where to go for flat water

[snowball]

I've never ridden florida.

Ill be in sarasota for half of my trip and will spend the other half of the trip in boyton beach. is there anywhere thats near either of these areas where i could i ride some flat water? i know miami is awesome for flat water but its kinda far to drive. is there anywhere where ther's like a reef a mile out with huge waves and then flat water on the inside between the beach and the reef if so where is it? anywhere that you guys would recomend that i should definately go to when im there? oh and im an intermediate rider. also anywhere that youd recomend doing a downwinder in the shorebreak, I can have someone pick me up downwind.

thanks
-henry

P.S i'll get there tuesday night

also are there any rules or anything i should know before i go???

i posted this in the wrong part of the forum before by accident lol

[ricki]

All the normal kiting within an hour or so within Boynton Beach is open ocean riding (with waves). The closest spot to the south is Miami, the Flats of Miami followed by the Keys. There is a great deal of info about this in the SE Florida forum and Florida Kiteboarding Guide. Sebastian Inlet is the next larger area to the north that comes to mind over an hour by car.

The only spots that I know of close to Sarasota are in the waves of the Gulf. I suspect that there are exceptions but you might need a boat to hit some of the more remote barrier islands in the Gulf. There is Sanibel and Captiva Island to the north with some sheltered water depending upon wind direction. More about this in the SW Florida forum.

There are guidelines pretty much everywhere in populated areas. Avoid guarded beaches within 300 ft. of shore or more unless there is a designated launch.

Hope you have good wind for your visit.

[snowball]

thanks rick
your info is very helpful

do you think i should bring booties or a shortie or will i be fine in just a rashguard and boardshorts?

i imagine everything will be pretty crowded since its spring break.

i have the choice to drive through ft meyers or st. pete and do some kiting. whitch of these places would you recomend?

[inferno]

st pete has flat water riding on any wind direction :)

[ricki]

thanks rick
your info is very helpful

do you think i should bring booties or a shortie or will i be fine in just a rashguard and boardshorts?

i imagine everything will be pretty crowded since its spring break.

i have the choice to drive through ft meyers or st. pete and do some kiting. whitch of these places would you recomend?

It is always a good idea to wear booties in new areas. In my area in Palm Beach county I've never needed them. Try to always wear them in Biscayne Bay given the abundance of broken glass, metal, etc. Some of the areas with seagrass have urchins and the odd sharp shell.

I can't speak for the west coast but I have been wearing a shortie in NE'ly winds off Palm Beach County and a rash guard off Key West over the weekend. It is usually cooler off the west coast and a shortie at a minimum would be a good idea. Guys might still be wearing full suits in the St. Pete/Ft. Meyers areas in cold fronts.

Ft. Desoto south of St. Pete has good launches for all wind directions along with few waves. Checkout the St. Pete forum, there are a ton of active guys with lots of info about area launches.

[Skyway Scott]

st pete has flat water riding on any wind direction :)
And apparently it blows here every day, too. (what's up with that?) :D
We get quite a few Sarasotans at the Skyway on east winds.
Maybe 5 tonight (of 20) were from Sarasota.

[snowball]

i cant wait to leave
im leaving tonight

the only kite i have is a 14 sonic since where i live we rarely get high wind. Will there be anywhere that i could rent a kite if it was blowing more then 24. i dont have any certification but im an intermediate.

oh and if i wanted to rent a surfboard to do some surfing do you rent them at a shop or at the beach? if you rent them at a shop theyd bring it to the beach right?

i think im going to go the st pete route since i want the flatwater.