Dominican Republic For Late April - Windy?

[Flyboy]

[
Haha thanks again for that info! I totally agree with you from a romantic side. She does kite however! She just doesn’t want to do only kiting. She also loves North Carolina and has always wanted to visit. So she said she would be okay with going there or the Dominican!

With that being said, assuming both Cape Hatteras and Cabarete are equal with non-wind activities, where would you prefer to go when it comes to a higher chance of good wind?

Thanks again for all of your help! Super useful information

It would have been helpful if you mentioned that your fiancé kites to start with! In its own way Hatteras is a beautiful spot & the kiting conditions can be outstanding there because of the opportunities offered by the Sound. Mostly people who go there drive - it's relatively remote, but easily drivable from anywhere on the east coast up into eastern Canada. It's a place where you can rent a very nice, big house with a bunch of fellow kiters & hang out for a couple of weeks. In late April you are pretty much guaranteed to have good wind for some days & possibly warm sunny weather too ... but it could also be fairly cold & stormy, or warm & sunny but calm. There's not too much to do if there's no wind, other than walking on the beach, fishing or visiting the Wright memorial, or the small museum in Hatteras village. Wind in Hatteras often comes in ferocious chunks with no wind in-between. On the north coast of the DR you are more likely to have consistent wind each afternoon - assuming that the trades are firing reasonably well.

If your beloved kites, then you might actually consider going to Buen Hombre. For a weeklong honeymoon getaway it might be just the ticket. From what I understand, the wind there is the same as Cabarete ... just stronger. That means if the trades are stalled & there's no wind anywhere, it's not going to be windy at Buen Hombre either. But if it's blowing 12 -14 knots at Cabarete, the chances are it will be blowing 14 - 18 at Buen Hombre. If it's 14 - 18 knots at Cabarete, it's likely to be blowing 18 - 22 knots at Buen Hombre. There are a lot more amenities: grocery stores, restaurants, clothing & kite stores, bars & dance clubs in Cabarete than there are in Buen Hombre, so I don't know about spending a couple of months there, but for a week for a kitesurfing couple it may perfect.

[TimG]

[
Haha thanks again for that info! I totally agree with you from a romantic side. She does kite however! She just doesn’t want to do only kiting. She also loves North Carolina and has always wanted to visit. So she said she would be okay with going there or the Dominican!

With that being said, assuming both Cape Hatteras and Cabarete are equal with non-wind activities, where would you prefer to go when it comes to a higher chance of good wind?

Thanks again for all of your help! Super useful information

It would have been helpful if you mentioned that your fiancé kites to start with! In its own way Hatteras is a beautiful spot & the kiting conditions can be outstanding there because of the opportunities offered by the Sound. Mostly people who go there drive - it's relatively remote, but easily drivable from anywhere on the east coast up into eastern Canada. It's a place where you can rent a very nice, big house with a bunch of fellow kiters & hang out for a couple of weeks. In late April you are pretty much guaranteed to have good wind for some days & possibly warm sunny weather too ... but it could also be fairly cold & stormy, or warm & sunny but calm. There's not too much to do if there's no wind, other than walking on the beach, fishing or visiting the Wright memorial, or the small museum in Hatteras village. Wind in Hatteras often comes in ferocious chunks with no wind in-between. On the north coast of the DR you are more likely to have consistent wind each afternoon - assuming that the trades are firing reasonably well.

If your beloved kites, then you might actually consider going to Buen Hombre. For a weeklong honeymoon getaway it might be just the ticket. From what I understand, the wind there is the same as Cabarete ... just stronger. That means if the trades are stalled & there's no wind anywhere, it's not going to be windy at Buen Hombre either. But if it's blowing 12 -14 knots at Cabarete, the chances are it will be blowing 14 - 18 at Buen Hombre. If it's 14 - 18 knots at Cabarete, it's likely to be blowing 18 - 22 knots at Buen Hombre. There are a lot more amenities: grocery stores, restaurants, clothing & kite stores, bars & dance clubs in Cabarete than there are in Buen Hombre, so I don't know about spending a couple of months there, but for a week for a kitesurfing couple it may perfect.

It’s been decided! I mentioned to her that that we will need wetsuits for Cape Hatteras and she immediately said that we should go to Cabarete haha. I think I will try to do a road trip to Buen Hombre from Cabarete if we are suffering from too much light wind. I’m also keen to learn foiling so I’ll bring my foil for light wind days.

Thanks for your help and hopefully we luck out on wind!

[Toby]

I completely understand your wife

Let us know how the wind was, and if you went to Buen Hombre.

Have a great trip!

[Havre]

Haha. I used to be the same when it came to wetsuits. Now I don't mind.

And yeah - will be cool to hear what kind of wind you get.

[Hugh2]

Let us know the result. Early on we had a week at Spring Break in Cabarete, C-kites and all that crap, and got no wind at all for six days. But it was a nice beach and warm. Now we go to Avon third week of April for the past 20 years, always a good time with friends in big houses on the water with options of sound or beach riding, great downwinders, and some epic strong winds or gentle days for foiling.

[Flyboy]

Let's face it: a week trip anywhere in the world is a bit of a crap shoot. 3 consecutive days of no wind is common at any "windy" destination ... & that may occasionally turn into 5 or 6 days, or even more. Wind in the Caribbean is quite predictable - just look at the wind maps covering the whole area.

http://www.yachtibis.com/caribbean-weather/

My simple summary: in the winter cold fronts from north push down south & disrupt the flow of the trade winds. The islands to the north: Cuba, the DR, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands are more affected by these fronts, while the more southerly islands: Barbados, St; Lucia, Grenada etc. are less affected. The area that consistently seems to experience the strongest wind Dec - April is the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

In the summer, the more northerly islands , like the DR, have a steadier, stronger flow from the trades & the wind is more predictable.

[LibertySky]

Guys, I'm going to Cabarete at the very begging of April and will stay for 2 weeks. I'll report you about wind conditions

[Flyboy]

Here's the most recent forecast from Stefan (who BTW isn't affiliated with a kite school as far as I am aware). His forecasts are usually quite accurate ... which is to say they reflect the general forecast for the Caribbean adjusted for the particularities of Cabarete. In my experience you can generally knock 2 - 4 knots off the top end, which means a 16 - 22 knot forecast probably means an average winter day of 14 - 18 knots in the later afternoon - a day for a SB with an 11m kite. 18 - 24 knots forecast means I would likely use a 9m kite, & an 18 - 26 knots forecast means I would likely use a 8m kite. Bottom line: 11 days of solid wind. It's likely the wind everywhere in the northern Caribbean will be decent over this period, no strong cold fronts from the north disrupting the trade wind flow. Good time to visit

[elguapo]

april is the worst month for springtime...




...but you would be unlikely to get 3 straight days of no wind in april... especially if you can foil.


iirc, the worst times i've seen in cabarete for wind were from late september until december.

[Flyboy]

april is the worst month for springtime...




...but you would be unlikely to get 3 straight days of no wind in april... especially if you can foil.


iirc, the worst times i've seen in cabarete for wind were from late september until december.

Possibly, but I have been going to Cabarete in Dec/Jan (usually for a month or more) when the wind statistics are supposedly worse than in April. In perhaps 12 visits in the last 18 years I have always about had 70 - 80% kitable days, which is to say over 12 knots. With foiling 10 - 12 knot days have now become "kiting days" also. There are always days with no wind - sometimes 4 or 5 days in a row. If you go for a week with those conditions you're going to be out of luck. However, days like this are not particular to Cabarete, but generally reflect what is happening throughout the Caribbean, at least in the northern Caribbean.