by I was just in Margarita two weeks ago and had an awesome trip. First
2 days were 6.0, OK for a warm up. Next 6 were 4.5! No skunk days.
This place is hard to beat in that respect. Good swell farther from
shore for jumps. Great flat water inside jibe area near the Bic
Center -- learned to duck jibe when finally tried it several times on
the last day. A bit choppy and crowded up the beach where most people
sailed.
Coche is getting a little crowded with boats and nonsailors but is
still great to experience such amazingly flat water for a day. Wind
is a little weaker there than Margarita -- the risk is in choosing the
right sails to take along unless you rent from a center that has
equipment stored there already. We were way overpowered on our 6.0's
and 6.5's. Had a great time on 5.0 when I finally got a chance to
borrow one.
Regarding prior reports of garbage in the water at Margarita, I didn't
see any, just seaweed. One amazing first for me was seeing a
needlefish jump out of the water next to me while I was sailing and
zip along skimming the surface of the water for about 30 yds. Wow.
I'm glad I didn't get impaled by that thing.
Watch out for sea urchins -- take along booties if you go. I went
barefoot for awhile until I got spines in my feet 2 days in a row.
They're not just at the reef, but get blown close to shore (maybe only
because it was blowing 4.5).
Great new place to rent from is The Loft. Best deal on the beach for
top notch equipment. $250 /wk for brand new Roberts and Protech
boards and Ezzy sails. $300 /wk for same plus Clams. Great bunch of
people running it: John & Jerry (coowners), Nancy, Brigido, Nick.
There are a few negatives -- the town itself still looks pretty dumpy
with garbage littered along side of the road. Not many options for
things to do after dinner, though Los Surf Pirates is still a great
place to go to. Still not much to do in the early part of the morning
before the wind really starts to crank but take your time getting up
and eating breakfast. I'm told that mountain bikes and kayaks are in
the plans. All together, since it's having consistent high winds
regularly in the 4.0 - 5.0 range with minimal skunk days that is the
most important thing for me in a one week surf vacation, this place is
still very tough to beat.
--Dan Bodor
Clearwater, FL
Pray for wind in Florida