Here is the rest of Dieter van der Eyken's update from Bonaire! To read up on Part 1, click here!

Hello everybody!

The last time I updated from Bonaire is a while ago but now the trip has come to an end I finally have a bit of time to write a bit about how it was. Pretty easy to say in just one word: EPIC! The wind kept on blowing, giving me almost 5 weeks of wind in a row even sailing on 4.4 one day which for Bonaire doesn’t happen too often! So had a good time to get my level up and have a lot of fun sailing!

During this trip I met again a lot of great people which always is the best thing about traveling. I can write whole stories about everyone of them but let’s say they made the good time on Bonaire even better! Compared to Brazil, I felt more at home on Bonaire as I know a lot more people on the island and the language barrier is a bit smaller on Bonaire as everybody speaks Dutch which makes living a lot more easier! Every day I would have something to do and almost never got bored!

Besides having a lot of great sailing I also went fishing for the first time in my life here in Bonaire! On the less windy days you take a big beginner board, sail up to Lac (reef on one side of the bay) and start fishing with a hand line. You just sail up and down until the fishes bite, pull them in and go catch the next one. I’m not so trained yet as other locals but was very happy to catch my first fish which wasn’t too small actually and tasted really good that evening! Next year I will do this much more for sure as a hand line isn’t that expensive and fish you caught yourself always tastes better than the ones you buy in the supermarket!

I will miss Bonaire’s paradise with all the great people and good conditions for windsurfing, the campfires on the beach in the evenings, the sitting on the bench in front of Jibe City and most of all the life in board shorts at the most relaxed island in the world! Can’t wait to go back next winter! Now I’m back home for a week before I go to Sardinia for 2 weeks for the Clinics of The Next Generation Project! After this, the season really starts with the first PWA event in Podersdorf, Austria! I hope Europe warms a bit up by then because now it’s still way to cold!

Cheers!
Dieter - B35

- All pictures are courtesy of Oda Johanne -

To find out more about Dieter van der Eyken, visit his blog here!