Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Sea Lion Frenzy
For about a week now we have had more sea lions in the bay in front of my house than I have ever seen here. There are several groups that probably total around two hundred in all. They are very approachable, curious, and love to play. I went out to see them by kayak last Saturday , the 25th of March, and had
a blast.I would chase them and then they would chase me, coming right next to me, leaping out of the water, and then speeding away. They obviously enjoy showing off and competed for my attention. There was one huge male that suddenly stopped in front of me and forced me to turn to avoid hitting him. I almost rode up on his back, but he was just waiting for me to get close and then he rolled on his side and made a tremendous splash that completely drenched me. That got my attention.
I went out again yesterday with a couple of girls from next door that are here on vacation and the sea lions gave them a great show. Anybody that is currently in San Carlos should get out there and check this out, who knows how long they will hang around.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Finally Some Wind
We have gone several days without much wind but finally we got enough to go out and play today. It was blowing 12 to 18 knots when I got out to the beach about 2:00. I rigged my 17 and Jeff rigged his 16. The first hour was good and then the wind dropped down a notch. Quite a few people on the beach but just the two of us and a guy trying to learn, Scott, were out on the water. The wind died down as the afternoon progressed, but at least we got a session in.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
March is Over
March, which wasn't as windy as usual this year, is behind us and April has started off on a good note. Jeff and I headed to the beach
earlier than usual, about 10:30 am. We had steady 13 to 18 knot wind and we rigged big. By one o'clock it had picked up to 15 to 20 and we rigged smaller kites but the wind backed off again
for most of the afternoon. There were a few more kite boarders today. Besides the regulars, Carlos was out for some good afternoon sessions. He shows up most Saturdays, and has really kicked it into gear this season after struggling for a long while due to getting out only a very few times a month. Good to see him out there.
Another local kite boarder that gets out when he can and often only for the end of the day as he did today was Ricardo. He is another one that had a hard time due to lack of time on the water but he is coming on strong now. Still only gets out a few times a month but we are always glad to see him.The forecast is for a little less wind tomorrow. By the way, the water is still a chilly 65 degrees. Also, the sea lions that I wrote about in an earlier post have left the bay in front of my house and several of them were out in front of the kite shack today. They were jumping and splashing all day right in front of us.
Oh, about the wind - not much today. About 10 knots from the west. Enough to go kite boarding with a big kite but not enough to be powered up and we didn't bother to go out. Nice day at the beach though.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Ouch !
Sunday was a good wind day, starting early at 14 to 20 knots and blowing all day, easing off in the afternoon. The regular crew showed up plus Carlos made a rare two days in a row appearance. Everybody was trying to work on their moves and Jeff managed to smack his face with his board. He'll survive, but it ended his day.
Monday, April 03, 2006
A Good Day
It was a good day out at the beach. It was blowing 15 to 25 knots all afternoon without the gustiness we had much of last month . I've been working on getting my 11M Globe Rider Sonic dialed in, and today was almost a perfect day for it. You have to get used to it to be abe to find the power, but it is there. Great for floaty jumps. I let Jeff use it and took a couple pictures of him getting some good air. He gave this kite his approval. Good to see him back on the water after splitting his head open yesterday. 
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Tuesday was an okay wind day except that we got caught way out when the wind died. Scott and I had to swim a couple of hours to get back to the beach. Wednesday was better wind but no one got out on the water. Today (Thursday) was blowing big for a while. Measured a gust of 30 knots on my hand-held. I had a session on my 9M Crossbow. That's a fun kite. Big floaty jumps and great instant de-power for the gusty days. Jeff tried my 11M Globe Rider in these winds and it got real unstable when we de-powered it too much. Scott managed to blow out the main bladder on his kite and Carlos was out for a short session. Weather is great, with temps in the low 80's.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Faulty Weather Forecasts
The wind forecasts have been way off lately. They have been predicting light winds, but we have been having 20+ knots every day. Yesterday, Saturday, was no exception. Strong winds, a bit gusty, had everybody rigging small except for a visitor that rigged a 15M kite upwind from our normal spot. I didn't even notice him go past, but he was soon down the beach and walking back. If anybody who reads this blog comes down to join us, please come to the Hangout to get the low down on the site and some friendly advise, not to mention a cold beer afterwards.
I use the wind forecast sites of Wind Guru and Bouy Weather to keep track of how other places are faring and in order to plan possible kite boarding trips but I have to question their accuracy. If anybody out there has some first hand wind reports of other areas you can send them as a comment below or email me at kite420@gmail.com and I will post them.
Anyway, the wind has been great and here are a couple of photos from yesterday's session.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Big Swell
There has been enough wind to get out on a big kite late in the day Sunday and Monday. Today, Tuesday, I got out on my 11M. There was a big swell, but it breaks too close to shore to take advantage of it. This week is Semana Santa, which is a big holiday week here. The beaches are already getting busy but it will really get crazy in a couple of days.
Not only did we have big swells but we had a big kite being launched by a big idiot directly upwind of people on the beach. Moments after this photo was taken this kiter got lofted and crashed through the people seated on the beach. What is worse is that he was instructing a novice at the time.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
The Semana Santa Fiesta
Nothing like a religious holiday to get people drinking and acting crazy. Just like Mardi Gras that starts off the period of Lent, people here celebrate the end of Lent during a week long celebration known as Semana Santa. Officials here say that something like 250,000 people enter our little town during this week, and it appears that maybe 30,000 visitors or more are here at the peaks of activity. On a normal weekend I doubt that we have more than 300 at a time.
The photo above was taken at 6:30 in the evening on Friday when the party was just getting going. Traffic, especially foot traffic picks up more as the night goes on and continues into the wee hours of the next morning. I haven't tried to make it out to the beach for a few days because of the traffic and because the wind prediction hasn't been favorable, but today we are supposed to have wind so we will try to get out there early enough to avoid the crowds.I recently got an email from Glen, who was here kiteboarding this winter. He and his buddy, Dave, came down as novices and left as accomplished kiteboarders. They recently made a trip to South Padre in Texas and Glen said that he kited all ten days he was there, with several days of 30 - 40 knots. Below is a photo of Glen when he was here this winter, getting some good use of an old kite that I sold him for $50. Way to go Glen !
Monday, April 17, 2006
Back to Normal 
Now that the crowds of Semana Santa are over, the beaches are accessible again. A bunch of us did manage to make it out last Saturday for a decent session but it was a long ride home due to bumper to bumper traffic. Sunday was less traffic but also less wind. 
The weather prediction for today called for very little wind but I measured gusts up to 26 knots. There were people on the beach, but I was the only kiteboarder.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Wind is Still Blowing, the Water is Still Cold
As the title suggests, the wind has continued to blow even though the forecasts keep saying that we shouldn't expect much. The only bad news is that the water is still a chilly 67 degrees. Most days the beach is pretty empty. Most of the winter visitors have already gone back home, Easter vacation is over, and summer vacation hasn't started yet. Nothing new to write about, so I'll just post a photo of Carlos out doing his thing all by himself two days ago. 
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Water Temperatures
San Carlos is approximately at 28 degrees latitude so you can see what color the chart is where the 28 degree line intersects with the mainland of Mexico. From the key you can read the temperature in Celsius. For those of you from the USA and used to temperatures in Fahrenheit, I have included a conversion chart below.
13 C ..........55.4 F
14 C ..........57.2 F
15 C ..........59.0 F
16 C ..........60.8 F
17 C ..........62.6 F
18 C ..........64.4 F
19 C ..........66.2 F
20 C ..........68.0 F
21 C ..........69.8 F
22 C ..........71.6 F
23 C ..........73.4 F
24 C ..........75.2 F
25 C ..........77.0 F
26 C ..........78.8 F
27 C ..........80.6 F
28 C ..........82.4 F
29 C ..........84.2 F
30 C ..........86.0 F
Friday, April 28, 2006
Friday Report
It has been blowing all week but it has been very variable and when it has been blowing strong, it has been cold and gusty. Still, it is a lot better than no wind. Most days the beach is empty.
Below is Carlos arriving by bike to the kite beach and to the right is Carlos getting some nice air. 
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Gusty Winds
Saturday we had seven people out kiting at various times. In the early afternoon the wind was really strong and I was getting some scary high jumps on my 11 meter GR Sonic. Something is not right with that kite, though, and I am about ready to give up on it. In strong gusty wind it doesn't handle well at all.
Later in the afternoon the wind mellowed out a little but it was still real gusty. A few people were getting beat up by the conditions including getting picked up and getting slammed in the water and on the beach. 
I was too busy to get any photos when everybody was out on the water but here is a photo of Carlos Spriu earlier in the day tearing it up coming in toeside with a 7.5 meter kite and an old pickle fork board.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Is the Season Over?
I've been gone for a while, went up to Tucson, and just got back Tuesday night which meant that I was here for the first good blow since I left. Scott and I both had good a good day on 9M kites. I tried to use the 11M GK Sonic but it was like work. No more. I've had it with that kite. It was blowing 12 to 22 and should have been perfect conditions. In a lull or if I swing under the kite too far on a jump or transition the kite starts to fall backward and if you pull the bar in to power it up it just gets worse. You actually have to push the bar away to power it up in a lull. That is crazy. I already fly it slightly more depowered than what I've read is correct because it still seemed over-sheeted. It is sluggish compared to any other kite I fly. Anyone want a barely used kite for half price? Lots of people on the internet say that it is the best kite out there. The Cabrinha Crossbow is much more fun and has much more range and power and smoothness.
Enough ranting about a bad kite. Better I should be ranting about the wind, or lack thereof. I am told that there was very little wind for the week that I was gone and now the prediction doesn't call for anything but light southerlies for the next week. According to windguru they are having better wind a little south of here, at Altata. I think that they used to have a Red Bull King of the Air competition still further south at Puerto Vallarta in June. It may be time for a road trip.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Still no Wind
We are having day after day of very little wind. The water has warmed up to 75 degrees, but what good does that do us? There have been some Portuguese man o wars seen already. The fishing of dorado has started in earnest and lots of reports of dolphins, whales and even orcas. Dave, who runs the San Carlos Sailing School got some good photos of the orcas and as soon as I can I'll get them from him and post them. All of my photos have been wiped out when my hard drive went down. I had everything backed up but I accidently knocked my external hard drive off the table and it stopped working as well. Maybe someday I'll have the data recovered but in the meantime I have a new, totally blank hard drive in my computer. I have a few photos that were still in my camera that I am posting below. We did have one day of steady 15 knot wind that was absolutely wonderful.
