This year we (me, girlfriend and my brother) went to Aruba for a short vacation, during the 'winter' season in the Netherlands. It was the first time for us to windsurf in South-America. Me and my brother like to windsurf together from 10 knots in good weather. And that is what we have got. We had everyday 30 degrees celsius.

We stayed in the Holiday Inn and hired windsurf equipent at Vela. The wind was moderatly low according to the windsurfcenter Vela during our stay. Only the last day there was some good wind.

The equipment is the non-cammed windsurfsail range of Neilpryde. My brother first complained about these sails, but after a while we both got the hang of it. The spot did reminded me of the early days of windsurfing (when I couldn't drive to the best spots), our homespot was Geestmerambacht (Netherlands) and Geestmerambacht ment Gusty. In Aruba the wind is pretty gusty (thanks to the large hotels), on top of that Vela windsurf center is located in the middle of the large hotel buildings. This means a bit of walking or swimming was pretty normal, I have to note that the guys at Vela were awesome, if required they would pick you up with a boat (there was even a telephone surfboard out on the water to make a call).

Session 1: http://www.movescount.com/nl/moves/move96109674 (on hellcat 7.2 and isonic 117)
Session 2: http://www.movescount.com/nl/moves/move96109551 (on hellcat 8.2 and futura 124)
Session 3: http://www.movescount.com/nl/moves/move96293233 (on hellcat 7.7 and futura 114)
Session 4: http://www.movescount.com/nl/moves/move96603489 (on ryde 5.5 and futura 104)

The last day was pretty awesome, much more wind, swell. I never jumped a futura that high :).

We concluded that it is an awesome spot to chill, relax and re-energize. It is fun for everyone, there are plenty of restaurants, bars, events, etc. It is not the typical windsurf location, it is the location which has something to offer for everyone (including friends who don't windsurf). It is not the best windsurfing location in the world, however I say "every session counts".