Windsurfers of the world will again gather this year in Cabarete, Puerto Plata for the Cabarete Race Week. The competition opens Friday, 19 June at the windy North Coast beach and will last through Friday, 26 June. This is the second year of the Cabarete Race Week, an amateur event held at a world class competition site where top-notch competition attracts amateurs that aspire to become the next stars of the sport. The emphasis in the Race Week 98 tournament is on well organized, competitive racing for all classes – Open Class, Masters, Super Masters, Women, Juniors and Sports. Event organizers have prepared a week of race clinics, a wave expression session at Encuentro – the famous surfing/wave sailing spot, and the presentation of the incredible Cabarete Kids Team, the new crop of Dominican windsurfers. On the program of the Cabarete Race Week are many beach parties promising delicious Caribbean food and tropical drinks. The Race Week features a Fiesta Baccardi, a music and song event. The event is promoted as a time when visitors can learn to windsurf and learn how to dance merengue at the same time. Promoters say that visitors should bring the entire family and friends and take advantage of the mountain biking, horseback riding, tennis, golf, hiking, white water rafting, canyoning side excursions for those that are adventure-minded, or days of just relaxing on the beach and watching the action. New this year in the Cabarete Race Week 98 is "Formula 32," for competitors who do not want to travel with equipment. The organizers, in coordination with several windsurfing schools, have made available a rental package of 3 sails and 2 boards. Formula 32 competitors may race in the "Sport" division which is restricted to 3 sails and 2 boards, or in any other division they are eligible for. Cabarete beach is one of the three best beaches for the practice of windsurfing. The other two are located in Aruba and Margarita Island in Venezuela. Cabarete has been site to the PWA World Cup in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1997. Windsurf stars Naish, Dunkerbeck, Bringdal, Teritehau and many more big name pros have raced there. June is the windiest month of the year with side-shore winds 15 to 25 knots. The Bay of Cabarete and the reef provide challenging but safe conditions. The staging area is right on the beach along with the rigging and launching area. A major advantage of the Cabarete sports event is that the rest, food and drink facilities and the hotels are all within walking distance of the staging area. Over 30 restaurants serve a variety of local and international foods. Cabarete is also about 20 minutes from the Puerto Plata International Airport. Cabarete is very easy to get to with direct flights to Puerto Plata from Canada, US, Austria, Britain, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Spain and Switzerland. Flights from South America and the Caribbean connect via Miami. The organizing committee is made up by Pedro Mendoza, Mike Braden, Leonor Dottin, Andy Morrell, Frank Schwartz and Julio Guillermo Sanabria. For more information on the event, check the competition’s web site at http://www.hispaniola.com
