No wind? Use the plane propellers

January 26, 2015 | Windsurfing
Los Roques: Jose Estredo waits for the wind

Los Roques, in Venezuela, is a windsurfing paradise. Here, winds are steady and constant, almost all year round. But when there's no wind, you've got plane propellers.

Welcome to Los Roques, the largest marine park in the Caribbean located 320 kilometers (200 miles) off the north coast of Venezuela.

From December to June, the archipelago tastes trade winds of up to 25 knots.

The average wind at Los Roques is 18 knots, so you rarely have problems sailing the breathtaking blue waters.

Windsurfers are able to train and relax on any island of the archipelago.

Jose "Gollito" Estredo lives in Venezuela. Recently, he showed us how he copes with windless days.

Actually, it's quite easy.

Inspired by Antoine Lavoisier's famous saying - "nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed" - the Venezuelan approached a nearby airport and used an alternative wind source.

After checking the local flight schedule, the multiple-time world freestyle windsurfing champion got his sail behind the plane propellers and started riding.

These days, you've got to be creative.

  • Dutch environmental activist and windsurfer Merijn Tinga, also known as the "Plastic Soup Surfer," has made an audacious journey from Oslo to London, braving the North Sea's currents and winds, to call attention to the pervasive problem of plastic pollution.