San Felipe caps off a long summer of great kitesurf trips

Our Mohave teaching trips this summer were a mixture of warm water and great wind. The Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day teaching trips had wind and waves as well as the numerous smaller Mex trips this season, so I guess it should be no surprise that Mother Nature let us score six days down in San Felipe and a wave trip on top with killer conditions last week. Maybe the karma bag lady decided to just dump a shopping cart full of recyclable stoke on Mother N’s front porch this year and she is just passing it on. Some of us have been fortunate enough to have been chasing wind and waves around this dirt ball in space for a lifetime and now get the ultimate rush vicariously, while watching progressing kitesurf groms getting their first wet kiss from Mother Nature in the form of the first down the line wave or boost in good winds. Sounds hokey and the stuff of after session double margarita mumblings, but it really does slap a joyous synapse in the old noggin to see a grom dip their face in the water and wind stoke endless grin salsa. Ocean adrenaline sports are as addictive as any three form pharmaceutical.

Two Santa Anna’s slipped through our caloused fingers as we tried to get students schedules to coincide with the El Nortes. Tom and I left four days early to get some before the students came and we scored heavy last Monday. Showed up in the leather skined gringo capital of Baja, to find that it had been blowing hard for two days prior to our arrival. We usually schedule our teaching trips down to San Felipe around the general three day cycle of the Santa Anna’s. This particular wind event caught the meteorologists with their heads in sand unfortunately. Trick is to leave and four in the morning on the day the wind event is to start. This way you are up and riding in a semi conscious state by 11 am the same day.

Strat and Michelle had the best day of their respective kitesurfing experience down there and are hot to go back. Each punched in three days of riding in both flat and wave conditions. Cheap sunglasses and localy purchases five clam, straw cowboy hats augmented shorts and rashy riding conditions of 80 degree water and 98 degree air. Fortunately our group did not include the baggy bottomed guy with the purple string bikni bottoms who was pointing it at all traffic admiring the gorgeous San F. view on the way into town. Not a good last thing to see on the side of the highway when heading towards dinner. We all ate a bit less that evening and drank a bit more. Gringo fashion fopaws, smiling locals, and loco fisherman with tall tales, go hand in hand to make up the mixed fish soup that is San Felipe and has brought us back with students chasing wind and good times for so many years now. Looks like we might be heading back this very weekend. The rumor is that Mother Nature is partial to tequilla and will be bringing wind with her.