On June 23 and 24th, the Dos Playa Open 2007 takes place.

Organizers of this weekend’s big event Arusurf announced that the athletes are ready to compete. A lot of action is expected at the competitions. Athletes are training very hard, due to the fact that the Dos Playa Open will determine the selection whom will travel to the Panamerican Surf competition in Chile.

Dos Playa, located in Arikok National Park is one of the island’s most beautiful beaches. This stretch of nature offers the perfect waves for bodyboarding and surfing and is the favorite spot for those who practice the sport.

The Dos Playa Open is part of the Beach Tour Aruba 2007. and is the second competition It is also Arusurf’s second competion organized this year and the third in total.

The competitions are judged by the International Surfing Association’s (ISA) rules and use an official ranking system.

This time there will be no need to bring in an international head judge, because now Aruba has eight local judges and one Head judge. The technical aspects of the sport are moving forward with giant steps due to the fact that the local association has been following ISA guidelines.

In the Dos Playa competition the following categories will be disputed by participants: Surf Open Men, Surf Open Women, Bodyboard Open Men, Bodyboard Open Women, Bodyboard Junior, Dropknee, Longboard, and Surf Jr.

Athletes from Venezuela and Curaçao have already signed up to partake in the competition.

Attendees can expect a great surfing and bodyboarding show by the athletes during the Dos Playa Open accompanied by live music from The Islanders band and Roots Rebels.

During the Panamerican Judo Circuit Championships which took place in the Dominican Republic this past weekend Aruban judoka Fiderd Vis confronted other athletes from the region and won bronze for his island. His participation was a great success in all aspects as he also convinced the Panamerican Judo Federation to extend him a special invitation to participate at the Panamerican Games 2007, being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Dominican Republic Championships were really a three competition in one weekend consisting of: the last classification for the Panamerican Games, the Pan-american Circuit and the Carib-bean Champion-ship were battled on the mats.

For Fiderd this championship was of great importance, more so, while eying the Panamerican Games for which he has been training intensively.

On Aruba he is supported by two top trainers, Betto Thiel and Alexis Cardenas, who have given him all the technical support in his preparation.

During the past few months Fiderd has participated at different competitions in preparation for the Games, including the World Cup at Belo Horizonte and the Panamerican Championships in Montreal. He also trained in Sao Paolo, with the Brazilian team for the past two months as part of a special agreement existing among the Olympic Com-mittees of Brazil and Aruba.

The Aruban Olympic Committee (COA) has noticed the dedication, disclipline and seriousness in Fiderd — who has improved considerably in the sport of Judo – and therefore has decided to apply for a special invitation to the Panamerican Sports Organization for him to attend the Panamerican Games. This based on all his merits in Judo. And now all the work of all those involved has been rewarded.

COA is very happy with the news and congratulates Fiderd with the results of a bronze medal at the Panamerican Cricuit and the special invitation to the Panamerican Games.

Friday March 30, 2007 at the Numismatic Museum

http://www.aruba-hiwinds.org/

On Friday November 17 2006, the Dutch Hobie Tiger team Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis won the 16th Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. Although the Dutchmen Pols/Veenstra (F18 Nacra Infusion) took the bullet in the final race, Booth/Nieuwenhuis remained the best in a fleet of 35 bigger catamarans. The Dutch Dart 18 sailors Mark Rijks and Brenda Liefhebber took the victory in the class for nine small cats. The conditions again were perfect with lots of sunshine and a warm trade-wind of about ten knots.

Holiday Inn Race: Battle for podium places
Since the fast catamarans had to sail five laps, there was a lot to gain and to lose. Booth and Nieuwenhuis could hardly lose their first position overall anymore, because Stuart Gummer and Hannah Burke (GBR, F18 Capricorn) were seven points behind. But they had a bad start and rounded the top mark in eighth position, whereas Gummer and Burke were leading. The Dutchmen caught up well in the next downwind and were third at the second top mark. Xander Pols and Tjidde Veenstra took over the lead and extended it every lap. Gummer and Booth changed positions a few times, but finally Booth and Nieuwenhuis managed to stay ahead and put pressure on Pols/Veenstra. Pols: “As an amateur, it was fantastic to compete against a great sailor like Mitch for five laps. And to beat him on the finish line. In the end he was only ten seconds behind us.” The victory of Booth/Nieuwenhuis could not be taken for granted, but they showed their professionalism by sailing a consistent series. Booth: “We had to fight for it. It would have been boring, if it was easy.”

Gummer and Burke finished third and are the runners up for the Aruba Regatta 2006. Gummer: “The competition and weather conditions were much harder this year, so I am glad with this result. It was a lovely race to finish with.” James and Gillian Power (GBR) battled for bronze with Wouter Samama and Paul Buyse (NED). Gillian Power: “It was good fun. He sailed us off the course before the start. He had to do it, but we got him on the downwind. I am very happy with our third place. After the disastrous second day, we did not think we could make it to the top three anymore. Especially after the pitch pole on Wednesday.” The Spitfire team Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke (Hannah’s sister) had its best race of the week. They were leading on handicap in the first three laps, but dropped back in the last ones. Sproat: “We missed a shift, but it is nice to finish with a good result.” They ended up in fifth position overall.

First finish for the boys
On the very last day, there was a little surprise in the small boat fleet. The Dutch family Prindle 19 with two young boys on the wire could stay ahead of Mark Rijks and Brenda Liefhebber. In yesterday’s long distance, the Grijpma team capsized and Sil (9) fell through the main sail. Over night, it was more or less fixed with tape and the three of them raced this morning and finished first. Rens (11): “Everybody on the ribs and starting vessel cheered for us. We were so happy. Yesterday, we could have finished second, but we fell over. I was very disappointed and did not want to talk about it for the rest of the day.” Sil about his first win ever: “It was nice for me, since I have never experienced that before.” Rijks and Liefhebber took their tenth bullet on handicap. Liefhebber: “It was a pity we did not have more competition, but it has been fun this week. We will come back.” Nicolette van Gorp and Ruud van Gisbergen had a nerve breaking last battle with the Austrian team Thomasch/Hankart, but remained in second position overall. Van Gorp: “We were in a comfortable second place for three laps, but Manfred came closer and closer. We hit the rudder of Mark and Brenda just before the finish and had to turn a 360. Fortunately, we could beat him overall.” One striking Dart 18 attracted the attention today. It was decorated with flags and a flower, because it was skipper Dick Ganseman’s 25th wedding-anniversary. Ganseman: “We told everybody at home they could come to Aruba for the celebration.”

For Edwin Lodder, organizer of the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regata, this year’s edition was one of the best: “It has been fantastic. The conditions were perfect and the races exciting with a strong competition.” Also Mitch Booth enjoyed his week: “This event is the real meaning of beach cat sailing. There are not many regatta’s in the world, where you have these nice and consistent conditions.” The boats are in the container now, ready for transport to Europe.

Top five big catamarans after ten races and two discards:
1. NED – F18: Booth/Nieuwenhuis, 12 points
2. GBR – F18: Gummer/Burke, 20 points
3. GBR – F18: Power/Power, 33 points
4. NED – F18: Samama/Buyse, 33 points
5. GBR – Spitfire: Sproat/Burke, 43,5 points

Top three small catamarans after ten races and two discards:
1. NED – Dart 18: Rijks/Liefhebber, 8 points
2. NED – Dart 18: Van Gorp/Van Gisbergen, 20 points
3. AUT – Dart 18: Thomasch/Hankart, 21 points

In addition to the head sponsors Heineken and Aruba Tourism Authority, the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta is sponsored Hapag Lloyd, TNG Swiss Watches, KLM, Holiday Inn, Does & Cadushi, Yamaha, Setar, Zwitserleven, Patria, Young Improvement, Magic Marine, Coca Cola, AWA, Atlantis Adventures, Anthony Veder & Co, Aruba Watersports Center, Aruba Aloe, Moomba Beach, Kodak, Palm Tours and Pelican Watersports.

On Thursday November 16 2006, Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis (NED, F18 Hobie Tiger) secured their overall victory in the 16th Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta. They scored two bullets in today’s races and are now unbeatable for the runners up Stuart Gummer and Hannah Burke (GBR, F18 Capricorn). There is only one race to go and a second discard. The Dutch Dart 18 team Mark Rijks and Brenda Liefhebber is a class apart in this year’s small boat competition. They only scored bullets. As a heavy thunderstorm hit Aruba during the night, the conditions were still unstable in the morning. The wind dropped from 12 to 4 knots, but picked up in the afternoon till 15 knots.

Magic Marina Race: Work shop pays
After a one hour delay, the starting gun was fired with a pitch black sky above the other side of Aruba. It brought a few drops of rain, but no lightning anymore. Richard Allen and Simon Farren were flying their Tornado and came to the top mark with an extensive lead. Wouter Samama and Paul Buyse hoisted the spinnaker of their F18 Nacra Infusion in second position, but gave up ground every lap and finished sixth overall. Samama: “Mitch passed us in the second downwind and in the third beat we were in between two paths of wind. That is where Peter Vink and the Frenchmen Quillaume Hemery and Nicolas Usandizaga overtook us.” Allen and Farren also gave up their first position in the third upwind leg. The Dutch Tornado team Eduard van Zanen and Willem Houwing took it over. Van Zanen: “Richard Allen went to the extreme left side and we tacked a couple of times through the middle and closed the gap. We steered deeper under spinnaker and rounded the bottom mark first. It was very exciting.” The Dutchmen took the line honours. Van Zanen: “Mitch’s workshop from yesterday paid off.” Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhuis worked their way up from a fifth to a second position and won on handicap. James and Gillian Power were second, followed by Chris Sproat and Georgina Burke (GBR, Spitfire).

The Aruba streets were floated this morning, so was the Dutch school of Rens and Sil Grijpma. That is why they also could compete in today’s morning race with their dad. Rens (11) is not new to the Aruba Regatta, as he already participated three times with his that on a Prindle 6.0. This year it was time for his younger brother Sil (9) to join the family team. Their father Rob Grijpma gave each of them a job to do. Rens: “I am hanging trapeze and trimming the jib. If I sit inside, it is a bit heavy, as I cannot take a firm stand against the hull.” His brother stands next to him on the wire. “And I do the dagger boards”, says Sill. The Grijpma family has lived on Aruba for more than three years, but the boys prefer the regatta: “We do have sailing lessons and we sail with our dad, but it is nicer to compete against others boats.” The boys hope to team up in the future. Rens: “It is my dream to become a good sailor.” The family Prindle finished sixth. It is not a surprise anymore, but Mark Rijks and Brenda Liefhebber won in the small boat fleet.

Zwisterleven Race: Top two fights for the lead
Due to the unstable conditions in the morning, the race committee decided to shorten the long distance course of the afternoon. Wouter Samama and Paul Buyse took revenge and were smoking to the buoy around the southern corner of the island. Their lead was enormous. Booth and Nieuwenhuis thought they were early over the line and returned to the line and started a bit later. They overtook three cats and haunted for Samama/Buyse. The two of them had their private battle, as the rest was far behind. Booth and Nieuwenhuis took over the lead in the last spinnaker lap and won. Buyse: “We went straight after the top mark and continued to the right. Mitch gibed to the left. We needed a second to pull the cunningham line out of the spinnaker block. Mitch gibed again and he got us.” James and Gillian Power are getting closer to the podium. They climbed to a fourth place overall, only one point behind the Dutchmen Samama/Buyse.

Mark Rijks and Brenda Liefhebber finally found some competition, as they were competing against the leading F18’s while reaching. The small cats started ten minutes earlier, but the Dart’s are quick on a reaching lap. Liefhebber: “That was great. We could keep up with them for a long time. At the end, the got us.” Nicolette van Gorp and Ruud van Gisbergen climbed to the second position overall, followed by Thomasch/Hankart.

Tomorrow morning, all competitors will sail the final race of the 16th Aruba Heineken Catamaran Race.

Top five big catamarans after nine races and one discard:
1. NED – F18: Booth/Nieuwenhuis, 10 points
2. GBR – F18: Gummer/Burke, 13 points
3. NED – F18: Samama/Buyse, 27 points
4. NED – F18: Power/Power, 28 points
5. NED – F18: Moret/Smissaert, 38 points

Top three small catamarans after nine races and one discard:
1. NED – Dart 18: Rijks/Liefhebber, 7 points
2. AUT – Dart 18: Thomasch/Hankart, 17 points
3. NED – Dart 18: Van Gorp/Van Gisbergen, 18 points

In addition to the head sponsors Heineken and Aruba Tourism Authority, the Aruba Heineken Catamaran Regatta is sponsored Hapag Lloyd, TNG Swiss Watches, KLM, Holiday Inn, Does & Cadushi, Yamaha, Setar, Zwitserleven, Patria, Young Improvement, Magic Marine, Coca Cola, AWA, Atlantis Adventures, Anthony Veder & Co, Aruba Watersports Center, Aruba Aloe, Moomba Beach, Kodak, Palm Tours and Pelican Watersports.

The Aruba Ports Authority (APA) is happy to confirm that once again Aruba is welcoming more European cruise ships to Oranjestad Harbor with Aida Cruises calling on the tropical destination as home port. After successfully welcoming the Spanish company Pullmantours Cruises in October 2006, APA recently announced that starting in the 2007-2008 high cruise season, Aida Cruises, which is part of the Carnival Corporation, will be home porting in the capital city.

Aida Cruises is a leader cruise ship company for the German market and is part of the Carnival Corporation & PLC. The company’s actual float consists of four ships with a capacity of more than 10,000 passengers and there are three larger ships currently under construction that are expected to be delivered between 2007 and 2010.

Aida Cruises will operate two itineraries, each two weeks long, on the Aida Vita and Aida Aura ships departing every Saturday from Oranjestad. These are fairly new ships as they were delivered in 2002 and 2003 and with a capacity of 1582 passengers. They will start to operate in October 2007 through April 2008, and a “butterfly run,” meaning that one week Aida Aura will cruise and the next week Aida Vita will depart from Aruba.

The News

An upset victory in the Canary Islands that marks the second leg of the Professional Windsurfing Association World Tour has catapulted young Sarah-Quita Offringa to superstar status and brought honor to her home island of Aruba. Returning with her mother from Fuerteventura, where the young athlete who turned fifteen on July 4, trounced number 1 ranking Daida Moreno in the Women’s Freestyle, she found fans and friends eagerly awaiting her at the Reina Beatrix Airport yesterday.

Known on the windsurfing circuit as “the girl with big hair,” with this win Sarah-Quita has set the world record as the youngest woman to win a gold medal in women’s freestyle competition. One year ago, in Lanzarote Spain, she was already turning heads and “making a splash” with an outstanding performance that earned her a bronze medal and made headlines. This year she realized her potential despite tough competition and a battle against the windsurfing team of the Moreno sisters, Daida and Iballa, beating them both on their “home turf.” For the past month, her picture has graced the sports pages of all the major European newspapers.

Upon arriving home after a month of competition, she was greeted by chants of “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah”; noisemakers, silly string and warm hugs from her father Ruud, Aunt Ruth and Oma Dorothy. After the wild greeting at the airport that she deserved, Sarah-Quita relaxed at home with family and friends to enjoy a celebratory cake. She is modest about her win, already reflecting on mistakes she made in Fuerteventura, and what she must do to correct them before the final competitions coming up in September in Germany.

“I was ahead from the first day of the doubles and singles, but Daida Moreno was really going after the win on the last day,” explains Sarah. ”During the final doubles I was very disappointed in my performance in the first heat, falling a lot, and Daida was doing some great jumps, her forté. For the second heat though, I was very relaxed, and ready to win. I think my mother, watching and filming from the shore was more nervous than I was.” Esther is also quick to point out how well Sarah-Quita’s older brother Quincy did during the competition, against some very tough contenders, though he did not bring home a trophy.

“I can’t get over the reaction of the people when I arrived on shore after my winning heat,” confessed Sarah-Quita. “They were all screaming and applauding, they were so excited and happy for me, really supportive.” Their enthusiasm is understandable, as everyone loves a Cinderella story where the underdog wins against the established champion, and this little girl from a tiny island in the Caribbean came to the Canaries to conquer, and so she did. Congratulations to Sarah-Quita and her family on a well-deserved win, all of Aruba applauds you!

Currently the island of Aruba is enjoying several conventions and incentive groups. One of the preferred destination choices of meeting and incentive planners around the world, local hotels and resorts have been filled to capacity over the past couple of weeks with this valued segment of tourism business.

And it’s not just the hotels that benefit from these visitors. Local activities—like watersports and island tours and jeep safaris—as well as restaurants and shops have enjoyed a busy November as a result of these groups. Tierra del Sol, the island’s PGA Championship golf course, has hosted several golf events coordinated through the course’s Director of Golf Nigel, Barrow and Head Golf Pro, Oliver Riding. Currently, Uniprix—Canada’s second largest drug retail chain—has organized three days of golf and lunch at Tierra del Sol to accommodate some 250 golf enthusiasts in their group of close to 400.

The Uniprix group is staying at the Radisson, who has also hosted several groups recently including Serta Mattress out of Detroit, a well-known pharmaceutical company out of Canada, and a sweepstakes group of 60 winners from a campaign held by Anheuser-Busch for Michelob beer in the United States.

Hyatt reports several groups currently on the island, including Allied Domecq (Dunkin Donuts), ABCO Refrigeration out of New York, People Alliance, and Specialty Brands. The Marriott is hosting a large group of more than 450 guests that are part of 84 Lumber from the United States, while the Wyndham is currently enjoying guests from Carrier—a U.S.-based air conditioner manufacturer, Scenic Life of Tennessee, and a large wedding party of more than 200 with guests from Latin America and the U.S.

Although many of these group take advantage of the banquet services offered by their host resort, restaurants like Texas de Brazil report spin-off banquet business including large groups from Serta Mattress and the Canadian pharmaceutical company, who both took advantage of the restaurant’s private dining rooms. Tierra del Sol’s clubhouse restaurant, Ventanas del Mar, has coordinated several catered events and large parties from some of the visiting conventions and incentive groups.

“We can count on good capacity numbers during typically busy seasons like the holidays and Carnival, but the island’s dedication to foster relationships with meeting and incentive planners and to spread the word about all the facilities and fringes Aruba has to offer will hopefully help us to continue growth in this arena of tourism during the typically slower months,” said one hotel executive.

Story by Tina Causey-Escobedo

For more information visit: http://www.arubaconventionbureau.com

The Malmberg family welcomed old friends and employees to an informal gathering in front of the company's headquarters on the boulevard to celebrate the launch of its 45th anniversary celebration and to unveil the portraits of the company founders in the entrance foyer. Among guests flocking in to congratulate Harold, Maude, Lisette, Ricky and the third generation kids, Thalia, Samantha & Ricardo, his Excellency the Minister of Tourism, Edison Briezen, the Director of the Aruba Tourism Authority Myrna Jansen, Attorney Roy Brown, Publisher Rory Arends and the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association CEO Jorge Pesquera. Guests of honor at the festive occasion were Wichi De Palm the original founder of De Palm Tours, started in 1960, and Ramon Richardson, a former partner, the man who in 1971 courageously took over the enterprise with Malmberg. "It is with great pleasure that I congratulate all of you with the 45th anniversary of our company," Malmberg said. "Our company had nothing when it started. What we had was a burning ambition to serve the tourism industry of our country and become the best tourism service company in the Caribbean. Over the past 45 years we  slowly grew together with Aruba's tourism industry. We reached where we are today through hard work and thanks to the strong and loyal commitment of all our employees and stakeholders. Among our stakeholders we count our employees, shareholders, suppliers, partners, and above-all our customers. Without our customers we have no company. We now look forward to the next 45 years and hope that our company will continue to flourish. However, we will only continue to grow and flourish in the next 45 years if we never forget what we had to do during the first 45 years of our existence," Malmberg concluded.

Harold D. Malmberg, Chairman, De Palm Corporation Inc. operates De Palm Tours Watersport, De Palm Island, De Palm Financial Services and Western Union, De Palm Car Rental and more with his children Ricky & Lisette Malmberg sharing the responsibility for operations, business development, marketing and sales.

During the ceremony emceed by Ricky Malmberg, sister Lisette Malmberg gave an emotive presentation lauding her father's life's work; flowers were presented to Maude Malmberg for her steadfast support of the family business. Then portraits were unveiled that of Harold Malmberg and that of Wichi de Palm in the company foyer.

Story submitted by Rona Coster