Suggest a fall kiteboarding getaway

[grigorib]

Thinking of:
1. a weekend or a week to fly somewhere in US,
2. find there steady smooth winds,
3. and affordable place to live,
4. "kiting is not a crime" beach authorities stance

For combination of above what would you reccomend? Which accomodation you'd suggest and beach to hang out at?

[mzhadkevich]

Cape Hatteras, NC. Or South Padre Island TX. Either way, these are the two mos consistent windy places in the states during the fall season. Hatteras will be good starting now through the year, but cold after october. You can ride pretty much anytime in South Padre Island.

[grigorib]

Cape Hatteras, NC. Or South Padre Island TX. Either way, these are the two mos consistent windy places in the states during the fall season. Hatteras will be good starting now through the year, but cold after october. You can ride pretty much anytime in South Padre Island.

What about places to stay. A hotel or better to look for a rental house?

I've been thinking about Fort Lauderdale a bit - seems to be pretty simple to get there, affordable to stay. Any cons?

[mzhadkevich]

for me the priority is always wind wind wind. With Ft. Lauderdale, you may get wind you might not. The most consistent places, the only ones i would spend my money on, are Hatteras and South Padre. Otherwise, it might be weak. That being said the kiting in Ft. Lauderdale is excellent.

Lodging is a joke in South Padre, there are like a million cheap hotels and you can stay for 29 dollars a night, and then upwards of that. Or you can camp.

In hatteras its a little trickier, but i think real has some really good deals on the watermens retreat thing. Otherwise, you can camp there too. Renting a house should be cheap because it is offseason.

[nicole]

Agree Hatteras or Padre....I have lived in both and will be in Padre Nov-May. Both have very similar kiting conditions. However, if flying to Hatteras the closest airport is Norfolk which is 2.5 hours away and the island is pretty dead that time of year in terms of other things to do. Padre you can fly to Brownsville which is half hour away or Harlingen is an hour a way and the island doesn't shut down at 7pm.

[mzhadkevich]

Agreed. And actually, South Padre blew my mind in terms of quality of riding. I rode hatteras my whole life, and never expected it, but to me South Padre is actually better in terms of launch, downwinders, stability, etc. Also its warmer

[xwindsurf]

If money is no object, SP might win, although the Atlantic in CH has its appeal.
However, the airfare to Brownsville (or 2 other airports, only slightly further away) jumped to over $400 this fall, as oppose to $180 for Raleigh, which is a slightly further but much more flexible option for Hatteras - this just feels too much IMMO.
Also, read about RED TIDE, often showing up in the area in the fall -thousands of dead fish on the shore, everybody coughing, pretty gross. We had it pretty bad twice, and 2 people ended up in emergency room after stepping on a dead fish. And riding the ocean side on bigger days was impossible, literally suffocation hazard.

[V]

Fall is our best winds and warmest water, why leave now? I suggest going in the winter or spring...

[WaWaZat]

Hey Grig! I'm planning a group trip down to SPI in November. Email me if you're interested in joining. It will be like a larger version of our Tawas trips in the summer with Amanda but since she is gone for a while, we have a new instructor with us... Marilys, the 2nd instructor with us on the last Tawas trip.

If anyone else is interested in lessons or honing chops in a prime beginner spot, lemme know!