Barbados, travel with my own gear?

[robert364]

Planning w-surf trip to Barbados Late Dec to early Jan, thinking of bringing my own gear. 1)Any advice on airline travelling with board/sails etc?
2)Do I need to rent car in Barbados, or are there places to store gear?
3)Where to stay cheap, any other tips?
Thanks!

[lasbrisas]

Traveling with gear can be an expensive proposition. Check it out with the airlines before you go. Most times it is cheaper to rent gear than go thru all the hassle of traveling with gear. When we were there a few years ago, Club Mistral did have some storage lockers for gear, and some people were leaving their rigged gear near the beach at the Silver Sands. ( I assume they were hotel guests) Good luck with finding inexpensive lodging, Barbados was one expensive island! We loved Barbados as an island to visit, but not for the sailing. If you hit it right the sailing is supposed to be great. But there is a reason that the windsurf club did not have a no wind policy. They would never make any money. I think it cost us about $125/hour to sail there. Do check out the underground caverns (awesome!!) , botanical gardens, and the many rum factories while you are there. Also, they have a terrific and inexpensive mini bus system there, you can get around the island fairly easily. But you might need a car or taxi to get to the tourist attractions. The people in Barbados are super friendly and know to watch out for tourists who dont know how to drive on the left side of the road. Have fun!

[caribwnd]

I would agree with Lasbrisas about bringing equipment. The time I went in 10 days I sailed one and that was in underpowered 5.7 conditions-altho it can be good-or so they say.
There is a german guy name of Mike Nuehoff that has aparments just up from Silver Sands. His phone number is 809 428 8616/809 428 7620 and fax is 809 420 8029. Try looking for a web page for Coral House Apatments. Ditto what lasbrisas says-Barbados and cheap don´t work in the same sentence!!!
Why don`t you do Margarita? Won´t break your bank and the wind is a much better bet and there is not any need to bring gear-there is lots of it at decent rates.

[robert364]

Have been to Margarita (and Aruba, and Bonaire)many times--just want to see new place

[raytracer]

I was there seven years ago, never again.
The staff at the Mistral center in Barbados all had this cocky snobish attitude that they are too cool to give you proper service. I think they were Austrian or German transplants but very nasty.

[forwards]

Ive sailed barbados 3 trips/60 days and had good sailing maybe 75% of the time. Note that Lasbrisas and Caribwind always pitch margarita where they live and have have business interests. Flying w/gear recommended as BDS rentals expensive. I had good results flying gear w/AA. If you stay at/near silver rock or silver sands (both are adjacent) you shouldnt need a car for gear transport and should be able to make an arrangement to keep your gear near the launches. Your accommodations should be able to give you advice on their gear storage options. If staying elsewhere, car is probably necessary. You will probably want to venture out from Silver rock/sands area evenings for addl food choices and no-wind days, so car or friends w/car is a benefit. Renting a moke car recommended to get the complete BDS experience. Moke is a rag-top w/roll-bar no-doors cross between a volkswagon thing and a golf-cart. Fun to drive, but dont wreck.

I stay with local board repair guy I know for $70/nite. There are similar rentals around silver rock and near silver sands which you should be able to find w/google search or links from BDS tourist websites like funbarbados which links to round rock apts for $95/nite. Note that the sailing site in nearest town of Oistins is slalom only, no waves, and fluky winds. Wavesail at silver rock/sands which can be excellent. Bring large ~95L wave board and 4.2/4.7 5.2/6.0 if bringing just 1-board. We bring 2 boards+ masts/booms in a double board bag and separate sail bag from SEA and most gate agents accept this pile of gear as being 1 windsurfer for $75, though have been busted and paid 2X.

Send a trip report when you get back!

[lasbrisas]

Do the math. If you fly with only one carrier (American) it will cost you a minimum of $150 round trip to take your gear. If you change airlines at any point, double that. When you arrive, you will probably need to hire a van (not just a taxi) to get the gear to your hotel. (extra $$$) You will need to find a place to store your gear while you are there, probably $60 or more for a week at one of the windsurfing stations. Or, a week of car rental to carry your gear from the hotel to the beach. And you will definitely need a car if you plan to sail both Oistens and Silver Sands. Then there is the issue of bringing the right gear for the conditions. Maybe you hit really good wind and need a 3.5 all week, but you only brought a 4.0 and your board is too big. Or, you could sail every day on a 7.0 and your biggest sail is a 6.0. So you end of renting gear . (more $$$) And the worst of all scenarios, the airline loses your gear, or you open the bag and the nose is broken off your board. (BTW, I do know more than one person whose gear did not make it on their flight, and they were able to get the airline to pay for gear rental. This was on a charter, I would be surprised if American would do this, they make no guarantee that the gear will be on your flight) So think long and hard about packing up that gear, I really think it only makes financial sense if you are staying longer than 2 weeks.
And regarding the wind, there used to be a daily flight from Margarita to Barbados. Some of my friends used to go there quite often to wave sail. When it is blowing, it is supposed to be really great wave sailing. But we were warned that it can be a big IF
and that was our experience. We actually left Barbados early and went back to Margarita where the wind had been cranking the entire time we were gone. I would go back to Barbados, it is a beautiful island to visit, and quite the cultural experience. But I would not go there if my only interest was sailing, and I would certainly not drag my own gear over there, not worth the hassle!

[forwards]

I had similar experience with club mistral in 2000 where I rented a board for 1-day and got a credit card charge for 1-week which I found too late. The german mgr accused me of trying to rip them off when I tried to get the charge reversed. I finally got whole when I returned the next year and got a free 6-day rental when I confronted him.

If Brian Talma is still renting from silver rock, rent from him...he is way cool and unassuming.

[forwards]

My math is based on actual numbers ... $150 baggage tariff, plus 2 taxi trips @$20 each way from airport to atlantic shores/sands area is $190 cost for 15 days rental for 2 people. Assume enough wind 75% of the days, this works out to less than $9/day per person. Club mistral is at least $50/day. I have never been charged double when changing carriers, and only got busted for the double board bag once, and still came out $800+ ahead for the trip.
Chaining your gear to a tree at silver sands used to be free, and I think silver rock has a similar arrangement.

If going for a much shorter period the rental economic argument is valid, especially for places like Maui where rentals are cheaper.

The IF factor with BDS is valid... which can be mitigated by taking a longer trip, taking short-notice trips, or side-trips as you suggest if getting a bump-n-jump fix is what you need. The reason for going to BDS is the wavesailing.

[caribwnd]

Raytracer-Just calling it as I found it-please note I did try to give forwards some inside info-my interests are seeing people have a good time sailing and about us pitching Margarita-we dont have to!-caribwnd