3/20/08

The wind has been spotty the last ten days or so. Some afternoons it would pick up around 2:30 and blow just enough to get out and a couple of afternoons it has blown hard and gusty. We even had rain and hail one day.
Today is the beginning of the crowds for Semana Santa. They have cut back every year on the number of permits for events and food and beer stands and this year they have also really stepped up the police presence and law enforcement. They are even keeping the quad-runners off the beaches. It will still be busy and lots of people and traffic, but it should be mellower than previous years.
Roberto got back from Brazil and is down here for a month or more. It was starting to get pretty lonely out on the water as people have been leaving. Gerald left last week as did Helmut, and Jimmy will be packing up soon. Helmut and his wife, Peggy, were out every day there was wind. Peggy was our favorite cheerleader, always there to boost our enthusiasm and to help out whenever needed. I hope they come back next year.






Here is Helmut on the beach.

And here is Helmut floating in the sky.

A Few Good Days

3/26/08

We had a few good days of wind last week but nothing since Sunday and this week looks dismal. The report really doesn't bother me too much since I am arriving in South Padre tomorrow for a week of kiting. I am not sure who all else will be there except for Christian and Britt, Lou, Stuart, Dave, and myself. Weather and wind predictions look very good. We are all staying at the Holiday Inn, right on the water.

I am going to try to make do with just two boards and one kite. I've gotten used to my 10M Nemesis enough that I can use it from 10 knots to 30. That should cover almost any wind that I would try to kite in.

To view the blog and photos from last year, go to http://kiteboard-mexico.blogspot.com/2007/04/south-padre.html and to http://kiteboard-mexico.blogspot.com/2007/04/back-from-great-trip.html

South Padre

3/30/08

Christian, Britt, and I arrived in South Padre on Thursday and went out to the North Flats right away for a nice session. Just happened to park next to a van that turned out to be Stuart and Dave and next to them was a friend of theirs, Sean. Later that afternoon Lou showed up. Over the next couple of days we also kited with Glenn's brother and his wife and yesterday a truck pulled up next to us and it was Victor, from Tampico. Hopefully everyone will be out there for a good session today. The wind has been marginal most of the time, but enough to get out every day.

Trip Report

4/8/08

The North Flats

On the gulf, in front of the hotel

Playing in the waves, doing a down-winder

Holly Beach - not closed after all.

The trip to South Padre was a lot of fun although the wind didn't exactly cooperate. Several of us stayed at a Holiday Inn right on the beach and although the hotel was a bit shabby and a bit pricey it was a good choice just because it was on the beach. There was still a Spring Break crowd on the island when we first arrived but after our first weekend ended the crowds left and the place really emptied out.

The North Flats turned out to be the place to run into everybody that we knew. It is an area especially good for beginners because there is so much space and the water stays shallow for half a mile out. You can kite with the wind from just about any direction and the water is flat. It does tend to get gusty at times.

We spent one day playing in the waves on the gulf side and did a long down-winder from in front of the hotel all the way down to a spot across from the flats. The wind wasn't really strong enough and we had to work the kites a bit but it was still fun to do. We suffered from a lack of wind the whole stay; struggling to keep upwind in 10 to 14 knots, sometimes less.

We had been warned that Holly Beach, which is on the mainland side of the bay, was closed. We asked at the South Padre Kiteboard Shop and he confirmed that they were still working on getting it reopened. He was lying. It was open. It gets the strongest and the cleanest wind of all the spots in the area and the locals seem to not want to advertise it. It is the only spot that I have encountered in my travels where you consistently run into unfriendly kiters. If you go there, don't let them discourage you. It is a great spot. We only got to go there once, on the last day, on the way to the airport. Smooth water and even smoother wind. Almost heaven.

The End Is Near

4/14/08

The end of the season is fast approaching, but you wouldn't have guessed it from the wind we had Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It blew hard. Gusting to 30 knots or more. The sand was blowing in our faces. Like it was February. Over the weekend several people came out to kite: Jeff, Carlos, the other Carlos, Scott, Luque, Fireman John, and Fernando and Nicolas from Hermosillo. The gusts were brutal but still a lot of fun.



Jeff tried kiting in the lagoon in back of the hotel. He managed to make a few passes but the wind was lousy and I doubt that he will bother to try it again. We've always wondered about it - now we know.

Not Much to Report

4/21/08

There are fewer and fewer good wind days here in San Carlos. A lot of days the wind will get up to 10 - 12 knots but not much higher, or not for very long. Eventually we will get out on those days on big kites and big boards when we get bored enough. There are also fewer and fewer people in town. Most of the winter visitors have left and summer vacations are still a couple of months away. The water temperature is stuck in the 60's and still feels cold on the windy days. I've used my shorty wetsuit a couple of times instead of the full suit but it was chilly. Days are nice, with temperatures usually getting into the 80's, sometimes higher.

I am expecting good wind on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and hopefully Saturday. Three days a week is about all that we can expect this time of the year.

Good Wind

4/25/08

The wind has been decent all week even though the forecast looked lousy. One day it blew southwest and it was nice over by the condos Pilar and most other days picked up in the afternoon out at the usual kite spot. Today was strong, starting out at 14 to 17 knots, building up to over 25 knots for most of the day and then backing off a bit after 5 o'clock. The forecast had predicted a good day so several kiters showed up to take advantage of the wind.

Here is Jose Luis kiting in front of a bunch of pelicans.

It was also a good day to work on a tan before the wind picked up.

Great Weekend

4/28/08

The weekend turned out to be almost perfect with nice steady wind. Lots of kiters showed up and lots of spectators on the beach. I started out both days at La Manga. You can drive all the way past the Hangout, where we normally set up, and park at the point. Then you can cross the bridge with your gear and set up on the other side. The wind and the waves in front of the gap are great. When you have had enough, it is easy to kite into the entrance of the lagoon and walk across to the other bay. I crossed over one day by kiting between the islands but the wind was terrible and I had to go way down wind to find steady enough wind that I could approach the shore and work my way back upwind to the Hangout. Wasn't worth the effort.

I am still wearing my full wetsuit as the water is still below 70 degrees. Some of the local guys have been going without a wetsuit for a month. Jose Luis told me that he was out diving just the other day and at 20 feet the water was a chilly 59.
Some people seem to think that it has been windier and colder this month than normal for April but if you check my blog from April 2006 you will see that we had more wind and colder water that year.
The rest of this week looks weak. Light southerlies for the most part.

Moria and Scott

5/5/08

Most of the week had little wind which was a shame because a couple of good friends and kiteboarders, Moria and Scott, were here visiting. We did get out Thursday and Friday, and had a good time although the wind was light. Moria looked great and was tearing it up on a borrowed kite and board. Scott has been into the sport for a long time and his moves are smooth. His quiver consists of only two line kites and a big board. He had to use my stuff on this trip and it was the first time he had used a modern kite on the water. He got out the first day of wind and looked good but didn't bother go out the second day. Instead he took pictures and videos which was good for me as I am usually the one taking the photos. Below is me taking off and then me flying upside down.

By the way, Scott has a new book out, Pokin Round the Gorge. It is an uninhibited guide to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. Check it out!

Big Kite Season

5/11/08

The winds have gone away and the heat is fast approaching. We can still get out a couple of days a week on bigger kites. I've been doing okay on my 14M Rhino and middle sized board. The wind has been coming up around two in the afternoon and dying off after four. It is a shame that just as the temperatures get good, the wind changes. Hopefully we will have a good summer season of strong enough southerlies. Last year was kind of weak.

Good Southerlies

5/21/08

We've only had a couple of kiteable days in the past week and a half or so. Today was the best wind in a while. Steady 14 to 18 knots from the southeast. It blew nicely from about 10:30 am to 4 pm over at Pilar. The warm moist air doesn't pack the power of the winter wind, and these southerlies kick up a lot of chop that you need to power through, meaning that I have to use a bigger kite. I am using a 14M Rhino and a medium sized board.
The prediction is for two more days of good wind from the south. Christian will be kiting at La Pinta in Rocky Point for the next couple of days, so it will be interesting to see how it blows there compared to here.
Christian has also been getting in some good days up at Mormon Lake, Arizona.
Although we are getting some good days, the windy season is really over. That means that it is time to look elsewhere for wind. So next week I am flying over to the spice island of Grenada to stay for two weeks.

Condos Pilar

5/23/08

Today was the third (and last) day of some strong southerly winds. The wind seems best over by the Condos Pilar, at the east end of San Francisco Beach. The conditions are a lot different than what we get all winter over in front of the Soggy Peso. Lots of waves to play in, but they don't have very good shape for surfing. Here is a video of Jeff. The wind seemed strong, and was measuring over 20 knots at times, but he was a bit underpowered on his 9M kite.

Grenada

5/31/08

I am in Grenada, the “Spice Island.” The trip here was long but went smoothly. The new luggage rules mean you have to carry less or pay more. I managed to fit all my equipment and personal stuff within the total of 70 lbs in two checked bags and I loaded up a carry on bag. You are allowed 40 lbs in the carry on bag but the size limit makes it impossible to take full advantage of it.
It is hard to find flights without an overnight stop over so I took a 22 hour layover in Puerto Rico. I rented a car for the day but really didn’t have time to see much besides the area near San Juan.

Old San Juan was great! Historic buildings, a castle, a fort, lots of great restaurants, and a happening night life. It was also more expensive than I expected – but most places are getting expensive these days. The wind was blowing by 10 am and a few kiteboarders were out by one o’clock. I didn’t have time to get out on the water myself; that will have to wait until the next trip. Here are a few kiters right in front of downtown San Juan. There are lots of beaches to go to.



Grenada is beautiful. I haven’t seen much of it yet but it is tropical, lush, and a bit mountainous. The wind has been a little light the first two days; never getting past 12 to 18 knots. I am flying my 14M Rhino and a medium sized board and a big jump is only ten feet high; enough to have fun and practice some tricks. I am staying at the Coral Cove Cottages, which happens to be at the best beach for kiting. I haven’t seen anyone else out kiting but talked to Derek, from the Big Bamboo Surf Shop, and expect to see him out there once in a while. He used to teach kiting here and was very helpful.

Below is a picture of where I am staying, taken the first morning just after sunrise.

Grenada

6/3/08

Another Kiter!!!

6/7/08

Another kiter stopped by the other day. Ben is living on a sailboat not too far away and saw me out kiting so he drove his dingy over and went kiting. He was on a 10M Royal Kite and was amazingly powered up. He was ripping! I was on my 10M Nemesis but should have put up my 14. Derek showed me another spot, Westerhall Bay, to kite yesterday. He set up as well but had trouble with a new bladder that he had just installed and couldn't get it worked out. It was a shame because he doesn't get out too often as he works and has two young children and not much free time. I don't know how many years he has lived here but he told me that he has seen only six other people kiting on Grenada.

Back From Grenada

6/15/08

Well, I am back in Tucson and getting ready to drive back down to San Carlos. Wind forecast doesn’t look all that great. I’ll be there less than two weeks and then I’ll go to Cape Cod for two weeks. The wind forecast is looking better over there.

Speaking of looking better – the wind prediction for the coming week in Grenada calls for very good wind. While I was there it barely got up to 20 knots a couple of times. The day I arrived people told me “You should have been here last week. It really blew.” Now it looks like they will have good wind all next week. Oh well.

The trip to Grenada was very nice, but not as nice as I had anticipated. The best was the people, the air and water temperature, the tropical flora, my accommodations, and the food.
The people were friendly to the point of treating me like family, especially in the country side. Up in the mountains I was invited to join in on meals by the river, parties at their houses and sent down the mountain loaded down with all kinds of fruits and vegetables with invitations to return and stay as long as I wanted.
Air and water temperatures were in the 80’s.
Even though it was the end of the dry season, there were tropical flowers in abundance. Nutmeg, cocoa, and banana trees covered the mountains.
I had rented a cottage at Coral Cove Cottages. It was great. Right in front of the best kiting spot on the island. I could set up on grass in front of a reef protected bay. The maid would bring fresh flowers for every room every day. It was $100 a day. The best deal on the island. The only drawback for me was no wireless internet service. I was able to contract with the local provider for dialup service but it was painfully slow.
I found the Red Crab Restaurant the first day I was there and went back often. The food was awesome.

Unfortunately, I happened to be there for two weeks of mediocre wind. I got out almost every day, but had to use my 14M kite and larger board. I was also kiting alone all but one day and had to watch out for several shallow reefs so I wasn’t trying anything new.
I only went snorkeling one day, as it was disappointing. There were coral reefs, but very unspectacular. I did see two big sea turtles while out kiting.
The second day I was there I asked a waitress at the restaurant what they called the native language. She told me English. No, no, I said. What is the language they use amongst themselves? English, she said. And English it was, but not anything that I could understand. I could understand most of the people if they were used to dealing with tourists and were talking directly to me. Otherwise they would quickly lose me and it was a bit frustrating.
The worst thing about the island was driving a car. The island is a volcanic island and the landscape was very rugged. The roads are winding, steep and extremely narrow. That doesn’t stop the locals from driving 50 miles an hour everywhere they go. It was scary. Not fun. I was looking forward to some nice days driving and exploring the island. I did spend two days doing that, accompanied by Esmon, the bartender at the Red Crab, who volunteered to be my tour guide. I couldn’t have found a better person to show me the island. However, I had to concentrate so hard on not getting run off the road that it was hard to enjoy the scenery and I would be exhausted by the end of the day.

Hot, Hot, Hot

6/25/08

Ten days in San Carlos and not even close to having enough wind to kite. Lots of heat. The Soggy Peso has been busy as the beach is the place to be. I've been out spearfishing a couple of times but the bands on my gun are old and keep breaking. I need to remember to store them in a baggie as they will deteriorate just being exposed to the air. The snorkeling was great anyways. We had several days of 30ft+ visibility off of Isla Venado.
The fishing reports haven't been too good lately, but lots of other sea life out there. A finback whale has been hanging out and there have been several sperm whales and a very large pod of pilot whales a ways off shore. I saw a sea turtle the other day when I was out on Bobby Haag's boat and the next day he got to swim with a whale shark just off of San Antonio Point.
The surface temperature is in the 80's but you don't have to dive very deep to find chilly water.
With all of the southerly winds we also get some Portuguese Man of Wars in the water and there are stingrays in the sand near the beach so you have to watch out when you go swimming.

Cape Cod

7/10/08

I've been in Cape Cod for ten days or so but haven't been able to post anything here because the hard drive on my computer went out on me. I am finally back up and running, so here is an update on the kiting conditions. Wind has been good. Yesterday was great.
Above is a photo sent to me by Leigh of the action yesterday at West Dennis Beach. West Dennis Beach is one of the best places north of North Carolina for kiteboarding during the summer. The wind is about as strong as anywhere, there is a protective jetty that gives us a wide area of flat water, and there are very few sunbathers on the beach. We only had six or so kiters out at any one time yesterday so there is plenty of room. Part of the reason for this is that part of the parking lot is closed off to protect some nesting birds and we have to walk a long ways to reach the kite beach. There is also a fee to park, but since I live in the town I get a season permit.

No Wind in San Carlos

7/24/08

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. That is because we have had no wind, I've had computer problems, and I am getting ready to move out of the apartment that I have lived in for 8 years.
There is no wind in sight. We have been getting a nice mix of weather - sunny days, cloudy days, and rainy days, - but no windy days.
My computer is running like new. Dell has hidden files that allow you to reformat the hard drive and reinstall the operating system when things really go bad. It took a while to reinstall all my programs and data, but now that it is done my three year old computer runs like it was brand new.
I am going to miss having the Sea of Cortez right out my front door. I am not going to miss having Main Street right out my back door. My main reason for moving is that I was getting targeted for being robbed when I am out of town. Security systems proved ineffective and the police don't care. Being right on the main road it was obvious to everybody when I was out of town. So I am moving to a nicer, more secluded neighborhood. A much nicer house, but no more front yard that goes on forever.

The Wind is Up North

7/26/08

The wind forecast for San Carlos keeps showing promise, but nothing materializes. Christian has been driving to Puerto Peñasco from Phoenix and finding some excellent conditions. This weekend the wind looks especially good for El Golfo.

I was real tempted to drive up from here to join him but it would be at least an eight hour drive and that is just too much for a short stay.

Maybe we'll have wind today.

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