WINDSURFING CENTERS

WINDSURFING ADÍCORA

Windsurfing Adícora is located on the South Beach between Club Brisas del Sur and the Badell's. It is owned and managed by Alex Hansman, a German who has been operating in Adícora since 1994. Alex has a complete rental fleet made up of HiFly boards and Neil Pryde Sails, and rents by the day or week. Alex has recently added some Bic, Mistral and North equipment as well. 255 and 265 wave boards, which are well represented in the fleet, best suit the local conditions, as do counterpart North and Neil Pryde Wave sails. Also available are longer slalom boards, fun boards, and long boards, including the HiFly beginner board with 3.0 sail or with child's rig for beginners. Equipment is $150 per week, though an increase is expected sometime in 1998, commensurate with an addition of new equipment.

Windsurfing Adícora launches onto a stretch of beach that marks the line of demarcation between flatter water upwind and rolling beach break downwind. Departing from the beach in front of Windsurfing Adícora, you experience light to moderate chop and strong winds; fall off downwind and you are in the surf zone. Beating upwind and heading out towards the end of the main reef, you eventually encounter three small reef breaks - two inner and one outer - each producing jumpable surf.

Windsurfing Adícora offers rooms for as little as $15.00 per night right at the windsurfing center and also maintains an ocean front rental house located at the tip of the point. Useful to the non-Spanish speaker, the center also works with a variety of local landlords and innkeepers, such as Posada Kitzberger and Aaron and Carolina Badell, through whom it can offer a variety of other accommodations. Windsurfing Adícora also provides tours of the Peninsula and excursions, including trips to Cabo San Román, Mount Santa Ana, the salt ponds and flamingo preserves, as well as any of the peninsula's nature and wildlife preserves.

Windsurfing Adícora can be found on the Web at "http://www.adicora.com/wsa/index.html", or e-mailed at "wsa@adicora.com" or "windsurf.adicora@eldish.net".

CARLOS' WINDSURFING CENTER

Carlos' Windsurfing Center is situated directly in front of the beach-break wavesailing area on the South Beach. It is downwind of Casa de Diablo and is one of the last inhabited structures on the South Beach. The Center consists of an equipment room abutted on each side by an adjoining bungalow for rent to sailors. Carlos' current equipment rental consists of Bic wave boards and Neil Pryde sails, available at $250.00 per week.

Carlos' bungalows are cozy set-ups with three individually-rented bedrooms in each. The bedrooms each sleep two people and cost $10.00 per person per night. Each bungalow has a kitchen and a common area. The facility has a rare lawn out front, and Carlos lives right next door. Thanks to the constant high winds buffeting the place, you needn't worry much about mosquitoes, especially in the front rooms.

Carlos' is a nice spot for advanced windsurfers. Launching from directly in front of the center is excellent for those with wave experience or experienced shortboarders ready for the challenge. Others are going to want to head a couple hundred yards upwind to where the surf diminishes. For intermediates with limited wave and high wind experience (and jibing ability), the surf presents a challenge that will likely prove frustrating.

Carlos is of mixed parentage, Venezuelan and American, and thus speaks both Spanish and English fluently. As you can imagine, he's also an excellent windsurfer. Contact Carlos' Windsurfing through his representatives in Caracas, tel. (58) (02) 793-9517 or (58) (02) 793-8955 or fax. (58)(02) 793-9389.

MOUSTACHO VACATION CENTER

Moustacho's Center sits next to the National Guard post on the North Beach, at the head of the Boardwalk. Moustacho offers canoes and sea kayaks, as well as windsurfing equipment. Boards include a mixed variety of brands and models, ranging from quite new to older. This is also true of rigs. The mix includes wave boards, slalom, and long boards. A German and longtime resident of Venezuela, Moustacho is so named because of his prominent mustache.

Moustacho maintains a house on the South Beach, close to the point, with rooms for rent (breakfast included) that have proven popular with traveling Germans. He also rents out houses, most near the Center on the North Beach, with names like "Stormy Love." Moustacho owns a disco, open on weekends and holiday periods, and a store that sells local handicrafts, hammocks, and the like.

Moustacho's Vacation Center can be phoned or faxed at (58) (069) 88-271.