Bonaire stories

What a fun couple of weeks in one of my favourite places in the world.
let’s see what this year’s trip to Bonaire consisted of:
Windsurfing, wrestling, pinky swears, gangster drives and coffee dates.
Lot’s of all of it.

Bonaire is such a laid back and fun place to be. But, for this trip I was bunking with Odale the fantastic, and I think it was everything but laid back. We were constantly on the go windsurfing, going to the gym, filming etc.  And at some point I think we were both kind of exhausted but neither of us would admit it hahaha.

Sailing in Bonaire is a bit different compared to aruba in the sense that the wind blows early in the morning and then again later in the afternoon till sunset, whereas in Aruba the wind kicks in a bit later in the morning and then by the end of the day backs off a bit again.
The forecast wasn’t looking too great so we tried to make the best of the wind to freestyle as much as we could. And once it really dropped we’d go for some slalom. But the wind kept blowing and we were freestyling for almost 10 days before we finally got to the slalom gear. We did early morning shifts, making it to the beach as early as 7:30 AM sometimes. Then we’d have a lunch break, usually hitting up Luciano’s for a cafecito and around 4ish we’d head back for an evening session. I often say I like morning sessions, but the evening sessions were also very special. Oh! I even got in a couple of kitesessions together with Amado and Francesco Capuzzo! That was pure bliss and epic fun learning a couple of new moves!

I think I only got all these hours in because of Oda and the fundamental difference between us: I grew up in the Caribbean where there’s wind every day and if there isn’t any… it will probably be windy the day after or the day after that. No stress. Whereas in Norway or Europe, people chase the wind and never let up a chance of hitting the water.

I had some frustrating sessions at the beginning of the trip. I needed to get used to the softer wind and was struggling to find the right settings for my sail. After a couple of days I sorted it out and I could focus on learning some new moves. After a couple of days I got the Airbob on both tacks which is such an incredible feeling. Spock culo’s were coming back and I’d land Kabi’s every session. The other riders on the water were incredible and extremely inspiring to me.
Nic hibdige, Julian Wiemar, Loïck Spicher , Anthony Ruenes and Mozza who was always the first one the water. It was awesome to see Kiri back at it. We’ve all missed him on the water. Youp was sailing great even with an injury, Taty was killing it with some of the most technical combo’s I’ve seen. And Amado… I think everyone will agree, was on a completely other level. He lost early in the single elimination during the world cup, but the comeback he staged in the Double elimination to finally take home the first place was monstrous.  What a display of technique, power and determination. Hats off to him!

I sailed mostly on my 5,1 and 93L and the conditions were rather light most of the time. Most the of the guys were sailing 5,2 and hundred litre boards, which made me realize I should maybe started doing that too. I think the extra litres will help to still perform the moves powerfully in light winds.We had a fun 3 days competing for the King of Bonaire, organized by Julien Mas.
A freestyle contest with a different format. You have 3 minutes to perform 2 moves and the tack doesn’t matter. It was great to get all the riders together like that. And I’m happy to say I won the “Queen of Bonaire” prize

Once the wind got lighter, Oda and I jumped on the slalom gear and had some fun sessions on the 7,8. Obviously I’m way too competitive to not try and outdo her. But she was so fast and I honestly had a hard time keeping up.  Jitters for slalom competition are slowly kicking in I think. The most fun session for me was filming in our “lovely holiday” outfits: straw hats and dresses.

Filming for Lovely holiday part 2 was fun as we got to drive Nancy Vrieswijk’s Mustang around. We felt like superstars for a couple of hours. Intentionally revving the engine whenever we were passing tourists hehe.
Make sure to watch lovely holiday part 2 below!

Well she made history in the Double elimination. She beat me and forced a super final. That was the first time in 11 years that I lost a heat.

The Worldcup was great. The organizers did a great job in taking care of the riders and having loads of activities lined up for kids from the local schools.
Even though I sailed 5,1 most of the time, it was windy enough every day.
I was happy to win the single elimination with my highlight landing a spock culo in the final against Maaike. Maaike also arrived a bit earlier and it was fun to watch her on the water. Her style is laidback yet powerful and her crashes are just goofy haha.

Well she made history in the Double elimination. She beat me and forced a super final. That was the first time in 11 years that I lost a heat. I was actually pretty confident during that heat and sailed well, but looking back now I was missing a higher scoring move on Port tack. In the last 3 seconds of the heat. I saw Maaike going for her last move from the corner of my eye and I saw her catching her hovering sail. While sailing back to the beach I just couldn’t figure out what move she had done.  I felt it from the crowd that it was a good move. So at the beach she told me she landed a “chacho” which is super technical and the first one she’s ever landed. 5 seconds later Duncan announces that Maaike Huverman won the heat!

Wauwie, big mix of emotions for me because I was both happy for her and at the same time already resetting to put down a great heat in the super final. I felt this excitement and fire burning again. Which for a freestyle contest I haven’t felt in a while and ultimately is the feeling I crave from competing.
I managed to keep my nerves in check and put down the same heat again and made sure not to miss the shove it spock and shaka on port tack.I was really Happy to take the event win home in the end.

Big Thank you to the organizers for a great event.
My parents for surprising me during the world cup and showing their support!
297 sports for covering everything and producing some great videos.
Thanks Odale for the great company and the ridiculous fun !