Aruba 2021

I have been back home in Aruba since end of October. In the beginning it wasn’t very windy so it was good to spend time with the family, get some hours in in the gym and finish other projects.
Then in January Odale ventured back to the happy island ( even after she was stuck here for 5 months last year). Let me tell you, we picked up right where we left off from.
Can you keep up with us?

A day in the life looks a bit like this:
On long days we go to the gym at 7:00am, we’re on the water to foil or freestyle by 11:00 AM, after that, unless Oda prepared some home made bread, we usually grab some food on the road. Eduardo’s hideaway has the best mango curry!
And then to not waste time we take turns driving and eating so we can make it to the South Side of the island in time to catch the golden hour for a kite session from 5pm-7pm.

And just when you think there’s no energy left, we’ll still join the tennis lesson with Dave, Debbie and Beer to end the day on a high. Neither of us want to miss out on any fun!
As always the main focus is freestyle but since Oda arrived so early in the season we’ve also put in a lot of hours into foiling on the lighter days. It’s been a lot of fun training with the Dutch and Aruban team learning more about course racing. The down wind runs have become a lot of fun, and breaking our personal speed records is a big goal every time, having said that we’ve also had to become better at catapulting.

Foiling makes me feel like I’m starting from scratch again, which is the beauty of windsurfing, there’s always something new to learn, and this new discipline has only been adding to the fun!
I feel like for freestyle I didn’t get as many solid days on the water as I would have liked to, put a big highlight are my new Neilpryde Wizards. The 4,4 is my favourite size at the moment. The sail is so easy to handle and then also generates insane lift. What a rush!

Besides that Aruba has something different on offer every day!
Freestyle, slalom, foil, strapless kiting, surfing, mountain biking, tennis, team volley ball, beach tennis and chasing sunsets. Never a dull moment.

I haven’t been in one place this long in 10 years. And being home was extra special as most of my friends decided to come down and spend time in Aruba as well. Such a joy having your favourite people around you right at home!

After being on island for 6 months it looks like I might finally start travelling again.
I’m heading out to Europe soon and am looking forward to hopefully find myself at the start line again waiting for the green flag to go up.