Photo by Jen Jones MOXY Intl.
While the Bahamas isn't far enough south to be in the tradewinds it does offer some of the best kiteboarding in the Caribbean. In early november as the fronts roll off the Eastern seaboard and the low pressures deepen in the North Atlantic the Bahahamas is inundated with solid swell and breeze. For this adventure I teamed up with Sunsail Holidays for the first Kiteboarding Flotilla. We had four boats booked with twenty two characters and a whole bunch of fun scheduled in the outer Abacos.
We kicked off in Marsh Harbor with everyone arriving from as far away as Vancouver, Seattle, Finland, and Argentina. The group immediately got into the fun with a kick off party and chart briefing sponsored by Nauti Seltzer. It was a great opportunity to look over the chart together and show everyone the possible locations for the week complete with waves, flat water cruising and pigs. With the sun setting and jet lag kicking in the group headed over to Snappas Restaurant for some dinner and dancing. The girls of the group were immediately taking over the dance floor while the guys seemed to congregate at the bar but after a few more libations the guys came out from the shadows and showed off their moves.
Fowl Cay
Needless to say the 0900 departure for Fowl Cay came quickly and with a solid 25 knots from the East Northeast the boats set sails for Fowl Cay. Fowl Cay is a National Preserve and is one of the most exquisite spots to kite and dive. On this day with 6 to 8 foot waves on the outside of the reef the diving would have to wait. This was just fine as most of the group was itching to pump up kites and explore the inside and outside of the reef. It was absolutely fantastic to ride the slicks on the inside with little kickers wrapping around and then go out around to the outside where there were some seriously good reef breaks. Some of us even decided to run a downwinder through the reef to Nippers Bar where the rest of the group met us for another night of dinner and drinks. This downwinder was definitely one of the highlights for me as it was challenging with large coral heads and some very large waves which had built all day.
Great Guana Cay
Day two kicked off on the beach off Nippers. At 0800 the wind was still ENE and around 22 knots. At lowtide Nippers offers a large beach with a fun shore break as well as some larger waves on the outside. The wind was a little weird for a bit with some lulls coming in around 17 knots but with most people running 11m Kites or larger the cruise down to Bakers Bay Resort was very fun and easy. The North side of Bakers Bay offers one of the most beautiful long beaches with side shore winds. You do need to be careful inside the channel as the current can be strong and the reef rather sharp. That afternoon everyone congregated onboard the boats for a late lunch of Fish Stew and Pina Coladas.
We kicked off in Marsh Harbor with everyone arriving from as far away as Vancouver, Seattle, Finland, and Argentina. The group immediately got into the fun with a kick off party and chart briefing sponsored by Nauti Seltzer. It was a great opportunity to look over the chart together and show everyone the possible locations for the week complete with waves, flat water cruising and pigs. With the sun setting and jet lag kicking in the group headed over to Snappas Restaurant for some dinner and dancing. The girls of the group were immediately taking over the dance floor while the guys seemed to congregate at the bar but after a few more libations the guys came out from the shadows and showed off their moves.
Fowl Cay
Needless to say the 0900 departure for Fowl Cay came quickly and with a solid 25 knots from the East Northeast the boats set sails for Fowl Cay. Fowl Cay is a National Preserve and is one of the most exquisite spots to kite and dive. On this day with 6 to 8 foot waves on the outside of the reef the diving would have to wait. This was just fine as most of the group was itching to pump up kites and explore the inside and outside of the reef. It was absolutely fantastic to ride the slicks on the inside with little kickers wrapping around and then go out around to the outside where there were some seriously good reef breaks. Some of us even decided to run a downwinder through the reef to Nippers Bar where the rest of the group met us for another night of dinner and drinks. This downwinder was definitely one of the highlights for me as it was challenging with large coral heads and some very large waves which had built all day.
Great Guana Cay
Day two kicked off on the beach off Nippers. At 0800 the wind was still ENE and around 22 knots. At lowtide Nippers offers a large beach with a fun shore break as well as some larger waves on the outside. The wind was a little weird for a bit with some lulls coming in around 17 knots but with most people running 11m Kites or larger the cruise down to Bakers Bay Resort was very fun and easy. The North side of Bakers Bay offers one of the most beautiful long beaches with side shore winds. You do need to be careful inside the channel as the current can be strong and the reef rather sharp. That afternoon everyone congregated onboard the boats for a late lunch of Fish Stew and Pina Coladas.
Photo by Jen Jones MOXY Intl. Baker's Bay and No Name Cay
Day three say more winds from the ENE and Bakers Bay continued to deliver with a little fun for everyone. Most people were rigging larger kites like 15 Meters or 12 Meters and surfboards but the fun and the beauty of the spot never held us back. That afternoon with the swell continuing to build we crossed over the flats behind Whale Cay at high tide and made it to No Name Cay and the famous Pigs of the Abacos. You can go to the windward side of Whale Cay but it is not advised when the swell is running.
Green Turtle Cay
That evening we made it to Green Turtle Cay which was really beautiful little town with small colorful houses, golf carts to rent and nice wide open anchorage. Since there were golf carts available right at the town dock we got one and decided to cruise the island and check it out before congregating back at Sundowners for some of the best Conch Quesedillas I have ever had, the lobster ones were too bad either.
Tahiti Beach
Located at the southern end of Elbow Cay right on Tilloo Cut Tahiti Beach is the absolute epic tropical locale. With perfect white sand beach, palm trees and pristine turquise water it is everything we dreamed about on this trip. For kiting the spot does not work well if the wind is too far East as the hill where Abaco Inn sits is just too high and blocks the breeze. However we scored on the second to last day with a perfect 18 knot northerly. The boats were anchored just off the beach, you could ride in butter behind the beach and cold beverages were close at hand. The beach is even a short dinghy ride away from Fireflies restaurant which is one of the best in the Bahamas.
Look for the full article from Jen Jones in the Winter Edition of The Kiteboarder Magazine and of look at Sunsail Holidays to plan your next Kiteboarding Adventure.
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