Windsurfing and Kiteboarding in Antigua and Barbuda

Most major hotels offer windsurfing equipment. The best areas are Nonsuch Bay and the east coast (notably Half Moon and Willoughby bays), which is slightly less protected and has a challenging juxtaposition of sudden calms and gusts.

KiteAntigua (Jabberwock Beach. 268/460-3414 or 268/727-3983. www.kiteantigua.com) offers lessons in the Caribbean's hot new sport, kiteboarding, where a futuristic surfboard with harness is propelled only by an inflated kite; kite-board rentals (for the certified) are also available at $25 per hour, $40 half-day, $60 full day. The varied multiday lesson packages are expensive but thorough; a four-hour beginners course is $260. KiteAntigua closes from September through November, when winds aren't optimal. The center is on a stretch near the airport, but road trips to secret spots are arranged for experienced kitesurfers seeking that sometimes harrowing "high."

Patrick Scales of Windsurfing Antigua (Dickenson Bay. 268/720-5483 or 268/773-9463) has long been one of Antigua's, if not the Caribbean's, finest instructors; he now offers a mobile service in high season. He provides top-flight equipment for $25 per hour ($60 per day), all-day lessons for $85, and specialty tours to Half Moon Bay and other favorite spots for experienced surfers.