All Contents of this Page Copyright(2012) of Randolph Kashino
Punta San Carlos 2012
"Baja California Mexico Windsurfing Adventure"
Here is Kevin Pritchards' Punta San Carlos Video
July 24th to 27th, 2012 BC to BC
British Columbia to Baja California
I worked half a day then left Victoria on board the Coho Ferry to Port Angeles. By 10:30 I had got as far as Woodburn, Oregon and checked into a hotel. The next day was a 10 hour drive that got me to Corning, California just north of Sacramento. The third day was a 12 hour drive that got me to El Cajon which is just outside of San Diego. The next morning (July 27th) I drove to the San Diego airport and picked up Chris Freeman who had just arrived from Maui. Before heading to the border we stopped at the Starbucks to charge up for the drive. At the border crossing at Tijuana, we had to get our Tourist Visa (FMM). This was an interesting process. First you arrive, then you have to explain to the Border officer, who doesn't speak english, that you need to get a tourist visa. You then pull over into the inspection area then go to immigration office, furthest to the end of row of offices. You meet the very friendly immigration officer who helps you fill out the form. She stamps it, then tells you have to go to the bank to pay the fee. You go out the office and down two offices back where there is a bank with a teller window. You pay him the $20 and he stamps your visa. Then you go back to immigration office where the officer stamps your passport and visa. You don't need a visa if you are going to be north of Ensanada. Just if you are going further south. Anyway this actually only took about 20 minutes. Then we got the vehicle reinspected, because we of course had to park in the inspection are that is reserved for those who've been selected for inspection. Anyway, it was pretty efficient and we were now in Baja California, Mexico.
My Caravan was loaded up with gear
July 27th, 2012 continued
The entry into Tijuana, Mexico was an amazing contrast to the San Diego, USA that we had just left. The highways, roads and signs actually reminded me a lot of Spain, but a much poorer Spain. The poverty we saw at the Tijuana border subsided into a more mediterranean feel. A contrast of Villas and villages could be seen as we drove along the highway. The drive along the main highway was punctuated by toll booths that charged between $2 and $3. By noon we had reached Ensenada. A modern city with a large port and a University. We stopped for gas then for groceries at a Mercado. Loaded up with lots of pasta, tortillas, canned tuna, beans, chili and tomato sauce, some eggs, bacon and then fresh vegetables like Peppers, tomatoes, bananas, water and of course beer. After shopping we went down the road and turned onto the main road south and what did we then find. A full service shopping Mall. Walmart, Cosco, Starbucks, Home Depot! We had to shake our head. Were we really in Mexico. This was modern Mexico, no different than the rest of North America. We stopped into grab a Grande Coffee and then to the "Scotia Bank" to get some Peso dineros. As we headed south into Baja the moderness of Ensenada was replaced with agricultural lands. We passed a lots farms and then the vinyards of San vincente and San Quintin area. At San Quintin we filled up the gas tank again. Heading south every 50 kilometers or so, there were checkpoints with military looking for contraband. Most of the time they would just wave us through but every once in the while they would look inside our van. By 5 o'clock we were passing through El Rosario and then soon after that we had reached the turn off the Punta San Carlos. Only about 60 kilometers to go, but it was a very long 60 kilometers. The road was not terribly difficult, just rough because of washboarding. It's a gravel, dirt road and it reminded me of driving the logging roads in the interior of British Columbia where I grew up. We were driving through a spectacular, and real desert. Complete with Cactus and sagebrush. I had mounted my GoPro on the van racks just to document the drive. My average speed turn out to be between 20 and 30 kilometers per hour, because I didn't want to get a flat tire out here. We made it to Punta San Carlos by eight o'clock. It was windy when we layed out the ground sheet and set up Chris' tent. I had to move stuff out of the van, which is where I was sleeping. We made our first dinner of tuna pasta before bedding down. My drive had been 2579 Kilometers to get to Punta san Carlos.
Driving Baja California
The turn off to Punta San Carlos
On the road to Punta San Carlos
July 28, 2012
There was no wind when we woke up. We had set up camp close to the Solo Sports Camp. After breakfast we moved our camp about half way down toward the point which we were told where most of the competition was likely to occur. Soon after setting up our permanent camp we were welcomed by our neighbors. Just to the west was Gordon with his Corgy dog Corkie and to the south was Frank and Kim. We muffled the wind flow through the camp by using my van as a wind block and covered the up wind side with a big tarp to stop the flow under the van. The waves coming in were not in big sets and the wind didn't come up until about 3 in the afternoon. That's when I went for my first sail. I had rigged my 6.0 Sailworks Retro and went out on the Quatto 85 board that I had brought. Soon I found that my main problem was going to be dealing with floating sea grass snagging on my fin. Something to put on the checklist for sailing at San carlos. A weed fin. Waves were consistent and I got regular rides on 3 to 4 footers in the bay. Very easy wave sailing and very forgiving. For dinner I cooked up some huevos rancheros served on tortillas. During that evening the sky was so brilliant that one could see the Milky Way with ease. No city lights here to fade it out.
Waves coming in when we woke up at our first camp
Wrapped the van in a tarp to muffle the wind flow through our camp
It was time to do some windsurfing!
First sunset at Punta San Carlos
July 29, 2012
I woke at 6 AM this morning. The winds were calm and there was an occassional nice set of swell coming in. I made some coffee and had an oatmeal breakfast then got into my wetsuit, grabbed my 9'3" Angulo Stand Up Paddle Board and went for a morning surf. I did a couple of waves in the bay and then went out to the bombora break out off the point island. I got a nice wave that took me for a long ride into the bay. Over at the Chile Bowl Point some of other sailors had made camp. Out on the water off the point some dolphins were playing. By 10 AM the wind started blowing and I came in from my morning surf session. Chris had brought a couple of flags, one which was Hawaiian and the other from his home country of Wales. At 11:30 Chris and I had a flag raising ceremony. Raising the flags of Hawaii, Wales and Canada. By noon the wind was blowing about 15 knots, but swell was down a bit. At 3 o'clock I headed out on my Quatro 95 with my 6.0 Sail and had a good couple of hours of sailing. I had changed my fin to a smaller onshore wave fin, but weeds were still a problem. I had to stop every once in a while to clear the weed accumulation on my fin. Everyone else had a chance to have some sailing and get used to conditions at Punta San Carlos. Chris made a couple of great moves out on the waves. After sailing we made another batch of Tuna Pasta. This is done over my camp stove in one pot. First cook the pasta, drain, add tomato pasta sauce, augment it with a clove of fresh garlic, some jalapeno and chili peppers and real tomatoes, pepper, salt, oregano then add a can of tuna. The sunset was spectacular over the desert to the west and to the east the waxing moon was rising.
Gordon was out surfing on some nice waves when I was making breakfast
Over at the Chili Bowl dolphins were playing
We raised the flags of Wales, Hawaii and Canada
Everyone had a chance to get sailing
Chris Freeman slashing up the waves
Graham Ezzy showing us how it's done
Spectacular San Carlos Sunset
July 30, 2012
I woke up early again at about 6 am as the sun was rising. Some nice sets were coming in. I made a breakfast of oatmeal and then suited up. I was on the water by 7 o'clock with with my Angulo 9'3" Stand Up Paddle board. I surfed until a little after 10 o'clock, then had to head over to the Solo Sports camp for the 11 o'clock Skippers meeting. Things were a little light so the firts heats were postponed. By about 3 o'clock I was getting restless and the tide was low, so I went down to the rocky sandstone beach between the point and the island and picked a nice batch of mussels to have for dinner. At 4 o'clock I went for a sailing session with my 6.0 Sailworks for a couple of hours. For dinner we had garlic and tomatoe red sauce pasta with mussels with a little bit of jalepeno. While eating dinner we had a great view of Graham Ezzy wavesailing just off our beach. The sunset was a spectacular orange red off to the west followed by the rise of a brilliant waxing moon.
Another perfect morning for a Stand Up Session
Morning Skippers Meeting at Solo Sports
Afternoon Free sailing session
Some intertidal exploration
then freshly picked Mussels for dinner
Brilliant waxing Moon
July 31, 2012
I was up early again this morning at 6 AM. However, I took my time making breakfast and didn't get into the water unti about 7:30. The waves were a nice chest to shoulder high with 13 second period and perfect for Stand Up Paddle surfing. I surfed until about 10:30 then checked in with Skippers meeting. Back at our camp I was sitting having a coffee then to my left a Brown Pelican walked inches by me, obviously checking for any goodies I might be handing out. After lunch the competition heats were on. I was in the second amateur heat, however my main problem was that the waves shut off during my heat. I ended up sailing back and forth to and from the beach in frustration. Other sailors lucked out with wind and waves. The waves were coming in sets with long breaks in between of nothing. My next heat was to be the masters heat which was the last one scheduled for the day. That turned out to be around 6 PM and it got cancelled due to lack of wind. The sunset was again beautiful, but more spectacular was the moonrise at the same time.
A perfect morning for a Standup Paddle Surf session
Time to get the competition going
Sam heading out for the womens heat
The wind died but the sunset and moon rise was spectacular
August 1, 2012
Up at 6am again this morning and again there were some nice sets coming in. Perfect for a Standup session. I was on the water right away and got a few nice rides. Then I started being surrounded by fog. Soon I couldn't even see the beach, so I peered outside and caught a final wave to the beach. The fog stayed socked in until about noon. I finally got to do my Masters heat at about 2 o'clock and was again frustrated by the lack of waves. I was also having some problems keeping upwind with my 5.0 sail in light conditions. The amateur heats got moved over to the chili bowl and Chris did pretty good with getting some nice aerial off the lips. Later in the afternoon the tide was again low enough to get another harvest of mussels. For dinner I steamed the mussels over wine with some garlic and butter and we had that with another generous serving of pasta. And we were treated to another spectacular full moonrise. That evening I was just dozing off when the sky exploded with a lightshow of fireworks from the Solo Sports Camp.
Morning ride on the Bombora wave
Then morning fog rolled in on the Pelican colony on the island
Chris Freeman gets a nice aerial off the lip
Fiona Wylde gets a good off the lip
San Carlos regular, Andrew Cunningham slashes up a wave
Chris styling on the waves
The Full Moon Rise over the Baja mountains
August 2, 2012
No sleeping in on this trip. I was again up at 6am, just in time to watch the local fishermen heading out for the day. Down on the beach a flock of Brown Pelicans was gathered. I looked over to the island I could see that a group from Solo Sports had decided to camp on the Pelicans' island. I headed out for a standup session at about 7:30, but it got cut short after an hour when the fog rolled in again. When I got back to camp I decide to make a some bacon and eggs with pan fried red potato for breakfast. The bacon cheered Chris up, since we had be surviving mostly on canned tuna and pasta. By noon the fog cleared and I went out for another standup session. By 3 o'clock the Pro heats were on at the Chili bowl. This was really impressive. The sailing and moves were a magnitude above those of us in the amateur division. Just to see these saiors in action was worth the trip to Punta San Carlos.
Bacon and Eggs Breakfast at Punta San Carlos
Pelicans were gathered at the Beach
Pro Heats were on! Russ Faurot rides into the Chili Bowl
Graham Ezzy rips the top off a wave ...
...and shows what the pros can do ...
...which was answered by the other pros...
...And the judgements made
and the competition was watching every move
August 3 2012
On the water this morning at 7:30. I did a couple of waves in the bay then decided to try out the point at the Chili Bowl. After getting a couple there, I moved back over toward the island and surfed until 9:30. After lunch the heats were back on over at the Chili Bowl. I was in the Amateur 4th heat and the Master 2nd heat which followed the Amateur 5th heat. Ten minutes before the start of my heat I launched from the beach near our camp and did a single tack to get downwind just in time for the start of my amateur heat. Unfortunately the first wave was a disaster has I unwisely decided to keep close to the point and got washed to the beach in white water. I took me a bit of time to get out of that black hole and was able to get out and finally get a wave. I sailed out and just tacked back and forth as the 5th heat progressed and when it was time for the masters heat I got a wave right away rode it right into the bay. I sailed back out a repeated this a couple of times. The wind was picking up and my 5.0 was starting to work. When my heat was finished I did several tacks to get back up to the island and the best wave sailing session since we had arrived. I sailed until 5:30 or 6 o'clock. After sailing we cracked some beers and headed over to Solo Sports camp for the presentations and a party! Chris Freeman got the 1st prize trophy for the Amateur division, that was his quest. I got 3rd for the Grand Masters division. Levi Sever got 1st in the Pro. We managed to finish of the flat of Pacifico that I had brought to Punta San Carlos. Thanks to Sam Bittner, Matt Pritchard, Josh and the rest of the AWT crew for putting on the event and to Kevin Trejo of Solo Sports for hosting us.
Gordon out catching some morning waves off the point
Amateur Heats were on again and Chris had to fight off a second round in order to be number one.
Jordan Reid was giving it his best
Andrew Cunningham and Macrae Wylde battled it out
Wylde and Wylde! Fiona cheers on father, MacRae
The Pro Division Winners: Morgan Noireaux (3rd), Levi Siver(1st), Camile Juban (2nd)
The Amateur Division Winners: Norm Roediger(3rd), Jordan Reid (2nd), Chris Freeman(1st)
The Women Division Winners: Samantha Bittner(3rd), Katie McAnena(2nd), Fiona Wylde(1st)
The Youth Winners: Casey Rehrer(1st), Fiona Wylde(2nd), Ian Stokes(3rd)
The Masters Division Winners: Jeff Albright(2nd), Macrae Wylde (1st), Marty Rosse (3rd)
The Grand Masters Division Winners: Andrew Cunningham(1st), Steve Roy (2nd), Randy Kashino (3rd)
Thanks to our organizers Josh, Matt and Samantha
And our Host, Kevin Trejo
And our Sponsor Quatro, represented by Keith Taboul
Now, its time to party!
August 4 to 5, 2012
Up early this morning for the last time at Punta San Carlos. Made the last of the bacon and eggs then packed up camp. We were on the road by 9 o'clock and got back to the highway by 11:30. We stopped at El Rosario for lunch at "Mama Espinoza's". I tried ordering a Lobster Burrito, but found out lobsters were out of season, so I had the tasty crab burritos instead. By 3 o'clock we were in Ensenada and stopped at Starbucks for a coffe and to check email. We had had no internet out at Punta San Carlos. We were at the the border in Tijuana by 7 o'clock but the traffic was brutal and it took us 3 hours to get to border agent. Finally back in San Diego I dropped Chris off at the Best Western Seven Seas and decided to keep driving through the night in order to get through L.A. with any anoying traffic jams. I drove until 3 Am and stopped once in the valley and made camp at a rest stop. I woke up at about 6 o'clock and was on the road again. Along the way I stopped in Corning for lunch and had a nap at the rest stop north of Yreka on the Klamath River. I drove until 11 PM when I reached Hood River oregon and checked into a hotel. That is probably one of the longest, near continuous drives I've done.
Back to camping in the Pacific Northwest
August 6 to 7, 2012
I slept in then went for a leisurely breakfast of eggs and bacon. I checked out of the hotel, then first headed to the Windance shop then to Big Winds shop to check things out. I then headed to Sailworks to get some repair battons for the 6.0 Retro. I ended up buying an nearly unused 6.2 Revolution. I then headed to Port Angeles. I got ther at 5 o'clock but the ferry was full, even for the 9:30 sailing! I forgot it was a BC long weekend. I camped at the Sequim State park and had pork chops with rice and beans for dinner. I had a great sleep and was up early to be in line for the 8:30 ferry. I was home by 10 o'clock. Total distance driven: 5401 kilometers. My Punta San Carlos Adventure was complete!
Hasta La Vista,
Randy
Wait! There's more. Check back again. I'm still adding stuff. Lots of photos and videos I still have to sort through.
**Translations
Bombora: Reef
Punta San Carlos: Saint Carlos Point
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