The Kitesurfing
The Kitesurfing
El Yaque beach is mainly dedicated to windsurfing and swimming, with a small ’kite zone’ at the upwind end of the beach allocated to kitesurfers to launch and land. This 30 m or so stretch of beach is in a slight wind shadow from the headland, so you need to wade out several metres into the shallow water to launch – once launched, however, you have all the calm open sea upwind of, and behind, the windsurfing and swimming zones to play in.
This spot is more suited to intermediate and advanced kitesurfers as you need to be able to stay upwind to return to exactly the same point to land. Misjudge it and you have to avoid the windsurfing zone and land a couple of beaches further down (approx 3kms) and walk back.
For those not confident enough for this, or who are taking lessons, the centres all have programmes where you take a 20 minute boat ride upwind with an instructor to a deserted beach where you rig up and launch. Here there’s shallow, warm water for 10 ms or so and then miles of unobstructed open sea to learn or practice in. You can choose from a lesson, have boat supervision or a boat trip only. A boat trip basically means that the boat will drop you off and pick you up from the water (you have to remain close to the lessons that are taking place), and you pay a flat fee for whatever time you spend in the water, normally 2 hrs. With the supervision option, you pay by the hour and are given hints, tips and assistance from the boat. Learning conditions don’t get much better than this – you’ve a massive expanse of water with no obstructions and boat based instruction on hand – they even land and pack up your kite from the boat at the end of the session.
The wind on El Yaque Beach is cross shore/ cross off-shore from the left, and the water predominantly calm to choppy. Take a day trip to Coche, just a 20 minute boat ride away, for super flat water conditions and Playa Guacuco or Parguito for waves . Margarita is off shore from the mainland; Isla Coche is sandwiched in between which acts as a funnel, accelerating the side shore trade winds as the day gets hotter. This topography makes Margarita consistently windy from late December to May.
 | |
|---|---|
| Beginners | 7/10 |
| Intermediates | 8/10 |
| Advanced | 9/10 |
| Waveriders | 5/10 |
 | |
|---|---|
| Best months: | Jan - Jan |
| Flat water: | Some |
| Choppy water: | Some |
| Shallow water: | Some |
| Waves: | Some |
| Tidal: | |
Centre, Courses & Kit
The Centre
The kitesurfing centre on El Yaque is in the centre of the main beach. It has a team of experienced, English-speaking IKO and VWDS instructors to teach you everything from the absolute fundamentals in the beginner course, to water-start and power control techniques for the Intermediates, not forgetting progression sessions for the advanced riders. The progression sessions are based around private coaching that includes video analysis of your riding.
Below is an outline of the course structure at this centre. We recommend that you pre-book your course to ensure that you have a place and that you can start immediately.
The Courses
Beginner Courses
This 6 hour IKO 1 course with a maximum of 4 students per instructor will teach you the flying and water skills needed to keep you safe and in control of your kite. What is also really good with this particular centre is that they use the buddy system so each pair of students has a set of kit to use. The instructor’s aim is to get you standing up on the board and riding a short distance.
We recommend that you upgrade to the 10 hour IKO 1 and 2 as 6 hours is realistically not enough to teach you the specific skills needed to reach water-start. All kites, boards and safety kit are provided for the duration of the course.
6 hour – IKO Level 1 – £175
10 hour IKO Level 1 and 2 – £260
Intermediate Courses
This 6 hour IKO level 2 course, will teach you board handling and water-starting techniques and aims to get you enjoying your first ride out and back. We recommend that you upgrade to the 10 hour level 2 and 3 course which gives you more coaching time.
All kites, boards and safety kit are provided for the duration of the course. These courses can be upgraded to semi-private which guarantees no more than 2 students per instructor.
6 hour – IKO Level 2 – £175
10 hour IKO Level 2 and 3 – £260
Freeriders
The centre has private kite and board storage, a safety boat for rescue and 2010 North kites for rental. Why not advance your skills with an advanced semi-private course so a maximum of 2 students course or one to one premium coaching from senior instructors? Let us know and we can tailor a freestyle programme to suit you.
4 hour semi-private – £189
Private lessons including video analysis – £69 per hour
1 week’s kite storage and rescue – £65
2 week’s kite storage and rescue – £115
NB. The prices stated above are based on the currency rate applicable at the time of writing and will be subject to fluctuation.
The Kit
2010 North kites
For prices & availability please call 01273 224069 or 
