east beach

[BigR]

BTW, I did see alot of fish that morning .

is the small launching area (that you need to walk to when the tide is high) large enough for a self land?

YES, about the space of 100 X 200 yards, roughly.

But I think launching is more critical to have dry land since you can always land on the water

And yes , that entire side of the bay from bahia bch to skyway south is real nice to ride on those wind directions, let me know if you want to do a downwinder that side, its about 10 or 12 miles of shallow water / sand bars/ mangroves/ islands etc

[bryanleighty]

true true!

[toby wilson]

Raul, where do you launch from on that side?

[BigR]

OYyyyyy...


If no boat then there is no choice but to launch at places to drive up to by car

1. Bahia bch
2. Piney Point
3. Skyway south

[BigR]

:lol:

I knew about the island but I assumed it was covered by oyster shells and didn't want to recommend it.. Will have to try it sometime.

[BigR]

tiny tiny little broken up oyster shells, something between sand and little rocks


depends where you lay your kite

[jim]

I went to skyway south one late afternoon about a month ago on a north wind. The beach was tiny and full of rocks(unless i was in the wrong place). The nice area to ride looks like to the south of the launch where it appears to open up into a bay fringed by mangroves, but I never got there as it was starting to get dark. I would like to be there next time with someone familiar with the area to show me .
Will the backside skyway work on a north wind?

[bryanleighty]

really needs to have some west in it to ride at backside.. sure it can be done on a straight n but its just such a small, sketchy launch and land area.. prob would be better to ride north skyway if you must stay in that area..

if you dont have great upwind riding dialed you are in for a really crappy day.

if its North w/o any sort of east or west and you dont feel like going to south skyway.. Indian Rocks Beach is the best bet by far..

The thing with our North winds is that they are usually moderately gusty and some spots amplify this.

Backside works, but can be really gusty (especially close to shore).
Cypress and some other spots can also be really gusty on Norths.
South Skyway (at low tide) can be good, but it is almost dead onshore wind, not so hot for newer riders.
Possibly the cleanest spots are North Beach and up north (at ClW or even further north). These are out in the Gulf with moderate waves.

With today's kites it doesn't matter as much as a few years ago, but gusty winds still aren't what I dream of :? , so I usually hit NB or CLW on due Norths.

I would just "get out" away from shore as soon as you launch backside on a due North, Jim. I have seen some squirrelly stuff in there close to shore and I got lofted pretty good in there once. Again, maybe the newer kites lessen this chance but I prefer to lessen the odds myself.

EDIT: Bryan posted while I was writing (basically the same stuff)
I think the "normal" side of SW would be safer on a due North.. but now we are really talking gusty :evil:

IRB is good, but sometimes the side shore current is ripping.
I know a couple other spots with no current due to blockage by jetties.
This helps to clean up the waves too.