Real Time Weather Report

Wind Today!

Buoyweather is calling for decent wind today so let's all get out there. The forecast for the next week doesn't look so good.

Start of Season in San Carlos

Friday brought some nice northwest breezes. Jeff, Scott and myself showed up for a very good session with winds gusting at times up to 25 knots. Hoping for more of the same today.

Post Hurricane Post

Hurricane Earl blew through here last night but was week enough and stayed far enough away that it was no big deal. I got in a nice session early yesterday and again today. I thought the beach would be packed with kiters but I was almost alone. Wind at Chapin was side onshore 15 to 22. I guess that wasn't good enough for most kiters. I assume the majority went to the south side. I checked the wind report when I got back to the cottage and it was blowing up to 40 mph down there. Too much for my 10 meter kite in crowded conditions. Tomorrow should be another good day.

Calm Before the Storm?

I've been on Cape Cod for a dozen days but have only had a few sessions of medium winds.
Lately the weather has been great for just about anything that doesn't require wind. Here are a few shots of the beach today.

Tomorrow Hurricane Earl should be off the coast of coast of North Carolina and bringing big waves and wind to that area.
In two days the hurricane is supposed to start passing by here.

Boosting Huge

I am in Tucson, getting ready for my annual trip to Cape Cod. This means, among other things, that I got to pick up the latest edition of Kiteboard Magazine. This edition has an article exploring the possibility of boosting 100 feet in the air. The highest jump recorded so far is almost 75 feet, measured by a GPS devise strapped to the board of a kiter. This devise is called the ShadowBox ($500) and can record speed, height, distance, acceleration, hang time, spin rate, and G-forces and put it all together on a computer so you can see a 3-D rendition of your performance.

Optimal conditions for jumping big seems to be an 8 meter kite in wind gusting in the 35 to 45 knot range and with small chop or swell (2 feet) for a ramp.

Kinsley Wong Updates

Kinsley is doing better all the time, although he has a long way to go. Here is a link to a new info page on him and his progress.

PARTY !!!!!!

This weekend was the annual AESMAC Conference. It was huge this year. It started Thursday night and still hasn't stopped. Lots of people, lots of music.

Kinsley Wong

I haven't written in this blog for a while because there hasn't been anything going on with kiteboarding here. Unfortunately the reason for this report is something very sad. Kinsley Wong, possibly the most likeable guy I've ever met and one hell of a kiteboarder, had a bad accident Thursday afternoon. A report of the accident can be read here - KINSLEY - and on a kite forum here. He's been here to San Carlos a couple of times, here are some photos from the first time.

Reports indicate that he hit his head on rocks at the edge of the water. Head trauma is serious, and I hope he has a speedy and full recovery.

I started wearing a helmet a year ago. Maybe you should consider it as well. Be safe.

A Little Wind

We've been getting a little bit of wind out of the northwest the last week or so. Yesterday was a nice steady 12 to 15 knots until about 4 o'clock. Today doesn't look too good but the prediction for tomorrow calls for 13 to 18. There were four of us out there on Sunday, enjoying kiting in warm water (83°) and no jellyfish.

Mucho Tiempo Sin Viento

We haven't had much wind for a few weeks. Some days the southerly wind looks promising and we'll go to the beach with high expectations but it is never enough. Some days it looks real tempting to get out and play in the waves kicked up by the wind but experience tells us that we need really strong winds or the waves will tumble us. In the winter we are in flat water and we can stay on a plane even when the wind drops but the summer surf knocks us down and we have to slog back through the waves. Plus the warm moist air of summer doesn't have the density or the force of our winter winds.

We have probably reached the point of desperation where we will go out kiting anyways. A day on the water is still a day on the water.

The other day I went to a beach south of here called Cochorit because it always blows a little stronger there. The beach stunk of fish oil from the packing plant and there were balls of fish oil sludge on the beach. It was worse than horrible. Not worth considering at all. What a shame.

Flying High in May

The last couple of weeks have turned out to be pretty good. May is usually pretty quiet for wind but the other day it was blowing over 30 knots. Temperatures have stayed unseasonably cool, with the water still in the low 70's.

Still Some

We are still getting a couple of days of wind each week, although some days are a bit light. Temperatures have been perfect. Too bad the season ends when the water gets warm.

On many days the beach is empty although it is perfect beach weather. Hard to figure.

Still Some Wind

We have been having some days with wind the past couple of weeks. Usually only part of the day but enough to get some good sessions in. Today looks promising although it may be a bit light, and then the forecast doesn't show much at all.

Once in a While

The winds have shifted and we are getting very few kitable days. Even when it does blow, it is only for a few hours and at different times of the day. I did get out on the water yesterday but at its best it was only blowing 10 to 16 knots.

Nearing the End ?

The season seems to be nearing it's end. It hasn't been a good year for wind. Some of the good days were amongst the best we've ever had, but they were few and far between.

The past week had a few days of very strong wind. Strong enough make launching and landing a bit dangerous. Gusts over 35 knots. Donald, from Oregon, was out there on his 7M kite and getting some great jumps but he also got slammed pretty good a few times. He got pretty scraped up when he misjudged jumping the rock spit at the point. Ouch. Luckily, there were no serious injuries.

Good Weekend

We have had wind the last few days. At times it has been strong, at times week, and almost always gusty, but there has been wind. Today, Sunday was very good and surprisingly few kiters showed up. I was kiting by myself for over an hour during my first session.

Nice Weekend

Weather has been great for both kiting and for hanging out at the beach and watching kiting. Today, Sunday, should be another excellent day. Sure, the wind has been up and down and the water can get crowded with kiters wanting to stay in the area in front of where their friends are sitting, but it is still all good.

A Few Windy Days

Last week was pretty good; wind and warm temperatures. Lots of kiters showed up for the weekend. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera all week so I don't have any photos to post.
Jeff has finally gotten his kiteboarding school going after years of delays.
A lot more Mexicans, especially from Hermosillo, are getting into the sport. They show up mostly on weekends and add a lot of action and entertainment (and sometimes mayhem) to the beach. Sometimes it gets kind of lonely during the week.
Not much going on right now but this coming weekend's forecast looks good. With Spring Break happening, it will be a good time at the beach no matter what.
The new restaurant, Bonifacios, has turned out to be a great place to hang out, eat and drink.

Doldrums

We continue to have a lack of wind. Other than that the weather has been great for the beach. A new restaurant has just opened where we kite. Bonifacio's Cotton Club The place looks great.

I went on opening day in the afternoon and had their hamburger. It was excellent and reasonably priced. The meat patty was nothing special but good enough and came with toppings of cheese, grilled onions, red peppers, green peppers, and lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado. It also came with french fries and grilled cherry tomatoes. All for 70 pesos.

Only a Few

We had a few days of wind but only a few kiters showed up to take advantage of them. Donald is in town from Oregon and Jeff has been making an appearance. Gerald usually comes to the beach but prefers to use his 13M kite so he wisely declines to go out if the wind is too nasty.

Roberto has all but abandoned us as his body is feeling the painful effects of running too many marathons. Adam is out with a bad ankle and Beau is out of town. No one else has been coming out.

Water temperatures have held steady at a warm 68 degrees and air temps often reach 80 degrees.

Gerald's 80th

Monday was Gerald's birthday.

A Month Without Wind

We have had almost no wind for the last month but today makes four days in a row of a decent blow.

A lot of kiters came down from Hermosillo so we had a good crowd at the beach.

Excellent Days

What started out as a disappointing kiteboard season has turned out to be one of the best we've had. The water is still in the mid 60's, air temperatures have been around 80, and the wind has been lighter and steadier than usual. Several days of 15 to 20 knots, which is light enough to result in flat water conditions. These conditions have been perfect for everyone, but especially for the younger kiters, to make some real progress. Everyone is jumping, spinning, and attempting all kinds of new moves. Fernando has been dazzling us with several versions of powered up raleys. I haven't been able to get out as often as I would like due to having to work this year, but Roberto has taken over my role as captain of the beach and can be counted on to be on the beach early with wind reports.

New Year

The wind was great, the weather was great, and all the kiters were great.

Beau

Adam

Happy New Year

Some days the wind has been pretty light but it has been blowing. The end of 2009 is turning out to be okay and the first of 2010 is looking very promising as well.

Making the most of a light day. Even Jeff made a rare appearance.

Erika braved the cold to watch the action.

Christmas

Last year we had lots of kiters in town and up to a dozen on the water at the same time. This year we've had only a few people show up. Wind has been okay. Sometimes a little light, sometimes a little gusty. In other words - pretty normal. Water temperature has cooled off to around 65 but that is still about 5 degrees warmer than usual. The air temperature is about the same as the water today as a cold front has moved in. Wind should start again Wednesday or Thursday.

We have had some changes out at the beach. A good change is that the road has been bladed and is in great shape. Not so great is that the parking lot has been stripped of most of the palm trees that weren't removed the last time they "improved" the parking area. They replanted the trees along the entryway road but they aren't being watered so they will all die shortly. This work was done by the owners of a hotel in El Fuerte, who have taken over the old disco building at the point to make it into a reception/bar/restaurant. They are going to use that and two of the Paradiso room buildings to make a new hotel. It is supposed to open in a few weeks. They have done a lot of work fixing up the building and bringing in new furniture and fixtures and stuff but I don't see much else going on to indicate enough of a commitment to make it work. I hope I'm wrong. It would be great to have a nice bar and restaurant on the beach.

We Have Wind

We had four days of wind last week and it looks like we will have five or six days this week. The air and water temperatures have been unbelievable. The beautiful conditions brought people here from Sinaloa, Hermosillo, and Phoenix for some great kiteboarding sessions.

I haven't had much to report until this week. We finally had a decent four days of wind and this coming week is also supposed to be good. Water temperature is still warm, right around 70 degrees.

Here is Roberto, boosting well on a quiet day.

New Month, Same Lack of Wind

Hardly anything to report here. Roberto keeps track of the kiteable days and he says that we only had 8 days of wind for the month of November. December hasn't started out any better. We did have decent wind on Friday. But just one day! It never blows just one day this time of the year.
A bunch of people showed up to kite Friday and despite the fact that the wind was a bit northerly and thus gusty, we all had a good time. There were as many as 9 kiters on the water at one time. Kenn flew down with a couple of buddies and of course Roberto was there and Beau and Adam and Ricardo and Fernando and Jimé from Canada.
The water temp is way too warm for this time of the year, the chart shows it is still above 70 degrees. I took my dry suit to the beach with me, not realizing how warm the water was. I kept it stored in a vacuum sealed bag but when I took it out the neck gasket was all gooey with little stretch left. Not usable at all. When I had put it away last spring it had a small area with this problem but I never figured out what caused it and it was small enough that I wasn't too concerned. Now I'll have to order a new neck gasket.
I received a report from Glenn and Sue, who went to South Padre this season instead of coming here. He says that he's "not impresses with the wind so far." Many people love South Padre but I've never been too impressed.

Out of Town

I had to go up to the USA to take care of some business and will be gone for a couple more weeks. I'm not real happy about being away during the windy season but the wind has been pretty spotty so far this year. I also missed the annual Veteran's Day party that comes to Algodones Beach each year. You can see photos from previous years: 2006, 2007, 2008.

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.