Cabarete DR 3/15 - 3/21 5.3 to 7.7

[Sarah Ranes]

Linda and I, had pretty good wind on our first day that we arrived, unfortunately I took a bit too small of a sail 5.3/84 and had to work my butt off to stay even. I was surprised at how windy it looked in the bay, but really wasn't. I was also surprised at how choppy the water was, it always seemed that the waves/swell was coming from 2 directions. I never found a smooth section of water. The choppy swell was alot of fun after I got used to it, and started make my gybes. We both struggled with water starting, and I felt like I was re-learning, how to do it. But hey, we made it back in one piece, and didn't break anything. Day 2 was lighter and we grabbed 6.5 and 122 boards, and had a pretty good time, for a couple of hrs. And on day 3, well we never expected to be riding, or even looking at a 7.7 sail and 130L board, but that's what you do if you want to sail, before noon. We had the whole bay to ourselves. go figure! that afternoon was the best session. 5.6/90 for a couple of hours. We both had a good time, and felt like we were getting the hang of the place. Unfortunately the wind did not help us out any more. We did a lot of ocean kayacking and walking on the beach the last 3 days. Not even kites in the sky.

Jen's, the manager of Vela, said that it's been the worst March for wind in 16 years. They had had almost no wind for the 2 weeks before we got there, so we felt fortunate that the wind kicked in a bit for us. Cabarete bay is absolutely beautiful, the temps are perfect, water is nice, and has some new challenges. The food was great, and fairly inexpensive, and usually served right on the beach. Town was a bit crowded, and noisey, the moto concho's were everywhere! We also had quite a bit of rain while we were there, but it usually came and went quickly, then the sun would shine again.

It was kind of shocking to come back to snow late last night. Welcome Home to Utah.

[Weston Youd]

Hope you got to Jose O'Shea's!! It's a great place and quite friendly to the wind sport crowd!

[Sarah Ranes]

Hey Weston, I think that was just down the beach. We tried a few different places, that were all pretty good, and not too expensive. The convenience of those beach resturants was great, and all seemed friendly.