Windsurfing on Prince Edward Island

[seb30]

Hi,

I just want to know what kind of condition there is for windsurfing on PEI. I might go there for the summer from May 20 to August 20. Is it a good time for wind? I’m a beginner is there some friendly condition? (not to much waves). Are there a lot of spot and a lot of windsurfers?


Thanks in advance
Seb.

[scooper]

Me and mine have been vacationing on PEI for the last 2 weeks of Aug for a number of years. It has some of the prettiest, unspoiled windsurfing spots I've sailed.

Apparently, windsurfing was somewhat popular there back in the day but is almost gone now. There are still 1 or 2 spots on the north shore where you might see another sailor. No shops, rentals or instruction that I know of.

There are some great spots to sail but you have to watch out for extensive mussel farming in almost all the bays and harbors, and big tides that can drain your launch area of water.

The winds at end of Aug have been pretty good. I'd say it is usually planing weather 50 to 60% of the days we've been there. The most typical wind direction is west, sometimes southwest, sometimes northwest, very occasionaly northeast. So the perfect launch for beginner to intermed is a west facing beach, in a harbor, without mussel farming, and without tide problems.

Pictures and trip report from my last trip, 2008- http://waterloggedbyscooper.blogspot.com/search/label/PEI%20Canada

Good Luck!

[geohaye]

Scooper - do you remember more specifically the bays/beaches where you launched from?

Seb, Scooper's got some local knowledge, there's nothing better than that. iWindsurf also has some PEI info for you--

First there's the live wind speeds:

iWindsurf_Gulf of Saint Lawrence:
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=2123&is_beta=true

Then, there's the wind archives. Click on any spot on the map to see the current wind graph, and then click 'wind archives' on the left hand side. You can select your spot, your month, year...

Warning: Don't be discouraged: Keep in mind that on PEI, iWindsurf shows just the Canadian government wind sensors. They certainly don't tell the full story of what the wind is doing at the spots where windsurfers still frequent, BUT they can give at least a vague suggestion of what's up and how much it blows during certain months... In many cases, you'll want to add 5-10 MPH on to whatever the wind readings are at these sensors. But only by using them over time can a person figure out which ones are truly helpful.

May 2008 looked decent at Summerside, PEI:
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?location_id=18630&archiveMonth=5&archiveYear=2008&archiveSearch=Go&Isection=Wind+Archive&regionID=2123

[Barnett]

If you have the time and money, consider taking the 5 hr ferry ride from PEI to the Magdalen Islands. Great windsurfing and active (predominantly quebecois) windsurfing community, incredibly beautiful, fascinating culture, friendly, great food, beautiful beaches, warm water, good pubs....IMHO, one of the best places you could go in N America, though I have only been there once, years ago (it is quite remote).

[scooper]

We always rent a cottage that is on a beach and sail there, leaving everything rigged. In our first few years we tried some spots that faced S, on the southside of the island, thinking that the predominant wind direction would be SW like in New England. It turned out that we missed a lot of W & NW days, or sailed in offshore winds, (some stories to tell about that). In the last 3 or 4 years we stayed in a cottage on Tracadie Bay, W facing beach that curves to face S too. I also sailed at the mouth of Tracadie Bay to get some waves in N & NE. Weed fins needed at most spots.