Please comment on this kitesurfing location near me. The photo is taken from one end of the launching/landing area.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd82/speleopower/IMG_0471...

It is nearly always crowded when the wind is blowing.

The road is U.S. Highway 1

Any comments are welcome.

Thanks-Scott

looks like I wouldn't need my 5/4 wetsuit, I'd hit it for sure. Just be sure to be standing in the water a ways so you're not lanuching too close to the hwy.

Are we supposed to point out the obvious ? Like the highway and power lines ? It looks like an onshore without a lot of beach to self launch / land ?

I'ld look up the road a bit ? :puzzled:
I've seen similar places called a launch before :wow:
Botany Bay comes to mind.

Hey- at least the walk back to your car would be easy! Have a sunroof? Just land the kite right in it!

Yup! Highway, powerlines just behind, shallow mostly always onshore or side on and guys ride real close to shore. There is even a "school" that uses this spot for lessons. Scary spot. I ride there a couple times a year. Actually it's where I spent the first few sessions kitesurfing years and years ago. But I only went out on a sideshore wind back then. I figured it was by my house and no one around so I'm good to go. Now it's a very very very popular spot.
At least one person has been dragged across the highway.

Scott

You should have a good look at the Squamish Spit layout.

Large spit sticking out into an inlet, wind is always straight off shore, nice beach across the inlet to land on if it goes pear shaped, 1hr walk back around if you have to. Upwind of the spit is a glacial fed river, really fast current and close to freezing in the middle of summer. Beside the downwind beach is an active shipping port, freighters, tugs and log booms can be found once in a while in teh inlet. The spit itself is made up mostlly of large blasted rock chunks. Only saving grace is a Jetski run by the Squamish Windsurf Society, they provide rescues and retreivals from the downwind beach for a small daily fee. Wind is always 20-30mph though all summer long, still rated #3 in north america for spots to hit.

Wow. I've been wanting to go up to Canada during some summer for various sports.
I thought this spot by my house was bad. I guess I'm really really spoiled rotten when it comes to kitesurf spots!!!!

Scott

Don't get me wrong, Squamish is a great spot, just lots of things to be aware of and you need to know how to deal with stuff when it goes pear shaped. But it rocks once you figure it out.


You should have seen the local park today, complete gong show, I counted close to 10 kiters in an area the size of a football feild. Kiters crashing into kiters, crashing into the foot paths, crashing into the pits. I spent the better part of the day on the back hills out of the way, decided to leave when the bad politics came into play.

I'll take a poor environment with wicked kite buddies any day over a great spot with poor politics.

Yup! Luckily Florida is not a wind destanation. It's good when it's good but sucks rocks when it's bad which is a lot of time.
Scott