Hello, fellow cat sailors!
We are four beginner sailors in our 40's, refurbishing two Hobie Cat 18SX in San Jose, Costa Rica. Catamaran sailing is largely unknown here, despite many wonderful places to sail. We plan to sail in the Gulf of Nicoya (out of Puntarenas), in the Central Pacific (out of Punta Leona), and in southern Guanacaste (out of Malpais).
If anyone plans to travels to this neck of the woods, we welcome fellow sailors to coach us and hopefully spend a morning together on the water. We obviously are also happy to provide any advice on your travel plans.
Pura vida!
Eric, Christian, Erik and Dirk
Manuel Antonio might be nice, too. If I ever get back to CR I might just stay. Good Luck. I finally found Imperial Beer here in Houston. It tastes just as good, but it's not the same. Son Ticos o Alemanos?
I had been thinking about a trip to CR. Nice place you have there. Hard for me to imagine towing a cat on those roads, but I make a habit not to drive there anyway.
Your right about the beer Jeff. Food Town here in Sugar Land has it at a good price too!
I want to echo Eric's original post! There aren't many sailors here in Costa Rica, but I've started a small sailing school on the west coast near JacΓ³. We've got a Hobie 16 to sail, and I want to invite and welcome any cat sailors to come out for a sail, lesson, or rental. We are currently sailing out of Punta Leona, but other great options include Puntarenas, Caldera, Herradura, La Fiesta Del Mariscos, Playa Agujas, JacΓ³, and Domincal. On the other side of the Gulf of Nicoya, we look forward to one day soon exploring the islands of Jesucita, Cedros, Negritos, etc..
This area is largely an untouched sailing paradise, and I would love to share it with any cat sailors that are in the area!
PuraVela!
Here is a description of the five beaches that we sail with our Hobie on the central Pacific coast, with an interactive version of the map below.
http://costa-rica-sailing.com/2015/04/09/hobie-cat-sailing-sites-in-costa-rica/
Sounds great guys. I don't see myself sailing or towing the SuperCat down there. I just spent a week in Antigua at a resort that advertised beach cats. Hobie Waves are OK as long as your buddies don't catch you sailing them. For obvious reasons, resorts don't field high performance cats. I can't blame them. If I came down there, what sort of accommodations are available? Do you have any web links? Could I get on a serious cat, my risk? There have been other threads on this site about places to go with real cats. I can't seem to find a place to fit our niche. I can understand not wanting to hand over a high performance cat to the next tourist that walks up with an umbrella drink in hand. I did that in Nags Head a long time ago, we watched a lot of H16s get trashed. It's why Hobie came out with their line of plastic cats. I would be glad to go somewhere and sail real cats , even as rail meat. I'm trying to figure out a business model that would make this work. There's airB&B, how about catB&B? I sail with a truly informal bunch of sailors up here on the Lower Potomac River, lots of room, nice winds. The only drawback is ramp launches. We seem to be limited to how far we are willing to tow our boats and where we can dip 'em. I'm not trying to hijack your thread here guys. My brother has been down there on surfing packages. How about a performance beach cat sailing package.
ps: Antigua was awesome and I was that guy with a drink in hand rocking, as best one could, a Hobie Wave resort whore.
Another Central America option is Panama. I have a Hobie 18 and sail off the beach of the Royal Decameron hotel in Farallon. Anyone wanting to visit and catch a ride is welcome.
Getting ready for this coming high season. Any cat sailors welcome to come for a ride or rental π Link in my signature.