No Wind, No Wind, and Then...

We are not getting much wind. Almost nothing all week and then yesterday I had to get out the 30M to be able to get a good ride. This is what it looks like almost every day.

Roberto and I went for a mountain bike ride the other day that sounded good but turned out to be a lot tougher than I expected. Here is a photo from the trail just before it descends into the canyon below.

A Week of Other Stuff

The wind is supposed to return today but there has been very little for over a week. The weather has been cold, cloudy, and we've had rain a couple of nights, even hail. This means we have been forced to find other stuff to do. The other day Roberto, Jeff, and I hiked to the top of Illusion Rock. Nice hike, a little challenging, with lots of caves and great views. Pictures are below. We also found what appears to be airplane wreckage from when they crashed a plane during the filming of the movie Catch 22 in 1970.

The fishing has been good for yellowtail and we made up a big platter of sushi a few nights ago. Below is a shot of part of the local commercial catch. They will fill up those trucks and then they are off to Guadalajara and from there the fish go all over Mexico and beyond.

Blog Problems

Google hosts this blog and for a while now it has been slow and when I submit a post it disappears. If this message posts I will try to post again. Not much wind lately anyway.

When the Wind Dies

So what to do when the wind dies? Put up the 30 and keep on ripping.

The wind never really kicked in today but a bunch of us still got in a session on 12 meter kites. There was a television crew from GuaymasTV out at the beach for a while so it got a little crowed in front of the camera. Too bad the wind was light, they should come back when the wind is hooting.

As the afternoon progressed, the wind got less. To keep going we put up the big kite and powered up. The big monster is a lot of fun.

Dave from Canada gave it a try today as you can see in the photo below.

We had several good days but now we are in a three day lull that is forecast to end on Saturday and then nuke again on Sunday and Monday and continue for a few more days. Several kiters have been here long enough to really improve. The other day just about everybody was jumping and several were doing back rolls among other moves. It is a lot of fun because everyone wants to see how far they can go while they are here and no one wants to get left behind. It has definitely inspired me to go to the next level. Dennis and Cindy are a couple from California that were having a bit of a rough time kiting when they came and ended up really ripping in a short time. Great enthusiasm from both. They recently left but plan to return soon.
Cindy and Dennis

'Tis the Season

The wind has been good lately with only a couple of days last week that weren’t worth flying. Several of the kiters that were here for the holidays have left and others have arrived. Below is a photo of Stuart and Scott.

Both are regulars to San Carlos and were here for a while. Last year Stuart, who is from New Mexico, was still a beginner and this year he is throwing back rolls. Scott has been in the sport for a long time and has his own unique style – very smooth. He uses two line kites and a big board.
We all love it when he is here because he is always yelling encouragement to reach for the next level, and has the knowledge to explain how to achieve it. We miss him when he isn’t here. He has already returned to Oregon and will be going to New Zealand shortly.

That's me in the picture to the left, throwing one of the few tricks that I know.

Monster Kite

Yesterday the sun didn't come out and the wind was cold. Only a few kiters went out as the wind was up and down and the cold air kept most of us hiding behind shelter. We did have some entertainment however. Jeff tried out our new 30M kite. It was blowing 12 to 18 knots, not the ideal conditions for such a huge kite. We had someone hold him down when we launched, just in case. Being so powered up, it flew great and Jeff looked like he was having a blast catching good air and doing back rolls. Most of the time he was digging the edge of the board in as hard as he could, fighting the obvious power of the kite. We bought the kite as a novelty as it was on eBay, brand new with bar and lines, for about $100 and it was well worth it. It truly is impressive.