BONAIRE – DREAM TICKET
As I enter the baggage area at Flamingo Airport of Bonaire, the first thing that strikes me is the influence of windsurfing on this unspoiled Dutch Caribbean Island. Lofted in the roof of arrivals are a bunch of rigged sails, while over on the wall, bang in front of every single tourist arriving on the island, is a massive poster of their World Champion Kiri Thode, flying through a shaka over the azure waters of Lac Bay.
Windsurfing here in Bonaire is like skiing to the Alps or surfing to Hawaii and the likes of Kiri Thode, Tonky and Taty Frans are the island’s ambassadors who’ve helped put this island on the worldwide map of windsurfing. I’m here for four days to explore this Caribbean windsurfing paradise, one of the spiritual homes of freestyle windsurfing. With Kiri and Taty my guides for the duration, I’m pretty sure there’ll never be a dull moment!
Words & Photos JOHN CARTER
(This feature originally appeared in the August 2014 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)
