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Aruba January

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adamj2281
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Local Beach: Charleston, SC - Folly Beach
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Style: Surf mostly, some freeride
Gear: Ocean Rodeo Roam 7,12
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Re: Aruba January

Postby adamj2281 » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:12 pm

Hey, I went to Aruba and kited huts 8 years ago (before the R/C was built). Anyways, I'm a pretty experienced kiter, but i want decent waves. How's Boca Grandi on the outside wave wise, I'm guessing they get some pretty good wind-swell based on the trades and exposure.

Any comments, I'd take both my twintip and surfboard, but I'm mainly interested in riding a surfboard.

seaplus
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Re: Aruba January

Postby seaplus » Mon Jul 16, 2018 1:39 am

Boca Grandi has very good swells outside the reef. Pechi has opened a Beach Bar and Grill there. Twin tippin in the Boca is great too. Get over 9 kiters and it's a tad crowded but time your sessions between the noobs and you'll have a ball. 96% chance of great wind. Can't beat it for a kite-trip.

adamj2281
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Posts: 650
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:21 am
Kiting since: 2009
Local Beach: Charleston, SC - Folly Beach
Favorite Beaches: Folly Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Playa Avellanas, Barker's, GC, East End, St. Croix,VI
Style: Surf mostly, some freeride
Gear: Ocean Rodeo Roam 7,12
Ocean Rodeo Crave 9
5'2" North Whip CSC
5'4" Tomo Hydroshort
Nobile 2HD
Slingshot H4 Batwing foil
Brand Affiliation: Ocean Rodeo
Location: Charleston, SC
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Re: Aruba January

Postby adamj2281 » Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:42 pm

seaplus wrote:
Mon Jul 16, 2018 1:39 am
Boca Grandi has very good swells outside the reef. Pechi has opened a Beach Bar and Grill there. Twin tippin in the Boca is great too. Get over 9 kiters and it's a tad crowded but time your sessions between the noobs and you'll have a ball. 96% chance of great wind. Can't beat it for a kite-trip.
Cool, yeah I'm mostly all directional riding these days, but my wife really likes Aruba and Curacao for that matter. It's a quick trip, beautiful, and pretty reasonable price wise. It's either there or another year of surfing in CR. I'm guessing it's straight onshore, or maybe a bit of a slant to the north (which will work perfectly for me as a goofy footer).

seaplus
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Re: Aruba January

Postby seaplus » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:58 am

Does your wife kite...if so, stay at Kite-Inn.com because other than kiting...there's really nothing to do on this side of the island.
Kite-Inn... $80/night (cold a/c , hot shower, comfortable bed, and very clean). You can kite your tails off...it's 5mins from Boca Grandi.
Arnold who owns Kite-Inn always rides directionals, yet you're most likely to see him on a foilboard these days.

I'll pump 1 kite at 8am and kite all day. When I want a break, I just put it in a dune-shadow and go back to Kite-Inn to eat/rest/etc...
or drive to San Nicolas which is about 10mins away with plenty of restaurants. There's a hospital in San Nicolas as well.

Everything's cheaper on this side of the island as well. Boca and the surrounding beaches are much better than those on the tourist side of Aruba.

adamj2281
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 650
Joined: Thu Jun 19, 2008 1:21 am
Kiting since: 2009
Local Beach: Charleston, SC - Folly Beach
Favorite Beaches: Folly Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Playa Avellanas, Barker's, GC, East End, St. Croix,VI
Style: Surf mostly, some freeride
Gear: Ocean Rodeo Roam 7,12
Ocean Rodeo Crave 9
5'2" North Whip CSC
5'4" Tomo Hydroshort
Nobile 2HD
Slingshot H4 Batwing foil
Brand Affiliation: Ocean Rodeo
Location: Charleston, SC
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Re: Aruba January

Postby adamj2281 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:32 pm

seaplus wrote:
Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:58 am
Does your wife kite...if so, stay at Kite-Inn.com because other than kiting...there's really nothing to do on this side of the island.
Kite-Inn... $80/night (cold a/c , hot shower, comfortable bed, and very clean). You can kite your tails off...it's 5mins from Boca Grandi.
Arnold who owns Kite-Inn always rides directionals, yet you're most likely to see him on a foilboard these days.

I'll pump 1 kite at 8am and kite all day. When I want a break, I just put it in a dune-shadow and go back to Kite-Inn to eat/rest/etc...
or drive to San Nicolas which is about 10mins away with plenty of restaurants. There's a hospital in San Nicolas as well.

Everything's cheaper on this side of the island as well. Boca and the surrounding beaches are much better than those on the tourist side of Aruba.
Yeah, she doesn't, she mainly just relaxes on vacation. On the same note, we aren't huge fans of chasing for a beach chair and all of that on Aruba's main beach, so we will be looking for somewhere nice, but not so crowded/big hotelish.

lewmt
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Re: Aruba January

Postby lewmt » Wed Jul 18, 2018 3:12 pm

How is Oct in Aruba? Any good rights or is it all lefts?

Eduardo
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Re: Aruba January

Postby Eduardo » Wed Jul 18, 2018 5:23 pm

lewmt wrote:How is Oct in Aruba? Any good rights or is it all lefts?
Aruba is an amazingly windy place but Sep-Nov is off season, but still > 50%. It is also not really a wave place so neither lefts nor rights, at least not down the line clean point/reef breaks.

caps
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Re: Aruba January

Postby caps » Wed Jul 18, 2018 6:37 pm

Sorry. I’ve tried to not be a downer and ignore this post. Now I’m at a weak moment cuz I’m at work... I’ve kited at so many places around the world and I’d say Aruba was probably the worst. While super windy, the wind was described by a local as “devil’s wind”. The gusty nature made Hood River seem like a blow dryer. The kite landing/falling behind you is not uncommon. Driving to the other side of the island is a must, super nice... but time consuming. Aruba is great for all but kiters- warm, beautiful, friendly people. The overdevelopment at kite beach just ruined it. You’ll be setting up downwinders, off shore rides to enjoy it- not ideal. Just my 3 cents...

pj sofine
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Re: Aruba January

Postby pj sofine » Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:14 pm

caps wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 6:37 pm
Sorry. I’ve tried to not be a downer and ignore this post. Now I’m at a weak moment cuz I’m at work... I’ve kited at so many places around the world and I’d say Aruba was probably the worst. While super windy, the wind was described by a local as “devil’s wind”. The gusty nature made Hood River seem like a blow dryer. The kite landing/falling behind you is not uncommon. Driving to the other side of the island is a must, super nice... but time consuming. Aruba is great for all but kiters- warm, beautiful, friendly people. The overdevelopment at kite beach just ruined it. You’ll be setting up downwinders, off shore rides to enjoy it- not ideal. Just my 3 cents...
You're not a downer,just honest! I never kited aruba but did windsurf it back in the day.Nice trip but I would never go back.The quality of the wind was so frustrating.Everytime I hit the wind shadows I would curse,only to do it time after time thinking it would be different this tack!I went in June, very windy time.Went to boca and that was a deserted wasteland at that time .Got accosted by some stoned out rasta dude and thought I'd have to leave a body behind.It would be nice if boca was bigger and there was more resources there,but it is what it is.

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irwe
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Re: Aruba January

Postby irwe » Fri Jul 20, 2018 6:00 pm

I have kited in Aruba first week of January. I liked mostly strapless surfboard. Waves were OK. Kited every day for 7 days (9 - 12 m).
Boca is alot better then Fisherman's hut's if you want to be on a surfboard.
I found the wind was ~5 kts less compared to Guru forecast. (I have kited at Kite beach Maui and found the wind to be 5 - 10 kts stronger then Guru forecast)
I stayed at Kite-Inn as it was close to Boca. It was a simple set-up but comfortable. If your wife is OK with just chilling and reading at the beach then Boca would suffice.
If she wants night life and crowds then your better off on the hotel strip but it's a long drive (~40 min) to Boca.
Arnold is a good contact on the island for everything kite-inn@hotmail.com
I have been to most of the major kiting Caribbean spots and my fav is still Barbados for surf and foil.


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