Penghu Windsurfing and Kitesurfing

Three consecutive kitesurfing days in May

2010-05-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Northest Wind season usually dies down in May and the wind is usually too weak to windsurf or kitesurf. However, a unusual weather system brought three decent days with northeast wind up to 20 knot. I did not waste the God's blessing and kitesurfed three days in a row.
Day 1 is 9M with big board,
day 2 is 9M with samll board
and day 3 is 11M with small board.
The light wind is perfect to try new tricks and new skills.
The wind will die down tomorrow and come back on Friday.
Therefore, I can rest for one day and resume kitesurfing on Friday.
What a blessing to live in Penghu.

Pilots from HK had a great kitesufing vacation in Penghu

2010-04-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

Greg and Mark came to Penghu last May and they cannot forget their great kitesurfing experience after a long year. They came back again, with their friend, Jason.

Even the wind was weak on their arrival day, the trio cannot wait and manage to get wet on the south Aimen beach.

the wind kicked in on day 2 and it came in full force, blowing 40 knots. the brave trio used their smallest kites, 9M, and depowered them fully and managed to kitesurfed for one full day.

day 3 was still the same, wind was still blowing 35-40 knot. same old stories.

day 4 was a good day, wind blowing 15 knot in the morning and dropped to about 12 late in the afternoon. the trio finally enjoyed a relaxed kitesurfing day.

day 5 was supposed to be a resting day. however, jason need to check his Ocean Rodeo 12 M kite, so they went to the beach and they kitesurfed again with Jason's big board, Greg's big kite and Mark's control bar.

day 6 is the departure day. most kitesurferres usually pack their stuff and wait for the departing flight. Not the pilot trio. they finished their breakfast and went to the beach right away and it turned out to be the best kitesurfing day of the whole trip. wind was blowing 20 knot the whole day, the wave was gentle and there was sun shine occationally. they all tried new tricks and tested eachother's new eqipment.

they all had such wonderful time. Check their pictures.

to look at more pictures, check Jan's photo album.

Howard and Alex had a great wave-sailing session

2010-04-16T00:47:00.000-07:00

The unusual strong wind in April makes all the windsufers in Penghu really excited.
After missing the best wave condition for several days, Alex and Howard finally came to Longmen at the right time. The tide just started to retreat and big and steep waves came one after another.

Alex made great high jumps and tried many back loop. He also made a lot of buttom turns and cut-back at the tip of the waves.

Howard, in the mean time, landed a successful back loop.

After taking pictures for about 10 minutes, I went into the water and seeked my my share of wave sailing. The wave condition was indeed fantastic. But it did not last very long. I had one bad landing with my head hitting at the sail and broke my 3.3 sail.
Immediately, I changed to my next smallest sail, 3.7. I was over-powered all the time and, for the one moment, thought this 3.7 sail felt like 7.3 sail. My strength dried up after one hour. Looking forward to a great kiting session tomorrow.

40 knot windy day in April

2010-04-07T02:07:00.000-07:00

Although the winter is over and spring is here in Penghu, we still have some great windy days. A strong high pressure system from mainland China hit Penghu today and created 40 knot wind here.

It is too much for kitesurfing because my smallest kite is 7M. Fortunately, I still have my high wind gear, 65 liter wave board and 3.3M sail.

I was the only surfer on the water. No one took pictures for me and I cannot take any picture for anyone. I can only take some shots of the gear I used and the wave at Longmen Beach.

After coming back home, I took some shots from Sunrise B&B balcony.

All Kitesurfers enjoyed a great kitesurfing day

2010-04-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

All kitesurfers, Rob, Matt, Fred, Sean and Jan all had a great day today.

We had one session at flat-water Chinglo beach first and felt really hungry after a while. We all went back, had some food and felt better, but tired and cold. But the wind was still blowing and day was still bright. I usually would quit for the day, but Sean, Fred and Matt had travelled all the way here and had only one session. It would be too much a waste for the wind, so we went to Longmen Beach for a second session. It turned out to be the best session they ever had.

Here are the highlight of the action.

Robert from HK got a taste of Penghu wind

2010-04-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

Markus became the first kitesurfer at Na-An Kitesurfing Beach

2010-03-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

From Penghu_100310

With windguru windforecast up to 45 knot in Penghu, we all knew it will be too windy to kitesurf at Longmen Beach. But we were all eager to kitesurf after one day of rest. Jan, Markus and valere decided to venture to Na-An Kitesurfing Beach to try some luck.

na-An Beach is supposed to be a great wave-riding beach at low tide and when wind is too stong at other beaches. It took 45 minutes drive from Sunrise B&B to Na-An beach and the drive was worth it. The wave was AWSOME.

From Penghu_100310

The wind is still too big for Valere and Jan did not feel confident enough. On the other hand, Markus was very excited and wanted to give it a try. He said the wave was perfect. He was right.

From Penghu_100310

After kitesurfing 30 minutes at Na-An Beach, he became the first kitesurfer at this beautiful beach.

Look at more kitesurfing pictures of Na-An Beach.

How to get to Penghu

2010-03-07T04:51:00.000-08:00

檢視較大的地圖

Penghu is an offshore island of Taiwan, it is located at Taiwan Straight between Mainland China and Taiwan. If you are coming to Penghu from abroad, here is direction how to come here:

Fly to Taoyuan Airport (TPE), the major international airport of Taiwan.
After arriving at Taoyuan Airport (which is located 50Km outside of Taipei City), take a shuttle bus from Taoyuan Airport to Sonsang Airport (Domestic airport) in downtown Taipei.

You can then take one of three airlines servicing flights to Penghu,
Uni Air
Madrian Airline
TransAsia Airways

There are more than 20 flights per day from Taipei to Makong.

Once you arrive at Makong Airport, call Jan Hou (0956-065-519). He will be happy to pick you up from the airport if you stay at his Sunrise Bed and Breakfast.

You can get almost anything you need for kitesurfing or windsurfing from him.

All the kiting beaches in Penghu on Google Map

2010-03-07T04:47:00.000-08:00

檢視較大的地圖

More wave-riding pictures of Markus from Germany

2010-03-07T04:12:00.000-08:00

Marcus rode wave in Penghu

2010-03-07T01:39:00.000-08:00

Markus and his newly wed wife, Valere chose Penghu as their honeymoon destination.
Both of them are kitesurfers and they wanted their honeymoon full of kitesurfing action.
Markus is an avid kitesurfer and Valere is a talented begginer, she learned kiting in Brazil in their last trip. They seached for windy place without the crowd and found Penghu should be a very good choice and they are right, the average number of windy days in Penghu is about 20 out of 30 in March.

Today is day one of their kitesurfing session. They kitesurfed with Jan, their host, in Bailio in the morning. With consistent 25 knot wind and flat water in the morning, Valere had a great time on the water without any assistance from her husband. In the mean time, Markus and Jan were trying new free style tricks.

In the afternoon, the wind picked up and was estimated over 30 knot. It was definitely not a good day for a beginner weiting less than 60Kg and her smallest kite 7M. They boys decided to check out the wave scene at Longmen beach.

The wave was great and wind very strong and consistent. Both had a great time on the water riding and jumping waves.

Great kitesurfing session at Pong-pong Beach

2010-02-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

Pong-pong beach is an off-shore sand bar about 3km from Bai-sa, which is one of three main islands of Penghu. It is famous for its golden sandy beach and protected flat-water condition.

Good kitesurfers can reach Pong-pong beach by kiting from Bai-sa. The lauching spot is about 1 km north of Chito harbor. The kiting time is about 10-20 minutes depending one or two tacks the kiters take to get there.

Another way to get to Pong-pong beach is by taking the ferry from Chito to Bird Island. The ferry leaves at 9:00AM and 2:00PM. Once arriving at Bird Island, kiter can walk to Pong-pong beach at low tide or kite to the beach at high tide.

Eva and Marcus from Germany joined Jan Hou and other local windsurfers to explore the kitesurfing scence at the end of November, 2009.

They took some awsome pictures while they were having fun there.

Pong-pong beach kitesurfing pictures

Kitesurfing at Longmen Beach

2009-10-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

Of the several kitesurfing beaches in Penghu, Longmen is one of the most popular.

Its side-on-shore wind and big stretch os sandy beach is the main reason why it is the first choice.

It is also the best wave-riding beach when wind is over 25 knot and tide is high.

However, the water can be a little choppy.

Wave riding at Longmen Beach

2009-03-02T07:43:00.000-08:00