Guestbook

Thank you for visiting our Web site!
We would love it if you would add your comments to our Guest Book!

Hello Roger,

Congratulations for your new website. We enjoyed it a lot. It's perfect, because we can remember and feel all the local atmosphere, mainly your friendship, and attention to us.
We also have to say that you and your staff made our windsurfing vacation on Bonaire the most pleasant we have ever had.
The instruction with Ro was excelent, and I'm working hard on my Willy Skipper, whenever it blows in Guarujá.
We are really anxious to go back to Bonaire any time soon.

Kind Regards,
Edison and Silvia Kamada.

Wow! I've only been home for just over 2 weeks, and I'm already counting down the days until I can come back!!! I miss everything there.. even having my hands torn apart from sailing.

Thanks so much for making our trip incredible.
Say HI to everyone down there from me :)
Thanks again

Anna
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Hello Roger and Constantino;

Our week in Bonaire was perfect--thanks so much. All three kids had a great time learning with Constantino and can't wait to get back on the water. Everyone is already talking about heading back to Bonaire next summer--hope to see you then.

We checked out the ProKids web site--looked like a fun week! Thanks again!

Randy, Brian, Helena, Viv, and Kai

Hello Roger and Elvis-

Many thanks on behalf of the Fretz family for a wonderful windsurfing vacation last week on Bonaire.

Elvis, your clear and gentle teaching gave the girls the skills and proper technique (which their parents never had!) to get on the water successfully. By the end, Katherine was very comfortable with her beach starts and jibes. Anna got planing in the footstraps and harness so is absolutely hooked...it was hard to get her off the water.

Roger, don't be surprised if Anna contacts you about a job someday. She has never found a sport she loves so much and an island she loves so much. She teaches skiing at Whistler, so figures she could learn more and work down in Bonaire! She is already talking to a friend about coming down for a summer.

I think next year we will probably come for 2 weeks- Kat really wants to get in the harness, Anna just wants to windsurf faster.

Take care. Best to our favorite guy, Kenneth, as well.
Michele Fretz
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Since my visit in November, I have not been able to stop obsessing with thoughts of windsurfing. Thanks to you, I had a truly fantastic time as a beginner and am planning on giving it a go out at the gorge once it warms up here. Lac Bay is really the best. Roger, you may still find me some morning sleeping on the deck of the shop!

Tammy Larson
Portland, Oregon, USA

Elvis. what a star you gave us, Bill and myself, a truly memorable afternoon, learning to stay on the board was such a buzz; thank you for your patience. I wish we were twenty years younger and starting out. What a truly wonderful place to learn, the water so clean, warm, shallow, perfect, but at sixty years of age I thought I was too old to give it a go, but thanks to your patience and good teaching, I think I could get to really enjoy winsurfing! Thank you again, I hope you remember us, we had our picture taken with you in the hut after our session, the two guys from England. Hope to see you again one day.

John and Bill
York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Roger: Sure was great to be back in the Carribean after 10 years. You were right that Bonaire is the place to be. The ever changing conditions in August gave us enough of a challenge to work on perfecting fast tacks and jibes.

The gear is excellent and we look forward to returning in the spring to test out the newest stuff. Thanks to your courteous and efficient staff for their help chosing the right gear for the conditions and our level. Thanks to you for all the tips that we have been practicing here in Canada in much cooler waters! 8 months and counting!

Stephanie Todd
Holland Landing, Ontario, Canada

Being back to Switzerland it is just the greatest thing to do, thinking at THE PLACE on Bonaire. The best place I've ever experienced to spend windsurfing-vacation. What else can I say by telling I melt when I remember your place, friendly actions and professionalism you are doing the whole thing.

It is quite late here and I'll get back to the guest book another day.

With lots of warm regards from Switzerland, yours, Sabine

Sabine Louis
Wilen bei Wollerau, Switzerland

Hi Roger,

We had a wonderful time windsurfing last week in Bonaire. Our instructor, Rene, was helpful and patient. Our 23-year-old son was very proficient at the end of two hours, able to cross the entire bay, make the turns and cross again. My husband and I were amazed that we could stand on the board and slowly make it at least half-way across the area before a wipe out. We didn't master the turns, but had a great time. Our son even came back the second day (our last day in Bonaire) and graduated to the larger board and sail.

Thank you for encouraging us to try this new sport and for making it so easy. Your staff was friendly and helpful and it was exciting to watch the experienced surfers do their stuff. This was a highlight of our trip!

Kind regards to you and your staff,
Cindy Morrow
Springfield, Missouri, USA

Dear Elvis and Patoen.....
I had an amazing time once again in bonaire...my second home since I was born. While in the shop i saw elvis on the windsurf webcam and i decided that when i move to holland this will always be open on my screen to see the great beach and the surfers doing their thing. Patoen and elvis...hopi bon trabou e shop ta great, e location amazing...its all a dream I will be back in December and hopefully bjorn can teach me the Geko flako! haha Keep up the great work!
greets from Roy Bottse, Chey, Michelle, Faizah and Maui Magic
Maui Bottse
Willemstad, Curacao Netherlands Antilles - Sunday, July 09, 2006 at 21:06:25 (AST)

Bon dia Elvis, Roger, Constantine, Rene and Kenneth,

thanx for great windsurfing holidays (in March). Hope everything is fine.
Unfortunately, we couldn't wave our Bonaire flag for the Frans Brothers in the contest here in Austria as there was no wind at all the entire week.

hope to be back soon
ayo
Matthias & Eva
Matthias
Vienna, Austria - Wednesday, May 17, 2006 at 04:06:26 (AST)

Thank you all!

If I can learn windsurf anyone can...and that's the truth!

At the age of 59, with a left knee that is so arthritic that it will soon need a knee implant, I had my doubts but the staff at Windsurfing Place had me jibing within 20 minutes and that is not an exaggeration. They started out in water that was only a few inches deep and then personally went out to water that was a little more than knee high to make sure that I was doing it correctly. The next day, I learned to tack with as much ease and with the same careful attention to detail from the staff. On the third, I learned to use a harness. On the fourth day, I took a private lesson from Constantino who taught me how to beach start, use the foot straps, and refined my use of the harness.

The equipment available ( Start boards and 2.2 sail) was perfect for learning. By the end of my stay of 12 days of sailing I was very comfortable with the "Go" board ( 170 liters) and a 3.8 sail in 15 to 18 knot winds. When the wind blew stronger I needed to downsize to 3.2 sail.

The bay is perfect. The water is warm. It is consistently the same knee to thigh high depth. The sand is almost like sugar. The sun is always shining. The winds constantly blow on shore. It is very safe. It was very enjoyable not to have the struggle of trying to learn in deep and cold lakes on equipment that is not suited to a beginner....What a difference learning in Bonaire!

Windsurfing Place has a very pleasant restaurant that serves delicious local foods as well as the more common "American" burgers and a variety of drinks and sodas. I recommend the goat stew,,,very good! The barbecue ( fish, ribs, and chicken) on Wednesday nights has live entertainment that my husband and I enjoyed and the food was outstanding.

Eileen Johnston
Salt Lake City , Utah USA - Sunday, May 14, 2006 at 00:25:16 (AST)

Dear Elvis & Roger,

We just wanted to write and tell you how much we enjoy the Starboard boards you sold us in Bonaire. We liked the Carve '94's so much that when we got home to Michigan, we bought 2 more of them. I told Christoph that if you can't jibe this board then you better give up. We also decided we needed some lightwind equipment and bought the Carve 121L and a Carve 131L too. So it is really a nice thing that people get to demo them at The Windsurf Place on Bonaire.

You do a great job of promoting Starboard.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Caprice Behner & Christoph Schenk
Caprice Behner & Christoph Schenk
Michigan USA - Thursday, April 20, 2006 at 09:03:00 (AST)

Dear all,

that was by far the best windsurfing vacation of our life! Very nice people, good equipment and a wind blowing constantly during 2 weeks! Thanks a lot!!!
Now it's much easier for us to sustain the acutal rainy wheather in Germany...

See you next year! Warm regards,

Kirsten & Thomas
Kirsten and Thomas Limberg
Munich, Germany - Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 09:03:17 (AST)

Two weeks windsurfing vacation with WINDSURF PLACE: http://www.a1ik.com/photos/v/bonaire-2006/

March 2006
Alik Kolomietz
Toronto, Ontario Canada - Tuesday, March 28, 2006 at 17:47:11 (AST)

Elvis, Roger, Constantine, Rene and Kenneth,

Thanks for making our best windsurfing holidays ever! Our two weeks went by too fast.
We would like to rewind the clock.
Your entire team is so friendly. Thanks Rene and Kenneth for being so helpful all the time. Thanks for being patient with those leaving water at 6:15pm:)
Elvis, thanks for the great lessons, Ela is now virtually practicing her jibes and we are both dreaming of going back.

Ela & Mirek
Ela & Mirek
Vancouver, BC Canada - Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 18:57:03 (AST)

Dear Elvis,Roger,Constantine,

What a great two weeks! We couldn't have been happier with the courtesy, friendliness and professionalism of you and your staff, both on the windsurfing side and the restaurant. The fact that you also arranged to have the wind blowing at 12 -25 knots every day was particularly kind you! Elvis got my daughter water starting, planing, and in the straps--all for the first time, and she is now truly hooked on the sport. He also got my wife windsurfing for the first time, and looking forward to the next time. I would not have believed this had I not actually seen it!! As for me, my first carve gybe lesson ended and I proceeded to nail 4 of my first 5 tries. I'd say our family had a good week with Elvis! Many thanks Elvis, you are an extraordinary person and teacher. Thanks also to Roger. From the moment I arrived, you welcomed me like an old friend, and took care of us all perfectly.

To Rene and Kenneth and all who helped with our sails--again many thanks. You always were most friendly and helpful, and we are all grateful. The exact same thing can be said for the wonderful ladies running the restaurant.

And Constantine: I really do believe you went 31mph with my GPS beating my paltry 26.6mph (someone accidentally reset to zero Constantine's max speed). And you did it without a gale to help--but that doesn't surprise me!

Again, thank you to everyone, and we look forward to the next time.

All my best, Bob.
Robert Schmon
New York, NY USA - Saturday, March 25, 2006 at 17:00:47 (AST)

ROGERRRRRRR !

alles goed?
met mij wel hoor!
Ik kom dit jaar weer naar Bonaire..
Hoe is het met kenneth?
ik hoop dat het goed gaat!
nou ik zie jullie deze zomer weer =D !

loveyou.
xx cyrelle :).
Cyrelle
Huizen, flevoland nederland - Thursday, January 19, 2006 at 07:27:44 (AST)

Roger

Just a quick note to thank you and the team for your hospitality … you have a great set up and undoubtedly the best place for windsurfing we have ever been. Sorry we didn't get a chance to thank you personally…but we are aiming to be back soon.

Thanks again

Mark Brimble & Jo

Mark Brimble and Jo
- Wednesday, January 18, 2006 at 16:32:18 (AST)

Dear Elvis, Constantine, Roger and crew,

Holly and I wanted to thank you and all the staff at Windsurf Place for a fantastic holiday. The windsurfing was spectacular, and your facility at Sorobon beach was perfect when we weren’t on the water. We are already looking forward to booking our second trip to Bonaire, and we hope to bring some of our friends with us next time. Thanks to Rene for all the great freestyle tips, and to Norca for making Holly chocolate cake for her birthday! It is these personal touches that make the difference and we appreciate the extra effort that everyone took to make our visit exceptional.

I hope that the sense of family and hospitality that you all extended to us will remain as Windsurf Place continues to grow and succeed in the future.

Thanks again, and looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Jim and Holly, Canada

Jim and Holly
Canada - Monday, December 12, 2005 at 8:26:17 (AST)

never thought windsurfing is that much fun.
it took me 50 years to discover that.
but... you are never too old to learn new stuff.
hope to be back soon to try to surf as fast as larissa, sarah and ben. (well, as my daughter heleen wants to surf again in short time we will have to find a way to do so)

see you all again soon
peter stutterheim
arnhem, the netherlands - Monday, August 29, 2005 at 10:39:17 (AST)

hey there guys...just thought i'd google and see how the place is going....looks fantastic...can't believe it has been ten years since i first got up on a board with alan...hope you guys are doing well....staying in dushi korsow for the next six months...will surely take a little trip over your way....
Sarah Stutterheim
Willemstad, Curaçao - Friday, August 12, 2005 at 12:00:21 (AST)

Elvis, Patun, and others.
I had a blast during our stay last week. Hardly got a chance to windsurf as I had to keep an eye on the kids.
Seeing my wife and kids (3, 6, 8 yrs) surf all together was equally or actually more rewarding

Ivo Melanie, Maui, NoaNoor, Tiago
Ivo
Curacao - Friday, July 22, 2005 at 10:34:54 (AST)

To Elvis, Roger, Ceasar, Chu-chu, and all. My trip exceeded all expectations. My windsurfing progressed beyond my wildest dreams in the shortest time period. Elvis is a genius teacher. I can't imagine anyone better. Precise, sequential, careful instructing leads to results incredibly quickly. LacBay is a paradise for windsurfing. Even though I want you guys to be successful and your sport to reach the heights you want for it, I also feel selfishly that I want LacBay and your availability to us to remain just the beautiful way it is. I cannot recommend you too highly. So everyone, STAY AWAY!!! I dont want the place to change!!!
Alan Weingrad
Boston, MA USA - Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 19:37:32 (AST)

Thanks for the wonderful week 3/22 to 3/27 my family had at your place, from the great fish nuggets and the cold beers and wonderful Bay you guys have there. I would like to thanks Roger, Elvis, Paton, The Rasta Man and the kid for all the attentions, especially to my 6 y. old daughter last day which they lend me a .8m sail so she can windsurf all by herself for her first time, she was very excited about it. Hope to come back soon maybe next year.
Roger remember if you want to come to Puerto Rico just let me know, your brother Alvaro.
Alvaro J. Betancourt
San Juan, PR USA - Tuesday, April 05, 2005 at 13:07:30 (AST)

Thanks you all very much for a fantastic time. Everything was super. It was a perfect intro to windsurfing for my wife and plenty of fun and challenging for me. The crab sandwich is worth the trip alone. I have a few image from there on my site so stop by and checck them out. www.johnredmondphotography.com/bon/index.htm

See you again SOON.
John Redmond
Dublin, Ireland - Wednesday, March 02, 2005 at 08:40:41 (AST)

Wow! What a great place to sail! Even if my whole family hadn't had a fantastic time learning new skills out on the water, just watching the local windsurfing kids made the trip worthwhile -- they are world-class!

Elvis did a great job teaching my kids the rudiments of the sport. Constantine did something I never could have done: taught my wife to water start. And I even learned to heli-tack! Way cool!

The food at the snack bar is really good (especially the tuna sandwiches). They could easily rip off the customers there since it's the only food for miles around, but instead they serve good food at resaonable prices. Cudos!
Alex Brown
Newton, MA USA - Wednesday, March 02, 2005 at 00:26:32 (AST)

Hello Roger!

I wanted to thank you for your hospitality last week. Our group of 6 enjoyed our lesson with Cesar and our first time windsurfing. I couldn't think of a better place to learn! Your facilities were top notch and comfortable and your prices very reasonable. Thank you again! And tell Chu Chu in the kitchen that I want another chicken burger! And she better not give me any lip about it! hahaha Tell her DOUG said so, not DOOG.

I look forward to coming back and enjoying Bonaire and your facilities again soon. Except next time I want a BIG sail! haha

Thanks again!

Doug
Doug
USA - Saturday, February 05, 2005 at 09:43:56 (AST)

Dear Elvis, dear Rogers and all you dear others,
thank you for this great, creamy and fabulous 3 weeks we had with you. We hope we see us again; but when , that is the question. With best memories Susanne & Christopher
Susanne & Christopher Krieg
Munich, Germany - Monday, January 17, 2005 at 11:15:24 (AST)

Hello Elvis, a happy new year and all the best for 2005!

Thanks again for the great holiday we had in November/ December! 2004 was a good year and Bonairewindsurfplace contributed to the fun part and our great advances in windsurfing.

Here in Hamburg, we have quite an ugly weather (ca. 5 Centigrade and rain). However, we are already looking forward to the spring and summer to go windsurfing at Baltic and North Sea.

Should you come to the Fehmarn Windsurf Festival in Germany (before or after the Freestyle Worldcup in Bonaire), we would be happy to see you again! We already envisage our next holiday on Bonaire - probably in 2 years time when our little son can stand on a surfboard...

Best regards & greetings also to Constantino, Kenneth & the team
Sandra, René & Amon Kohlenberg
Hamburg, Germany - Saturday, January 01, 2005 at 04:22:08 (AST)

Roger,
Had a great time in October. Be ware, will come back in February with new MP3's and hungry for Jibing!

See U! (And Kenneth and the others!)
Dirk Jan
Zwolle, NL - Thursday, December 09, 2004 at 09:07:08 (AST)

This looks like a great place to go to - we are seriously considering visiting next year
Jilly
London, UK - Saturday, September 11, 2004 at 10:04:16 (AST)

Wow!!! THANKYOUthankyouthankyou!!! I took a lesson two years ago somewhere else, trying to get into the straps, but it never felt comfortable--And in fifteen minutes Elvis had me sailing with both feet in and loving it!! So it really wasn't that big of a surprise that he taught me a carving jibe (well, I did do ONE, and that's a start!) during the next lesson--Learning from the best DOES make a difference!! Wherever I go, I carry a little piece of Bonaire in my heart...See you next year!!!

Susie Philippon
Venice, California USA - Monday, May 10, 2004 at 10:05:19 (AST)

Had a fantastic time. Thanks to Constantino I got my front foot in the straps. I had been plateaued out for about 3 years and it was a real adrenalin rush to get a little progress in my skills. Conditions are excellent for learning and Constantino knows how to simplify everything down to the bare necessities. I heartily recommend this windsurf site for all trying to work on their skills. I intend to go again and next time stay for 2-3 weeks if possible and may be nail a jibe or two.
Thanks again to my three hosts Constantino, Elvis and Roger. Oh and not forgetting Kenet the equipment manager who helped out with the board and sails!

It was fun to see the local Bonaire kids holding their impromptu races. No doubt I was watching a few future champions.
Peter M. Smith
Washington, DC USA - Thursday, July 10, 2003 at 15:22:17 (AST)

Hallo sorobon,

hoe gaat het met iedereen, hier is katja!!! Leuke website hoor!! Ik hoop jullie gauw weer te zien!!

Ik moet weer gaan!!!

Veel liefs Katja!!!!
Katja
Amsterdam, HOLLAND HOLLAND - Tuesday, July 01, 2003 at 16:25:10 (AST)

PS, Say hello to Nando and thanks for the Kadushi!
Sloan
Seattle, USA - Tuesday, April 29, 2003 at 00:38:03 (AST)

Elvis, Roger, Patoon, Kenneth:
Thanks for being such gracious hosts on our recent trip to Bonaire. We had a great time on your quaint little island. Even spoiled Gorge sailors like us learned a few new tricks from you guys. Can't wait to bust out those heli-tacks in Maui and in Hood River. We developed the pictures, and there are some good ones of your local hotshot Tati Frans. They're 35mm slides so I have to scan them. I'll get them to you guys this summer.
Hope to see you again soon,
Sloan and Brett
Brett and Sloan
Seattle, USA - Tuesday, April 29, 2003 at 00:31:50 (AST)

Nos ta hopi contentu ku nos por a drenta boso guest book..Nos tin gana pa nos tin un contakto mas regular di es forma aki..Patun aki nos ta bon i ta spera di tende algo pronto dibo tambe.... MARCEL , BEELTJE , y MARIBELTJE.....With love and God bless us.....
Saragosa \ Rosaria
DRACHTEN, Friesland HOLLAND - Thursday, July 04, 2002 at 17:44:34 (AST)

many greetings to bonaire from germany to the "juicy guys"... just arrived home from spain and had a look at your page : ).
wish you a lot of success on your trip through europe + will send some pictures soon.
bye for now, sandra

sandra
siegburg, germany - Thursday, June 20, 2002 at 12:40:21 (AST)

Safe trip to KOTC this Wed. guys..I cannot wait to see u all.
If ANYONE is in the NE this weekend, drop in to the 4th Annual Verizon KOTC. www.kingofthecape.com and cheer on Team Bonaire.

Annie
Cape Cod, MA USA - Monday, June 03, 2002 at 06:53:21 (AST)

Thank you to everyone there in Bonaire. you made our vacation 100000 times better then it was before we met all of you. Special thanks to Ruben, and Fito. We miss you! E-mail us!
Love,
Kate and Carolyn
Carolyn Blehm
Fort Collins, Colorado USA - Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 01:24:18 (AST)

Elvis -- Thanks again for a totally professionally run operation. We had a great time and your crew was fabulous. We'll be booking next season soon!

Scott and Amy
Charles Bronson
port republic, MD USA - Sunday, March 17, 2002 at 22:13:46 (AST)

Patun I Piskechi,
Kumindamentu for di Hulanda.
Mi ta spera ku mi lo hana un chens di bin surf serka bosnan pronto.

Edith ottenheim
Eindhoven, Holland - Tuesday, March 05, 2002 at 07:42:26 (AST)

Hey there Elvis, Patoon and all:

Thanks again for a great windsurfing vacation. Not only is your sailing venue top notch, we are so impressed with your non-stop desire to help the young ones learn what it means to compete as champions as well as foster their educations.

Lac Bay will forever be in my memories as a very special place on this earth; we absolutely loved waking up in the AM at the KonTiki, stepping out on the upstairs patio and watching the wind blow over the bay. We knew just when to head out each morning - it doesn't get much better than that!

Hope to be back next year.

Will & Nancy.
Will Vasquez
Santa Barbara, CA USA - Friday, March 01, 2002 at 11:41:31 (AST)

Mike and all, if you have NEVER been to Bonaire you are in for a treat. The Place and Lac Bay never cease to amaze me..friendly people and SUPER conditions..It went off this week in Bonaire..Hugs to Patoun, Elvis, Ruben and all.

Annie
Annie
Cape Cod, MA USA - Monday, February 25, 2002 at 07:18:32 (AST)

Roger--traveling to your island soon. Like the web site- very impressive. later, mike
mike keiffer
new orleans, louisiana USA - Sunday, February 17, 2002 at 23:36:11 (AST)

Hey swas conta???
Back in Holland and I hate it. :(
I just wanted to say thanks for evrything. I had a good time. Mi no sa ki dia mi ta bin bek, pero mi ta hasi hopi falta di tur mi amigonan. Say hi to Rueben and the boys for me. Tell them to write me. -XXX- Surfing Girl, Visje...
Ñeka Vis
Leeuwarden, Holland - Wednesday, January 16, 2002 at 05:52:22 (AST)

Another week in windsurf paradise. Thanks for a wonderful week of comraderie, parties, sun and wind.

Special hugs to Taty and Ruben...
Annie
Cape Cod, MA USA - Monday, December 31, 2001 at 22:50:21 (AST)

Hai Elvis/Patoen,

Long time no see, I mis Sorobon a lot. Your website is very cool, you have to make a photo galary with picture's of Sorobon and the windsurfing kids. See you soon!!!
Jeremy Cicilia
Delft, Zuid-Holland The Netherlands - Friday, December 14, 2001 at 20:14:05 (AST)

I had an AWESOME time at Regatta! Being a gear snob I was totally thrilled with the Pro Tech boards!! The personalized attention was number one. Also, watching Patoun's 3 year old duck jibe made me grin. What an amazing shop, an incredible launch and FABULOUS vacation. Thanks Elvis, Ruben, Kenneth, Suzie and Patoun!

Annie
Cape Cod , USA - Friday, December 14, 2001 at 19:00:34 (AST