Alex Mertens, who joined the national team of Fanatic/NorthSails at the beginning of 2017, spent a month in the Caribbean freestyle hot spot Bonaire. It was the second winter trip of 17 year-old Alex from California. He already travelled to La Ventana, Baja California in December 2016. Alex got used to his new equipment and definitely improved his freestyle skills on the water. Alex not only shows windsurfing action in his video but also some nice drone shots from the Caribbean island. Bonaire has big lagoons and quite a few hills.
Alex Mertens: “I spent one awesome month training in the windsurfing paradise known as Bonaire. For two weeks we had amazing wind of mostly above 20 knots. I want to give Caesar Finies, my Mom and my Dad a huge thank you because this video and my dream definitely wouldn’t be possible without their amazing support.”
Windsurfing has definitely become a huge part of his life. Alex started windsurfing at the age of 12 but was only sailing once or twice a month. At 13 Andy Brandt got him planing for the first time and he became addicted to the sport. “At first it was just a hobby but once I saw how quickly I was advancing, I started to set goals. My goal right now is to compete in the PWA Freestyle division in the near future but I got some more training to do!”
Alex Mertens with freestyle windsurfing action from Bonaire, Caribbean
