Business meeting in Miami tues-thursday, so I am packing the gear and going 3 days early and doing some soul/wind searching in the keys from Saturday-Monday night.
Right now I have SUV rented and pulling together where to stay in the next week as well. Anyone interested in a free SUV ride just get a plane ticket and meet me for a weekend of riding.
I am new to Chicago from Huntington Beach so don't know the Chicago crew yet, but again, in the spirit of kitings brotherhood I extend a hand to any who want to do some riding in the keys 2/28-3/2.
Also, any tips on cheap ass hotels around islamorad appreciated...Brent
Keys 2/28-3/2
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Keys 2/28-3/2
by HB_2_CHI » Sun Feb 01, 2009 10:12 am
- HB_2_CHI
- Board Monkey
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by 4w7s » Sun Feb 01, 2009 12:37 pm
contact Brad Lang at 7 Kiteboarding at Whale Harbor (Islamorada) for suggestions on hotels....or (probabloy just as easy) search it on the internet.
I've stayed at the Keys Lantern (I think that was the name)...decent rooms, some with kitchenettes. If you call them and they don't have space they will tell you of other hotels.
A word of advice...weekend rooms fill up fast. Make reservations. Nothing is cheap in the keys...maybe with the current economy there are deals, but don't be surprised to pay $100+/night minimum.
From Islamorada you can hit Whale Harbor, Anne's BEach, Bahia Honda SP without boat support. If the wind is out of the NW, N, NE you can get Brad's outfit or Other Side to give you a ride to the back country.
Key West is a bit of a haul, and other than Smathers beach you will need a boat. So nothing terribly different (for riding exp) in Key West than in Islamorada - except if you need the Duval Street experience.
ALSO - If the wind is good in Miami, check out Stiltsville (need boat or water taxi) contact Miami Kiteboarding (Cristof), or head up to Delray, Jupiter
Depending on wind direction you should not rule out the Gulf beaches - Marco Island, Naples, Venice, Sanibel, Sarasota, Tampa Bay (my base of operation).
If you need more info feel free to contact me.
have a great trip and good winds
I've stayed at the Keys Lantern (I think that was the name)...decent rooms, some with kitchenettes. If you call them and they don't have space they will tell you of other hotels.
A word of advice...weekend rooms fill up fast. Make reservations. Nothing is cheap in the keys...maybe with the current economy there are deals, but don't be surprised to pay $100+/night minimum.
From Islamorada you can hit Whale Harbor, Anne's BEach, Bahia Honda SP without boat support. If the wind is out of the NW, N, NE you can get Brad's outfit or Other Side to give you a ride to the back country.
Key West is a bit of a haul, and other than Smathers beach you will need a boat. So nothing terribly different (for riding exp) in Key West than in Islamorada - except if you need the Duval Street experience.
ALSO - If the wind is good in Miami, check out Stiltsville (need boat or water taxi) contact Miami Kiteboarding (Cristof), or head up to Delray, Jupiter
Depending on wind direction you should not rule out the Gulf beaches - Marco Island, Naples, Venice, Sanibel, Sarasota, Tampa Bay (my base of operation).
If you need more info feel free to contact me.
have a great trip and good winds
- 4w7s
- Zen Levitator
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- Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2007 7:54 pm
- Location: FL-OBX-MI
by HB_2_CHI » Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:36 pm
So I did the trip a couple weeks ago. No wind on Saturday. Easterlies came in on Sunday for some riding (16-22). problem with easterlies is I was in Ft. Lauderdale. So I called Miami kiteboarding and booked a downwinder in Biscane Bay. They took us out to a sandbar in the middle of biscane bay and we rode for a couple of hours in good wind and low-chop. Good bit of fun until the wind started acting weird due to a front that caused some problems for many of us trying to stay upwind. Anyways, long story short it was way offshore and things got a bit hairy and we were almost all having issues with staying upwind and we ended up downwind towards hobie beach..... this was the idea to go downwind to hobie, problem was there was only two of us in high chop and deep water and no boat... eventually boat came and picked us up as we were losing our boards and floating....not good as I then crashed my kite and chop got heavy and of course I got tired.... thus the eventual lesson of the day.... learn to and practice self rescues....
the dudes at miami kiteboarding are very cool and great riders, they saved my ass out there when I got my board too far behind me and then wind died. In retrospect I learned allot that day about the need to self rescue, I also learned about body dragging in bad conditions, it's tough. lastly, I learned that downwind of me needs to be a beach no more than a couple hundred yards away. ... going out to the sandbars can be sketchy as downwind is just water for about a mile... lessons learned and nobody hurt, except for a sliced up big toe...
Brent
the dudes at miami kiteboarding are very cool and great riders, they saved my ass out there when I got my board too far behind me and then wind died. In retrospect I learned allot that day about the need to self rescue, I also learned about body dragging in bad conditions, it's tough. lastly, I learned that downwind of me needs to be a beach no more than a couple hundred yards away. ... going out to the sandbars can be sketchy as downwind is just water for about a mile... lessons learned and nobody hurt, except for a sliced up big toe...
Brent
- HB_2_CHI
- Board Monkey
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- Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:02 am
- Location: Geneva, IL
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