Back on the Water

I spent Christmas up in Tucson, and while it was great to spend time with old friends it didn't take long to get tired of the cold weather and all the traffic. While the wind hasn't been perfect, I have still gotten out kiting both days since my return and today and tomorrow should be okay as well. I picked up a couple of light wind kites on eBay to play around with and tried out a 19.5 M Cabrinha Contra yesterday. We had a lull in the wind when I decided to put it up but by the time I got out on the water it had picked up again. Russ was out on a 7.5M kite at the same time I was flying the 19.5M. It was smooth and controllable but nothing special. Just another big kite. I didn't dare try the other kite - a 30M Naish kite that I got on eBay for $100 brand new complete with bar and lines.
Lots of people on the beach and lots of kiters on the water. I like it a lot better than the years past when often it would be just a couple of kiters and no one on the beach. Water temp is still way above normal at 66 degrees.

Christmas Wind

It looks like San Carlos is getting some good wind for the holiday but I am up in Tucson far from the water. I'll be back in time for the next good blow to start, which Windguru says will be Thursday the 28th after a break of only a day or two. If anyone is interested, I have a slightly used 11M GK Sonic kite up for sale on eBay. Just click here to see it.

I've been looking at Playa del Carmen as a place to go next month for a kite vacation but the wind reports lately don't look encouraging. The search for warm water and good wind continues. Any suggestions?

Merry Christmas to all.

Getting Better

It has been a good four day blow, with winds gusting up to 30 knots. Lots of people out on the water and everyone has been having a great time. Last year we would have been complaining about how gusty it is but now almost everyone has a small bow kite and they handle these winds without a problem. Last year I had the only bow kite on the beach but the other day there were seven or eight bows being flown and only one C kite. The kites just keep getting better.
The water temperature is still several degrees warmer than normal at 68 degrees. Usually it is closer to 60 and by the end of the month it is often into the 50's. Let's hope that it stays warm all winter.

Three Days Without Wind

Three days without wind and the kiters are getting restless. The forecast for tomorrow isn't great but if there is any wind at all we'll be out there. They say it will start blowing again on Monday. I hope so. I've been watching kite videos and thinking about another kiting trip. This time to Playa del Carmen. More on that later. For now, a couple more photos from out at the beach.

North Wind

The wind has been howling for quite a few days now but during most of the day it is still too northerly and the beach is shielded. We usually get a couple of hours of good wind late in the day. Yesterday was a day for 12M kites but Sunday was gusting up to 30 knots. Below is a photo of Jeff and Carlos after the session on Sunday.

Windy Days

The last few days have been real windy but it was blowing too Northerly to do us any good until Friday. When the wind blows from higher than northwest it is blocked by the mountains and it doesn’t blow close to the beach. The whole town of San Carlos can be in the wind shadow while it is howling off shore. Friday was a Mexican holiday due to inauguration day for the new presidency so we had a good showing of people. Both Carlos’s, Ricardo, Jeff, Dave from Canada, and myself were out on the water. We all got to the beach early and it was a bit gusty. Jeff blew out the lines on his kite but it was a good afternoon in general.

This is Sunnie


In my blog of Nov.16th, http://kiteboard-mexico.blogspot.com/2006/11/still-hasnt-kicked-in.html, I wrote that there was a non-certified instructor showing up at the beach that I said should be avoided, implying that he didn’t follow the current safety guidelines. He replied with a post in the sailing forum that he moderates at http://sancarlosmx.mywowbb.com/forum4/2027.html . He seems to be challenging me to back up what I wrote, even calling me a coward. Well, readers – you be the judge.

He teaches his clients to set up the kite in the self launch position. WRONG
I have observed that Vinny always sets his kite up this way (he is the only one that does) and will leave it up on end while he goes and gets his wetsuit on, etc. He doesn’t even turn the kite down wind; it is constantly attempting to blow away and the only thing that saves it from doing so is that he underinflates the kites and thus are not so apt to try to straighten out. Your kite should be upside down while you set it up and while you get ready.

He then usually shows them how to self launch. WRONG
Beginners should not be self launching; they should be encouraged to always seek out someone knowledgeable to assist. Many beginners have been having rough launches and they need to know that none of us mind giving them a hand to keep everyone safe. If we see you need help, we won’t wait for you to ask – we want a safe beach. Vinny has objected when we try to give advice or help to one of “his” students.


Vinny also has had his students launch on the beach while hooked in and facing away from the sea, towards land. WRONG
Beginners should never hook in until they are getting into the water and should get into the water as soon as possible after launching. (Please note that this was written in 2006 before we had a modern chicken loop - hooked in meant powered up.) It is better to launch towards the water for obvious reasons. Vinny has his beginning students not just hooked in, but he has them putting the kite through the power zone while on the beach in order to be drug down the beach on their heels.

He teaches his students when self rescuing they should attach the bar leash to the board and follow the safety line to the kite. WRONG
The kite can relaunch with this setup and if you are tangled in the lines, you will get hurt, and look out for the board as it flies past you – that happened to me years ago and I will never self rescue that way again. If you don’t know how to do it right – get instructions from someone who does know.

The other day I was telling someone that I really recommend an impact vest harness and Vinny said to him that he doesn’t need the flotation because he will be wearing a wet suit. WRONG
Turns out he had already sold this guy a harness. Well, an impact vest is not for flotation, Vinny, it is to absorb the impact of crashing as the name suggests. Most have very little flotation. Your ribs are very vulnerable. One of our seasonal kiters, Stuart, broke a rib just a few days ago. Last year Ricardo cracked one, Jeff has broken one and Dave Baraff did also. That is just on our beach, where we only have a few kiters.

Vinny sold a 20M kite to a friend that has never tried the sport. WRONG
Oh my God. A 20M kite to use on a beach where the wind howls. Someone sold a 20M kite to a novice on the other side of Mexico and the local kiting community practically called for his head. Read the comments at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kitesurfmexico/message/6040 (It is in Spanish) I admit that Vinny’s customer weighs more than 70 kgs but this is a kite that can easily get any beginner into trouble.

This is just the major stuff.

My opinions are based on what I have read and watched, and what I have observed on regulated beaches in many locations including major areas such as Cape Cod, South Padre, and Cabarete.

Read the manuals, watch the videos, and take lessons from a certified instructor.

Check out: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xk0ca_ca-fait-mal

I invite comments.

Better Than Nothing

The wind hasn't been typical for this time of year, but it has blown enough to get out on the water for a couple of hours most days. Trouble is that sometimes the wind comes early and sometimes it comes late in the day so it is easy to miss it. Often times there is little wind in town but it will be blowing out at the kite beach. Water is still very warm for this time of year, still in the 70's.

Ive been reading postings on a Canadian kiteboard forum, http://www.skypilotkiteboarding.com/forum/, about kiteboarding in other places in Mexico and the Playa del Carmen area is sounding awfully tempting.

Here are a couple of photos of recent action.

Two Good Days and Then...

This weekend we had two good days of wind but now it has shut down again and not looking very promising. Lots of new people out learning the sport. Most are still in the early stages and struggling but I think everyone that is trying it is enjoying the sport. Some winter visitors from previous years are starting to show up. Dave, from Canada is back for his second year and was using a 12 meter Waroo that he likes and does great on. I didn't care for the 14M Waroo that I had used but others seem to like them. I finally got hold of a photo that someone took of me up in the air, so here it is below.

Still Hasn't Kicked In

Tuesday was a good 15 to 22 knot day and most days have some wind but the seasonal northwesterlies still aren't blowing as much as normal. Most winters we get several days in a row of strong wind followed by a couple of off days all winter starting in October and continuing up to May. Even the off days are usually kiteable but sometimes with a big kite and only for a couple of hours. If you aren't at the beach at the right time, you'll miss it.

Jeff has been going nuts doing his back roll with a kiteloop. He nails them most of the time. We also have had a number of new people to the sport out at the beach. It is great seeing people getting excited about learning to kiteboard. Most everyone has taken or is taking lessons. Make sure your instructor is PASA or IKO certified so you know he uses the latest and safest methods. Jeff is PASA certified and he follows their curriculum. There is another rogue instructor on the beach that should be avoided. Jeff can be contacted through his site at http://www.sancarloskites.com/.

Getting High

The wind came back strong last Sunday and a few of us got out for a powered up session. I wish I had photos because the people on the beach said I was getting up 30 to 40 feet. I know it was high enough to scare me and after 1/2 an hour or so I went in so I wouldn't hurt myself. The landings were hard as my timing was way off.

Saturday was an off day but the beach was busy as you can see below. Haven't had much wind since Monday. Hoping to get some flying in tomorrow but the forecast says we may have to wait until Sunday when a good four day blow should start.

Great Wind, Finally

Finally we are getting the conditions that we expect for this time of the year, wind in the 15 to 25 knot range. We just had three days of strong wind, today's prediction is for a day off, and then the forecast is for two more good days. From the middle of October until May we expect to have five good wind days a week. The weather lately has given us exceptional beach days. The days have been getting close to 90 degrees and the water, after cooling off to close to 70, has warmed back up to 77. This brings lots of people out to the beach for a real festive time. All too soon the water will be frigid, the wind will be cold, and the sand will be blowing too much to stretch out on the beach.
For those of you not familiar with our kite site, this is a picture of the bay. We have great wind, flat water, and sandy beaches on a horseshoe shaped bay. In short, a perfect place to kiteboard.

Sunrise

Cooler Weather

The northerlies are back but still a bit sporadic. We have had some really good days with wind getting over 20 knots but the wind doesn't stay consistent all day. A bit hit or miss. After a couple of good days we have to put up with two or three lousy days. The water temp has already dropped below 75 degrees so I am having to wear a shorty wetsuit to be able to stay out for extended sessions.

We've had a couple of new people show up and it is always interesting to check out other gear. There is so much stuff out there now and an equal amount of hype about all the gear.

The Good Wind is Back

The strong northerlies are back, at least they were for the last two days. The forecast doesn't call for anything for the next five days but they have been wrong before. Yesterday Jeff and I were powered up on 9M kites, first time since last season. I forgot how quick those kites are. So much fun, such big air.

I tried out a couple of new boards that Jeff picked up this summer. I was a little skeptical of his Cabrina Icon 138 because it has a lot of rocker and I was going to use it when the wind was already dying late in the day, but it felt great. The next day I used his 142 Airush in powered conditions and does that board ever dig in. No sliding around the turns, that board grabs the water more than my small boards. It goes where you point it.

The water and air temperatures are still great, but I am already using my shorty wetsuit as the wind gets chilly late in the day. It will be full wetsuit weather in two or three weeks as the water cools off quickly this time of year.

Windy Weekend

Saturday and Sunday we had good north westerly winds.

Both days had several people on the water, and the beach was full of sunbathers. We also had a few quadrunners that kept racing through the area causing havoc, running over boards and peoples belongings.

The weather is great this time of year. The air temperatures get into the upper 80's and the water is in the lower 80's. Unfortunately, the water will cool off quickly and it will soon be wetsuit time again.

One sour note for the weekend was that Carlos Spriu lost his board when he got blown down wind, crashed his kite and got separated from his board. Usually when this happens the board is found when it washes up on the beach on the other side of the bay but being the weekend there were jet skis on the water and lots of people and vehicles on the beach so it must have gotten picked up before Carlos had a chance to find it.

The Start of a New Season

The weather hasn't changed much yet but it seems that it is trying We are getting more north-westerly winds, although they have mostly been weak. We get at least one good session in a week. I went out today from the La Manga beach and had an enjoyable afternoon ride but it was marginal and I had to really work it to stay upwind. It should just get better from here on out.

The cooler weather has been good for taking the motorbike out into the desert. We are still getting an occasional rain, making this summer one of the wettest I've seen. The often barren desert is covered with grass and all the bushes and trees that just a few months ago were dry and brown are now lush and green.

Back in San Carlos

Well, it has been over a month since my last entry. Not much kiteboarding going on. In Cape Cod there were only a few days of good wind and it was mostly too cold to get me out on the water. I should have brought my full wet suit. I got back to San Carlos a couple of days ago and although there hasn't been much wind there has been a lot of anticipation for the coming season. Jeff went to North Carolina and got his teaching certification and besides the latest teaching techniques he brought down lots of new stuff. New kites, new boards, new videos, a land board, and a great trampoline with an enclosure that allows you to try out all kinds of moves without any danger of bouncing off and killing yourself.


I thought that I had already posted a photo of San Carlos' newest resident but I don't see it anywhere so I will post it here. His name is Noah. He is only two days old in this picture. He was born to Jeff and Kellie, who stayed here in Mexico for the birth which was around the 11th of August. Congratulations.

Out of Here

It is time for me to get out of town for a while. It is HOT ! A lot of people who are still in San Carlos will tell you that it isn't so bad. They are delusional. You cannot spend more than a few minutes outside without dripping from sweat. I used to think that the diving and spearfishing conditions in the summer made up for the inconvenience of hellish heat. After twelve years of diving the same spots and having only so - so fishing conditions, I am more than ever ready to leave this year. This is my usual trip back East, back home where I grew up, to spend time with my folks and other relatives and friends, relax a lot, eat good food, and do some kiteboarding.

East Dennis, Massachusetts.

Cape Cod.

I'll try to write a few blogs from there because it is really a great place.

I made the drive up from San Carlos to Tucson (where I'll fly out of) a couple of days ago and everything was lush from the recent rains. We have had an extended dry period and things were looking pretty brown and dead but the desert has bounced back as it always does.

Still Hot in San Carlos

I've been back in San Carlos for over a week and the weather has mostly been hot and humid and it is pretty quiet in town, as is usual for this time of year. After having a great two weeks in tropical Dominican Republic it is hard to get used to the conditions here. Too hot for most land excursions, diving visibility locally tends to be poor for days after a storm, and there is enough wind to keep the sea stirred up but not enough to go sailing or kite boarding.

Yesterday was a nice exception. We had strong wind out of the northwest. A little cooler and drier. And enough to go kite boarding. Jeff and I had a great day. We put up our big kites but really could have gone smaller as we were over powered much of the time. It blew all day from around 11:00 AM until sunset. Didn't get any pictures; too busy playing in the wind and water.

Two other notes: There has been enough rain that everything is nice and green. And Kellie from the Hangout is still patiently waiting to have her baby. She is 41 weeks or so.

Cabarete

Well, I am in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. The flight was long to get here, but not too bad. The trip was worth it. The weather and water are warm, and the wind starts out 10 - 15 knots in the morning and picks up in the afternoon up to 25 knots. The area has plenty of restaurants and the night life goes all night. Maybe the best part of the Republic is the people; friendly, helpful and always with a great attitude and an ability to enjoy life. It seems like they are always smiling. The resort where I am staying is Kitexite where the staff and equipment are great. I am renting their kites and boards for $200 a week and I am trying out different stuff daily. It does get a bit crowded out there but crashes are surprisingly few considering the number of people here that are new to the sport.

July Update

First, an explanation for the environmental report on the polluted beaches. It appears that it was just Sonoran state officials being (take your pick:)stupid, incompetent, lazy. The state is in charge of testing the coastal waters and reporting the results to the federal agency. Apparently the state's testing came up with bad numbers. Off the charts. Ten thousand times higher than normal. Instead of questioning these numbers and double checking the methods or results, they just sent them in to the federal authorities who then published them and advised that the beaches should be closed. After the reports made headlines in the newspapers the state health officials cried foul and showed that all previous tests and subsequent tests showed that the beaches were very clean, that there had to have been something wrong in the testing procedure. Why didn't the health officials question the numbers before sending them to the feds?

Anyway, as to more important things - we had wind ! Wednesday and Saturday it blew out of the northwest up to 22 knots. Very unusual for us to get wind out of that direction this time of year. Usually all we get are southerlies, which are never as nice. So we had a couple of really good days which felt great because it has been an unusually non-windy summer so far. Non-windy enough that I am taking off this week to go to Cabarete, in the Dominican Republic.

And, speaking of unusual things, there was a parade and party on the beach on July 5th. It was a cross dress affair. I was told a story behind this event. Apparently five years ago a group of people new to the area read about a transvestite show in Guaymas and decided to dress the part and go. The show never happened that night, and not only were they the only gringos at the bar, they were they only people in drag. They had a great time and decided to do something similar every year. They live in the subdivision, Costa del Mar, and recruit neighbors and friends to participate. The theme changes a bit from year to year and seems to make for a great excuse to party on the beach.

San Carlos Beaches Most Polluted in Mexico

Wow, what a report that just came out about the beaches of this area. The worst in Mexico. If the bacteria count gets to 104 they close the beaches in the USA. The bacteria count was as high as 22,000 at our beaches. I don't know how it can be this bad and there not be a lot of people getting sick, but the testing was done by an official government lab. Maybe we locals that are in the water all the time are immune to this level of bacteria but it could make an unsuspecting tourist very sick. Green Peace Mexico has started a campaign called "Queremos Playas Limpias" or We Want Clean Beaches. I know that of all the places that I have been in Mexico, Guaymas is the most polluted, and I have read that the levels of skin and respiratory infections are extremely high among the children of Guaymas. It will be interesting to see what the reaction will be from the local business leaders. Will they demand action to clean up the pollution, or will they try to cover up the facts and downplay the risks. Would you swim in water or let your kids swim in water that you know is more than 200 times the established at risk level for bacteria? You wouldn't if you were in the states because the risks would be well publicized, but I'll bet that most people here will ignore this report. Swim at your own risk !

You Rock !

A Nice Sunday

Well, there wasn't enough wind Sunday. What else is new. It was blowing 10 - 12 knots, which was enough to go out on a Hobie Cat. Rodolfo, his 5 year old son, and I had a nice sail, pulled the boat up on the rocky beach near the tip of Deer Island and had a nice time snorkling in the warm, fairly clear water. There were lots of fish, especially hiding in the sargaso seaweed that reaches from the bottom almost to the surface. I didn't take my speargun, but I should have. Later, back at the Hangout which has a new bar called The Soggy Peso, it was time to enjoy a cold beer and listen to some live music. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Earlier in the week we tried out the conditions at a beach the other side of Guaymas, called Cochorit. It was fun to go someplace else but the sand is oily, the result of being downwind from the sardine packing plant. Below are a couple of photos from that day. We also got in one good day this week kiting near the condos Pilar. A bit gusty, 12 - 24, and big choppy surf but it was fun.

Quiet Summer Days

It has been a long time since I did an update, but there isn't much to report. The wind has been light and variable, not enough to power up a kite. Did get in almost an hour of kiting today just before sunset. Wind predictions sometimes look good a few days out but then fizzle out as the day arrives. So I've been forced to find alternative things to do and the other day I bought a motorcycle to get me out into the desert and mountains. It is a 200 cc trail bike made in Mexico, and while it doesn't compare with a Yamaha, it cost less than $2,000 new and has a dealer here in Guaymas.

The visibility in the sea has gotten decent and the water temp is up to about 83 degrees so the snorkeling is good too. Still the heat is oppressive and I have been spending lots of time looking for other places to go. Dominican Republic is looking real good for kiteboarding. I think that I'll be making reservations very soon.

A couple of weeks ago I had my ripped up Crossbow kite repaired at a local shop, Marine Mart, and they did an excellent job for only 300 pesos, about $27. They have also done other repairs for kiters including things like harness repair and zipper replacement, usually while you wait and for as little as $10. The shop is located on the way to the beach so it is a great asset to the kiting scene.

Road Trip to Altata

Scott, Chino, and I took off to seek wind and adventure in Sinaloa. We got to Culiacan Sunday evening, got some food, saw a movie, and drove into Navolato to stay at a hotel that I had stayed at before. A room for three was 400 pesos, about $12 each - not bad. There isn't much going on in Navolato but it is a very pleasant city of about 30,000 people and just 15 minutes to the beach. There are two parts to the beach community of Altata, where we spent the next couple of days. Old Altata is on the bay and has several blocks of sea food stands and restaurants right on the waters edge. We had some great food there. New Altata is a resort on the ocean side. Very nice. Everything is beautifully done and well maintained, and the beach is gorgeous. We didn't have as much wind as we would have liked but had some surf to play in that more than made up for it. Probably the thing that has impressed me the most about this beach is the people that I have met there. David Garcia and Hector are two guys that work at the beach and do whatever they can to help out including loaning us surf boards and launching and catching kites. I met them the last time I was here and it was great to see them again. On the last day we met Marcela, a beautiful girl from Culiacan that just started to kite in January. She ended up showing us around a bit and taking us out to a great dinner. I wish I could have had more time to kite with her as she is just fun to be around. Meeting great people is a big part of what makes kiting such a great sport.

Above and below are photos from the beach at Nuevo Altata.

Food, drink, and live mariachi music at the waters edge.

In the center of town in Navolato.

Three Good Days

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were good northwesterly wind days. Possibly our last good northerly session of the season. Wind gusting up to 30 knots. Not many kiters got out to take advantage of the wind. The first day I started off with my 9M Crossbow and when I came in Jeff was just arriving and I let him take it out for a while. Unfortunately he had a mishap with it that leads me to emphasize a point to all kiters reading this blog. If the kite looses power or crashes into the water and is about to restart or power up in the high power zone, you must depower the kite or you run the risk of blowing it out. The sudden powering up can be more than the kite can handle. With the bow kites you can completely depower them by pushing the bar away but with traditional kites you will have to pull the safety. It is a pain in the neck because probably 90% of the time you can get way with it. But that tenth time you will do serious damage to your kite.

Tueday Scott and I did a session at the other end of San Carlos near the condos Pilar and had fun with the waves and all the space. Didn't take any photos there, so here is one from Wednesday back at "the kiddy pool."

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.

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.

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 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.

Water Temperatures

Below is a water temperature chart that includes the San Carlos area. Click on it to see it full size.
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.

12 C ..........53.6 F
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

31 C ...........87.8 F

32 C............89.6 F

33 C............91.4 F

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.

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.

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 !
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