Frustrating Week

We had strong wind most of the week, but it was too northerly to be kitable. Finally, it was the right direction on Saturday, even if it was pretty light. A couple of people tried to milk the last of the afternoon wind and paid the price, having to self rescue from a ways out in the bay with almost no wind as the sun was setting.
The water is still warm, around 80 degrees, but the wind can be chilly. Most of us are using at least shorty wetsuits and thinking about going with something warmer soon. It won't be long before I'll be wearing my dry suit again.

Great Day

Hurricane Rick was the second strongest hurricane that they've ever had on this coast and it pushed up some pretty nice waves that started arriving at our beach today. The combination of a southerly swell and northwesterly wind made for an awesome day.



We also had a beach cleanup going on thanks to the hard work of Ricardo and Nesto, and the the generosity of Ken Francis. Ken donated a kite to be given in exchange for someone to clean the beach and these two accepted the offer. Below is a photo of day one of the cleanup. Later we had a big bonfire to burn the wood pile which made for a good excuse to sit and drink beer until after sunset. Thanks to all of you guys, the beach is a much safer place to kite now.

Marina Real

Last Friday three of us, Christian, Ken Francis, and I, tried kiting in front of Ken's house at Marina Real. There were waves to play in but the wind wasn't quite strong enough or steady enough although Christian said he had a great couple of sessions. Later we went to the usual spot by Soggy Peso and we kited until after sunset. It was really, really good. Blowing 15 to 20, fairly steady, with flat water. It is so easy to get your timing right in conditions like that. We didn't want to come off the water.

Good Turnout

We've had a couple of good days and should have one more before the wind shuts down again. Thursday, Ken and Christian flew down from Phoenix to join Roberto, Adam, Fireman John, and myself for a very nice session. It was blowing over 20 knots most of the afternoon.

There is still a lot of crap on the beach that makes launching and landing a bit tricky. One of these days we need to do a serious cleanup.

Afternoon wind

We've been getting a few afternoons of wind lately, although nothing too spectacular. I had been out of action since hurting my shoulder a while ago but I got back in the line up Thursday. Here is Roberto wrapping it up for the day while Fernando is still out on the water.

More Rain

Tropical storm Olaf came close enough to send us 24 hours of rain. I don't know how much rain fell but it had to have been at least a couple of inches. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining now so maybe we can get some normal seasonal weather soon. Windguru is calling for northwest wind later this week. I expect the forecast to change often, but right now it is looking good for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. We can hope.

Season is Looking Good

The season hasn't really started, but this was a good warm up week. Saturday was probably the best wind of the week. Fernando came down from Hermosillo and had a decent day. Here he is in the photo below throwing a nice move. Roberto is back in town after the river water ran low in Colorado, and he had good time on the water although his normally flat water spot near the gap had waves coming over the rocks and entering his kite area. Jeff showed up but his session was cut short with equipment problems. My day ended early. Fernando launched me and at first all seemed well as the kite was high in the wind window and just sort of hung there for a moment. Then it fell back into the power zone and instead of rising smoothly into the sky, it went into a spiral. One line was tangled into a loose knot at the kite, either from the wind flapping the kite or from some debris on the beach. It yanked me off my feet and then drove me into the ground. I don't remember much, I think I was knocked out for a moment. Next that I recall, I was in the water pulling my safeties as Fernando was trying to get to my kite. Obviously I survived but such a simple accident could have been disastrous as there was a rock wall just downwind from where I launched. I will be out of the line up for a couple of weeks as I crunched my shoulder pretty good and can't lift my arm at all right now. It feels like torn muscles. Time will heal all.

First Session

I had my first session of the season today. It was northwest, about 12 to 18 knots. I didn't last long, only a couple of hours, but it felt great. The beach was deserted. Soggy Peso is open but still no water or electricity and the road out to it is terrible. They did a good job of cleaning up the crap off the beach in front of the bar, but a lot of sand is gone. Here are some fotos. We need to do some serious clean up to make the beach kite friendly.

A lot of the sand was washed out into the bay, making it shallow a ways out and the waves break further from shore. Wave action is already pushing sand back up onto the beach so this beach configuration may not last long.

The Season is Coming

Not much to report. I've been back in Mexico for a week now. San Carlos is slowly recovering from the historic storm that hit a few weeks ago. Only a few area still have problems with water service and in general it is business as usual in town. The main road before you get to Charlies Rock will be out for a while more and other parts of the road are still in sad shape.
The Soggy Peso is open. The beach was reshaped by the storm, washing a lot of sand into the bay and covering up the reef that sits just offshore.
The wind has been shifting to the north in the afternoons the last three days and we may get enough to kite today or tomorrow. At least it is a sign that the season is coming.

No Wind....Wind

I am still in Cape Cod and the weather has been nice, but not much wind.



I can't complain, though, because back home in San Carlos they just got slammed by tropical storm Jimena. Lots of damage. No serious injuries but a few homes lost and many damaged, roads washed out, loss of electric, water, and phone. Click here for pictures.

I also don't want to complain because we had good wind today.