Windsurfing at an all inclusive: Jamaica!

Most all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean are on the leeward side of the island. And usually they have a 15 year old windsurfing board and poorly rigged ripped sail with a much to stiff mast. No wonder so many people say "I tried windsurfing once at a resort - it was too hard".

So I was surprised that the Zilara resort in Jamaica had a new looking Chinook 5.5m sail and a BIC Techno 293. There were actually harness lines on the boom even if they didn't have a harness available!

One sail and 3 windsurf boards available at the all inclusive resort!

On 2 of the 3 days I was there to speak at a work conference, the beach was closed due to lack of wind and slightly rough seas. But on one afternoon the Hobie cats were available to go out on - only with an instructor!

The Hobie cats were available - only with an instructor

But they let me take out the windsurfer by myself. (My wife may have mentioned my 5th out of 31 ranking in the IWT masters!) I took the board out for a very quick sail in the northeasterly trade winds. The wind was around 10 knots and the swells were nicely sized. Here's the GPS trail from half the session.

A little bit of my session

I got one nice run down a wave and was almost planing. But it turned out the deck on the Techno was completely smooth and covered in suntan lotion. I figured I'd wind up hurting myself if I sailed for more than a few minutes. And it definitely would not be a good spot for beginners. It was nice and warm though!

Always good to get a few minutes windsurfing - this was my first time doing it Jamaica.