Windsurfing near Punta San Carlos
- San Felipe Mexico (101 km)
- Lake Morena (356 km)
- Lake Morena (356 km)
- J-St (369 km)
- Grand Caribe Park (369 km)
Many professional and serious amateur sailors regard Punta San Carlos as one of the preeminent windsurfing sports in the world. Graham Ezzy (Dave's son),one of the top up and coming sailors, told Windsurfing Mag. that he preferred P.S.C. to Maui, where he lives, and he came for 3 weeks in mid 2007. Indeed sailors from Japan, France, Israel, South Africa, Italy, Canada, etc flock in on Solosports excursions. I have met Dave Ezzy, Mat & Kevin Pritchard, Jason Polekow, Ian Boyd and other top-notch sailors there. If you want to meet the top Gorge sailors, come to P.S.C. in the spring.
Yes, P.S.C. has waves, occasionally mast high, but often logo high. It also has wind, typically 4.0 - 5.5m. But so do many other windspots. What distinguishes P.S.C., is the Bombora Reef, a reef that extends perpendicular to the shore from the tip of Bombora Island in the pic. This reef acts as a subsurface breakwater that blocks the chop, but lets through the larger waves. Thus, you can plane between waves. If you sail to the north of Bombora, it has all the chop of Jalama, Waddell Creek and other touted venues. To the south, it is surf on a lake.
However, there are many times when the waves are no larger than a pond. One of my most used boards is Big Bertha, a 125L floater. Also, the wind is not always 20+ mph -- I have used a 6.6m sail more times than I care to count.
Caveats:
- There is no vegetation at P.S.C. taller than your knee. If you don't bring a wind blind, you won't find one.
- The wind doesn't turn off when you change and cook dinner. Get used to San Carlos flavoring -- dirt. And a layer of dirt covering everything. It blows all night and if you're in a tent, don't look forward to a good night's sleep, it flaps mercilessly.
- There are no stores, no restaurant, and not even a taco stand. And NO WATER. So if you're planning to sample the local cuisine count on eating rocks.
- If you bring someone with you that doesn't windsurf, it may be the last time they will accompany you anywhere. (My family refuses point blank to come down to P.S.C. again, but they are stuck with me.)
But if you are a sailor, welcome to Windsurf Valhalla.