Westport

[friggin old guy]

Last week I took my father in law to re-unite with his WWII boat, LCI 1091 that's been turned into a floating museum up in Eureka. He was original crew member.....good trip. How in the world somebody sailed that little flat bottomed thing across the Pacific and back.... with 3 days liberty in about 2 years.....is beyond me. Respect.

But anyway, we popped over to the coast on the way back and I saw some interesting places up on the North Mendocino coast. Setup was good at a couple places, but one in particular looked very interesting. Westport Beach.....big kelp bed offshore, chimney rocks to the north, big beach with lots of room downwind.....wind looked cross-on but with northerly components blowing last week, not sure if that was normal.

Anybody kited there? Might think about a return trip but it's a long way up so any skinny on it appreciated.....

[mikelu]

Yes Respect to your Dad.

[OliverG]

Yes, it's a bit of a trek up there, but beautiful. Wouldn't you be better of a tiny bit south at MacKerricher or Ten Mile Dune? Leaving Ft. Bragg, you'd first go by MacK, then Ten Mile, which you'd need to hike in, but it's a giant beach. I've brought gear up there but wind was on during that trip. But it is simply wide open and big, like a scaled down Pismo. At MacK, I think unless you go upwind a bit around the hook, the beach is small, steep shorebreak and not so great. But I've been wanting to kite Ten Mile for a few years...

[friggin old guy]

There's a campground there at Westport with full hookups so........if it works, it would be a bonus.

[Foothillkiter]

I don't know too much about Westport but I have kited Clam beach north of Eureka Ca. Talking about a enormous beach with great downwinder potential.

[OliverG]

Drove by Clam Beach before too and saw a couple kites out - looks like an awesome beach with great scenery. We were making time to get up Pistol River so we didn't stop but did make to Pistol River for an awesome late afternoon/sunset session. North coast is awesome!

[Wilburjk]

NO, No...Westport is in a hole behind USAL and Visciano.. It can be blowing 20 in FB and almost nothing in Westport. Ive driven by it many times, an it is not an option. Besides, it has very very large hungry fish.

the Mendo coast is a tough one. Ten mile beach, or bowling balls on heavy NW.

Beautiful, but not a kite destination area.

[sc-surfer]

NO, No...Westport is in a hole behind USAL and Visciano.. It can be blowing 20 in FB and almost nothing in Westport. Ive driven by it many times, an it is not an option. Besides, it has very very large hungry fish.

the Mendo coast is a tough one. Ten mile beach, or bowling balls on heavy NW.

Beautiful, but not a kite destination area.

Hmmmmm....methinks I smell a little protectionism....

[OliverG]

I agree, for 20 years have been visiting the north coast and for last 10 been wanting to kite up there and have done so a couple times, but it's far from being any kind of kite destination. Irish Beach was good, Caspar is promising, but have brought gear and been skunked at anything Mendocino, although ten mile is your only good option up there really, with the next good stop being Clam Beach, although there are a couple small spots that could deliver well north of Mendocino on the Humboldt coast before Clam beach.

Basically, if you're headed up that way for another reason, it's possible to bring gear, and you could get an amazing session, but to make it the sole purpose of the trip kiting is not really advised. But by all means, if you're heading up the coast to an ultimate destination like Hood River, as we did, you can be rewarded. Oh, and then once you cross the border and get up to Cannon Beach, Newport or Waldport, Oregon? And it's good? Could be all time experiences...