Paddle Surfing Baja: Scorpion Bay Report

Check out these photos of Scorpion Bay- are you kidding me??? The place was made for stand up boards. Many thanks to Tom English of www.alohawealth.com for the pictures.

Tom and his friends just returned from a trip down to San Juanico- from the looks of it they pretty much scored. I think this is another validation of my belief that a stand up board can save any surf trip.

The stand up board takes the wave anxiety away- even if it's flat, you know you've got something fun to do. And if there's even a ripple in the water- you're on it!

I contacted Tom to ask him about airline travel with stand up boards. I've been a fan of his homegrown travel and SUP videos- the guy's been all over the place and he's always got a big old SUB with him. I figured if anybody knew the true scoop on flying with big boards it'd be him.

I needed to know if I could fly Alaska airlines with a 10' board. The airline's guidelines state that boards are restricted to lengths no longer than 9'6". In August, I'm heading to a spot in mainland Mexico that looks perfect for a stand up board- it's a left point that runs for a few hundred yards- the kind of spot that's just begging to be stand up paddled. It's an absolute necessity that my stand up board gets loaded onto that flight.

I was stoked to hear that Tom flew Alaska airlines with two stand up boards and that both violated the length restriction. That's the kind of real information I can use- believe me, I'm sleeping better at night knowing my board's coming along.

Top Three Photos: Scorpion Bay and riders with the English party doing their respective things down in Baja.

Photo Four: A couple of my buddies were down there at the same time as Tom English- here's Stukey cruising a six-incher on a twelve footer. The stand up board can save any surf trip.

Photo Five: Just how long do you think this waves is. Right. Now double that and you're just about there.

More Zapper Data: I've received some inquiries regarding the Zapper's dimensions. I'll give you the numbers that I know: 10' x 29.5" x 4.25" sorry but I don't know the tail and nose numbers. What I do know is that it looks SICK!!

The latest BeachSurf photos right here!

Southern Baja Surf Report: Palapas Ventana

I guess I could make this stuff up but I'd rather let you get it from a primary document. Here's Tim Hatler's surf report from down in Southern Baja:

Baja Sur Swell Report from Palapas Ventana

December 6th log

NW swells served up some meaty Bistec Ranchero at all our spots on the pacific side...The bigger the curve in the coast the better as many regular spots started to close out with sets of 12 feet. Water temp remained at 71 and the wind even cooperated by laying down on the two best days....All wave hunger appetites were satisfied, everybody was feliz, and those willing to explore were rewarded.

As soon as I hear a report like this I start scheming.

It drives me nuts thinking about what I'm missing. How am I going to get back down there? I've surfed this wave, I know how good it is and worse then that, I know how PERFECT it'd be on a stand up board.

I paddlesurfed it this summer on a windy, messy red tide swell.

It was fun but nothing like what Tim scored- basically by himself. Imagine the turns you'd be burning; weaving and turning, repeat, over and over again. I just need to dissappear down there for two or three weeks. So I start scheming. Maybe you should too.

All Photos: Santiago

Top: The point offers up a left... and a right (check the last photo) it just depends on how much of an angle the swells got on it.

Middle: Let the race begin. Coming around the corner from the top of the point, across the flats to the bay- better get moving! Imagine the layed out, projected bottom turns you'd be throwing down right here- covering tens of yards with each turn.

And While We Were Up Here: South Baja Reels

A four hundred yard long left point break.

Water warm enough to wear a spring suit. Glassy. Head high and roping.

Drive the truck right up to the edge of the cobblestones. Paddle out, surf it to the fish camp. Walk all the way back. Repeat until your arms give out.

Walk back to the truck, crack a beer, lie in the sun. No parking meter, no goon squad, no problem. As a matter of fact, nobody within a couple of hundred miles. Southern Baja- we should all be so lucky.

Tim Hatler, owner of Palapas Ventana hitting the jackpot.

Baja Bad: Some reflections on some bad times.

Undoubtedly if you're a California surfer you've heard the scary stories coming out of Baja. To tell you the truth, what's happening in the border region of Northern Baja has been heavy enough to make me think twice about my casual day trips. For those who don't know, here's a quick summation of the latest happenings:

• Three San Diego surfer/kiters carjacked in the early morning hours driving through TJ to the toll road. Highlights: Fake (or not) police pulling them over, guns to heads, execution style kneeling postures, highspeed flight to the border, thousands of dollars in vehicles and gear lost.

• Fishermen carjacked on their way south, again in the early morning. Highlights: Blue lights in the rearview mirror, guns in faces, tweaked out looking "police" with masks, everything lost.

• Family of four pushes for home from San Quintin, pulled over by blue lights at night on toll road. Highlights: Same as before but this time forced to drive into the hills above Rosarito, thrown onto the ground, robbed and abandoned.

• Surfer and girlfriend pulled out of their RV in the middle of the night near Quatros Casas surf spot. Highlights: Bullet fired through the side of their RV, robbed and assaulted at gunpoint.

I am certain that some will believe that these stories are fabrications. I can assure you that they are not. In one case the victims are guys I know fairly well from surfing and kiting. The stories are true. Luckily nobody was killed in these incidents but the trauma they all faced will effect them for the rest of their lives. In all four cases the victims stated that they'd never go back- I don't blame them. In each case, however, there is a thread of commonality that ties the crimes together.

In the case of the carjackings: All were traveling at night. It seems now that driving on the toll road in the darkness in an offroad equipped vehicle may be asking for trouble. The toll road and the road along the border fence that leads up to the first toll booth do not afford you immunity. In addition in each carjacking the vehicles were newer 4x4s (two were F250 4x4s and one was a Honda Ridgeline 4x4) it seems the bad guys know what they want, singling out these particular vehicles. As far as night driving goes, I have to admit that I frequently broke this rule. I'd usually cross the border around 3am, leaving early allows you to steal hours in the day, effectively giving you an extra afternoon of surfing. I've also done the 20 hour marathon of driving from Cabo to San Diego. I'm done with driving at night down there. As my friend Marcos always says: "Bad things happen at night".

As far as the Baja campers are concerned: It's pretty well known that the Quatros Casas/Camalu/Outskirts of San Quintin areas are very sketchy places. There's always been dark happenings in the Shipwrecks/Quatros Casas area, now that meth has found its way down there it is bound to get worse. In my circle of Baja travelers, Baja Sorrow (the region around San Quintin) has always been off limits- the surf has never been worth the potential trouble. In the case of the RV bound campers, the guy supposedly had been going to Cuatros for many years. I was surprised to hear that he chose to camp away from the relative safety of the "surf camp". For you readers out there, Allan Weisbecker wrote about this area in his book, "In Search of Capt. Zero". You'll remember it as the spot where the hills had eyes. And where a Mexican rancher invited him to shelter in his walled compound for the evening. It was, he insisted, safe for nobody at night. I wholeheartedly agree.

Do I think it's safe to travel by car in Baja? I think abiding by the two guidelines I've described can put the odds in your favor, but I've always been one to follow my gut. And right now my gut says there's some real strangeness afoot down there. I may give it a pass until something has been done to restore my confidence (I wouldn't mind seeing their Army patrolling that stretch in their Humvees). Importantly, I don't think these dark tidings have enveloped the whole peninsula. As a matter of fact, I think once you're past San Quintin, the odds swing even more in your favor. Whatever you decide to do, be safe, don't drive at night and stick together.

Killing it In Baja Part II and... The Gemini!

I'm totally blowing it Blogger-wise. I should post really good stuff one photo at a time- really stretch it out. After all, you never know when the photo well might run dry or you might wake up in a totally vacuous state with absolutely nothing to say (my contingency plan is to revert to "board porn" you know- super close-ups of rails, fins and... tails! Ooh la la!). I can't help myself though- so here's some good stuff all at once.

You may remember Mike and Dan from the "Killing it in Baja..." piece earlier in the year. Mike just dropped me an email with these two killer photos from their trip to San Carlos in August. Mike says, " I swear we only photographed the in-between-set waves, because during the sets, whoever was photographing was too busy scrambling for the outside to take pictures!" I think it's safe to say that this trip will be logged as an A+ adventure for these guys for the remainder of their earthly years. Check the the dorsal color on the whitey in the top photo, that's fresh. How about the paddle floating in the background- I can just imagine the pandemonium that followed the gaffing... paddles askew, these guys laughing their asses off, barely able to hold steady enough to snap the photo. Michael, you gotta give us the full story!

Most Progressive Paddleboard in the water? Steve (aka Capt. Neg9) rides only Alexander Gemini shapes. Check out the stand up board he had done. How radical is this thing? There will need to be a serious question and answer forum for this shape- I know I've got mine. Check back for some shots of the bottom workings on this ride- pretty radical stuff.

Updates: Haven't forgotten about your questions regarding the board cutting process- working on my "sources". And...there may be a new Stamps Carve Machine in my future... Merry Christmas to me!

Stand Up Paddle Surfing Baja: Punta Mysteriosa

Our timing was perfect. We'd barely miss one of the year's best late season south swells. Peaking two days before our arrival was the post-firestorm south that lit up every point and reef from San Diego to Santa Cruz. We'd be nowhere in site when that hard south would swing into our little spot and snap its reefs and points back to life. Best of all, nobody would be there. It would've been perfect.

But our trip has always been more about friends than waves. We make it a point to regroup and return year after year. It's a commitment that we've come to value- a ritual of friendship for all of us down here. You know that no matter how small the waves, violent the wind or miserable the hangover, you're coming back next year. It's what you do when you're one of us.

So next November we'll load up the trucks, stock the campers and roll out for that dusty little point. The place that never works in November. We'll hit the dirt road laughing and stretch last year's small stories into tall tales. And all of us will harbor, deep inside, the hope that this year, we've finally timed it right.

Top Photo: The road to Punta Mysteriosa. Marcos in his element; dirt road under foot, hand in an ice cold cooler... searching for something special.

Next: We're just visitors. The local fleet - no pleasure craft here, working boats all.

Penultimo: Campo Dirtbag. A sweet Baja surf camp for a bunch of scoundrels.

Last: Overview of the set-up. We did score some south swell remnants, enough waist high fun for our little pack of stand up surfers.

All Photos: Senor Goofball

Check Back: More Baja Stand Up Paddlesurfing Photos!

One Track Mind: Unwritten Rules of Baja Travel or How to Get Invited Back Down

This is going to piss some people off. On the other hand, some old hands will undoubtedly be shaking their heads in agreement and maybe even passing the cactus juice one extra time in my honor. Since I'm short timing for a Baja run I figured I'd share some of my observations regarding successful Baja travel. Here goes:

The Unwritten Rules of Baja Travel

1. Person who supplies the vehicle and drives never pays toll for the pay road.
2. Driver's responsible for filling vehicle with gas and buying insurance before everyone meets up for departure.
3. This isn't the city bus- all travellers meet at Driver's house for load up.
4. Passengers should offer gas and insurance money- driver should never have to ask.
5. Never claim "shotgun". Always concede the seat to anyone older then you, more experienced then you, meaner then you.
6. Organize all of your stuff into one container (size dependent on trip length) your gear shouldn't be strewn all over the vehicle.
7. Don't be a food troll- if it's offered then go for it, if not- make something of your own.
8. If you're making some food- make enough to share, if you can't- be discrete.
9. If you're a kitesurfer, Driver never self launches.
10. If you're a passenger, don't tell the driver how to drive or where to go- unless asked.
11. Drivers, no sketch passes- I've never had a passenger who was mad because I drove too slow (well, there was one).
12. Passengers cover all parking fees.
13. Lunch is on the passengers.
14. A surf trip is to and from a discussed spot, don't drop a sudden side trip to your Uncle Barney's house in the TJ suburbs on the crew.
15. Don't decide to buy a large clay pot, surfing monkey or Elvis statue that in any way takes up space in the vehicle.
16. Driver picks music (if you don't like Bluegrass hillbilly music, don't ride with me).
17. If you're new to the crew, don't talk too much. Listen more then you talk.
18. Don't eat the last sandwich (sorry Kiwi).
19. A chair that was brought into Baja is the sovereign nation of its owner. It doesn't matter if it's left unattended for hours, in a Baja camp, it is still the rightful property of its owner- and is reserved exclusively for his ass.
20. Bring contraband into Mexico...with me? Are you sure your in the right blog? Jah won't mind if you don't commune with him for one surf trip- get stoned at home.
21. When it's time to load up- start grabbing stuff and moving it- even if it's not yours, move fast and snappy- don't linger.
22. Coming back, at the border- don't start cracking jokes or flirting with the border patrol agent- after jockeying in the line for two hours the last thing I want to do is go to secondary because you were being cute.
23. Drivers- before you volunteer your vehicle it's up to you to make damn sure its reliable- not reliable, forget it!
24. Never invite yourself on a Baja trip- if guys are discussing a trip and you want to go, try this approach, "What time are you guys leaving? Is it okay if I follow you down?".
25. Bring your own beer or pitch in for the beer run- if you don't, DO NOT even asked for a beer and if offered one refuse-at least the first time.
26. Be the guy who always just grabs the pots and pans and goes down to wash them- without waiting or asking. This will get you back in the truck for sure.
27. Back in the States, at the drop off point, it's always a nice gesture to offer to help clean up the vehicle or move the drivers gear.
28. If you're the passenger in a truck with a camper on it, do not assume you'll be sleeping in the truck unless it's been discussed previously- be self sufficient.
29. If there's more then two guys in one vehicle, do not bring more then two boards.
30. Bring extra wax.
31. Practice Beer Managment: Take one out put one in- simple.
32. And for goodness sake, close the cooler!

These rules are, of course, flexible depending on how well you know the guys you're traveling with. In retrospect, they seem to be a variation of the all important Golden Rule: Be the guy you'd like to travel with- if you follow that rule, I don't see how you can go wrong.

Got any of your own travel rules? I'd love to hear them and they don't have to be for Baja travel, for example- what are the sacred rules of the boat trip?

Baja Dreaming: Seems like it's a million miles away

You ever been here before? Wondering how you'll ever get it all done? How am I going to mow through this pile of little aggravations laid out in front of me so I can just get out of here? Baja may as well be a million miles away.

Three more days. It'll get done; I'll take care of business and find time to pull together the Baja kit. The cooler will get hosed out (the big white one- marine grade, guaranteed to put a three day chill on a Mexican beer box), the grub bag stuffed (only the essentials: canned tamales -a la Kem Nunn, some chili con carnage for the hotdogs, a round of peanut butter and a brick of Bimbo- world's only mold resistant bread- stuffed into my old blackened boiler, the perfect pot for a cup of tar thick cowboy coffee, cap it with the Hornitos and you're done- a week's provisions), the AstroTurf will get a shake out and the snails evicted from my brown poly tarp (got to sleep under something). Shoot, suddenly I'm feeling optimistic. This is do-able!

Put a Baja surftrip on your "must do" list. You may not score the best waves of your life (then again, you may...) but sitting in that Baja desert, watching satellites zip around while laughing it up with your best buddies makes you realize that it's more about friends then waves. That Hornitos will get you Baja dreaming- you melt into your aluminum lawn chair... you're a million miles away.

Paddle Surfing Baja: Wrapping it up

Paddling at La Ventana was a great way to end our fifteen day Baja adventure. Our schedule was pretty much ridiculous on the fun-meter.

Standard Palapas Ventana Day:

5am: Pop up out of bed, walk down the arroyo and grab the SUP out of the sail shack conveniently located 15 yards from the water. Slide into the 80 degree, smooth as glass, clear-to-the-bottom water, wave at the pangeros as they make bait at the launch, wonder how the sky can light up like that as the sun rises above Isla Cerralvo.

7:00am: Walk back to the casita passing your buddies on the way as they jump into a waiting panga, wish them luck fishing, yell at them to come home with a dodo or don't come home at all- wonder if Lance actually packed enough cold beer with him.

7:30am: Rinse off in the casita, cross the arroyo to the restaurant, sit down to a fresh bowl of fruit and some hot coffee (real coffee, not the Baja standard Nescafe, which really should be called No-es-cafe), try to figure out how you're gonna finish the huge plate of chilaquiles that was just parked in front of your face, somehow work out your issue.

9:00am: Load up the rig with paddleboards and snorkel gear, head out to paddle Bahia de los Suenos (used to be Muertos but the PR on that wasn't so great).

9:45am: As your paddling over the reef ask yourself if that lightning blue streak that just passed under you was a dorado- realize that the place is full of fish. Smile.

11:30am: Finish the four mile flatwater, reef paddle. Decide that a cold margarita and some tacos sound pretty good- remember that there happens to be a brand new Cantina plopped down on the middle of this beach in the middle of nowhere- shake your head at Baja-logic but go all Pavlov at the thought of those tacos.

1:30pm: A nap is calling- head to the casita, turn on the A/C, drift off.

3:30pm: The fishermen return, two forty pound wahoo (eh brah, tastes real ono)- dinner could be interesting. Post up at the restaurant's bar, come to the conclusion that, yes, Tim wasn't lying when he said his beer cooler kicks ass: It's bottomless and sub-arctic in there (God gave us beer to show us he loves us- God gave us cold beer because he wants us to hang out awhile).

4:45pm: Fishing stories and beer.

5:45pm: Fishing stories (was the Marlin really that big?) and a round of ping pong on the restaurant's custom beer-pong table.

7:00pm: Load up and head out to the local taco stand- fillets in hand, time to negotiate dinner. Tim works his magic (they all love him down there)-the result: endless wahoo tacos three different ways (my favorite? a la plancha) and the price, for six hungry fat guys? Something like twenty bucks. Are you kidding me??? Hot tip 1: Bring your own beer and put it in their cooler- no problemo. Hot tip 2: Don't be afraid of the Torta Cubana (aka Torta Timoteo).

9:00pm: Baja midnight- head collides with pillow.

A day at La Ventana- not a bad way to go for a few days and I didn't even talk about the spearfishing (I personally saw twelve wahoo- didn't convert on them but they were there for those with better skills).

And so our Baja trip came to an end. We packed it up and pointed it north- the border and home were waiting. This was the trip that launched a thousand stories, good times with good friends- what more could you want in a Baja adventure?

Paddlesurfing Baja: Palapas Ventana

Cerritos was small but fun, I could have spent two or three more days paddlesurfing and hanging out there. Rumors of a new swell sent us on the road to Punta Conejo which ended up being surfable (you'll have to wait for the video to see this spot) but a little bumpy with some red tide in the water. Our good friend Tim Hatler, one of the owners of Palapas Ventana (www.palapasventana.com) met us at Conejo and with reports of good fishing and diving we broke camp and headed south to La Ventana.

La Ventana is a little town about half an hour outside of La Paz. In the winter the place is world famous for the steady thermal wind that blows down the channel between La Ventana and nearby Isla Cerralvo offshore. It's a perfect spot for winter time windsurfing and kitesurfing- the water is deep blue and warm. On some winter days a different wind can blow. El Norte is a brutal wind which can sweep down from the far northern end of the Sea of Cortez and just crank through La Ventana- creating the type of small kite and small sail riding that wind junkies dream about. It also creates some interesting surfing conditions which you'd have to see to believe.

Tim and his mother Karon own and operate the nicest place in town. Palapas Ventana is a small bed and breakfast/action sport resort. In the winter time the place is packed with kite and windsurfers who enjoy staying in the unique, round casitas that dot the compound. In the summer, fishermen and spearfishermen invade hoping to land a giant wahoo, dorado or amberjack that swim in the waters around Isla Cerralvo. Tim's operation has it's own private sand beach so fisherman roll out of bed and walk fifty yards to their waiting pangas each morning. Tough life.

Coming soon: A dog's life at La Ventana.

Paddlesurfing Baja: Cerritos

We rolled into Todos Santos early in the afternoon and after checking in at the rancho WW (a friend owns a nice piece of property just to the North of town) and peeking at a local spot (no surf) we pointed the truck down the road to Playa Cerritos- the old standby.

The Good:
•Gin clear, warm, blue water.
•Knee to chest high peaks breaking left and right, the lefts into the channel which made it an easy paddle back outside.
•A cooler full of icy cold Pacificos, an umbrella and a bunch of buddies on the beach making for an interesting peanut gallery.

The Bad:
•The new roads cut into perfect quadrants in the desert just behind the beach- the houses are coming... the real question is: Where will the sewage go???
•Big ol' chainlink fence, with big wrought iron gates that you've got to drive through to park, hmmmm.
•Ranting, drunk gringa sitting at the beach bar. Bad, but also comical.

The Ugly:
•Gringo super-mansion being cut into the bluff directly over the beach. The local palapa that sat just inside the point is gone and will probably never return; too bad.


Change is inevitable but you don't have to like it. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy stand up surfing for 3 straight hours, walking up to the new beach bar, ordering a round of Don Julio blanco and still being able to sit on my tailgate and drink a beer- it's just that all this has taken a little of the magic away from the place. The lawlessness has been lost. Order has come to Cerritos, that and a pretty good lunch menu.

It's also taken away the dirt-bag, freeloading, littering, norteno, euro-trash, Bob and Doug Mckenzie clones that used to migrate there like maple leaf lemmings heading to the sea. Cerritos used to be the hepatitis hills, it's clean now. My opinion? I'll take clean over hippy beach.

Ranting aside, we had a great time surfing Cerritos. The place is made for high tide stand up paddling. On most waves you'd get in early, crank a turn, step it up to the nose, hold it and then back down fast for the inside close out. The best part was riding out the close out, stroking hard to angle across to the channel- and then paddling out with the rip- my kind of surfing.

If it's flat everywhere- Cerritos will provide entertainment (did I mention the excellent people watching?)- there is usually something to ride at Cerritos. Provided over course that you come equipped!

Coming soon: Surfing Cerritos Beach, the good, the bad, the ugly!

Paddlesurfing Baja: Flatwater paddling the Sea of Cortez

We put Abreojos behind us and headed south hoping to make Loreto and get in some flat water paddling before it got too dark to drive comfortably.

Bahia Concepcion is the part of Baja that all the postcards are about; beautiful little coves, white sandy beaches and ridiculously blue water. The bays are protected from most wind directions so the warm waters there are usually glassy and perfect for paddling.


We rolled through Mulege and stopped at the first beach we came onto, Playa Santispac. There are many other great beaches down the road but we were dying to get into the warm blue water there and cruise around. Even though I prefer paddling into waves, the coves of Bahia Concepcion with their small offshore islands were too inviting to pass up. We ended up spending a couple of hours just cruising around the beach- I made a circumnavigation of the whole cove and even crossed a channel to a nearby island. The water there is very clear and I could see down to the rock reef below, fish were everywhere- I think it would have been fun to snorkel that spot. I'll have to put that on my "To Do" list.

I think a group of SUP surfers could easily kill 3 - 5 days just hanging in the Bahia Concepcion and exploring the coves, islands and beaches there. Definitely worth considering if you're ever running down to the tip.

Paddlesurfing Baja: Punta Abreojos

We rolled into Punta Abreojos late in the afternoon. Winds were strong offshore, but flukey with lots of holes. The inconsistent offshore winds probably explain why I ended up having to paddle out to sea to rescue a kitesurfer who was headed for the horizon.

The kiter had crashed his kite and couldn't relaunch it, the wind was blowing him further and further from the shore. I was able to catch the guy after about a half hour of solid paddling. He was making it more difficult by trying to self rescue himself by holding the ends of his kite with his hands (you can see the kite in the photo- the self rescue attempt wasn't working out so well). When I finally caught up to him, it was getting dark, still blowing hard offshore and I did feel a little bit of, "What the F... am I doing out here?"

Fortunately I was able to roll up his kite, lay on top of it and get him to paddle himself in behind me. He came in at Razors- I paddled a quarter mile up the coast to the sand beach since walking in over barnacle encrusted lava rock lugging a waterlogged kite and my 11'11" paddleboard wasn't sounding so hot.


Abreojos is a sweet spot. I ended up paddlesurfing it for two days- we camped right in the dunes in front of Burgers (the mushy point, most people camp here). The water was low 60's but with the SUP, trunks are possible. There are other spots to camp at further from the point, and there are multiple points on the inside and further south- all await someone like you to haul your ass down there and paddlesurf it.

SUP Baja: Punta San Carlos

Punta San Carlos is beautiful and worth going to for some point break paddling. It does get wind though and since it's blows pretty much straight to side-offshore from noon on, it pays to be a multi-dimensional water creature (ie learn to kite or windsurf to extend the fun zone).


We rolled into San Carlos early in the morning and it was still relatively glassy, totally do-able for the stand up board. I was able to surf the Chili Bowl which is an inside right point. The wave is well known to kite and windsurfers who fly down the line cranking huge top turns and basically carving the shit out of it. It's a fun stand up wave, fat and pretty slow but a long ride with some steeper sections on the inside for nose riding. It's worth the hour and a half dirt road in, which I'm naming Camino de los llantes- I've never seen so many discarded tires on one Baja road.

There are other wave options in the area in addition to the Chili Bowl. Before it got too windy I SUP'd out to the outside Bombora and snagged a wave from the outside all the way to the inside beach break but I had to crouch down to keep from getting blown back off the wave by the strong offshore winds. Even better, I think there are more points inside of the Chili Bowl that'd be great on a big south swell- but you'd need to get on them before the wind comes up.

We did try to kitesurf it. I needed a smaller kite. I was able to make a couple of reaches on my 9m Caution Answer, but I was out too early and the wind was hit and miss. Later, I relaunched the 9m again, dove the kite once and the chicken loop snapped- on inspection, there was only one piece of webbing holding it together- pretty cheesy construction. Luckily it broke on the beach and not out to sea, it would've been a long ride back in with offshore winds blowing me further out to sea and down the rocky coast.

Little did I know that this scenario would occur all over again at a different point break with almost disastrous results.

Paddle Surfing Baja: The Whole Story II

We crossed the border by 6am, spent a half an hour at the border getting tourist cards stamped and paying the visa fee at the bank that is conveniently not located next to the immigration post. The fee is twenty bucks for a 6 month tourist visa- be ready with your passport or birth certificate.

Our first day was spent kitesurfing in San Quintin- I know we're focused on stand up paddlesurfing (SUP) here but our interests cross over into other areas that are also really fun so we'll mention them from time to time. We kitesurfed some fun waves and spent the night at the campo de WindCult at Cielito Lindo- thanks Alexis!

Then next morning we fired up the F250 and rolled down the road to Punta San Carlos with two goals: 1. To paddlesurf the inside point, known to windsurfers as the Chili Bowl and 2. To kitesurf the place on small gear.

Short story: one goal was completed the other kicked our ass!

Paddle Surfing Baja: The Whole Story

A two week window of opportunity opened up for my brother and me in mid-June, 2007. We had fifteen days to paddle surf, surf and kitesurf some spots we hadn't hit in a few years. A plan was quickly pulled together.

We'd start off by kitesurfing San Quintin, follow that by visiting Punta San Carlos, Punta Abreojos, Punta Conejo and then wrap it up with a week of stand up surfing La Pastora, Cerritos and some flat water paddling at El Sargento. A good friend lives in El Sargento and there was an invitation for some fishing and spearfishing- sounded too good to be true so we jumped at the opportunity.

Fun Waves in Baja

Good Times in Baja- full story soon!

Stand Up Paddle Surf Baja

I just got back from a two week trip to Baja, stand up paddle surfing over 2,500 miles (round trip) of beautiful Baja. Will write more after I get some rest.