Good spot for newbie in North West

[snakiiz]

Hello guys and gals,

I've taken several lessons to the point where I can ride downwind and I need to practice the skills including edging upwind. I figure that I take a week off to practice this coming long weekend and I'm looking for suggestions as to where to go. I was thinking of Locust Beach but I hear the wind may be very light this time of year? If that's true is there another place near Bellingham,WA that may be excellent for someone like me? Hopefully lot's of beach for launching and shallow water?

Another place I thought of is Hood river, that would mean much longer drive (I'm from Canada) but with that I was wondering how it may be for a newbie since the river has current and what happens when I fall off and lose the board, will it be difficult to retrieve it?

Another place I heard may be good is a lake on Vancouver Island - Nitinat Lake. I haven't read too much about it so again any suggestion?

Wherever I go it will be a long drive but hopefully I don't have to go much further south than Oregon/Washington area. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[dylan*]

Maybe look into Bellingham? Never looked at the spots personally but it seems to be a popular spot.

[saildawg]

I see you are from Kelowna, have you talked to the local kiters? The best forum for you to find the answers to the questions you have asked is http://kiteboardbc.com/phpBB3/viewforum ... a27719cbf6.

[ORSales]

If you're in Canada and want a great place to spend a week, come to Nitinat on Vancouver Island. PM me if you want / need more info but the only things you need to know are that you will need to bring camping gear and food / booze for the week in the woods and that the lake has 2x schools there who also offer rescue services so most kiters at your stage will walk up wind, ride as long as they can down wind / slightly up wind and then get out down the beach but can rely on the pick up ($50 unlimited for the day) if they get into trouble...

[snakiiz]

ORSales,
Nitinat does sound like a cool place to kite. Is there much of shallow areas to practice? I heard the three places I've originally mentioned are good for beginners, it's picking the most beginner friendly place is a challenge thus my inquiry.

[ORSales]

ORSales,
Nitinat does sound like a cool place to kite. Is there much of shallow areas to practice? I heard the three places I've originally mentioned are good for beginners, it's picking the most beginner friendly place is a challenge thus my inquiry.

No shallow areas... however, the beach is long enough that you can walk up to the river mouth, launch there, sail down past the large stump at the bottom of the beach and come in there and walk back up the beach to do it all over again. If you have a friend who can kite, they can even meet you down there and sail the gear back up the beach - that's a great way to get some miles in. As I said too, both schools offer the rescue service if you wish to go that route. That let's you start at the river mouth and sail all the way to the end of the lake, adding about 4x extra distance to your run. I believe they charge $50 per day for that so you could do 2 or 3 runs that way. Might want to consider a Go Joe for your board tho as the water is choppy and it's easy to get separated from your board without one.

Good luck!