New Boards

While we were in Bonaire my Joker bit the bullet. I've been eagerly anticipating the release of the 2010 Mistrals. But when I got home from Bonaire I got an e-mail that the Mistral boards have been delayed yet again. So without a board, I needed to look around. Luckily while My Joker was being repaired in Bonaire, it gave me the chance to try a bunch of different boards. For this year, I ordered up a pair of JP freestyle boards. the JP freestyle Pro 89, and Jp Freestyle Pro 98 should be arriving shortly. I'll be sure to post up my first impressions of each. They've got some mighty big shoes to fill as in my 20 years of windsurfing I've never been impressed as much by any other board than the 2009 Mistral Joker that these beauties will be replacing.

Another Great Trip to Bonaire

Well, we just got back from another trip to Bonaire. Those of you that have been there need not read any further. My trip was the same exact trip you had. 85 degrees, wind everyday and a beach full of friends. Actually 34 friends from Long Island to be exact, and that's not counting all the locals and other friends from all over the world. I'm not going to make too lengthy a post about Bonaire because I could literally give you the day by day run down that is still imprinted in my now frostbitten brain. Can being home make you homesick?

I'll just list the highlights and lowlight of the trip. First off, we were lucky just to leave JFK. This year there was a record setting snowstorm baring down on the Mid-Atlatic. As the rather large group of LI windsurfers sat with our eyes glued to the conditions out the window of the terminal we watched as blizzard conditions got worse. We'd cheer for the fleets of plows clearing our runway. After waiting and hoping our plane finally pulled in and we watched 7 gear bags load into the undercarriage. Soon enough we were taxiing around the airport watching the whitecaps from the 50 mph winds on the bay. There was a huge sigh of relief from every passenger on the plane when we finally took off.

I arrived at the beach early our first day in Bonaire. Andy Brandt and the Marrs were the only other people at Jibe City. I quickly rigged my 5.3 and started strapping up the Joker. When I put the vent plug in, I noticed some air bubbles coming out of the footstrap plug. Crap! I pushed on the deck and it was like pushing on a plastic plate sitting on top of a foot of snow. Very soft! What was I going to do. There was obviously already water in there so I might as well grab a much needed session. Plus the damage was under the footpad. I took 2 or 3 runs and could really feel the damaged spot in between the footstraps. I couldn't let my baby suffer any more so I came back in. By now Jibe city was open and I asked around to see if someone would be able to make the repair. Luckily Zeno was the best board repairer in Bonaire and hes was willing to give it a go. Long story short, I was without my beloved Joker for the first 4 days of the trip. Luckily I've got a great group of friends and they let me borrow their boards while they weren't using them so I was able to get some time on the water. My board was finally back to me on Thursday for me to use for the rest of the trip.

All in all I sailed every day on a 5.3 except for a few 4.7 days. The only problem was that I hadn't sailed in so long before the trip that I was up all night in sooting pains from every one of my limbs while at the same time itching like crazy from whatever it is over by the Mangroves that seems to prefer New Yorkers over the locals to snack on. During the day while I was off the water the temperatures were perfect to sit in the breeze on the beach and sip on the beverage of one's choice. While eating a delicious fresh sandwich or salad from the beach bar.

We all had a great time this year and I'm pretty sure our numbers will grow yet again for next year. Now the rest of the year is spent counting down the days until our next trip to Bonaire.