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ARUBA HI-WINDS: ROAD TO THE BLUE HIGHWAY

After jetting off to the Caribbean, John Carter gives us the full lowdown on the Aruba Hi-Winds event, which also featured the first Youth Slalom PWA World Cup of the year. Meanwhile, local legend, Sarah-Quita Offringa explains why it’s her favourite time of year in Aruba.

Words: John Carter and Sarah-Quita Offringa.

Photos: John Carter.

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ARUBA

Situated a mere 15km off the coast of Venezuela, Aruba boasts incredible wind statistics, tropical weather and stunning turquoise water, what’s not to like? Home of 22-time PWA World Champion (14x Freestyle, 5x Slalom & 3x Wave), Sarah-Quita Offringa, it is a perfect training ground for freestyle as well as foil and slalom racing. The Hi-Winds has been running since 1986 and has been host to a hectic schedule of watersports competitions as well as several major PWA racing events. The concept behind the Hi-Winds is to gather the community to compete in a variety of competition formats on the water.

Each day the full itinerary included windsurfing slalom, windsurfing long-distance, wing-foil racing, wing-foil long-distance, kite big air, kite long-distance, kite cross, kite foil long-distance, as well as a monster mountain bike schedule at the weekend. Throw in the Youth PWA slalom and foil racing and believe me, there was never a dull moment, from dawn until dusk at the event. A lot of the racing and events are competitive, but the focus is more on having fun, taking part and celebrating the beautiful conditions Aruba naturally provides. As you can imagine, pulling off this amount of competition, while also providing live bands, catering and bars etc, is no mean feat, and I must say I was particularly impressed with event organiser, Wouter van den Berg and his crew for seamlessly running the show.

CALIMA – A METEORELOGICAL PHENOMENON

I flew with British Airways, who have one flight a week which flies to Aruba via a quick touchdown in Antigua en route. After checking in at the stunning Boardwalk Boutique Hotel, I was all set for an awesome week of flatwater action in the Southern Caribbean! I had arrived on Aruba two days prior to the start of the Hi-Winds hoping that I could score a few shots before the event even began. I was expecting blue skies and azure blue water from the get-go, but unfortunately the weather had other plans. Over in the Canary Islands they often have Calima weather, which is when the dust from the Sahara blows into the atmosphere and creates a white sky and hot muggy weather. It’s about as bad as it can get in terms of photography as the sand in the atmosphere takes all of the usually vibrant colours out of the equation. Well, lo and behold, somehow that pesky Calima had made its way right across the Atlantic and it was now hovering over Aruba. How long would it last? I had no idea, but for the next two or three days it looked like game over in terms of photos at least. Fortunately, by the time the event kicked off this rare weather phenomenon was slowly fading away, as the traditional blue skies and easterly trade winds returned with a vengeance.

ACTION STATIONS

The event kicked off with awesome racing conditions and down at the Fisherman’s Huts the PWA Youth Slalom was scheduled to start at 9am. With twenty knot offshore winds it was perfect for foil racing and by midday we already had four rounds of racing for all categories of the youths in the bag. Not to mention we had also squeezed in four regular slalom rounds for the locals in between heats also. The beauty of racing in Aruba is that the water is relatively shallow right next to the starting area, so the competitors can literally stand with their equipment while they are waiting to race… which is a pretty idyllic setup. Just where the start line is, the reef gives way to crystal clear turquoise water, which the locals refer to as the Blue Highway! Imagine racing in perfect clear flatwater with warm steady wind in this beautiful paradise – bliss. As a racer it must be tough to ask for anything more, although if I had to complain, I would say that it was a bit too hot for me, but as the days went on I slowly became acclimatised to Aruba’s balmy temperatures.

Whether you are a seasoned windsurf pro or just starting out, the Hi-Winds caters for all levels of competition – from young kids who race in the shallows, right up to pro level. The likes of Sarah-Quita Offringa, Nathan Westera and Oda Brødholt were amongst the fleet taking part in the Pro-Am Slalom and there were plenty of heated battles going down with the girls giving the guys a solid run for their money.

NEXT GEN

The level in the PWA Youth racing was extremely impressive with the likes of Brendan Lorho, Storm Nicolai and Tycho Smits all showing amazing speed and skill on the racecourse, while in the girls’ fleet, Bobbi-Lynn (14), Kit and Lone (12) De Jong were all outstanding and are surely destined to become stars of the future.

By 1pm we were done and dusted with the slalom racing for the day, but as for the Hi-Winds, the day was far from over. As we headed back to the beach in the boats, the kite big air was already underway with the likes of fellow Isle of Wight resident, Tom Court boosting huge airs right in front of the crowds at the water’s edge. Meanwhile the race crew were gearing up for the various long-distance races which were due to start at 3pm. If you sign up for all of the competitions, as Sarah-Quita and Oda did, there is barely time to catch your breath until the next event kicks off. But, in a way, that is the beauty of the Hi-Winds, it is all about taking part and having fun on the water. Of course, the competitive ones in the fleet don’t mess about, but there are plenty of people who enter just to immerse themselves in the fun loving vibe.

LONG-DISTANCE

So, once the big air was over, the race crew then had to handle the logistical nightmare of getting all the kites off the beach safely and out to the start line for their various categories. Somehow everything knitted together and there were certainly some spectacular starts – especially when you see sixty or seventy kites all headed down the coast together in close formation.

Once the kites had disappeared into the distance, the wing-foil fleet were next to race followed by the long-distance windsurfing race and finally the kite foil long-distance. The windsurf long-distance course took the racers on an exciting journey down the coast towards the California Lighthouse close to Arashi Beach, before rounding a mark, and then heading right across the bay to Eagle Beach before returning back to the huts. The fastest competitors were done and dusted in less than forty-minutes, which seemed impressive to me considering the they were covering about 20km.

ARUBA VIBES 

By the time the long-distance racers from all categories were all checked back in, we were closing in on sunset, which is obviously the perfect time to rehydrate… ahem… and of course sneak down a few icy colds to quench the thirst. Around 6pm, the weather is slightly cooler, as the sun dips below the horizon, and the skies start turning gorgeous shades of pink and red. With everyone back at the event site after a great day on the water, the Aruba vibes were fully flowing, and it is just a great time to hang out and soak up the atmosphere.

BACK TO THE GRIND

Well, the first day was full power at the Hi-Winds, but the event was merely gathering momentum at this stage. For the next three days, right through to the final evening on Sunday, the schedule was jam packed, but still doable as long as you paced yourself to last the full five days of solid racing, while still allowing for a spot impromptu partying. I would have to say the atmosphere and vibe at the Hi-Winds is second to none and Aruba is the perfect venue for participants to join in the nonstop action and entertainment – both on and off the water. The addition of the PWA Youth Slalom in 2024 added a flourish of international flavour to the Hi-Winds, and hopefully, it can be the stepping stone for more youths to come and join in, in future years. If you ever fancy an amazing week of fun racing in this slalom paradise, then the Aruba Hi-Winds is quite possibly the perfect event for you!

LOCAL HERO – SARAH-QUITA OFFRINGA

REVIVAL

The Aruba Hi-Winds was the event that inspired me to pick up windsurfing again, when I was young! I had almost quit some months before because I simply couldn’t lift the sails, whilst my brother kept on practicing, and by the time the event came around he was blasting out on the blue highway with all the big kids. I went to the beach to watch and support him, and the all-around good vibes on the beach just immediately peaked my interests. There was so much FUN at the beach!

BRAGGING RIGHTS

In the following years the Hi-Winds was the event I looked forward to all year and trained hard for. I competed in racing with the super kids (boys mixed with girls) near the shore. I still remember getting smoked by Kiri Thode every single time because he was relentless and pumped from one mark to the next and never dropped a gybe. Freestyling was a highlight back then and winning the King/Queen of the huts title gave you major bragging rights.

I still remember feeling like I made so much progress once I was competing in the open women’s class on the blue highway, plus there were always activities besides the racing. I made friends for a lifetime because of this event.

BLUE PRINT

So, all in all, the Hi-Winds imprinted this image of what windsurfing, and a windsurfing event, should be like for me. It includes serious competition on the water and happy banter on the beach, as well as great food and entertainment. It used to be only windsurfing, but I love that it has actually grown to become this festival and celebration of wind/watersports. It gives everyone the chance to be part of this event and share their passion on the water with others.

These days, I would say the event Lycra’s are somewhat of a collector’s item even. And finally, the big highlight is the sign off movie of the event, which is such a nice souvenir to end an awesome week!

BREEDING GROUND

This year I was so excited to have the PWA Youth event there. The level of the kids is incredible, and I think it’s so important to give them a platform to showcase their talent to the world. It’s the perfect structure to improve and gain more competition experience until they make it on the pro tour themselves, so I loved watching and cheering for them. Joey Ross was the youngest at just 11-years-old! I think he was the most stoked guy out there and I think watching the older kids compete was a huge boost for him to improve.

GIRLS VS BOYS

For myself, the Hi-Winds felt like a marathon competing in slalom windsurfing, kite long-distance, and a couple of “kite cross” heats! Oda and I were the only women in the open slalom class to compete, so we were up against the men, which meant I had to go all out in every single race, which was incredibly good practice. Every now and then we would finish ahead of some of the guys and I even won a race off of them, so that was super cool.

CAMARADERIE

Once the slalom was finished, we packed up the windsurfing gear and pumped the kite for one of the highlights of the event, which is the long-distance. We were 34 stoked women at the starting line, racing 14km from the Fishermen’s Huts to Arashi Beach, and then back towards Eagle Beach, where we were welcomed with ice cream and refreshing drinks before being brought back to the huts in a party bus. The vibe on the beach between the competitors after that race was just awesome. It’s like overcoming this huge challenge all together and everyone’s thrilled to make it back to the beach!

After 17 slalom races, 4 long-distance races, and too much sun, it’s safe to say I was fried, but happy. It was very refreshing to be part of such a “good vibes” event and reconnect with local riders that I’ve sailed with since I was a kid. The current organisers have a great vision and I can’t wait to see what they do next year. It would be awesome to keep pushing the kids and re-establish Aruba as the perfect breeding ground for new water lovers!