Yucatan Kiteboarding-Isla Holbox

[Sadja]

Isla Holbox, the new home of Yucatan Kiteboarding, is an unspoiled island paradise that has retained its fishermans’ village charm located about 45 miles (as the flamingo flies) and a short ferry ride from Cancun International Airport. From Cancun, the trip takes about 3 hours. The unique shape of the island offers several miles of shallow, flat, blue-water with side/side-on conditions for all prevailing wind directions from December to August. Isla Holbox is the ideal beginner spot—steady wind, shallow water, no obstacles, and the empty beach is all yours!!! For more experienced riders, we get the Nortes twice a month. Bring your 5, 6, and 7M’s for the steady 25-35 knots!! The best conditions on the island are from December to May with temperatures between 75-85 degrees and warm water.

[ricki]

You have some nice winds. Recall something about banning attempts there a couple of years back. That's been sorted out I hope.

Say, have any kiting shots with whale sharks ????

[Sadja]

Yeah, you are sort of right (I think) about the banning a few years back. Starting in May, part of the island is protected for mating flamingos. The story (as was told to me): some guys set up a kite school and disrespected the locals and wildlife. I cannot say for sure, but we heard things such as chasing the flamingos away from their grounds to give lessons.

Our approach is TOTALLY different. We are partnered with "Mohicano", a Holbox local, who has been teaching kiteboarding on the island for many years and has played a major role in the sport in the region. Yucatan Kiteboarding is 100% committed to protecting this beautiful kiteboarding paradise. We absolutely do not kite anywhere near wildlife that can disturbed. So to answer your whaleshark question, no. The flamingos and the whale sharks make the Isla Holbox a very special place. Lucky enough for all of us, there is nearly 20 miles of kiteable shoreline for us all to enjoy together.

For 2011 we started a wind history section on our blog since there doesn't really seem to be any accurate reporting out there: http://www.ykkiteboarding.com/YK-Blo...istory-reports