Looking back on two and a half decades of windsurfing, it feels like I’m just getting started! And again, many sails passed through my hands, boards, and other equipment. I’ve traveled the world (well, not quite the whole world, but I’ve gone to places I wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for that incredible discovery of windsurfing skills), spent a ton of money (I don’t regret a cent – every single one has made my life better), and passed the transition from fin to foil couple of years ago.
Windsurfing is a central part of my plans for the summer season, a time when I step away from working with people and devote myself to inner processes, reading, thinking, and writing. Without it, without the welcome break in which dancing with the wind plays a major role, I would never have been able to maintain the same level of mental enthusiasm, freshness, and creativity.
This is a bit of a long introduction to the simple fact that this year’s windsurfing experience dawned on me a little later than usual. There was a lot that needed to be done and finished before I could set off on my journey with peace of mind.
Bol
The first stop was Bol on the island of Brač. The famous windsurfing destination has been somewhat neglected in recent years, mostly because it has turned into a fashionable party center. Although Brač still offers an incredible wealth of opportunities for an active holiday, it seems that some other currents prevail in Bol’s tourism policy.
For example, there is a problem of entering the sea. The tip of Zlatni Rat is (unofficially) reserved for kiters, and even if you would like to start from that place, you have to carry your equipment about half a kilometer from the place where you can possibly keep it in an apartment, hotel or nearby small camp. You can make arrangements with the windsurfing centers that exist there, but again, this is not a general possibility (there isn’t space for everyone). Even if you find some point for a decent entrance (Brač has mostly rocky shores), you will come across protective buoys after about twenty meters that prevent boats from accessing the shore (at the same time, they prevent windsurfers from accessing the sea).
Camp Aloa (a few kilometers west of Zlatni Rat) has its own access and a Center where equipment can also be left (again, space for such a thing is limited, and the steep bales from the camp again prevent the carefree carrying of equipment from the plot to the sea).
Camp Mario (right next to Zlatni Rat) is an even better option. Still, there is no separate space for storing equipment; you have to keep it on small and cramped plots, and you will not pass without carrying a board and sail for at least 500 meters or to the tip of Zlatni Rat (through the crowd people who have nothing to do with windsurfing to reach the kite area where you will be the black sheep) or to the west, to the end of the nudist beach, to avoid the protective buoys.
But it must be said that once you manage to get hold of the sea and the wind, Bol offers excellent conditions and wide space for windsurfing. It is a real pleasure to sail all the way to the next island of Hvar (about 4.5 kilometers) or find your own route without distractions and crowds.
Viganj
Viganj on the Pelješac peninsula is a completely different story. The whole place breathes and lives with the wind, and the people who come there only and exclusively for that. There are no large hotels, so the possibility of crowds is reduced. All apartments and numerous campsites are suitable for wind lovers (mostly, they have special storage space for equipment that you can use for free with apartment rental or a stay at the campsite – see our review for Antony Boy Camp).
The furthest you can be from the sea (and mostly unobstructed access to the wind) is about a hundred meters, and the camps are right on the seashore, so most of the time, you don’t have to move at all to devote yourself to your favorite sport. You take the equipment from the storage, and within ten seconds, you are in the arms of the wind. Some parts of the coast are intended for “regular” people who enjoy the sun and the sea, but in contrast to Bol, where this is the case with 90% of the shore, in Viganj, it is only 10%.
Of course, in the middle of the season, at the peak of summer, there are always a lot of people there, so the biggest problem is actually how to get through a large amount of equipment left on the shore by those who want to rest and relax before continuing windsurfing, winging or kiting. Also, the width of the Pelješac – Korčula channel is two times shorter than the Brač – Hvar channel, so the space is reduced, but if your main interest is not that someone from the shore sees you jumping and doing pointless pirouettes in the air, you will stick to free space at sea, of which there is still plenty.
Viganj is definitely my choice, but because of the beauty of Brač and Bol, I hope that maybe things will change in the future and that Bol will turn primarily to recreational and sports tourism.