Windsurfing Bonaire

Fun, safe, and affordable, Sorobon Beach and Windsurf Place on Bonaire is the place to cut your teeth on the sport of windsurfing.

I never thought executing a turn at five miles per hour could be an uplifting experience, but then, I had never windsurfed before.

"The first time I went out," said Elvis Martinus, one of the owners of Windsurf Place, "it took me a week to get on the board and sail. Now you will learn it in an hour."

He was right. After a few minutes of instruction and practice on the beach, we took the boards out to the water, a placid area protected from the violent ocean waves by a long stretch of reef in the distance. Sorobon Beach is ideal for windsurfers, especially beginners, limiting the number of variables one has to contend with. Soon, most of us were up on our boards, manipulating the sail to catch the wind and flipping it slowly to turn oh-so-delicately without falling. You don't go very fast at first, but that's beside the point: the challenges are many for a neophyte, and every small accomplishment is filled with the thrill of the new.

Founded 25 years ago, Bonaire Windsurf Place is not only the singular place to windsurf in Bonaire, it's the premier site in the world for freestyle windsurfing. I spoke to a young man named Cesar, a professional freestyler who was trying to combine elements of BMX bike tricks with windsurfing, practicing one trick where he detached the sail, threw it in the air, and caught it as it returned, all while still on the board.

"You never know what the wind does to the sail," he said. "But once you get to know it, you can do something new. There's no limit."

Here's where you start.