La Ventana

[Endlestorm]

I'm going to Baja Joe's Saturday, for a week (my friend from NY is going to meet me and take lessons). This is the end of my first season (began in July), I'm not turning well yet, but I'm going upwind and jumping like a fool. I've been hanging out at Alameda and 3rd, and Crissy once.

I'm planning on bringing all the gear (14m and 10m), anything else I should or should not bring? Anyone have any regrets or must-do's from previous trips? Thanks for the input,

-Britt

[adamrod]

i've heard that you should bring booties and a wetsuit . . .but i haven't been . . .i just remember that from a previous post.

[Bulldog]

Well, you're going to want a 12M kite, since most days at La V are 12M for most people. You might find yourself going out first thing on the 14, then getting blown off the water around 11 and then having the wind come up enough for your 10 around 3 pm.

Most people down there don't bother with a 14, but I found last year that I got an extra 1-1 1/2 hrs. of riding a day by bringing mine.

Don't see why you'd need booties. It might be warm enough right now to get away with a shorty, but in December a full suit is definitely useful -- there are jellyfish in the water this time of year, too, so if you spend much time down in the water, a full suit helps.

[OliverG]

You'll be able to start most days on a 12 and finish up with your last session on a 10...

[berrisbob]

Since you're still in your first year, you might be well served by an 8m, unless you are pretty big. I weigh about 145. I started at about the same time of year as you back in 2002, and was was able to stay upwind at sherman by the end of the season unless underpowered in a flood or substantially overpowered. Yet down in La Ventana the following winter, for probably more than half of my sessions I found myself overpowered and blown downwind fairly quickly on my 10m. While it's an easy walk back upwind to Baja Joes (if you're lucky, someone will come grab you with a quad), it does waste valuable water time, and being overpowered and the walk will tire you out more. If I had had an 8m, I probably could have easily stayed upwind the whole time. If you don't have an 8m, or don't want to take an extra kite down there, Joe probably has one for rent. But that will cost extra, and there may not always be one available.

Booties - if you normally wear booties, then take them and use them. But they are not required. I always take my booties down, but I've never used them. If you avoid stepping on the rocks whenever possible, you will probably get through your visit with no problems. I did step on an urchin for the 1st time last year, which resulted in two spines in my heel (one is still in there). But that didn't interfere with the rest of my trip. Also, I'm not sure that the sole on a typical booty is guaranteed to protect you in all cases (though it would certainly help most of the time).

Wetsuit - you'll want to take at least a shorty for sure. If you find that you normally wear more wetsuit than the other kiters around you, take a full 4/3 or 3/2 suit as well, for the days that are cloudy and really windy.

Must Do - if you get a no-wind day, get a group of people together and go check out the waterfall (ask Joe or Angie about it). It should be very nice right around now from all the rain from the hurricanes.

Have fun!

[ramsey]

I just wore boardshorts and a rash guard last year in Nov. and I was fine. I usually only bring a shorty and use it if i really need it.

Here is a link to the sea surface temp you'll see is still really warm in the sea of cortez.

http://www.terrafin.com/sstview/samples/freesobaja.htm

[Rusty]

I will be going to LaVentana in 2 weeks,never been so any help you can give please, is us dollor good at most places? how about meals? where to eat, whats the price for a meal? should I drink the water or just beer? how is the road from cabo to there? howes the weather in mid jan.? ok I could keep going on but you get the picture, thanks all for any help

[adamrod]

I just got back, so I can give you some help (although, I stayed in los barilles, we did kite one day in la ventana)

us dollar? Yes. the exchange rate is 10:1 and everyone takes dollars and gives you pesos back in change.

meals? don't know, i was in LB, but most people go out in la ventana and there are lots of places to eat for cheap.

water? you're better safe than sorry with bottled water

weather? i wore a 2 mil neoprene shirt and was comfy, but bring a wetsuit in case you get cold.

the road: here is where it gets interesting. there are two ways to get to LV from cabo. you can drive all the way up to la paz and then back down (all paved, takes about 3 hours), or you can drive up highway 1 and then take a dirt road about 30 min (this is much shorter)

we opted to take the dirt road. BAD IDEA. maybe we were just unlucky, but this is what happened: they were doing work on the road, flattening it out and widening it. because of this, about 15 min into the drive, we hit a rock and got two flat tires. i kid you not. obviously, we only had one spare. we ended up having to hitchike our way back into town with the help of a dump truck driver and a few of the construction workers there. needless to say, on the way home, we took the long way through la paz.

so, the dirt road is definitely faster, but when we went (dec 15-22) it was under construction so it was in VERY bad condition. if you take that route, go slow. go very slow, cause you don't want to get two flat tires.

[Bulldog]

From what I've heard about that road, there's lots of things worse that could have happened to you.

No one's going to hear the shots or find the bodies for a long time out there.

[adamrod]

Oh yeah. i'm definitely thankful that we managed to hitch a ride and get in touch with a mechanico who luckily happened to have a tire similar to the kind our rental was rolling on. it was pretty scary, but looking back on it, we were pretty lucky.

so. with all that said, by taking the dirt road, you save about an hour. the road to/from la paz is safer, but even that's a bit relative. I wouldn't call any of the roads in baja "safe" ha ha.