Saturday, January 26, 2008

Trip Plans: Corpus Christi 21-23 March 2008

We sail March 21st. As usual, I'll be leaving at around 7am on Friday. That way we can enjoy a full day of surfing all three days. Due to popular demand, this will be the second of two Windsurfing trips in March. If this weekend isn't good for you, look at the Spring Break trip.

Matt and Karen pointed out that the Circue du Soleil will be performing in Corpus on Saturday the 22nd. The show is at 7:30pm and the arena is not far from the hotels.

Are you new to Windsurfing or Corpus Christi? You will find tons of information on this blog. During these three day weekends, we spend a few hours each day windsurfing, and the rest of the time eating good food, enjoying the nightlife, and exploring Corpus.

Follow these five simple steps to Join in the fun.

You'll need a a place to stay starting Friday the 21st, and checking out the 23rd.

You can check out the suggested packing list here. Feel free to comment below, send me a mail, or give a ring if you have any questions. See you on the beach!

How To Prepare for a Windsurfing Trip to Corpus Christi

Taking a trip to Corpus Christi is pretty simple if you don't procrastinate. Hotels, classes, and board reservations can fill fast. Get this stuff done early so you can relax.

My currently suggested class sequence is as follows: beginner, intermediate, harness, beach start, fast tack, planing in the harness, water start.

If you're planning on taking a class other than the beginner, Worldwinds (and I) strongly suggest that you practice for an hour or two before the class. If you haven't been windsurfing for months, you may wish to practice for a whole day. You don't want to waste class time struggling to remember the basics.

The five step recipe for fun:
  1. If you have a trip invite please respond. If you want to get added to the invite list, send a mail to john AT windaddict dot com. If you get me your contact information it'll make it easier to meet up for dinner, breakfast, and beer.
  2. Make reservations at a hotel / vacation rental or arrange to share a room. You might find my Corpus Christi Hotel advice helpful. You are responsible for your own hotel reservation.
  3. Call Worldwinds at 1-800-793-7471 to schedule your classes (see below) and reserve a board for the weekend. You are responsible for reserving your own board and classes. Please tell them that you're with John Knox's group. Be sure to show up for your class 15 minutes early. Classes are 100% on the water instruction, you can't just sneak in late.
  4. Arrange to carpool and share your room. There is a per-car entry fee to Padre Island National Seashore, and a usage fee for the Bird Island Basin. Hint: the annual passes only cost about 2x the 1 time rates. Feel free to post comments on the trip post asking for rides, riders, rooms, roommates.
  5. Pack your stuff. You can check out the suggested packing list here. Be sure to read the comments there for some good hints.
Comment below if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.

*Updated 7 April 2011 with new hotel and class information.
*Updated 28 July 2011 with new hotel information.
*Updated 4 March 2012 to move the hotel information to a separate article.
*Updated 17 July 2015 to add Park information

Trip Plans: Corpus Christi 14-16 March 2008

We sail March 14th. As usual, I'll be leaving at around 7am on Friday. That way we can enjoy a full day of surfing all three days. Due to popular demand, this will be the first of two Windsurfing trips in March. If this weekend isn't good for you, keep an eye out for the next dates.

If you're a new recruit, you can get a feel for the experience by reading the previous trip posts on the blog. You'll see a pattern: we carpool directly down to Worldwinds where we spend several hours building our windsurfing skills.

After having a suitable amount of fun on the water, we drive to our hotels Downtown. There we desalinate before walking to a restaurant to fill ourselves with glorious seafood or hamburgers. After that, we may play a few rounds of foosball and enjoy the nightlife. The next day, we do it over again, starting with fresh coffee and a nice breakfast.

Follow these five simple steps to Join in the fun.

You'll need a a place to stay starting Friday the 14th, and checking out the 16th.

You can check out the suggested packing list here. Feel free to comment, send me a mail, or give a ring if you have any questions. See you on the beach!