BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Well hello to all you Bay Area Kiters!

I am coming to your neck of the woods for the Thanksgiving weekend. Being Canadian, this will be my second Thanksgiving celebration in the past month!

While in SF, I hope to check out some of the local beaches and hopefully chat to a few of you locals as well. My kiting experience is limited to fresh water lakes here in Southern Alberta Canada. Kiting in the ocean will be a new experience for me (let alone kiting with whitey) and before I embark on such an adventure, it would be good to get some information with regards to tides, sharks, and other hazards that my land locked ass might not be aware of! I am not sure that I will actually kite on this trip as I don't have alot of time there and my priorities for this trip don't include chasing good wind. Still I feel it is important to educate myself and getting to know local kiters is always good. I will be making more trips to the area in the near future so it would be good to have a few kiting friends there. I have a rule against kiting alone. I just dont feel safe doing so.

I have spent some time on this site and have read up on some of the local beaches that are listed. I have also read up on local ettiquite (which is pretty much universal)

I would like to check out a couple local shops as well. Are there any shops that ya all can suggest?

As this is pretty much my first post, I'll give you some background. I started kiting in June, managed my upwind credits in late July and finished our water season here just starting to boost (we had a terrible August for wind) I fly a 8m and a 12 m 05' Best Nemisis. I ride a Best pro 124. I am 37 yrs old, 5'6" 145 lbs. I plan to get 2- '07 Waroo's and a foil for snow kiting this winter. After that I'll be selling my Nemi's.

To read more, you can always check out our local website listed in my profile.

Any help is appreciated and thanks for reading!

Sincerly
James

I'll be out of town next week for Thanksgiving, but I hope you find wind. There's been a big lack of wind. Looks like Waddell blew today. Sweet!

So if you find wind it will most likely be on the coast like in Waddell. I've never ridden there but it is advanced and has waves so beware and respect your comfort level.

Get yourself ikitesurf to check the winds while you're here as you will waste less time driving around looking for wind.

Most shops I know of are closed now due to winter conditions. But Kite Wind Surf is open Tues, Thurs and Saturday. They sell North, Slingshot and Cabrinha kites. Check them out at Kite Wind Surf

Good luck and have a great time while you're here. There's no kite parties going on that I know of so it'll be pretty mellow. If/when you're here in the summer give us a shout and we'll come out in droves!

-Bobby

Thanks for the info. I will definitly keep spring/summer sessions in mind when I am there during that period. It did look like the wind has been rather light as of late so am not counting on getting in a session while there. Wave riding worries me less then whitey to be honest. Its hitting a reef or turning into whitey's lunch that concerns me more. I can handle gusty conditions and although I push my limits, i do believe in safety first.

I will check out the kite wind surf shop for sure. Any other suggestions are much appreciated!

Thanks!

James

ps...Bobby, have a great Turkey weekend!

There is good wave riding tips thread floating around. I would suggest to have a look at that and, trust me, your worry should be the waves not the sharks. Take a look at spot descriptions on this site for details on Wadel and the surrounding area. Maybe OB will go so check that out as well. I would definitely get the trial for iKitesurf.com and take a look at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ and http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/PZ/550.html

it appeats that we may see some wind this weekend :). If I were in your shoes I'd definitely come out where it's windy but I would think twice before going out and talk to the people on the beach.

Thanks! I have checked out the wave riding thread already and found it quite informative. I have been out on waves but doubt they are as big as you get there. Still.....no guts no glory!

As for people on the beach, well this is why I am on this forum. i have found that people who participate in threads like this generally are good people with their hearts in the right place. With luck I will run into one or two of ya all on the beach.

I have checked out all the threads on the local beaches as well and will be checking on which places may have wind. Again, I am not sure that I will bring my kites with me on this trip. It may be more of a recon so I am better prepared for my next visit.

Thanks for the links. i will definitly check them out!

James

Any snow yet up there in the CAN Rockies?

Yes. Lake Louise, Sunshine Village and Mount Norquay are all open for the season. Personally I will wait for more snow before I go skiing/snowboarding. Just a few too many rocks showing.

If you plan at all at hitting the slopes in this neck of the woods, I'd seriously consider Kicking Horse Resort (www.kickinghorseresort.com) or Castle Mountain Resort (www.skicastle.com). They are by far the best 2 mountains around.

The kiting crowd here is anxiously awaiting the lakes to freeze over and get covered with snow for some serious snow sessions. We expect that will be sometime in mid December. Personally, I can't wait for that. I expect my kiting skills to drastically improve this winter.

James

Thanks for the on-the-ground info.

hey James, whats the scoop on Castle Mountain??? We have a condo up in Canmore and have skied the others many times, but never heard of Castle Mountain.....where is it?

Mike. Castle kicks ass. Let me know when you are in Canmore and I'll bring you down there. Castle is located in the SW corner of Alberta. It is south of the Crowsnest Pass. From Calgary it is 2.5 hours south. Here is a link to the map on getting there:

http://www.skicastle.ca/gethere.html

Its my favorite hill and a real hidden diamond. Locals here hoard the mountain but in the past few years it is really coming out as the premier skier's/boarder's mountain in AB. Lucky me, I taught and coached out there for 7 years back in my 20's. I love the place and am always looking to get out there.

On another note, if you are in Canmore in the summer, make sure to come kiting with us at the Kite Ranch!

Just email me if you are coming up this way during the winter!

James