Hutchinson Island

[ricki]

Originally Posted by Xtream

I'm going to be taking a business trip to Stuart Florida end of October I'm staying at the Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach resort. Does anyone know if kitesurfing is allowed on the island and if there's a shop in the area. If so what are the wind conditions in October, what size kite should I bring for 12-17
Thanks..

The nearest shop should be Florida Kiting in Jupiter, FL to the south, http://floridakiting.com/ . They can give you quite a bit of information about the area. There used to be a windsurfing shop of sorts on the Marriot Hotel property but they may now be gone. They would have some insight on local conditions.

There is a tight, technical higher wind launch for flatwater riding on the causeway leading over to the island. I would try to launch and land in the water away from land. A turbolauncher would help in this. There are small paved parking, roadways, trees, picnic area, etc. that make conventional shoreside launching tricky and ideally avoided.

On the oceanside, not too far to the north there is about 15 miles plus of thinly populated beachfront largely wide open to kiteboarding. I would avoid the guarded areas and launch, land and ride outside of the lifeguard zones. South of Ft. Pierce Inlet further to the north there is some great riding particularly with northerly winds.

If we start getting stronger cold fronts and associated winds in October, you may have 15 to 20 perhaps 25 mph side to onshore winds. The winds shift direction clockwise as the front approaches and passes. A strong front will bring good northely winds followed by strong NE winds, lessening as it rotates to the east and southeast. Intially the winds will shift to the south, southwest, west and build once it hits the northwest with an associated temperature drop. "Normally" we are out of the tropical weather system season by October. Not so these years, so there could be a wave, depression or hurricane as well with associated squalls to be avoided.

Have a good trip!

[ricki]

Originally Posted by Xtream

I'm going to be taking a business trip to Stuart Florida end of October I'm staying at the Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach resort. Does anyone know if kitesurfing is allowed on the island and if there's a shop in the area. If so what are the wind conditions in October, what size kite should I bring for 12-17
Thanks..

The nearest shop should be Florida Kiting in Jupiter, FL to the south, http://floridakiting.com/ . They can give you quite a bit of information about the area. There used to be a windsurfing shop of sorts on the Marriot Hotel property but they may now be gone. They would have some insight on local conditions.

There is a tight, technical higher wind launch for flatwater riding on the causeway leading over to the island. I would try to launch and land in the water away from land. A turbolauncher would help in this. There are small paved parking, roadways, trees, picnic area, etc. that make conventional shoreside launching tricky and ideally avoided.

On the oceanside, not too far to the north there is about 15 miles plus of thinly populated beachfront largely wide open to kiteboarding. I would avoid the guarded areas and launch, land and ride outside of the lifeguard zones. South of Ft. Pierce Inlet further to the north there is some great riding particularly with northerly winds.

If we start getting stronger cold fronts and associated winds in October, you may have 15 to 20 perhaps 25 mph side to onshore winds. The winds shift direction clockwise as the front approaches and passes. A strong front will bring good northely winds followed by strong NE winds, lessening as it rotates to the east and southeast. Intially the winds will shift to the south, southwest, west and build once it hits the northwest with an associated temperature drop. "Normally" we are out of the tropical weather system season by October. Not so these years, so there could be a wave, depression or hurricane as well with associated squalls to be avoided.

Have a good trip!