By Shane Melenko

Well it was that time of the year again, too much snow and bad weather, time to pick a warmer location to enjoy a week of kiteboarding. This time around I went to the Caribbean side of Mexico and stayed in Cancun. There are two great areas to stay. First is Cancun itself or you can go a little south and stay in Playa del Carmen. I managed to book 2 months in advance and traveled to an all inclusive resort for around 1200.00 CDN everything included. The hotel chain that I prefer to stay at in Mexico is always the Riu family of hotels. They are always of great quality and have the best staff. But there are lots to choose from and they will all do the job.


The flight from Vancouver is about 6hrs direct flight and you arrive around 3pm local time. The hotels are about an hours drive from the airport for either Cancun or Playa del Carmen and the all inclusive packages usually have transportation waiting for you at the airport.

Kiteboarding In & Around Cancun

I hooked up with local instructors from Ikarus Kiteboarding as they have two great locations. The first is just north of Cancun (Isla Blanca) and the second just south in Playa del Carmen, about 45 minutes from Cancun. The drive to Isla Blanca is about an hour from the hotel row in Cancun and is very simple to get to. Simply turn on to Bonampak Ave and head north until the road ends. When you get to the round about at the end of the road you will see a gravel road to your left. Follow the road for 7 KM and a couple turns and you will arrive at their property. You can rent a car in Cancun for $15.00USD a day and do the drive yourself or take a cab. Driving in Cancun can be a bit of an adventure but luckily you will be bypassing most of the congested area and then it is all open road. You should be able to get a cab for around $30.00USD, the cabbies will always start with a much higher price but make sure you negotiate a price before you leave. Taking a cab does make it difficult to get back as there are no cabs hanging around, so make sure you make a time for the cab driver to pick you back up and return you to your hotel.

There is a small house and a hut set back on the property and not much else. The location does have a shower and facilities but you will want to make sure you pack a lunch and something to drink. The setup and launch area are very nice with clean sand and very few obstacles to be concerned about. There is lots of room to set up kites and run lines. The water is a sheltered inlet and there are miles and miles of water that is only 4 feet deep. This is a great place to take lessons or just ride and practice your tricks. The water was very clean and free of coral and weeds with soft sand for a base. If anything does go wrong it might be a long walk back to shore but not a difficult one. There is a charge of $5.00 USD a day for use of the area to help pay for upgrades and maintenance. The instructors are very friendly and helpful, they do have a rescue boat if you happen to go out beyond the shallow water and require help. I rode for several hours and found the wind to be very solid. You will need to get out a little from shore to get clean wind depending on the direction. The best winds for this location are from the north.

If you are looking for more of a surf ride you can check out their other school that is in Playa del Carmen. Located on the gulf side of Mexico it has great conditions with the option of surf riding or shallow areas for riders of all experience levels. Lots of nice clean sand to setup kites. The winds here are great from the south and east. There are lots of all inclusive resorts located around this area and is not difficult to find great accommodations within walking distance or a quick cab ride.

The school is fully set up for lessons and rentals so you can travel without your gear if you wish. It is recommended that you make prior arrangements with the school before traveling as they do have a steady stream of people taking lessons and you will want to make sure you are booked for rentals or lessons. I packed everything I needed into my NSI golf bag and had no problems going or coming back at the airports.

Travel Tips

The most important info I can give is one I learned from experience: make sure your checked baggage has a sheet of paper in it that has your flight and contact info. This includes where you are staying when you arrive at your vacation destination, in case it is lost on the way there, as well as your home contact number. When a bag loses its tag they don’t make much of an effort to return it to you if there is no identifying information on or in it. They will usually open the bag to look for anything to identify it. You will stand a much better chance of getting your baggage back if your information is the first thing they see when they open it.
When arriving in Mexico you will be swarmed by people once you go through customs, they are either trying to make money by carrying your bag or are trying to sell you a time share. They are very aggressive. Simply avoid the hassle and just say “no” right away. If you are traveling through a travel group like Sunquest or Signature you will see a large sign for them. Your representative will take you to your transportation to your hotel. If you are doing it yourself you can find lots of cab drivers and just remember to negotiate your price first. $60.00-$80.00 cab rides can be negotiated down to about $25.00. They always start high hoping to catch the unsuspecting tourist. You can take American money with you as all the hotels will exchange your currency at good rates. There are several large banks available within Cancun and most businesses and tours will take visa and master card.



I have traveled to the Cancun area several times and have always felt safe, even walking in the wee hours of the morning. Taking tours is always fun and can be a little expensive but well worth the money. I recommend Xel-ha if you like snorkeling and fish. It is located about an hour south of Cancun and very close to Playa Del Carmen. It is an amazing way to spend the day and is very safe and clean. Very close by are the ruins of Tulum and you can do a split day tour of them both. You can also take a day trip to the larger ruins of Chichen Itza, located about 2.5 hours inland from the coast. I swam with the dolphins on the Isla Mujeres which is a short boat trip from Cancun to the north. I chose to do the swim there as they have open water pens for the dolphins instead of a small concrete pool. Almost all the places charge the same amount to swim with the dolphins so you don’t have to worry about paying more at one place than at the other. People who are looking for a different travel story to tell can feed sharks from within a cage at the aquarium in Cancun. Traveling the markets in Cancun is the same as everywhere in Mexico; you get talked to by every shop keeper promising you the best stuff at the best prices. Just remember that every thing is negotiable. I did find a great little mall right across from the Riu Cancun that had a lot of the things found in the markets but at fixed prices that were very good, and you are not bothered by pushy shop keepers. They have a wide variety of merchandise, everything from 5 dollar sunglasses to super upscale shops, all within a two story mall. As far as evening entertainment goes you can do something different every night. If you like big flashy shows the Coco Bongo is a must see. It is part Vegas show and part dance club and is well worth the entrance fee. Almost all the bars in Cancun charge a fee to get in but are open bar. Keep in mind though that the girls walking around with shooters are selling them and they are not covered by the open bar. There is also a lot of other great clubs like Dady O’s, Senor Frogs, Fat Tuesdays, and the super club “The City” that brings in some of the best DJ’s from all over the world. Getting around in Cancun is very easy as public transportation is very good in Cancun as there is a bus every 5 minutes and since it is only 6.50 pesos (0.65 cents) it is a cheap way to get around. Make sure you have exact change or very close to it as they will not always make change. I hope you find this article helpful and if there are any questions please contact me at kiteboarding@shaw.ca


Source: Shane Melenko, kiteboarding@shaw.ca

Labels: article, cancun, review, travel

By Brian Teichgraber



Around December I decided to upgrade my quiver of second hand kites that I bought as a beginner to new SLE (Supported Leading Edge) or Bow kites. Now that I consider myself as an intermediate kiteboarder I started my quest for the kite that would best suit my needs, cost, performance and build quality. After testing 9 kites 6 brands I decided on the Ocean Rodeo Rise, why? Here is why.



When I eagerly opened the OR bag and pulled out the kite and had a first glance, I could see the kite was well made. I pumped up the Rise which has the speed inflation system - which means you pump up the entire kite - leading edge and struts in one go (I like the one pump systems). Once the kite was fully pumped up and the struts where pinch locked I inspected the build quality and it was very well made much like or exactly like my Ocean Rodeo One – made for the West Coast. The Rise has a Dacron shock strip (SXS) running across the entire kite, a third of the way from the LE. This strip helps the kite absorb and not rip when you misjudge your aerial maneuver and crash your kite hard. If the shock is great enough to rip the Rise the SXS will stop the rip containing it to the first third allowing the rider to be able to fly the kite and get back to the beach. The Rise has a skeletal structure (Dacron frame – 3D construction) the Wing tips, leading edge and trailing edge are made of Dacron, which makes the kite very durable - West Coast tough.

All of the struts are integrated with the leading edge which is very well double stitched – very nice – well thought out. The Rise features Leading Edge bumpers and scuff pads where they should be and a nice feature are on the ends of the struts and tail end of the leading edge there are line deflectors. The Rise comes equipped with self rescue handles and bridal storage velcro on the leading edge of the kite. The bridal system is color coded for left and right as are the pig tails which are kook proof – so you cant get the flying lines backwards.

The bar construction is Hybrid: carbon composite with a Stainless Steel center bushing and the bar ends are fiber reinforced nylon. The grip on the bar is color coded EVA foam for bar end recognition and there are line keepers on both ends to store your lines. Hidden rear line adjustments, stopper ball, easy eject, front line swivel, trim line leash at the chicken loop and a removable donkey round up the bar, The emergency release is easy to use and to reset in or out of the water.



The kite bag is well thought out and offers a back pack as well as a duffle bag carry set up. The bag unzips to allow storage of the kite with the struts still inflated, side storage for the bar which comes in its own storage bag and an external pump holder.

I’ve had the kite now for a couple of months and have flown it in a verity of conditions from full lit at up to 35 mph to under 16 mph. The kite was at its limit at 35 or it could have been me at my limit with roughly 16 inches of de-power strap hanging off of the bar but it was a hoot. The kite handled gustsw with no problems and flew very well for me. (I have been using the Rise mostly at the Squamish Spit in winds around the 20 mph mark and the rest of this review is based on those conditions). Turning was fast but not as fast as a couple of the other kites I tested. De-power strap was very easy to access – you didn’t have to lean and stretch to grasp the line, it is right at your chicken loop very easy to find and very simple to use.



There is a bridal mod for this kite as there are for many other kites, after I added this mod the kite did turn noticeably faster than without the mod. I tried the kite with all of the different settings ( there is a school or max de-power setup) I found the school setting to be to slow but max de-power which is not to my liking so I would recommend leaving it on the factory setting. This kite is very grunty and you will not have to sine the kite to much to initiate your water start. Jumping for me seems to be a progression as I am still learning to do tricks but it seems that every time I do jump, I go higher and farther. Whether it is the kite or me getting better, who knows, but I can tell you the Rise encourages me to trust it more every time I jump. The jumps are floaters with the bar being your throttle - by pulling in on the bar my landings have been soft but if you push the bar out to much its a quick descend to a possible yard sale.

Speaking of yard sale the rise re-launches with ease just pull on either of the rear lines and the kite will launch effortlessly. On one occasion the kite did fall LE down and facing into the wind, so I just pulled in on one of the rear lines. After it starts to spin you will have to reach for the other rear line to complete the rotation but not to worry as the kite spins it will catch the wind and want to re-launch. On one occasion I had to re-adjust my foot straps so I dropped into the waist deep water and made sure the stopper was adjusted I could park the kite with the wing tip on the water and I could let the bar go and the kite stayed right where I left it, still flying and ready to go – it made the job of adjusting the straps easy and quick. At the other end of the wind range it was 14 – 16 mph and it flew very well and didn’t want to fall out of the sky I had no problems generating enough power to get going on my light wind board not to bad for a 210lbs person. I think the sweet spot for the Ocean Rodeo Rise 12m is in the mid 20 mph. As a 210 lb person that’s my go to kite.

Source: Brian Teichgraber

Labels: ocean rodeo, product, review, rise

The “What I Really Like About This Kite” Review
by Craig Myers, kitesurfing since 2001

The Rise is a totally new kite for Ocean Rodeo. Flying a new design at the beaches here in Seattle is a great feeling. Its uncharted territory and you are the explorer!

This kite flies wonderfully and inspires rider confidence right from the time you pump it up from one nozzle on the leading edge. That’s cool! This refined SLE seems to handle all terrains and conditions like a traction machine. Its hard to believe a kite this size can pull like this! I’ve flown it about 10 times now in steady winds from 12 to 20kts and one short session in 10 to 30! I kept waiting for it to drop in 10 to 30, but it stayed close to the edge and was smooth as it absorbed the pressure peaks while I peed my suit! It smoothes out the gusts, locks into the low end, and is like one huge elevator ride in the top end of its range.



What I thought was weird about this kite at first is now one of its best features. The crazy amount of sheeting range for this kite. The bridle and bar create a super stable, “power on” feeling with the Rise. It begs you to push it hard because its so intuitive to fly and easy to relaunch. You can really be specific when you sheet this bar thanks to the seamless stopper system. It really lets you fly the kite efficiently off the knot, without fear of getting over loaded. Its so easy to adjust, and bomb proof since there are no moving parts.

Combine these characteristics along with legendary durability, a custom product made locally, and you start to get the idea… I really like this kite!

Source: Craig Myers

Labels: ocean rodeo, product, review, rise

The SwiMP3 Surf is a waterproof MP3 player for surfers, paddlers, kayakers, kite boarders and wake boarders to enjoy music while enjoying their sport. Finis, the Livermore based swim equipment and apparel provider, released the SwiMP3 Surf waterproof MP3 player. Water sport enthusiasts can now enjoy what dry land athletes have enjoyed for years, the ability to listen to their music while they enjoy their sport.

Having success with our original SwiMP3 and realizing other water sports enthusiasts need a waterproof player as well, it was a natural product extension The SwiMP3 Surf swimp3.com/surf is a waterproof MP3 player designed for the surf industry and other water sports. The player is fully waterproof and includes comfortable waterproof ear buds, a neoprene arm strap and can hold 4 hours of music. The extended battery life allows for 10 hours of continuous playback.

"Having success with our original SwiMP3 and realizing other water sports enthusiasts need a waterproof player as well, it was a natural product extension," said Finis President John Mix. Finis realized the market was lacking an MP3 player that was waterproof, compact and could withstand the rigors of extreme water sports. These days almost everyone owns a MP3 player, but few can afford to risk exposing it to water, even with a special case.

The original SwiMP3 introduced in November of 2004 uses bone conduction to transmit high fidelity sound underwater. The SwiMP3 Surf is for those water activities where the head is not always submersed. Arrow Team Rider Drew Reid was an early adapter, "The tunes are great when you're waiting for your wave and even better when you're riding."

Hawaii swim suit maker Honey Girl pro riders and paddlers have also been using the new players and are featured in some great female surf shots showing the Honey Girl pro riders, the Honey Girl surf friendly bikini's, and the SwiMP3 Surf.

source: www.swimp3.com

Labels: product, review, technology

Labels: ocean rodeo, product, review