being pulled out to the ocean. And once you are an advanced sailor, you can sail around the reefs and surf with the pros. No need to bring your windsurfing kit to Cabarete: the best equipment can be rented right on the beach.

Cabarete’s perfect conditions for sailing — flat water cruising to fun wavesailing — were discovered in December 1984 by Canadian Jean Laporte who spread the word. He set up the first windsurfing school in Cabarete. In 1988, another

Canadian Claude Marois from Quebec brought the first windsurfing championship to Cabarete. Since then, the world’s best have come to race there.

Windsurfers say that the best months are the summer months when you can expect good flat water. Trade winds and thermal winds create perfect conditions for world class sailing, with winds averaging 15 to 25 miles per hour (24-40 kph). Wind conditions vary all year and it is more than likely that there will be many good surfing days, no matter when you visit.

Surfing
To ride on the crest of a wave is Playa Encuentro’s draw. Playa Encuentro is located at the westernmost end of Cabarete’s extended six-kilometer beach, 3 kms downwind from Kite Beach and five minutes from Cabarete’s commercial drive.

Playa Encuentro promises good surfing days with smooth-breaking waves all year round. These are not the two-meter waves you see in surf movies, but it is sure fun to watch the surfers as they get enough speed to catch the wave, and then pop up, balancing their body to drive in with the wave.

Drive down the jungle sand road to where the boards will tell you have arrived. Follow the road a little further to the main drift of the DR’s most popular surfer beach and discover that yes, you too can become a surfer, with a day or two of instruction from one of the schools right on site. The time to arrive is early in the morning, 8 am – for lessons right there.