho
viaggiato col taxi, che costa poco (ma bisogna contrattare prima e molto). Ti
potrei consigliare di raggiungere CESME eventualmente con la nave direttamente
dall'Italia. Li c'è una spiaggia che si chiama ILICIA, da raggiungere con i
taxi collettivi economicissimi, e presso il motel Ilicia, c'è una base tedesca
(Happy Surf) di windsurf, dove parlano anche italiano, attrezzata per fare
surf direttamente li sul posto (mare con piccole onde, vele 5mq) oppure a 10Km
di distanza dove c'è la baia di ALACIATI con acqua piatta e vento termico
generalmente di 5-6-7 beaufort. Se porti la tua attrezzatura, credo che una 4,8
mq non ci stia male accanto a una 5,5. Ad Alaciati si può anche campeggiare, ma
gli alberghi buoni costano qualcosa come 20-30 mila lire/notte con colazione...
Se decidi di andare posso fornirti notizie ulteriori di dettaglio su come
andare e stare e magari vedere altri posti in zona; ma dovresti darmi qualche
dato personale (età, finanze) per capire le tue esigenze. Ciao
ppj@carinablog.com
FOCA (Turchia)
l'estate scorsa (2000) siamo stati a Foca (Turchia vicino a Izmir) presso il villaggio Club Med.
Tutto molto bello, quasi perfetto: si è mangiato splendidamente, la spiaggia di sabbia fine, camere OK, etc.
circa tavole e vele: per i principianti
non c'erano molte tavole OK: molte erano un poco vecchie e
soprattutto scivolese (effetto
crema)
quelle per esperti erano
OK più numerose e piu in ordine
Vento: questa e' stata la nota dolente
della vacanza: troppo poco vento per non dire a volte
assente: in sostanza lo considero
adatto solo a chi comincia (eccetto qualche raro
giorno in cui ha dato soddisfazione).
Michele
TARIFA
Agosto 2001: una delusione;
solo qualche raro giorno con il vento di levante, l'unico che merita (vele
da 4 o 5 mq). Il vento di ponente, peraltro normalmente debole, mi dicono,
stavolta è stato proprio latitante; qualche volta si poteva planare
con 8mq di vela; spesso nemmeno i kites riuscivano a partire.
La fama di Tarifa è probabilmente
meritata in inverno, con il levante che, attenzione, spira verso il largo...
E' un posto adatto a campeggiatori, autonomamente attrezzati. Noleggiare
tavola e vela si può, in città trovi tutto, carichi in macchina
e vai. Puoi anche noleggiare nei centri surf, dietro le spiagge, ma ti
devi trascinare il tutto per centinaia di metri; qualcuno ti chiede anche
di riportargli la vela lavata (in mare) che quindi non deve toccare la
sabbia per tutto il percorso; se hai surfato tutto il pomeriggio con una
4mq, sei carico di adrenalina e la vela la lavi e la porti "volentieri",
ma se hai rincorso il vento cambiando tre vele, sfacchinando su e giù
tre volte, non hai più energia e adrenalina per una 8mq lavata che
non deve toccare la sabbia! Se hai moglie e figli ricorda che i servizi
di spiaggia sono zero, non esistono ombrelloni, sdraio o altre amenità
del genere. Alcune spiagge sono però delimitate per isolare i surf
dai kite e dai bagnanti: qualcosa di buono, ma poco rispettato.
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