Aruba

So I got married, borrowed Chia's board bag, and at the last minute decided not to take my skim on the honeymoon since we were going to a small carribean island that I assumed had no surf to speak of...and of course I woke up one morning to see perfect little liners breakin right in front of our hotel. After cringing all day and drowning my sorrows in the local beer a local skimmer named Silvio walked by with a Zap foamie and I got to skim his board for about an hour. Here's what my limited knowledge is about this spot

1. It breaks best during late fall (hurricanes of course)

2. The wind always blows OFFSHORE

3. Nice liners and shorebreak

4. There is surf on the other side of the Island year round but you'll need to rent a 4X4 to check out the spots.. The local guy I met named a couple but I have since forgotten them.

PS...If your planning to go somewhere just to skim I wouldn't recommend Aruba.. but if you're going there anyways you might as well bring your board (Honeymoon or not) Also midday there's plenty of overweight Europeans bobbing in the surf.. so check it in the morning or later in the day .  Also, it was only skimmable 1 out of the 12 days I was there but the local guy said its way more consistent in the fall.

Aruba's a small island you can ask anyone where Eagle beach is and they'll tell you (the local people are super nice there, so don't act like a jackass American and they'll treat you right)   Another way to find Eagle beach is it's the beach righ in front of the Buccutti beach resort.

Submitted By:  jbsprafka@ucdavis.edu