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.

West Dennis

Wind has been spotty here on Cape Cod but we had a good day today even though it was quite gusty. It still felt great to get out on the water. It was a good day for boosting but not so good for landing - you never knew if the gust would last or just drop you like a brick. It was blowing 15 to 30 mph all afternoon. Just about all of us that got out early were done by 3pm - worn out. This weekend may be more of the same as another hurricane is going to pass by.

Cape Cod

It's been a long time since I've had a good powered up day. Friday was that kind of day. Not overpowered by any means but a good 15 to 20 knots. I had a blast. The beach was crowded with kites, but only because it was a very high tide and there was almost no beach. I don't think there was ever more than ten kiters out on the water at one time. Lots of space.



I am kiting at West Dennis Beach, on Cape Cod Massachusetts. My first three days here had light winds. I'm hoping to have more wind Saturday but Hurricane Bill may interfere. Hopefully it just sends reasonable wind and big waves.

Below is a video of some kids using a bungee cord to power a skim board. Some of the kids were really good but I didn't have the patience to film more than this.

We Keep Trying

Summer winds just don't do it. At least once a week it appears to be blowing and a few of us will head out to the beach, rig up, and hit the water. It usually doesn't take long for us to have had enough. There just is never good enough wind to get a productive session in. Beginners would have a hard time staying up wind. Even if the wind measures up to 20 knots, it just isn't enough. Hot summer wind obviously is less dense than our cold winter air and thus has less push on the kites. Humid air is also less dense. That is because water vapor doesn't add to the air like salt does to water, it displaces air, and water vapor weighs a lot less than the air it displaces. After all, water vapor is two parts hydrogen, the lightest element of all, and one part oxygen. The other thing working against us is the choppiness of the water. Southerlies always produce a lot of chop and that requires more wind to be able to power through it. The other frustrating thing about kiting in the summer is that even when it does blow a little, it usually only lasts about three hours and it could be any time of the day, but usually early. By the time you realize that it is blowing and you get to the beach and get rigged up, the session is already ending.

If any of you are kiting where you are at, please send photos and comments to share with us. My email is kite420(at)gmail.com.

South Wind

We got some wind today, Sunday.
It didn't last long.
A little more than three hours.
It was over by 11:00 in the morning.
It was the most we've had so far this summer.

Estuary

Still not much wind, so I've had to search for solutions to this problem. The most promising seems to be the open area of the estuary Soldado across from where the oyster farm used to be. I went there today with Kevin, a beginning kiter from San Diego. Wind was very light, less than 14 knots and sometimes less than 10 knots. I was able to get out on my 14m kite and have some fun, although my jumps were pretty limited. Kevin struggled a bit but still had a good session.

This part of the estuary is wide enough, is very shallow, no wind obstructions and with flat water that seems saltier so has better flotation. The north end has a good launch area but much of the rest of the shoreline has some nasty brush nearby.

Friday was the annual cross dressing party at the Soggy Peso. It was hilarious. Here is a link to my post of the party in 2006: http://kiteboard-mexico.blogspot.com/2006/07/july-update.html

Italy

We continue to have very little wind.

Sometimes we try to take advantage of stormy weather approaching to get in a kite session. Here is a reminder to be careful: http://www.theromanforum.com/?p=3300.

And here is a statement from the International Kiteboarding Organization:

IKO would like to send its condolences to the family of the Italian kiter that lost his life in a terrible accident on Saturday June 20, 2009 in"Campo di Mare" near Rome. We hope that the other kiters involved will make full recoveries and return to the water once again. We all must use this as a reminder to never fly our kites high when on the beach. These men were all experienced but still were caught in an ascencional wind gust of unbelievable force.Even while speaking on the beach do not fly your kite in zenith. Please land your kite when you get to shore. Let this be a warning from mother nature that we are all vulnerable to her wrath, so always practice safe kiting!

We all take more chances than we should. So be careful.

I wear an impact vest and plan on buying a helmet, not that either one would have saved this unfortunate kiter.

No News

I've been out of town, up in the good ol' U S of A trying to earn a little money since things have been pretty slow in San Carlos. Wind Guru has been showing some northwest wind back at the Soggy Peso but not real strong. It should have been enough to get out and do something. It will still be another week before I am back in Mexico. Looks like I'll need to find another sport to occupy my time for the summer.

On a more somber note, we had a fatality of a beginner kiter over in Progresso in the state of Yucatan. Apparently he was using an older kite that was too big for the conditions, in a spot without much launching space and he was by himself. He was lifted and crashed against a house. There is also a question of whether he got adequate medical attention as he died several hours later in a local hospital and was never sent to a more modern hospital just 20 minutes away in Merida.

Be Safe!!!!

Summer Already

It sure feels like summer around here. Lots of heat, no wind and we have already had some thunderstorms. Last Sunday we had some wind and a bunch of kiters showed up for what very well could have been our last session of the season.

This is Memorial Day weekend and there is a sailboat regatta going on as well as the Mexican Youth Olympic Sailing Competition, and some sort of bicycle racing event. Even with all that going on the town still seems empty. Last night, Friday night, the bars were dead.

A few shots from last weekend:

Updates

Lately, every time they update the forecast it changes a lot. Still hoping for wind Sunday but I'll be taking my big boards.

Waiting for Wind

There hasn't been much wind. Once in a while there seems to be a southerly strong enough to kite with but it never lasts. Beau and Adam went out to Cochorit Beach the other day. I think they missed the best of it and didn't have very good conditions. You always need more wind in the summer to be powered up. Warm, moist air is less dense and the wind doesn't pack the punch of the cold dry air we have in the winter. Plus, the sea is always choppy where we go to kite the southerlies so we need more wind to power through the waves.

The forecast, however, is calling for northwest wind over 20 knots on Sunday and Monday and maybe continuing on Tuesday and Wednesday. This could be the last of the north wind for the season.

Not Much Wind

Not much to report. We have had very little wind since I got back from Texas and I've been too busy working to bother to seek out other fun stuff to do. It is getting hot here, although the water is a nice cool 72 degrees. As usual, by the time the water warms up it is so hot out that you don't care.

Here are a few more shots from South Padre.

Texas

A bunch of us from Arizona went to South Padre and Corpus Christi for a week and had a blast.
The wind blew every day. It got a bit crowded at times in Padre, but Corpus has so many spots to kite that we could always find our own area if we wanted to.

By the way, someone wrote me a comment that there is an article in Kiteboarder Magazine on San Carlos: http://www.theringmedia.com/PDFS/TheKiteboarder/thekiteboarder.april2009.pdf

A Good Day

Video

Video featuring Jeff, Luque, and Don. Last Sunday.

Funny Thing?

A funny thing happened the other day. I was fixing a pair of leaking valves on my 14m kite when Scott came by. I stopped what I was doing to visit with him and showed him a visitor that I found in my house - a scorpion, which I had placed in a tumbler. Scott made the comment that this little scorpion is one of the more potent types. After a while I went back to fixing my kite and Scott asked if he could get himself a glass of water. Naturally I said yes and continued with my chore. Scott comes out back where I am working and takes a big drink from his glass. Unfortunately he had used the glass that contained the scorpion which was now wiggling in his mouth. Luckily he was able to spit it out before it stung him. Not sure if he thought that it was as funny as I did.

Sunday

Semana Santa

It is Semana Santa and traffic is terrible but not as bad as years past. The crowd seems younger and the girls are prettier, but maybe I'm just getting older and uglier. There may be fewer people but they make up for it by playing the music louder and partying later, some until daybreak.

The wind is blowing at my house so I went to the beach but it was only blowing 10 to 15 knots with nothing more offshore. Lots of people but no other kiters so I didn't bother to stay. Tomorrow and Monday are supposed to be good.

Pictures

This blog received a complaint that I hadn't been posting many pictures. Well, I was without a camera for awhile and I was also usually on the water if I was at the beach. Lots of other people were always taking photos and I would give them my email address and ask them to send me a few good ones. They would always say yes. And then they would always fail to do so.

We haven't had much wind for the last couple of weeks, but today it blew all day. I went out about 10:30 and others arrived throughout the day. In all we must have had ten kiters today. We also had a lot of early Semana Santa visitors at the beach. Some years it has gotten too crowed to be able to kite without endangering the beach goers.

Anyway, here are some photos from todays sessions. If you would like to see the photos of the past year or so you can go here.

Fireman John, carving a nice transition.

Roberto

Jorge Luque attempting a board off.

Sweet

The wind turned sweet today. I got out late, after 4pm and found 16 to 19 knots of wind blowing. It blew until the sun went down. It would be nice to have those conditions all the time. It was a good day to practice all of the few tricks that I know. Should have been trying out new stuff. But my favorite thing to do is still to boost big. I had my biggest boost ever on the outside. Nothing tops that feeling. I love it.

Today we had wind slowing building all day. It bodes well for the next few days. The prediction is calling for 30 knot gusts. It has been a while since we've had a good blow. We've seen a lot more marginal days than normal for this time of the year.

March Wind?

Usually March is a good month for wind here, but it is not starting out that way this year. The past ten days have had little wind and the forecast is calling for more of the same. We still get out a few days a week but mostly in light wind. The last couple of days it has blown early (before noon) and then tapers off in the afternoon. The forecasts have been useless as they have been wrong most every day.
Air temperatures have been normal lately, getting into the low 70's but we had a real hot stretch ten days ago and it is supposed to get back up close to 90 later next week. Water temperature is still cool, but starting to warm up - finally above 65 degrees.

New Riders

Kinsley is back in San Carlos. He brought about half a dozen other kiters with him from California. Several are very good riders and it will be fun to watch them do their moves for the next few days. Bring your camera.

Lots of Wind

Starting while I was still in Tucson and continuing until today it has been blowing. Some days the sand has been blowing head high. Great for launching big jumps.

I was in Tucson most of last week but the kite gang told me I didn't miss much. It blew, but it was nasty and gusty. It gets that way here once in a while. Since I've been back the wind has been better. The rest of this week looks good. February and March are usually our best months for wind. Carnaval (out local version of Mardi Gras) has been going on in Guaymas. Because of Carnaval and some great weather there has been a lot of people at the beach.
A bunch of school age kids from Hermosillo are taking up the sport and it can get pretty crazy out on the water some days while they go through the learning process.
I heard that the Paridiso Hotel, our launch location, has been sold. We will have to see what that means for our beach access.

Wind continues to be lacking compared to most years. We have had a few days here and there but generally on the light side. Yesterday was good, but the bigger kites were out most of the day. As often happens, the steadiest winds came at the end of the day. About the time that most of the kiters are packing up for the day due to being tired and cold, the wind settles into a steady blow with flat water. It is also a great time to avoid kite traffic. Yesterday it got a little crowded, but nothing like it was last month. Joe showed up for his first day of the year, and also on the water besides myself were Gerald, Helmut, Roberto, Jimmy, Nico, Fernando, Jeff, and a newbie Bo. Luckily all ten weren't out on the water at the same time. The forecast is looking good for Saturday and Sunday and then starting again on Wednesday.

We weren't expecting any wind today but it blew pretty good for a while. Below are Jimmy, Ken and Gerald. Helmut and I were the only other kiters out that day.

The last man on the water was Gerald! He milked every bit of wind that there was at the end of the day.

Almost Perfect

Thursday and Friday were wonderful. It was nuking on Thursday but unlike most nuking days, this one had steady wind. Great for launching big air. Friday was a little more mellow but the wind was just as stable. Great for trying out all kinds of moves. We were hoping for a repeat today, but the wind backed off even more. There was very little at the kiddie pool but enough to get out at La Manga. Tomorrow should be the same and Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be better. Today was the last day for Glen and Sue. They'll be heading back to Canada in the morning. Most of the time Sue was the only female on the water. Glen has added a bunch of new moves and is always fun to watch whether he lands the move or not. He is hoping to get a group together to spend a couple of weeks in Hatteras this Spring.

As Expected

As expected, we didn't have much wind the past week. Just a day here and there of 12 to 15 knots, gusting up to 20, but only for short periods of time. Today, Tuesday, it is supposed to start blowing again and blow for the next several days. The crowd of kiters that were here over the holidays are but a memory. Even on weekends we don't get more than four of five kiters on the water at the same time.

The weather has stayed warmer than usual and the water is much warmer than last year. The sea had started to cool off a couple of weeks ago but it is in the mid to upper 60's now. Last year was the coldest I had ever seen it, and this year it is the warmest. Crazy.

Not Much Wind

The nice wind that we had to start the year is over. Expectations of a great month have been dashed. Today will be the fourth day in a row with light winds. We may get something Monday and Tuesday and then it looks like light wind for the rest of the week.
On the bright side, the weather has been great for doing anything else. Hermosillo has been setting records for warm temperatures.
The water is still cool, in the low 60's.

Parts of northern Sea of Cortez are having wind. Christian was heading to San Felipe where the wind looks great this weekend but that is a long slow drive to get there. Closer to Arizona is El Golfo, which also is having decent wind.

Good Start to a New Year

January has been good so far. Most days have been kiteable. With everybody getting in lots of days of good kiting several have made great progress in their kiting skills. Stuart and Dave just ended a two month stay. Dave is getting the hang of the sport, and Stuart successfully executed several new moves. Glen and Luque both continue to throw all kinds of moves - some more successful than others. Ken is another kiter that comes down once in a while and he left after a three day stay with a new skill level. The photo below shows Ken taking advantage of every bit of late afternoon wind.

We have been having okay wind almost every day. Today the wind was a bit light and I had the bay to myself for quite a while. A nice change from the crowd of a week ago. Tomorrow is questionable but the weekend is supposed to nuke. Get ready for big air. I think this season has been a great one, mostly because so many kiters are making great progress on their kiting skills and that encourages others to push to improve as well. Lots of crashes to watch too. Speaking of crashes, today was not a good day to crash near shore. The tide was really low and the reef rocks were above water as you can see below.

Oh, I keep forgetting that I've been meaning to share a link to another great wind forecast site that Christian turned me on to. Sailflow.com
There is a "play " button in the header that will load the maps for the next 6 days and then you can scroll them to get a good idea of the wind prospects.

The holidays are about over and the crowd is beginning to thin out a bit. It has been fun having so many kiters show up at the beach although at times it is really crowded out on the water. A lot of the kiters have been learning new moves and have benefited from the presence of Kinsley and Jamie from Xtreme Big Air in California. They do tricks that we have never seen at this beach and have been real helpful to all of us. They also have great deals on equipment at their website. I hope they have enjoyed their stay and that they come back again.

A shot of just part of the group.

Jamie throwing a nice raley.

Kinsley in the middle of a some combination maneuver.

Christmas Week

There was no wind from Monday through Thursday but we may now get nearly a week of kiteable afternoons. The last three days there has been wind, but its direction hasn't been great, resulting in some strong gusts and sudden drops in wind. Below is a picture of the result of one of those drops. A multiple walk of shame after a downwinder from La Manga Dos and shooting the gap between the islands.

There have been lots of kites on the water, sometimes a dozen or more. The space we like to kite in is small so it gets pretty crowded out there. Once in a while we'll have a close call and even the occasional collision.

The Next Blow Has Started

The weather hasn't been like Decembers of the past. It is still fairly warm, the wind isn't as strong, and the slack days are more numerous. The water is around 65 degrees, almost ten degrees warmer than at this time last year. I bought a dry suit this year in anticipation of frigid conditions and tried it out yesterday. I was toasty warm.
I don't think the wind ever got up to 20 knots yesterday - best for the bigger kites. Hopefully it will pick up more today and still more Saturday and Sunday. We went six days since the last windy session, way too long for this time of the year. Next week doesn't look any better.
I was using my 14M kite yesterday, the same one that I ripped the corner off of a while back. Helmut has a sewing machine and kite repair material with him and he did a great job at putting my kite back together even stronger than before. In the summer he does repairs for Kitty Hawk Kites in Hatteras.
Roberto is back from Brazil. He says the kiting is as good as they say it is - fantastic. He was there 3 months and kited 65 days. Warm steady winds with smooth waves.

The Wind is Back !!

We had very little wind for a week. Then on Saturday the wind came back and it has been blowing great ever since. There have been lots of kites on the beach and out on the water.

We should get a couple more days out of this blow before it shuts down.
After a fine day on the water it is always nice to relax and watch the sun set.