suit or no suit in cabarete?

[shws]

Hello everyone. It'll be my first trip to the Dominican Republic. What should I wear windsurfing there? Full, spring, or just a rash guard?

I'm an intermediate windsurfer and hope to do a couple of days of sailing. I remember several years ago at Kanaha beach, most windsurfers were in full suits..

Also, if I rent the equipment from the local schools, would they be providing the harness? I tried to email them a couple of times but haven't got a reply yet.

TIA!

[morwind4me]

spring suit isn't a bad idea. If it was 'hot' out, I wore a rash guard....if it was cloudy I wore a .5 mil long sleeve top with board shorts. This was in late march. I'm assuming a shorty wouldn't be a bad idea.


Go to Vela, they'll help you out. Search their site too, there's a bunch of info about water temp, wind, and what kind of conditions to expect. We were told that it usually relatively flat, but there were surfable waves in the bay and well over mast high at the reef when we were there. Fun for an int/advanced windsurfer, but my beginner wife didn't windsurf.

[Wind-NC.com]

Hi- the Caribbean is a pretty warm place, so I doubt you'll need a full suit (unless you're coming from someplace hotter than the DR. It's all relative, right?). I'm not sure if the El Nino is having an effect on the Caribbean or not, though- could be warmer than normal, or it could be colder!

Morwind is right, though, bringing a spring suit would be the safe thing to do. I also brought my own harness the last time I went, but I'm kinda picky. There are a few shops down there anyway, so I'm sure you'll be able to find whatever you need if you decide to go empty handed.

Have Fun!!

[scargo]

Just returned from 10 days in Cabarete. You don't need anything for warmth (I didn't see anyone wearing a wetsuit, even a shorty), but I did wear a rash guard for sun protection.

As Vela's website says, the conditions are more challenging during the winter months -- the waves push into the bay from the north, creating a shore break that varies in size depending on the tide. However, the Vela side (east) generally has smaller waves than the middle and farther west. Also, kites aren't a problem on that side.

[Arrgh]

First things into my carry-on:
1. Aloe Gator Super Waterproof Sunblock (remember, 3 oz. or smaller)
2. Harness
3. Mono harness lines

[Manuelb]

I windsurfed for many years in Puerto Rico (right next door) and never used anything but sunblock, not even during the "winter" if you can call it that. Dude, is the Caribbean.

[dllee]

There's always someone paranoid about getting stuck miles from shore and having to swim for hours, thus the wetsuits you see.
It's a fashion thing in Hawaii. Plenty of rainy days at Kauilua, the locals were wearing full suits and I was in trunks and too hot.
If you do windsurf for longer than maybe 5 hours, the second sesh would be nice to have a wetsuit for choice, but not entirely needed.
I"ve been going to Puerto Rico on the E side to windsurf for the past 5 years, and never considered even a rash guard, except for the first couple days of sunburn protection.

[Arrgh]

I burn if I see a sunny beach on TV.

[manuel]

It got cold this past winter ~23C. I brought my full neoprene shortie for next winter.

3 scenarios:
1. Surf sailing on a cloudy day
2. Sailing a strong low pressure system which can be cold all day and usually very windy (25-35 knots)
3. Sailing until late, sun goes out, last rides get chilly

Quite a few people wear shorties here in the winter. Now looking at windguru, Hawaii can get coooold, maybe because they are farther north?

[dllee]

Basically, if you're living in the tropics, bring a shorty.
If you windsurf normally in a 4/3 wetsuit, you don't need to bring anything except trunks.