Bonaire vs. Aruba?

[kiterdude]

What Island is the best for Kitesurfing?.........and why?

In 3 days I am going to get a flight.........Bonaire or Aruba....?

Any experiences?

Mahalo!

[RickI]

What Island is the best for Kitesurfing?.........and why?

In 3 days I am going to get a flight.........Bonaire or Aruba....?

Any experiences?

Mahalo!

I would contact Ernst at JibeCity on Lac Bay in Bonaire,

http://www.jibecity.com/equipment.html

to verify that kiteboarding is still permitted. Lac Bay is fairly small and has been filling up with windsurfers for a long time. So riding here can be difficult IF there are a lot of windsurfers. They were there first along with a lot of dedicated windsurfing businesses so what can you do? Other possible launches exist aside from Lac Bay but they will probably be side offshore, offshore or ONSHORE in heavy seas against an iron (rock), shore.

Haven't made it to Aruba yet so I can't comment on conditions there.

Rick Iossi

[kiterdude]

Hi Rick,

thanks for you info....have you been to the bay, how big is small? In The Netherlands I hear really good things about kitesurfing in Bonaire. I followed your advice and dropped Ernst a line. I will see what he is saying about kiting in the bay...but he is a windsurfferer Do you maybe know othe good places to go? I also can get a cheap ticket to Miami......you are a local there isn't......is miami better for kiting than bonaire?

Mahalo!

[IRIE]

Kiterdude: I have only been to Aruba & I can tell you it certainly rocks! Fishermans Hut is awsome flat water kiting, problem is you can only kite there from 8:00am-10a.m. & then 4:00p.m. onwards (windsurfers get the entire day to themselves) Boca Grand is nice onshore wave riding & you can ride there all day long (Fisherman's hut is offshore) Try contacting Armando Wester, he is the Kite king of Aruba (phone number is 66-1515) if you need boat support etc....

[hwenn]

bonaire is better than Miami.
Trust me!

[RickI]

Lac Bay is relatively small and there was talk of a kiteboarding ban when I was last there, almost two years ago. Throw in fifty windsurfers and it could get very crowded. Based on what I saw and heard, I wouldn't recommend the island for kiteboarding unless sources of business income have shifted to kiteboarding from windsurfing.

Bonaire and Aruba are in a special latitude along with Margarita Island for strong, consistant winds. Far stronger and consistant than you will ever seen in Miami. You could checkout the Florida Keys south of Miami for reasonable winds much of the time (15 to 20 mph and higher many days per month). You could look into hitting an island in the wind belt just north of South America along the ABC islands, Margarita. Alternatively, you could look further north to Cabarete, Antigua, the north coast of Puerto Rico, etc. Lots of choices in the Caribbean.

Rick Iossi