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| The first year the Bonaire Kids came, they brought home prize money! The purple elbow on the right is mine. |
When I was 9, my
family went to Bonaire. My dad was friends with Elvis, who owned the main
windsurfing shop on the island, and he kept telling my dad about some of the
local kids and how impressive they were at freestyle windsurfing. Elvis loaned
them gear, and kept encouraging them. They had so much fun messing around every
day, making up moves – and they were good.
My dad invited
the kids to a pro-am event back at home, and promised to find them gear if they
could just get themselves to Boston. They managed to get support from an
airline. I had always dreamed of having an older brother, and suddenly I had 13
of them ranging in age from 11 to 18 in sleeping bags on the floor of our
living room!
Some of my new
brothers were hesitant to enter in the pro division, as it was their first international competition, and they had no idea how good they were. My dad told them they
were going to do well enough to make some money. At the end of the event those competing
in the pro division walked away with checks and pride. They realized they were
good enough to have a future, and they could go back to Bonaire and tell their
grandparents, who were raising them, that they could contribute financially to
the support of their families. They returned as heroes in Bonaire. (Watch the
documentary about the Bonaire kids, Children of the Wind, directed by Daphne Schmon. You can watch the trailer by
clicking here.) They have pride and honor and while they still have to clean
the beaches for the tourists in order to make ends meet, they gained a belief
in themselves. My Bonaire brothers are still being consistently ranked in the
top ten in the world. It was so cool to watch them, first hand succeed at
becoming professional windsurfers. I was so proud to be competing with them (in
the novice men’s division on a tandem board with my dad) and had so much fun competing. My dad suggested that I consider making Olympic Windsurfing my goal in the future. The conversation was long forgotten by my parents, but The Bonaire Kids' story and their continued success inspired me to continue my Olympic pursuit. I no
longer get to see them yearly at their freestyle competitions, since I am now
busy racing, but on occasion I see them at smaller racing events and I eagerly follow their success in the Windsurfing magazines.
Many people in
the windsurfing community have mentored and supported the Bonaire kids, and
it’s one of the many reasons I’m proud to be a Windsurfer. (See the Community
page for more stories by clicking here.) This is a community that regularly steps up to help
each other.
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