Bonaire - May ?

[RickI]

The ABC island latitudes get some of the best, consistent wind in the Caribbean in my experience. Of course weather norms may be drifting, also tropical weather can mess with the trade winds there big time. So, if you can go before late August, September, it may improve the reliability of the wind.

For Curacao, I had some outstanding kiting off Klein Curcao, about 7 miles offshore in the direction of Bonaire from Curacao. You do an offshore launch and may choose to ride there as well. I went around to the windward side but there are large waves and a ironshore there strewn with wrecks and debris. Lining up a chase boat makes sense although you may have trouble finding one. Otherwise most that I know of kite in St. Joris bay, a land locked lake. Unlike Bonaire and Pink Beach area much of the lee shore of northern Curacao is fairly high with lots of wind shadow. There is an interesting looking lagoon on south Curacao which might provide some Lac Bay-like conditions but getting to it without a boat may not be on. I would contact Eric for more info at http://curacaokiteboarding.com/


The less side of the island


The windward side with unfriendly landing spots, strong wind and waves to go with.

ps - I used to kite Lac Bay in 2000 and before the ban. It was nice and a natural for kiting at lower tides when the windsurfers were stuck in the channel just off of and parallel to the shore. I tried to help with some ideas to avoid problems in those days but they obviously didn't stick.

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[southflorida]

Forgot to mention, there is a facebook page called We Share Bonaire that has excellent photos of the island, many taken from a drone, there you'll find pics of the kitespot and Lac Bay and many other places

I'm not associated in any way with that page, but have enjoyed their photography, worth checking out if you are going there

[czezz]

Hey everyone,
thanks for all replies. Flight ticket is bought and im ready to go soon

One more thing I want to ask: I have heard from some people (not kiters) that there are a lot of sharp shells / rocks on the beach. Can anyone confirm that ? Do i need boots for kiting ?

[Frank82]

Water is deep and the reef is sharp, just be carefull when getting in and out and you should be fine without booties.

[Miltsface]

I kited on the windward side, right at the northern tip of Lac Bay, just outside and over the reef. Nice wave spot. do a map search for Lac Bay Bar. I launched from right at that point. It is well away from the windsurfing area. The only drawback is it's not a friendly launch as it's a little tight and you go in over rocks, but completely do-able. No problem if you have an extra person to stay on shore for launching/landing. Search for Lac Cai, and you'll find some info on the spot. Not a great quality pic, but here's me at the location. Sadly, I blew an MCL the next day at Atlantis....

[czezz]

Holy sh*t! Man, Im sorry for u
i hope ur knee is back to normal now ?

Thanks for information.
BTW. - im going probably alone there. Anyone on Bonaire beginning of May ?

[Miltsface]

Found a good photo of the wave spot, Las Cai, on the below page. It's the first photo at the top of the page. Lac Bay is to the right and the windsurf area around Sorobonoon resort is on the opposite side of the bay (the bright blue area upper right of the pic), which is partially enclosed by a reef (the whitewater line you see in upper right of this pic).

The knee was 2 years ago, it's fine now, but happened on day 3 of the trip, so kind of a bummer.

http://www.wesharebonaire.com/2016/03/1 ... d-bonaire/