Bahia Salinas / Playa Copal

Bahia Salinas. Very protected and safe, no current, warm, clean water. Small swells in the middle, small chop closer to shore, flat water behind reefs. The water is choppy with more then 22 knots. Watch out for stingrays near the shore (shuffle your feet on the sand to scare them away). Booties recommended to people with sensitive feet since some parts of the beach can be rocky. While there can a large tide swing around the full moon, it does not affect the riding at all. The beach is about 1.5 km long. It is enough space to launch and land the kites. No people except a few kitesurfers uses the beach. It is sandy but there are sharp stones and shells, so water shoes are suggested. The stones can be very slippery. The beach is pretty narrow at high tide. Constant winds in this spot comes in from Nicaragua. May and June are the only months were the wind is somewhat weaker. From the beginning of November to the end of May and July you can kitesurf almost 90% of the days! In the other 4 months of the year you can kitesurf 50% of the days. The windiest months are January and February with an average of 23 knots! These are the other recent monthly averages: November 17 knots, December 22 knots, March 19 knots, April 17 knots, May 16 knots, June 12 knots, July 18 knots. Playa Copal has usually sideonshore winds. It is a combination of trade winds and a mountain venturi effect which creates a monster wind machine. Don't bother bringing anything bigger than a 13m kite. Try to get your hands on a 6m or 7m kite, you will use it a lot. Having an extra bar with short lines will also help. The wind is gusty but not the punchy type of gusty that you might be used to. Instead the wind sweeps over and comes in "sets" as if it were a set of waves. You need to rig for the gusts, so in-between the sets you might spend some of your time underpowered needing to work your kite. Locals get used to watching the water for where the windy sets are. Seeing where the wind is or isn't, makes all the difference. The average annual temperature for most of the country lies between 21.7°C (71°F) and 27°C (81°F). The coolest months are from November through January, and the warmest from March through May. San Jose has a mean annual temperature of 20.6°C. The water is about 28°C, a shorty is used only some days of the year. Water: Shallow, Flat, Chop. Features: Rooms, School, Shop, Repair, Rental, Food, Parking. Rider ability: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert.

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