Vieques, Puerto Rico

We spent three weeks on the small island of Vieques 8 miles off the coast of the main island of Puerto Rico in the early part of 2023. The island has been put through the ringer for many years between all the hurricanes wreaking havoc and the military using some of the most beautiful beaches in the world as target practice for over 30 years. The bombing has stopped there but the cleanup efforts will take many years to clear the island of unexploded ordnance and rebuild from the latest damage that Hurricane Maria brought to the island. The small area on the island that the public were allowed to access was perhaps 15 percent of the entire island, about 8 miles by 10 miles is all your allowed on….making the island seem much smaller than it really is. The beaches that are accessible are incredibly beautiful and many offer wind protected bays with crystal clear water perfect for a short paddle. We found it difficult to do longer day trips due to the winds and lack of accessible spots to put in/takeout. I did find a beach that was prime for using the kitewings, we did a few downwind trips using the vehicle as a shuttle and my 12 year old boy was enjoying the wing on the SUPs. Surfing was not easy to come by on Vieques, as most everything were reef breaks and quite dangerous, we did manage to take a trip to the main island and did some surfing at Rincon, where the real waves were! Considering how expensive it was to fly there with the SUPs i can honestly say that its prolly not the best paddleboard destination if you wanted to paddle every day. The winds were great for the wings and foilboard however!