Beautiful, warm, crystal-blue and clear water with several hundred yards of sandy bottom. Make a path through our flags marking the reefs, and you get closer towards the more exciting conditions outside on "The Blue Highway" with rolling swell and a bump & jump playground. Strong off-shore winds are often already getting started by the time we open our doors, and building throughout the day. Winds are a bit lighter inside allowing beginners to catch a break even on the windiest of days.
Quite amazing week again, after having for more then three months with non-stop strong winds, the wind took a break for three days. The end of 2009 through the start of 2010 has been amazing in regards to the wind: windy everyday with hardly any rainfall. So the rare lighter days of wind brought us to idea giving light wind freestyle clinics and lightwind racing competitions. Click on the link below for more of the story...
Since last update there was some exciting news about having swell which causes a friendly waves on the outer reefs and still perfect flat water until the blue highway. To bad, the wheaterstations weren't right this time about having swell, but fortunately the wind was even better then predicted every single day we've had strong winds in between 25 to 30 knots!! After weeks of nuclear winds last couple two days it seems that the wind took a small break which still means we still have 15 to 20 knots. But no worries, according to the actual wheater updates the strong winds will back in a few days..
Click the photo to check out the long story and some more images from last week.
Short update:
As mentioned in previous wind report we just had a great week of wind sometimes even over 30 knots, all guests where flying around using small gear.
This week the forecast looks promissing again it looks like the wind will stay in between 19 and 25 knots besides that the predictions will be also that we will get some swell. It will be another exciting week again in Aruba!
Click on photo below to check out some impressions from beginner and harness classes yesterday, more news and action soon!
Let me shortly introduce myself; my name is Maarten van Ochten and I am a Dutch Freestyle windsurfer training and riding for Vela windsurf over the past few years.
Why Vela Aruba? Because the conditions are everyday the same, strong wind, warm waters variety of water conditions like having flat waters on the inside and choppy on the outside which makes it perfect training conditions.
Since my arrival the 1st of January the wind has been blowing non stop 20 to 25+ knots according to the forecast the wind will be even stronger by the end of this week, great!
Besides the wind there also some positive gear changes this year at the center (click on picture to view).
Wow! While most of you were ina food coma this past weekend, we worked our buns (no low wind bellies this fall as its been windy windy windy throughout sept/oct/nov!!), off to get the NEW gear ready to go.
We love that it all arrived early but making that yearly smooth transition from old to new was a challenge with thanksgivingguests andwalk-up beginners. To top it all off it was nice and windy so obviously the boys and girls ofVela Aruba also wanted to try out all the new toys!
Well, we got it done, and now just putting all the boards in their new home and making sure we rigged enough of every sail type and size to accommodate the Christmas rush.
It was an unusual ‘low season’ that wind just kept on blowing. When I usually work my way thru the pile of ‘still want to read those’ books and finally commit to taking those tennis lessons, I found myself back on the water again ‘because this could be the last day of wind for a while’. And now it’s December and today again,its blowing 20+ and that new gear is calling my name.
First one I tried was the smaller Hellcat, the 5.7, harness lines had been tuned already by Tina Miller, so I grabbed it for a sunset session and yes, just as I expected it’s the perfect companion for my slalom board. A little like a race sail but without all the hassles of cambers and trying to waterstart with 27 gallons of water in the sail, I love it, and can just imagine many of our guests flying around out there soon. Next is the new Helium, a light wind slalom sail (not that we have a lot of light wind days) , will take that for a spin tonight as the sun dips behind the horizon and the full moon rises.
Thanks for your patience. I took an ‘early’ fall vacation this year because we expect our orders for the season to come in a little sooner than usual. Took advantage of that “all you can jet” pass and made a quick visit to some friends in the States (including Nadal at the US Open and Bono at the U2 Concert in Boston, and of course a quick side trip to Costa Rica for some surfin’ )
Well, what a surprise when I got back end of September expecting to start playing beachtennis but instead there was plenty of wind! Got my fix right away and ‘borrowed’ Enry’s 6.2 slalom to cruise just outside the red flag.A few hours later pumped up my 9 mtr Cabrinha and went for a sunset session at the Huts. Wow, it’s good to be home.
I don’t know how many times people ask which I like better, windsurfing or kiting. First of all, why make a choice? It’s like asking chocolate or vanilla when both are available, why have just one flavor? But I understand the question and for me the answer is not that difficult. Kiting for me is a total thrill ride, jumping especially is a great rush, riding upwind, releasing your edge, going up while looking down on the water and then there’s that total quiet for a few (I swear I’m up there for at least 10..) seconds, and then landing gracefully on my a…(Leo suggests I strap the board under my butt since I always end up that way anyway, funny guy). But the entire session you are on the edge, constantly aware of other kiters, not losing your edge and over accelerating, not dropping your kite too low, not wiping out! It’s an extreme sport that requires extreme concentration and I like it. Windsurfing for me (because I don’t’ do anything fancy) is more relaxing, cruising back and forth, the occasional turtle speeding away in front of the board, sun going down, I’m more able to enjoy my surroundings when I’m windsurfing. That’s the main difference for me but again, why choose? On a good day I can do both and still have a chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream.
I wanted to write a quick note to those of you who were guests while I was away in June/July of this year.
Several guests had concerns about the fact that we did not have the same amount of gear available as in previous years and were disappointed that they weren’t able to use the gear they liked.
Without going into too much detail I would like to just explain that there were exceptional circumstances during that time period, for example we did not have a sail repair possibility.
Let me apologize to those of you who were affected by that and assure you that we will have plenty of gear available next season again.
Thanks so much for your understanding. Do keep those feedback forms coming, it really helps us in always improving things here (except for the wind, guess what, its October and it’s blowing 20+!!)
Our “summer friends” have gone home, had a great time with Tony, Alain their guitars and ‘instant party’ repertoire. I’m a sucker for acoustics (maybe it’s just my age) and by now my favorite song “upon the roof” by James Taylor is standard on the menu. Hard to believe you can relate to a song that talks about getting away from it all when you live in paradise but it actually reminds me of my previous life in NY.
But I digress; you want to hear about wind! I wasn’t that tuned in because I spent two weeks in Holland celebrating my Mom’s 70th! Birthday. And just before I left I went with Rogier to the other side of the island to get my new surfboard wet and catch a few waves. Well, I didn’t catch any waves but my foot did get caught under a rock and I broke two toes. So no dancin’ at my Mom’s birthday and I needed a few more weeks back here before I couldn’t sir on the beach any longer and took my oversized toes out there on my slalom board and Enry’s 6.2RS. And although I got my b.. kicked by Michele ( the manager at sailboardvacations) he was on a 7.0 so my ego wasn’t nearly as bruised as my toes when I got back on the beach. It helped that I was able to stay dry on most of my jibes; you just don’t feel any pain when you’re out on the water right?
Robert Jeanneau and his daughter Amélie did some major bonding on the tandem board, really was a treat to watch them ripping out there, glad the old Gemini is becoming so popular.
Basically high 5’s low 6mtr the past weeks as it should be in July. The occasional 2day ‘tropical wave’ moving thru and bringing the knot meter below standard is just the Lord’s way of giving our bodies and blisters a break I guess.
It’s all good right now, and the new boards have been ordered for next season, lots of JP xcite rides because that seems to be everyone’s favorite, but also a few freestyle boards (special request from our Freestyle Guru, Tom Lepak , just to lure him back here next season). And some more Starboard Kode’s they’re fun and easy to jibe, just ask Janice Chaffin who celebrated her birthday on one.
Meantime the forecast is for 19-25 knots the next few days, so come on down and join us!!
Hi Everyone,
Back from Costa Rica, great time, caught a few waves of my own after some excellent instruction. Kind of fun to visit a place that has the same dynamics as ours; instructors, all with their own style and approach and great stories of how they became surf instructors. Equipment staff were helpful and always friendly (even for the 6 am session when I have to say I wasn’t looking for conversation) and guest service staff always asking if everything was ‘pura vida’. Nice to experience it from the other side and hope that our guests feel as welcome and well taken care of.
I didn’t ask what the wind had been doing while I was gone but there was plenty on my return, no rest for the weary so I took my bruised from surfing limbs back out there as soon as I arrived and was overpowered on my 10m kite. Since Saturday wind has been great, blowing in the low 20’s and guests sailing around on high 5’s and 6’es.
Meantime hi winds fever is slowly kicking in, Mac training a bunch of local kids how to lay down those jibes and lots of sailors looking for that perfect combination of board sail and fin to show off in the slalom races. Hope the racers coming from other places are prepared for all these Aruba pro’s.
Hi winds will be first week of July, always fun to experience so check those last minute specials and join us!!
Look forward to seeing our “june regulars”, Tony are you bringing your guitar this time??
See you soon,
Monique
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A relatively quiet Saturday after some very busy weeks, both wind and people wise!
We got lots of new beginners out there but also enjoyed our ‘regulars’ and it’s nice to get so much positive feedback on our new digs.
Now that the beach is a little quieter we can fine tune some details which were thoroughly tested by the crowds, adjust the sail racks, find a way to keep the grass growing thru the sand (important for that beach tennis court, although it’s been to windy to play..). and do a little painting around the inside of the building. Haven’t exactly presented the To-Do-List to the guys yet, I’ll wait till I’m on the way to the airport next month to go to surf camp in Costa Rica for a week.
Nice change to paddling in the waves after all that flat water fun, been out almost every day the past weeks, kiting at the end of the day and finally getting some decent air (don’t want to get caught jumping like a girl you know )
Mac’s been slalom sailing a lot on his 6.2 flying out there, Tim and Rogier have a bet going to land Vulcan’s and/or Spocks by the end of this month, inspired by Tom no doubt who sadly, left a few weeks ago. We hope to have him (and Carolyn our beach ambassador) back on the team next year.
Gear is holding up great and looks good in it’s new home, though one extremely windy day last week we counted 7 sails with catapult (or was it a pelican that flew thru it??) damage! So lots of work for our sail repair lady, the range of sails that were used the past month was just small , especially the 5.0 thru 5.7, that FireFly is super popular it’s light and easy to get going and I’m not even talking about those funky colors.
So high teens and gusts in the 20’s in the forecast, oh yes and sunshine, lots of sunshine for those of you who are STILL getting snow….
We received a present this week from Mother Nature; waves AND wind. We usually only see either and that’s how it was the first day. But there were pretty little rollers right in front of the center so the entire staff and most of our guests were transformed from sailors to surfers as we took turns on SUP’s ( that’s short for stand up paddle) boards, but we actually used them as surfboards and had lots of fun! The Sauer Family as well as Erez had a great time catching waves, Pascal showed off by doing a handstand on his board ( we have it on camera but I’ll spare you the image as Pascal likes to wear those baggy shorts and well, you know how cruel gravity can be..) So that was great fun and we just got our beach tennis court set-up so in between surf sessions we played beach tennis, man, it sounds like California, dudes.
Yesterday, when we arrived in the morning the waves were still here but better, the wind picked up! We were able to launch our trusty rescue boat so we could allow everyone to go out and play safely. And that includes staff of course, that’s only fair. Mac and Enry went off to WestPoint while I tried my wavesailing skills around the ‘rusty ship’ (she’s actually called the Baboo). I was occasionally overpowered on a 4.7! But unfortunately at times I wasn’t able to waterstart in between waves and got the washing machine treatment (top loader, with an extra spinning cycle..) well, when you play you pay .
Everyone had that “pleasantly exhausted” smile at the end of the day, and even Sandie bailed out on our Saturday night plans, I think I heard her snoring at 830pm just a few blocks away.
Today, more wind! Should get up to about 24knots but the waves have come down quite a bit, maybe just right for a little more practice and a little less humiliation for me. Looks great for the coming days as well, so get on down here and join us!
It is a sad Valentine's day when you have to leave the beach, the sun and the wind of Aruba, and head back to the snowy north, even if it is after 2 weeks of great windsurfing. You can't complain when you've windsurfed 14 out of a 15 possible days. And a mid-vacation break for 1 day was greatly appreciated by everyone's muscles and blisters. Winds varied somewhat with the guys usually out on sails in the 6's, and the women on 5's. The equipment was new and fabulous, as usual, and we all got to try out different boards and sails (except Sue who fell in love with the Starboard Futura 101). A couple of great windy days were blended with some incoming surf, and Aruban waves rolled in over the reefs. The 5pm Q&A session quickly generated questions into landing jumps, as we all seemed to be able to launch (sometimes unexpectedly), but landing was touch and go. Other highlights included Michael really picking up speed and seeming to enjoy the feeling of being over-powered but in control. Sue honed her upwind stance in order to better plane in from the blue highway. Donna worked on her jibes (even the hard side) and saw progress...not planing yet, but a dry jibe is a good jibe. Marty, Gary and Bruce played in the surf and cruised on the Blue Highway with big smiles on their faces. While they didn't quite perfect their Duck Jibes, some of the crashes were spectacular. Terry (and Marty as well) did a mix of windsurfing and kiting, blending 2 great sports. Welcoming faces on the beach were Francine, Amy and Jo-Anne. And much thought of, and missed this year were Judd, "Pink Hat" Art and Marcia, who we all hope will re-join us next February. The new Vela centre is great with the palapas set up to bring all the windsurfers (and D2F) together. Stories and encouragement are willingly shared, and lasting friendships established. Sound like paradise on earth??? It is, so get on down to Aruba and escape to the Blue Highway. Sue and Donna
squeezed in a quick snowboarding trip to jackson hole after christmas rush and realy enjoyed the snow. meantime mac, tom and the team worked hard on some details around the center that we noticed needed a little finetuning after those busy weeks. now ready for the february crowds, all our new boards have a designated spot, grouped in categories from freeride to freestyle to ,experts only, i-sonics.the new and improved oasis floating watercooler is out there on the sandbar for windsurfers who need a quick sip while they are out there having fun.
10-15kts today, Tom took a few staff and guests out for some freestyle basics, fun to watch from our new beach which gives an even better view of the sailing area.
forecast is for high teens, low 20.s the next few days.
And NEW it is, new (changed) digs, new website, new gear, the only thing that's not new (but never gets old..) is the wind! Though I traditionally try to be the first one on the water January 1st, this year I must admit the bubbly got the better of me and it wasn't until late that day that I hit the blue highway. I tried the new HellCat 6.7 which is surprisingly light but stable, Really fun in lighter winds. But don't be misled by the word "lighter" we've had some serious winds already, yesterday I was sailing that same highway on a 5.0 Alpha and that was "brilliant" as Sandie would say.
Sandie is part of the team again, like last year, she will be chatting it up at the guest service desk and do some photography as well, and she's excellent at keeping our social calendar up to date, make sure we keep those staff outings going (join us for a 'pint' anytime you're here).
Tom Lepak will also be joining us for a few month starting this week,look forward to his input, his expertise on gear and maybe some freestyle clinics?
Maarten (H73) is back,mainly to practice his PWA skills but also to help out on busy days and make us all look bad when he gets planing on a 5.3 Firefly in 2knots of wind.
And all the other familiar faces, Mac ,Darwin, Leo and Enry, Tim, Rogier and Paulien. some new faces as well will be welcoming you when you arrive, all enthusiastic windsurfers (and kiters, pascal and mike are still teaching daily.) to help you have fun on and off the water.
Forecast calls for 17-19 knots next few days so come enjoy our new facilities and new gear, those shiny sails are just waiting to be taken for a spin.
Meantime we're still fine tuning things here but we're ready for a great season!!
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