Surprisingly steady wind and warm water is not all that El Yaque has to offer. The VELA windsurf Resort, located at the El Yaque Beach Hotel, provides best F2,JP and Neil-Pryde equipment. Your beach chair is waiting for you right in front of the center under coconut trees. Here you will relax, enjoy your drink and have a great view of what is happening on the water. The beach bar of Café Local supplies you with delicious refreshments.

Spot Info: Windsurfing in El Yaque means a 3/4 mile of sandy beach and side-shore wind. Flat, waist deep water for the first 300 yards makes it ideal for first encounters with the elements, to learn how to beach- or waterstart or to work on your manoeuvres. More advanced sailors head out and after a stretch of rather choppy waters will find nice swells of up to 5 feet, that invite to jump on the way out and to surf the waves coming in.

Windsurf conditions: Light wind in the mornings that builds up around noon, to be best between 2 and 5 PM. In other words: Ideal conditions for beginners in the morning, and in the afternoon perfect for intermediate and crack sailors. From October until January and in June and July you are most likely to sail between 5 m2 and 7 m2 while during February, March and April 3.5 m2 – 5.5 m2 are the most used sails. In May the wind gets a little weaker but steadier than in the highwind months (which makes it the most ideal month for learning manoeuvres) and you still only be on 4.5 m2 – 5.5 m2. An average air temperature of 82 degrees and water temperature of 79 degrees allow to wear your shorty or lycra. But be aware of the strong sun and use waterproof sun protection factors 20 to 30, after all, El Yaque is only 11 degrees above the aequator.

The Vela Center Expect to find an ideal combination of about 100 F2 and JP boards in combination with Neil Pryde sails, all on carbon masts and with adjustable harness lines. The equipment will be renewed every year in November but Tom and Kathy (since 8 years the owners of the Vela Center) always keep some new equipment stored to be able to renew wasted equipment all through the year.