The 2017 edition of Defi Wind Caribbean ended this Wednesday, June 21st, on Bonaire. The Island Boyz dominated the competition with the victory of St Maarten rider, Julien Quentel.

The second edition of the Defi Wind Caribbean was blessed by the local weather conditions. Bonaire is located 40 miles away from Venezuela and offers consistent trade winds all year-round.[more]

The event opened with winds in the 25-knot range. A total of 45 windsurfers completed three 20-kilometer races in the flat and blue Caribbean waters along Te Amo beach, from the airport to the marina.

The second day of competition got underway along the beautiful Pink Beach, where riders accelerated in around 20-22 knots of wind for a 22-kilometer race. The turquoise waters and the white sands made the scenario perfect for windsurf racing.
The wind picked up for the final day, and windsurfers had to cope with extreme conditions to finish their last race.

After the storm… the fun race!

A tropical storm crossed Bonaire through the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, showing the riders what kind of wind the Caribbean can provide! After the devastating storm, most of the riders pulled up their sleeves, grabbed rakes and shovels, to clean up the mess left on the beach and give the Sorobon Beach Resort its true original face. That is the Defi spirit at its best!
At 3:00 pm, multiple fun races were launched on the pristine clear water of the Sorobon lagoon to end the 2017 Defi Wind Caribbean in style. Speed, jumps, crashes, and a thousand smiles… Friendliness summed up the atmosphere!

Prize giving ceremony
At 7pm, the closing ceremony awarded the riders. Here are the final results of the 2017 Defi Wind Caribbean:
Taty Frans ended up winning eight races, but two disastrous performances cost him the overall title. Quentel took out two bullets but finished in the top 5 in the remaining races, so he was crowned Champion.
In the ladies’ division, the Guilbaud family claimed all honours by taking first and second places.

2017 Defi Wind Caribbean | Top 3

Men
1. Julien Quentel
2. Amado Vrieswijk
3. Bjorn Dunkerbeck
Women
1. Maelle Guilbaud
2. Helene Guilbaud-Puren
3. Monique Meijer
Youth
1. Tim Turpin
2. Jay-Anthony Nicolaas
3. Nigel Hart
Fun race
1. Taty Frans
2. Amado Vrieswijk
3. Aaron Etmon