VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Which would you say is more beginner friendly...Agate or IV??????

Island View has bad shore pound during a high tide.. then there is the log jam rip tide.. shifty winds inshore.. gusty conditions offshore..

beginners should probably not venture out during winter storms!

Agate is a better NE wind location.. not ideal for SE as there isn't much of a fetch

Agate also has no beginner-safe kite launch area at high tide - and you don't have low or even medium tides in winter. Otherwise, less fetch in SE might be better for beginners with less waves for spring SE? I think the SE winds get pretty light in here though.

Wait for IV on a nice warm spring day with 15-18 knot winds and a big wide sand/gravel beach! Or go to La Ventana, etc.

DAY wrote:Which would you say is more beginner friendly...Agate or IV??????

IV is both NE and SE, Agate is NE only, so they are not comparable really. Agate will have waves on a NE (happen in January during cold fronts/ outflows), IV will have death chop typically.

The coldest days of the year are certainly NOT the days for the beginner, no matter what suit.

As for other conditions neither is a good beginner spot. Agate will Hindenburg easily at shore (Parker is better but not much) and the shore break will drift/eat your kite, especially if you get below the imaginary launch spot beam reach line. IV has big current and a nasty rock shore and shore pound and flotsam.

There is not really a very safe place to kite in winter for beginners I am aware of on the island. Willows is probably the safest beach but onshore and generally not much beach real estate available and trees, railings, people etc. , wait for lower tide....or.... Take the trip.

Island view by a long shot... big rig and launch area. But no good for beginners on heavy SE storm frontals.
Agate is a small rig and launch area and only works on a NE.