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USA in April?

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Random
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USA in April?

Postby Random » Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:42 am

So where in the USA is windy in April?

Ideally warm as well...

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Re: USA in April?

Postby jwoodunlv » Sat Dec 21, 2013 1:06 am

Corpus Christi TX and South Padre Island TX. Guaranteed wind in April.

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Re: USA in April?

Postby mikeysfl » Sat Dec 21, 2013 1:49 am

Miami Bro!

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Re: USA in April?

Postby SSK » Sat Dec 21, 2013 3:01 am

How warm? CA coast and Hatteras are real windy, but full suits.

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Re: USA in April?

Postby irwe » Sat Dec 21, 2013 5:13 am

I agree with South Padre Island if your main purpose is kiteboarding. I have been there eight times any where from mid April to mid May and only missed one day when I didn't kite! Kite range from 5 - 18 m. Flat and wave riding. Probably want a shorty wetsuit for parts of April.

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Re: USA in April?

Postby Random » Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:35 am

Thanks for the replies guys.

How do South Padre Island and Corpus Christi compare windwise and non kiting activities wise?

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Re: USA in April?

Postby Dr Makani » Sat Dec 21, 2013 9:57 pm

Random wrote:Thanks for the replies guys.

How do South Padre Island and Corpus Christi compare windwise and non kiting activities wise?
We have been in SPI in October. Just for kiteboarding and that's all what you can do here. SPI is just a five mile road with hotel, motels, restaurants and cheap souvenir shops left and right. The funny part is we had to come to TX to have the worst BBQ ever: Big Boys! Six different dishes and they all were garbage. All six of us stopped eating instantly and asked the waiter to clean the table. She was embarrassed, the manger not so much. I sported the bill of $100 (plus a $20 tip for her) without saying anything. Hey, I am on vacation and don't need to pick a fight. A better place was SPI Brewery. The experience with the BBQ is matching pretty much my overall impression of SPI. Nobody really cares and service is ok at best.
Don't go for a vacation rental. We contacted 10+ places beforehand and only got two (!) responses after two weeks. Some voice mail greetings of agents/home owners were still referring to June/July of 2012 ...
In a nutshell: All vacation rentals have a $100 - $150 cleaning fee hidden in their contracts. You also have to leave a security deposit of a weeks rent, which would have been in our case $1200. You also have a LOCAL TAX of 14% if you stay less than 30 days. And one guy even sent me a contract with $300 over the quoted rent. You know, we are Californians and we are perceived as 'having money', but we ain't schtupied.
In the end my choice was the La Quinta hotel at the north end of town. I had a room at ground level at the pool side, so I could easy access ocean. Another advantage is easy handling your gear; just over the balcony. A utility hose was right next to it and I jumped with my gear into the pool to 'rinse off'. Another benefit is, that you can walk to the convention center for a session in the bay. In front of the hotel is a shuttle stop which is transporting you (and you gear) for free if you do a downwinder to the south end of town - easy peasy.
Which brings me to kiting.
The kite community is great. SPI kiteboarding has a nice shop, we bought some gear to keep the economy happy and one member of our group even took a day lesson with one of their instructors. Feedback was absolute positive and she had a great experience.
We tried 10+ bay side spots for kite access. 9 of them are dumpy. Loose barbwire, ponds of broken beer bottles, seas of shell crush, abandoned fireplaces and mud, mud and ... guess what ... mud. We ended up to use the convention center the most. Here you have a grassy area to set up your kite and with a little walk you get into the water. The mud and slick makes it very tricky to launch and walk in higher winds. Unless you don't care about your kite.
I loved the ocean shore. On a good day you have several (mostly four) break lines of nice swell. Between those swell lines you have ~100 feet wide 'ponds' which are almost flat water. Bottom line is with the right wind and swell you have the whole cake and you can eat it too.

For my end, I don't plan to come back to SPI. For the amount of money we spent and what we got I would know 10+ places for a (way) better experience. SPI as a town and place just doesn't cut it for me. Somehow it's missing some 'magic' or - well - Aloha. If you are into cheap booze and 'Nothing-Over-$3.99-Chachkies' this place will be haven for you. Otherwise kite, eat sleep and leave after 14 days ...

peace

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Re: USA in April?

Postby TheJoe » Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:28 pm

Random wrote:Thanks for the replies guys.

How do South Padre Island and Corpus Christi compare windwise and non kiting activities wise?
Anywhere on the Texas coast will be good in April. Wind is close to the same between Corpus and SPI. If your after waves then SPI is better they don't get as much of a doming effect as the wind comes out of the south east and is usually side to side on. Corpus is a lot bigger so it has more to do. SPI is purely a vacation spot yeah there are some bars and restaurants but everything is tourist trap.

If your looking for wind and more to do or see then Galveston is a great choice. Lots to do in the Houston/Galveston Metro area. We don't get as strong of wind that SPI and Corpus get but in April most days are going to be high teens and low 20's. We have a shallow (easily a square mile) flat water spot (chop depends on tide). Plus lots of other spots that some of us locals know about. Just don't come here looking for waves. We have really crappy surf and lots of doming going over Galveston island. Depending on where you stay Surf Side has far better surf but I have not kited down there since it's about a 2 hour drive for me.

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Re: USA in April?

Postby jwoodunlv » Sun Dec 22, 2013 12:55 am

If you include a nice 30 minute trip to Port Aransas then Corpus definitely has more to do. The kite scene here is extremely mellow and never crowded. If you go for waves, we can drive on the beach here which is convenient since you don't have to schlep all your gear. We have lots of flat water in the Laguna for exploring and having some flat water fun. Look up Maggie and Jerry Harteung if you are here (brokite kiteboards). They have a rental available and will let you demo some of the best twin tip boards money can buy. Oh yeah, in April we are usually in board shorts by then.

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Re: USA in April?

Postby waynepjh » Sun Dec 22, 2013 5:55 pm

Save your money and go to maui! I have been to spi 4 times and if you like flat/choppy water and poor waves then this is the spot for you. But I think that spi is about the best place to learn that I have ever seen. Just not my cup of tea.


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