8/7 thru 8/11 - San Juan, PR Isla Verde 11m

[gregwojtkun]

Its been awesome here in Puerto Rico the past week... superb conditions considering it trends toward stale and rainy here in August but its been a pretty consistent 15-17 kts (perfect 11m x 139 TT for me). Did a flat water session at a spot called Playa Las Picuas in Rio Grande section of San Juan on Monday... tides were low but good reaches. Landed my first back roll today (more so by accident) as most have been crash landings

Hope to bring some wind back to Utah, See ya'll out there soon hopefully.

[KrisGreenough]

Sounds like an awesome time. How are the accommodations and the area around where you are staying and where you kite? Safe?

[gregwojtkun]

Hi Kris... If you stick around Isla Verde (the name of the main tourist beach in San Juan) its super safe. All the nice hotel chains are lined up there. Nice big beach, plenty of space for launching/landing. There is a kite school there (http://www.15knots.com) and those guys are really cool. If you bring a couple kites and need a size to match conditions you can always rent from them (Cabrinha). There are a few economy hotels / motels there too... just do a google search for hotels on/near isla verde, San Juan. Its right next to the SJU airport. Some good night life right near the kite school too. I would classify the water quality at Isla Verde medium chop on a 13-17 day. (Think of Deer Creek, but not quite as bad and no boat wakes). 12m is the most popular kite to use as trade winds are typically anywhere from 13-18 kts out of ENE (side-on). You need to launch on the beach then body drag through the buoy/ swimming area before you can water start (about 75 meters).

There are some other really cool flat water spots that are isolated... One is called Playa Las Picuas in the Rio Grande Section. Smaller beach... requires some advanced self launch/land skills. let me know if you need more details and I can send you a map pin of the exact spot. Its a little sketchier in terms of safety (meaning people), but Ive never had any issues. The safety of the kite conditions are super good... always a side-on wind. The Westin Rio Mar is right next to it. My avatar picture is from this flat water spot.

My condo is I Palmas Del Mar on a crescent moon shaped beach (about an hour south of San Juan on South East Coast). Very tricky launch and strong current toward shore so tough to stay upwind for longer than an hour session, but the swells are big (6-8 feet) Super fun too boost off them and ride some in. They of course get smaller toward the beach break but fun to ride. Requires a beach landing and walk back up to the point to take off again if you decide to ride some waves in. Otherwise you can stay upwind and boost off the swells.

let me know if you need more details and I can fill you in. I love kiting here.... You can do a pretty good budget trip if you stick around Isla Verde for 4 or 5 days. If you have a 12m or 14m with good depower range, you can kite pretty much every day on just one kite and then rent from the kite shop if you need smaller.

[KrisGreenough]

That sounds bad ass. What's the best time of year to go there? Is it winds all year or just a few months? I love travel and I'm always looking for new places to go. Some friends of mine from SF are headed to San Padre Island in the fall, should be a good time.

[gregwojtkun]

If you bring your utah big kite... you can ride every day no matter what (14-17m or so). But you should be able to always find a spot that has 12m Condtions and most times 9-11m. Best time to come is dry season: late December thru April. May - November is more rain but you can find spots to kite no matter what. Caution in sept oct with hurricane season (more so for rain not lack of wind) but it's pretty awesome here. I just got done a session on the beach just north of me in 15-17 conditions with pretty smooth water. No one else kiting... no crowded kiting beaches here but if you want to be around kiters you can go to Isla Verde. Always trade winds blowing....