FRISCO WOODS HATTERAS QUESTION

[guruwind]

My wife and I are doing a road trip and we're stopping in hatteras for our first time for about 4 days . Im hoping i can finally nail my gybing.
Id like to camp at Frisco because we like camping and its affordable.

Itll be around the 3rd week in may.

If can answer any of these questions for me that would be swell.

Whats tent camping like that time of year? Cold? Hot? Nice? Are the bugs bad?
Frisco doesnt take tenter reservations so is it a real crap shoot to actuyally get a site?
Ill be renting a board and sail. Is there rentals right at the campground?

I was looking at alternate campgrounds too. KOA is expensive for a campground. Over 100 per night for a cabin and 70 or so for a tent site. Wow. Must be a pretty nice patch of grass!

My wife would also like to give windsurfing another try with a lesson. (first try with my 3 cambered 7.0 was a bit of a bust). So likely the best place for us to launch and do the rentals and lessons is in town at Ocean air sports?

Thanks for any help.

Has anyone had any experience camping and renting equipment at the north end. Nags headish? Although I'd find it hard to pass up the legend of avon and surrounding area.

[morwind4me]

I'm surprised they don't take tenter reservations that time of year, but I've tented in April I guess....


There used to be a Real Wind shop there, but I don't think they rented. Your best bet is to just use one company and drive into town to sail. Either rent from a place like Sailworld (talk to Andy, he's a good egg), Charlie at Ride Hatteras, or Ocean Air. Ocean Air is nice because you can launch right there if you rent from them, and they have a great beginner's / learning area with good instruction. Ocean Air is my least favorite shop as I've never really connected with them before, just never really felt like the people I've talked to were all that nice. But may be just my experience. But Sailworld, Ride, and Ocean air will surely help you out. As I recall the water in front of Ocean Air is borderline TOO shallow, but that may have changed.


I don't know what your idea of cold is for camping, but it shouldn't be too bad that time of year. Anything can happen though. Last time I was there in April it was 50 degrees and FLOODING rains for days, then it got hot (like 90) and the wind shut off. Year before that it was 80, sunny, and windy the whole time. You can experience anything in hatteras, but that late in May you should be fine.


I don't know about heading North toward Nags head. The sailing definitely isn't as good that way and the vibe changes big time. The sailors that live that far North drive south to sail.

[btbill]

The rental shop suggestions from morwind4me are spot on. If in Avon, definitely hit Ride, Sailworld, or Ocean Air for gear.

As for camping, Frisco Woods is nice but if you are tenting, you may also want to consider Rodanthe. There is a small tent campground near Lisa's Pizza which is right on the water and I can't imagine it being that expensive since it is does not have all the "luxuries" found at places like KOA or Frisco Woods. Though, there are a ton of stuff right around the place. Everything from eateries, to go-cart tracks, to new shopping complexes tailored to kiteboarding (KHK mega complex) as well at Hatteras Island Sail Shop (HISS) where you could also rent windsurfing gear. HISS carries MauiSails and JP so you could likely get a decent rig comparable to the rentals found in Avon. Also, from Rodanthe, Avon is about 10 miles, or about 16 to Canadian Hole if you want to hit that spot. Its about the same distance coming from north as Frisco Woods CG is coming from the south.

Here are some links:
http://www.watersportsandcampground.com/
http://www.hiss-waves.com

As for weather, late May is one of my favorite times of the year for Hatteras windsurfing. We are approaching summer by that time, and likely all you will need is a spring suit, or even trunks, especially in the shallows of the sound.

All in all, late May is an awesome time, and if you want to see what it was like last year, check out the previous year's blog reports at:
http://www.obxbeachlife.com
(includes a calendar control to search past posts)

http://lostinhatteras.blogspot.com/


Good luck on those jibes!

Bill
www.obxbeachlife.com

[d0uglass]

Guruwind-

I'm stoked for you! You're going to love the OBX, and May is a good time of year. It's late enough that you will probably have warm and pleasant days, but early enough that you'll be cool and comfortable at night. Mosquitos will be present, but not terrible. There's a decent chance you will only need bathing suits, but you should bring light wetsuits, as well. Rain and / or excessive wind / no wind are possible, as always.

The rental / lessons spots that morwind4me suggests are good. I haven't had any bad experiences shopping at Ocean Air, but I have no idea whether or not their instructors are good. I would definitely recommend getting the best and most patient instructor possible for your wife and not trying to just rent and teach her yourself.

Frisco Woods is a nice campground. It's one of the only campgrounds with woods, so it feels a little closer to nature than some of the others. The cabins there are a good insurance policy against unpredictable weather. The place I usually stay is up in Rodanthe - Rodanthe Watersports and Campground. It's close to the road, small, and packed like sardines, but it's uber cheap and right on the sound. It's about the same distance North of Avon that Frisco Woods is South of Avon.

Good luck.

-James

[guruwind]

Thanks very much for the info guys. This is super helpful.

Last question. Does Hatteras fill up to capacity in may? e.g. are campsites and hotels booked solid in your experience? Ive heard its bordering on shoulder season and peak season. I'm going to try and make reservations soon. Just takes a lot of planning for a road trip to know when we will be and where.
We're coming from from Toronto to Hatteras via washington. Down to Ocracoke and along the coast to Savannah GA. Then up through the mainland through blue ridge and back to Toronto over a couple weeks.

[mrgybe]

There is a camp site in Kitty Hawk......don't think there is anything in Nags Head. If you find yourself that end there are lessons available at the Windmill Point location of Kitty Hawk Sports......shallow water for miles. Contrary to the view expressed in an earlier post, the Nags Head soundside sailing is excellent at Windmill Point and at Jockey's Ridge..........easy water access and very uncrowded........most of us who live in that area sail these spots most of the time. Having said that, if I were visiting for a few days I would head South as has been suggested above. More shops, more launch sites and a more authentic Outer Banks experience.

[Wind-NC.com]

Yeah, you're stoked man!! The countdown is on... Just 3 short months to go... haha

Thanks for the plugs, everyone

May is one of my favorite months down here, you're gonna love it!! School isn't out yet, so the Island isn't quite overrun. I wouldn't be too worried about campsites being full yet, and hey, if they are, you can just get a hotel room for about the same amount of cash...

As everyone else said, Frisco Woods is a great campground (and one of Sailworld's lesson sites). One thing to consider, however, are predominant winds for that time of year (SW). The SW tends to be light in the AM (great for a lesson for your wife), and then they slowly build as the day goes on, filling in from North to South. Frisco is pretty far South on the island, so the SW tends to fill in there last. SW is also a touch offshore and there's a wind shadow down at Frisco Woods. Some of the more northern sites, like Bill's recommended Rodanthe site, get cleaner, stronger, and earlier building winds in a SW. I personally recommend staying at the Northerly sites in the spring/early summer, and the southerly sites in the fall/winter (when the predominant winds switch to northerlies).

Of course, anything can happen, and we might get a two week stint of NE winds while you're here

In a way, the "No Reservation" policy of the campgrounds might be a blessing, since you'll be able to keep an eye on the weather and just park yourself where it seems most appropriate once you get here...

Feel free to PM me if you'd like to know more about Sailworld's rental and lesson program See ya soon!!

[rswabsin]

Frisco Woods is a really nice campground complete with hot water showers, a pool, general store and mini cabins you can rent should the weather really get bad. I've camped there several times in mid may and june and have never had a problem finding a nice campsite near the water's edge. Avoid the campground on Easter and Memorial day weekends- it gets real crowded then. We always had a weather radio with us and would either sail at the campground or travel up to Avon for the day (and leave our camping gear at the campsite) when southwesterlies were forecast. Let the wind forecast be your guide in planning your travel and overnight stay options. There are dozens of very economically priced motels as an alternate option. There is also a National Park service campground a little further south in Frisco on the ocean side of Rt 12. Also nice but there are no trees or shade to escape the sun and they only have cold showers.

Have a great time,
Rob

[AlexM]

I stayed at Frisco Woods Campground last year for the 10 days preceding Memorial Day - we had eight planing days and five days with winds greater than 25 (including one memorable day when the winds blew steady 35 miles plus pretty much all day). If you don't believe me, check out the I windsurf archive. Everyone agrees that Frisco Woods is a great campground, and the sailing is really good right off shore. It is true that there is something of a wind shadow in south westerlies but it's not that big -- the main problem is that if it's overcast and you can't see the whitecaps very well, you can easily wind up being way overpowered.

You don't need reservations because the place is pretty empty except for Memorial Day weekend - the camping population triples or quadruples. Its amazing to see all the rednecks crammed in with their monster trucks and monster tents and even home stereos and home air conditioners. But you don't really want to stay there at that time if you can help it. They'll probably put you on the south end - that's where the windsurfers hang out - you'll have fun.

[U2U2U2]

agree with all thats been said

Frisco Woods should be great, closest shop is Fox, rental ? don't think so.

seek Andys shop ......Tabou !