Windsurfing in TortolaThe year-round steady trade winds ensure that Tortola is a windsurfer’s paradise destination.
Most of the islands are no more than an hour or two apart for windsurfers, which can lead to great adventures. Tortola has become the place for a wide variety of top quality races as well as being equally enticing for the more recreational windsurfers. Tortola Windsurfing BeachesThere are several well-known windsurfing beaches on the island – notably Nanny’s Cay, which has access to both protected areas for beginners and areas with strong winds for advanced windsurfers. It’s a great place for just sitting and watching, too. Trellis Bay, on Beef Island, has also become enormously popular – Boardsailing BVI reporting that, ‘the channel outside Trellis Bay on a perfect day is spectacular with 3 – 5’ faces and a ripping 2 – 3 knot current pushing you onto the ultimate beam broad reach. Either side of the channel is a flat water area to rest or carve your jibe.’ Soper’s Hole and Cane Garden Bay are both extremely popular windsurfing beaches – Cane Garden being the site of the annual Highland Spring HIHO-BVI Windsurfing and Sailing Adventure, where competing windsurfers race from one island to the next and back again over a span of 150 miles. This highlight of the calendar is usually held each July. Soper’s Hole is especially noted for its great ‘flat water blasting.’ The real beauty of the BVI is the ability to windsurf in so many different locations. The experts like nothing more than to windsurf between the islands – for instance, from Tortola you can sail four miles south to Peter Island and end up on a sublimely beautiful white sand beach. From there you can go a further mile south to Norman Island. You can go backwards and forwards along Tortola’s south coast all day, if you want to. Another good day out for windsurfers in Tortola is to take a ferry ride across to the Bitter End Yacht Club on Virgin Gorda – the windsurfing at Eustatia Sound is rated as being outstanding. You could also windsurf over to Prickly Pear Island and back. The Dogs, a small island group just off Virgin Gorda, has tremendous windsurfing, as does Jost Van Dyke at Sandy Cay and Sandy Spit. Because Anegada has no nearby mountains, the wind is very consistent and undisturbed. This, coupled with some very flat water, leads to excellent speed sailing. Setting Point and Pomato Point on Anegada have especially good reputations for this. Windsurfing in Tortola offers so many excitingly different and enticing challenges for windsurfers of all abilities. It’s often reckoned that the ‘perfect’ windsurfing rig for the Tortola waters is a floaty 9’4” course/slalom board, with sails from 5.5m to 8.0 m, depending on your size. Using this type of rig, you will be able to cruise between the islands or just have fun in your chosen location. There are plenty of places to rent your equipment for winsurfing in Tortola. Boardsailing BVI has rentals available at Trellis Bay and Nanny Cay – they also organize trips across to Anegada ; Last Stop Sports at Nanny Cay’s Red Shed; HiHo and Island Surf and Sail, at Nanny Cay, being amongst the most popular. It’s worth pointing out that Kite Surfing is also taking off in Tortola in a big way now, and the BVI Kiteboarding Association will be able to help you try that out if you want a break from windsurfing! All-in-all, windsurfing in Tortola offers the perfect weather and sailing conditions in which you can indulge yourself to the maximum extent – and enjoy some great parties afterwards.
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