Playa Central Kiteboarding

Kiteboarding Clinic with Nuria Goma and Jessica, courtesy of Liquid Force.

2012-01-24T19:52:00.000-08:00

Several months ago a mutual friend, Adam Koch, introduced Nuria Goma and me on Facebook on the basis that we both ride Liquid Force, we were both going to be in La Ventana in January and February, and we love to promote the sport. Online we started talking about hosting a free kite boarding clinic with Liquid Force here at Playa Central Kiteboarding and we were both very happy with the turn out.

Watch the 1:30 minute candid video clip of Jessica explaining how to water start on a strapless.

Nuria and I decided we would focus on encouraging intermediate riders on strapless boards. We covered water starting, difference between tacks and jives, how to jive, hot to switch to toe side while heading the same direction, turning into toe side, etc. We also covered twin tip technique and how to turn, jump, ride toe side, do jump transitions, etc.

Nuria and Jessica helping Rosalie, a Bay Area kiter who visits La Ventana every year.

At sign up we gave everybody a piece of paper and had them write down 1-3 key skills they wanted to work on and had them drop it into a Liquid Force helmet. We drew out the questions and together covered them all. After the lesson Liquid Force provided kites and boards for demo and the clinic. People loved the Fish, a great beginner surf board.

Nuria handled most of the twin tip and freestyle questions while I gave the strapless tips and pointers. Once on the beach we decided to divide the group in two, and each one of us work with our area. While rigging the gear, La Ventana just started nooking. It went from 18-48 mph in about 90 minutes from when the clinic started. Only the more advanced riders decided to go out on 5m, 6m and 7ms. We were all overpowered and decided to just free ride. Although we would have liked to get close to the students and give instruction, it was still pretty fun to just have a session with them.

For lessons and more kite camps in La Ventana, we recommend Playa Central Kiteboarding.

La Ventana Race Series at Playa Central Kiteboarding

2012-01-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

From November to March Playa Central hosts the La Ventana Race Series the third Monday of every month. Sponsors and cohosts include Pro Windsurf Ventana, Air Rush Kites, Captain Kirk´s, the Flying High Resort, Diamante Real Estate and Liquid Force Kites. It is a slalom course designed by Tyson Poor and the race is directed by Dave Tyburski. Windsurfers and kiters race a five buoy slalom course and we run 5 races a day. Playa Central serves lunch and drink specials and spectators come to enjoy an exciting day of racing.

Tyson Poor designs the slalom course for the La Ventana Race Series

Dave Tybursky from Airush directing the La Ventana Series at Playa Central.

In November there were 10 skippers who participated and the results were 1. Tyson Poor (windsurf), 2. Adam Withington Sanchez (kiteboard), 3. Lyn Preuitt (windsurf). By the second race the enrollment doubled to 20 skippers, and the results were 1. Tyson Poor (windsurf), 2. Adam Withington Sanchez (kiteboard) 3. Dan Koff and Gabor Vagi. There were also kiters who were racing for their first time and afterward said it was the best time they have ever had on the water.

This is the 1st race ever held of the La Ventana Race Series at Playa Central.

Dan Koff and Gabor Vagi tied, this picture captures their experience in the race pretty well, photo from the December Race.

The official La Ventana Race Series T-Shirt has the seires´ logo on the front, which has the tip of the Cerralvo Island in the background with kite and windsurf sillhouettes lined up at a start line. The long sleeves say La Ventana on the left one, and Race Series on the right one, and the back of the shirt has our sponsors. You can buy them at Playa Central for 20 usd.

What inspired the La Ventana Race Series?

Vivien and I (Jessica) from Playa Central went on a 10 week roadtrip to CA and OR over this 2011 summer and the events we enjoyed the most were the three Thursday Night Races we got to race in at the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. While there we found out that Captain Kirk´s, a great hotel in La Ventana owned by our friends Kitty and Kirk, were one of the sponsors of the race. It also happened that Tyson Poor and Wyatt Miller form Pro Windsurf Ventana had mentioned the idea of running races out of Playa Central a year ealier. But it took us actually being in races, experiencing the sportsmanship of the whole deal, being at the startline when that cornette blows, and the best part, making friends with new people in new places to get us excited about the idea of hosting races in La Ventana.

Our brother, Adam Withington, has been racing for a couple of years and is on Liquid Force´s International team. For 2012, Liquid Force has their new NRG kites designed for racing, so lets just say that was another great reason to put on a race series.

Wyatt Miller (Pro Windsurf Ventana), Cynbad Brown (Baja Boardriders), and Adam Withington (Liquid Force) getting ready to head out to the start line.

The first week of Novomber Tyson, Dave Tibursky and I got together a few mornings over coffee and talked about some ideas and from there on everything has fallen into place. We now have volunteers who help with the finish line and buoy set up, a special thanks to Padre David and Johnnie. We are also getting great feedback from all the participants and have gotten requests to make this a weekly or every other week event. We think we will keep in monthly for this year, and maybe run the race trwice a month starting next November.

By the 2nd race enrollment doubled, and we had 20 skippers.

Padre David and Jessica Withington getting the heats ready before the race.

The slalom course makes it pretty equal for windsurfers and kiters since we can cut around buoys quickly, which is our advantage, but windsurfers usually gain speed quicker than kiters do from buoy to buoy. Kiters have a hard time power strocking their kite since we have to be careful with the tall masts of the windsurfers in front of us. If a windsurfer is behind and just downwind of a kiter, the kiter probably has their kite low and w

indsurfers simply cannot get by if they want to speed up while keeping their line. All in all, we all feel like the slalom course is very fair for windsurfers and kiters to race in the same class.

As a spectator, it is also really fun to watch these guys commin´at you as fast as they can.

Here we have Adam Withington cutting around a buoy, you can see how much space windsurfers need and how Adam can zip around it.

Photo taken during the skippers meeting in December.

Jessica Withington and Tyson Poor leading the skippers meeting at Playa Central during the December race.

Chas Walter and Jessica Withington, both trying to get across that finish line first.

Chas said this was the most fun he has ever had on the water, and it was his first time racing!

Walk ins are welcome, and don´t worry if you have never raced before, look at Vivien and me, we never had raced up until recently and now we are running them! Beleive us, you might not do well your first time, but every race makes you a better kiter and after two or three you feel great and comfortable at the start line. And the best part before and after the race, when you hang out with everybody for race talk, beer talk, and more fun talk.

For more information you can email me at Jessica@playacentralkiteboarding.com and you can see lots more Pictures of the race on our Facebook page.

Book your lodging and kite lessons in La Ventana with us www.playacentralkiteboarding.com

Free Kiteboarding Self Rescue Clinic with Jessica at Playa Central in La Ventana

2011-12-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

Jessica, the lead instructor at Playa Central Kiteboarding in La Ventana, offered a free clinic on how to do a self rescue and safety tips on how to handle unexpected situations. Her kite school instructs all level of kiteboarding and has found that even some advanced riders would benefit from a review like this. In this clinic she also encouraged people to feel comfortable enough to pull their safety release on the beach or in any unfriendly situation on a dime.

After announcing the clinic on her Facebook Page and a local Newsletter, Jessica had about 16 kiters of all ages show up at 10 AM and soak in tips on how to calmly self rescue, and what to do if you can´t remember any of the tips!

Here are some tips and FAQ´s from the clinic:

*When would I have to do a self rescue?

If you simply cannot re launch your kite after several attempts

If your lines are tangled/inverted/twisted and you have lost control of your kite.

If you and another sailor get tangled; and other unexpected situations.

* Step by step Self Rescue:

1. Execute your safety release (most safeties are push away safeties, make sure to know how to release from a kite before you use it in the water).

2. At this point you are not connected to your bar, only your leash will have tension and be connected to one of the center lines, and your bar and the 3 or 4 lines (depending on if it is a 4 or a 5 line kite) will bounce away from you toward your kite leaving all other lines with slack. When all the tension is on one line, the kite can no longer take shape of that solid wing, thus it will keep depowring the more slack the other lines and keep the tension on the leash line.

3. Pull yourself to your bar, wrap the line around one tip of your bar to secure that tension. Then grab all the lines and continue wrapping until you get to your kite, if you have rubber bands around your bar use it to keep the lines wrapped up. You will be tired, so rest here and catch your breath.

5. If your kite is face down on thew water, just like you would have it on the beach, then sometimes it is hard to flip the kite over belly up. Start at a wing tip if you can, and slowly get flip the leading edge over.

6. You will sail in toward the beach by using your kite as a sail by essentially holding the two wing tips. Sometimes you grab the back line and ce

nter bridal and feel out the kite and find the best position to sail with the kite. Remember the canopy needs to be exposed to the wind to get it to sail, so play around and find that sweet spot where you start actually sailing back to the beach.

* What if you cannot remember any of this?
Just release your kite, grab the only line you will be connected to (your lead through or leash line) and pull yourself to your kite, don´t bother rolling your lines up, and once you get to your kite make a sail our of it and sail back to shore.

Jessica´s school is open to everybody but it so happens that a third of our clients are kids! Yes, kids! Ages 8 and up, so if you are a parent please make sure to contact Jessica and ask about Kid Camps and special kid packages.

For great kiteboarding lessons in La Ventana reserve your spot by e-mailing jessica@playacentralkiteboarding.com or visit www.playacentralkiteboarding.com

You can also check out the link from The Kiteboarder´s website for beginner kiters:http://thekiteboarderschool.com/self-rescue/ to see some videos and read the tips they give you.

Happy Hour in La Ventana from 4-6 PM, at Playa Central

2011-10-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

On October 1st Playa Central´s Bakery and Restaurant opened and started the season with a Happy Hour special where guests order a cocktail or wine and get free appetizers from 4-6 PM. After a day of kiteboarding it´s a releive to walk down to Playa Central, order a Margarita or a Mojito and enjoy the evening with pleasant appettizers being brought to your table while you sit at the beach bar and gaze at the bay and the Isla Cerralvo or enjoy with a group of friends. People often come a few times a week and bring other friends who have never been here for Happy Hour.

This picture is of the South end of the bay, you can see that La Ventana is an L Shaped Bay, ideal for beginner kiteboarding. In this picture we have owners of Diamante Real Estate in La Ventana and local homeowners enjoying Playa Central´s Happy Hour. Three people from this party just got off the water, and one of them will start taking lessons soon!

What is Happy Hour?

Free appetizers when you order any cocktail or wine. We have margaritas, mojitos, sex on the beach, screw drivers, sangria, red and white La Cetto wines from Northern Baja, Cuba Libres, and more.

When?

Every day from 4-6 PM.

What Free Appetizers do I get?

Garlic break, home made humus and flat bread, parmesan bean dip, ceviche tostadas, carrot soup espressos, mini pizzas, chicken wings, and more. Trust us, you want to check it out.

Pizzas and specials are served during and after Happy Hour, the view of the Cerralvo Island is beautiful! Look at the colors!

Some of our appetizers include garlic bread, flat bread and home made hummus, parmessan bean dip, carrot soup espressos, ceviche, and more. Our number one selling drink is our World Famous Margaritas, since we make each one with the best ingredients available. Our wine sellection is mostly La Cetto wines from Northern Baja, which Jessica picked out at the beginning of October to compliment the pizza and pasta recipes.

You can go to our website and visit out Wood Oven, where you can see our daily menu tweets as well as out daily pizza menu www.playacentralkiteboarding.com

Jessica loves the Petitte Sirah from L.A. Cetto, a spicy red wine that goes great with tomatos sauce and meat. Order a bottle of wine for a great price, come and see.

Playa Central´s Restaurant has a beach bar with a seating area and hammocks where you can enjoy the view of the bay, pink skies and the moon rise.

You should make it to Happy Hour, most of the people who have tried it have loved it and come throughout the week to wind down after a great day on the water. Welcome to Playa Central!

Thanks Sandy Parker, a pro's time goes a long way.

2011-06-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Withington.

I met Sandy Parker in La Ventana in 2009 when she and the Live 2 Kite team headed down to Baja for the annual La Ventana Classic. After the 4 days of racing, big air and demos, she offered a free race clinic for women and I thought to myself, why not, it’s free and could be fun. Since that day at Sandy’s clinic I have competed in every race I happen to be at for the last 18 months, one of them being Thursday’s Race Night at Crissy Fields last week, where I placed 39 our of 51 on a strapless surfboard. My next move is to get my hands on a new fast race board and be a part of this technical and competitive side of kiteboarding and I owe all of this to Sandy’s willingness to share and promote her passion for women kiteboarding and racing.

La Ventana has a thermal wind from October through May and has become one of the greatest places to kite board, network, and be inspired to bring your kite boarding up a notch. That is where Sandy and I met.

Thursday Night Race at the St. Francis Yacht CLub at Crissy Field, June 16th, 2011. Jessica Withington, #50 Black places 39th out of 51 sailors. Inspired by Sandy Parker's free race clinic in La Ventana in January 2009.

As you might know, Vivien, Marcela and I are on a summer road trip on the West Coast of Mexico and the USA. Last month we raced in Puerto Vallarta during the same week Sandy hosted Kristin Boese’s KB4Girls clinic at her kite school, Kitopia, at the end of May. We were bummed we weren’t able to make it up to Sherman Island in time for it. Good news is we got to Sherman in June and were happy to see Sandy and told her that we saw all the great pictures of the clinic and wished we could have been a part of it. To our surprise, Sandy had a great proposal for us!

We got to Sherman on June 9th and were excited about all those windy days ahead of us. A special thanks to Maui Mike and his family for hooking the Playa Central Kiteboarding girls up with a terrific camper!

KB4G women's clinic at Kitopia on Sherman Island, May, 2011.

Unfortunately we couldn't make it for this day, but below you can see the picture from our evening clinic with Sandy Parker (We had the best photographer too! Keep reading).

The deal was that we would sign up to be members of KB4Girls and she would give us a free, private and casual KB4G clinic for the three of us, we said “Yes, please.”The first thing she did was talk to all of us about what new tricks or areas of improvement we wanted to work on. We all launched our 7m kites and began the clinic. We worked on back rolls, front rolls, down loops, toe side turns, pops, and jumps. Sandy would kite in front of us, do the trick, then watch us attempt it, correct our mistakes, and we would try it again and again. It is so nice to be pushed and encouraged by a great instructor and friend right by your side!

Marcela Ley, Sandy Parker, Vivien Withington and Jessica Withington after a great evening clinic with Sandy in spirit of KB4 Girls. Photo by Mike Zajicek, from Mikeslab Boards.

We asked Mike Zajicek if he could take a picture with the girls! He's the big name at Sherman these days, mainly because Adam Koch, Johny Heineken and Andrew Koch from Team Fluid will be racing Mikeslab boards at the Course Racing Worlds in Germany next week.

The only hazard that may come from women clinics is that sometimes the guys start jumping big, real close to shore, trying to impress us, and then we end up helping save their kite. There's Mike Zajicek.

After the clinic we thanked Sandy and talked about how it went for us. Marcela said the most important thing she understood from the clinic was how to do the “Load and Pop” and losing her fear of down looping her kite by having Sandy next to her. Vivien did lots of small jumps and load and pops, when we asked her what she got out of the clinic she said simply “I used to never try new things because I was afraid of falling, but today I fell so much that I don’t mind falling anymore”. So, even if it's just to learn that falling isn't so bad, these clinics will change the way you approach kite boarding on your next session. Trust us.

Jessica Withington in La Ventana, in front of Playa Central doing a back roll. In Sandy's clinic she got to work on her front roll.

What I have learned the most is that just a little time with a pro instructor goes a long way. That may mean that paying for a 2 hour lesson or a clinic can improve your lesson and is worth the money since you make your kite boarding more fun and technical. And it also means that when a pro rider takes their time to help new kite boarders learn more about the sport, it ultimately puts more people on the start line, indirectly creates social media about kite boarding and personal experiences, promotes the sport and helps the industry grow. Playa Central Kiteboarding and all three of us girls would like to thank Sandy Parker and Kristin Boese for all their efforts with KB4Girls and encourage any new kiteboarder or advanced kiteboarder to go to any clinics available near you.

1st Stop: Mexican National Tournament in Puerto Vallarta May 20-23rd

2011-05-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Preface: Playa Central had it’s first season in La Ventana as a Bakery Restaurant and Kiteschool. It was a fun year meeting new clients, greeting old friends, and working hard on and off the water. Jessica and Vivien Withington managed both businesses at Playa Central, and Marcela Ley was a yoga instructor and worked at the Bakery. All three of us girls felt that we didn´t get to kite enough and deserved about a dozen weeks of pure kiteboarding, so we decided to take summer road trip starting May 17^th! Our friend Pinky who also was a member of the Playa Central crew this season met us in Vallarta for the event. We wish he could have joined us for the whole road trip, maybe next year!

Jessica, Marcela, Vivien, Pinky and Baby Bobo at the Bakery. Photo taken March, 2011.

Vivien and Jessica left Playa Central and drove down the road to pick up Dalaney Overstreet, owner of the Flying High Resort in La Ventana, and headed to La Paz to drive onto a Baja Ferri to cross the Sea of Cortez over to Mazatlan. We arrived at 12 pm and drove South to Puerto Vallarta to compete in the Festival de Viento 2011, a Mexican National Kiteboarding tournament.

Jessica navigated while Vivien drove.

Dalaney slept for the most part.

Finally we got to Vallarta and met Marcela! We spent our first day at Sayulita,
a hot little surf town in the Bay.

Our brother Adam flew in for the event and we all headed to the event site where we were greeted by the Mexican Association of Kiteboarding and enrolled in the Freestyle and the Race categories. Upon enrollment we got a T-Shirt, licra, Havaiiana sandals and meal and drink tickets, they also gave us a bracelet which let all competitors have Open Bar privileges at the night parties at different hot spots in Vallarta. HBO was there to film and interview some of the competitors, including Adam!

Fernanda Ochoa, Adam, Jessica, Vivien and Paula Ochoa at the skippers meeting.

The inauguration of the tournament was held May 20^th at the Vallarta Marina where the racers would start and kiteboard to the finish line 8 miles downwind, at the event site. Over 150 competitors enrolled, for many it was their 3rd or 4th time in the race. Marcela won third place women’s, way to go!

The competitors walking to the skippers meeting just before the race.
There´s Vivien with the event T-Shirt on.

Congratulations Marcela for your 3rd place in the race!
1. Warenka Smutney, 2 Raquel Arroyo, 3. Marcela Ley

The event site was at a beach called Bucerias and gets an onshore thermal wind April, May and June that comes in around 1 pm and lasts until 5 or 6pm. There were more than 20 knots every day during the event, most competitors had their 7ms, 9ms and 10ms. There were 4 judges and a head judge, after the downwind race the freestyle began and we got through the first elimination.

Bucerias is in the Banderas Bay, by Puerto Vallarta. No wetsuit needed! Bikini kiteboarding.

Dalaney Overstreet, Paula Ochoa and Adam Withington.
The best part of the event was seeing all of our friends!
Vivien and Jessica with Paul Ramos, designer of Kush Clothesline, and dear friend Diana Valles Rojas. Girl Kiteboarding Power!

El Tate, Marcela and Adam with zinc! Thank you Red Bull for the shade.

The next morning we all had a big breakfast of spinach, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and scrambled eggs, with corn tortillas and avocado. We arrived at the event site and rigged upwind, we were all excited to compete in the freestyle. The heats were 6 minutes long, with four riders in each heat. The final results were:

Men’s Final: 1. Luis Miguel Avila, 2. Adam Withington from Playa Central, 3. Fernando de La Torre, 4. Diego Tron

For the 8 minute freestyle heat I went out on my Liquid Force board to do some jumps, rolls, and moves, and 4 minuted into it I switched to an ANDO strapless to show off my surf moves. I think the judges liked the variety since they placed me 3rd!

Women’s Final: 1. Warenka Smutney, 2.Raquel Arroyo, 3. Jessica Withington and
4. Marcela Ley.

To top it all off, they raffled a Go Pro camera amongst all the 150 kiters and Marcela won it! What a great addition to our road trip gear for this summer.

We stayed at our friend Augusto´s house, a good kiter who spends part of his winter in La Ventana. Thank you Augusto, AKA Chuba!

It was so nice to go from the salty bay to the fresh pool. We kited from our house!

It was a great way to start our trip and we are more excited than ever to head up to CA and OR in the next few weeks and rip it up. We will keep you guys posted. Make sure to share this link. We´ll be using the Go Pro for sure!

Playa Central´s Spanish School

2011-04-20T06:57:00.001-07:00

Hola! Bienvenidos todos a la clase de español.

Hello, welcome to Spanish Class.

Would you like to improve your Spanish? Well, it has never been more fun, so sign up and change your Baja experience. Learn Spanish so you can communicate clearly with Mexicans who do not speak English, get those verbs down, learn some of the lyrics of some of the most famous Hispanic songs, explore Hispanic geography and cuisine en Español and meet people in La Ventana.

Maestra Jessica and Teacher Assitant Sallyanne. Photo taken on the first day of the spring course.

For the spring course of April 22nd - May 18th Jessica will be the maestra. For the first two weeks Sallynne Munro will her teacher assistant, and the following weeks you will have Vivien, Jessica´s sister, as a teacher assistant. Jessica and Vivien are fluent in English and Spanish, with a Mexican mom and an American dad, born and raised in Cozumel, they are very good at relating Spanish grammar and vocab to the English language, and can really help you learn some tricks to remembering and pronouncing your Español.

Jessica tutored Spanish Grammar, Literature and Hispanic Drama during her university at Oklahoma State and enjoys teaching interested students a hablar español. Vivien, who will study Business in Guadalajara next year, is a patient and fluent person who will assist you in pronounciation, local sayings, conjugaitons and get you coffe and cake during class! Vivien runs the bakery at Playa Central and is in charge of the wood oven, always making sure there are plenty of galletas y pastelitos for Spanish School students.

Classes includes Coffee or Tea and Cake. (Advances students do pizza & wine)

Sallyanne is a traveled kite instructor who teaches kiteboarding in English and Spanish. She is originally from Scottland and Canada, and is a great example of how with studies and effort anybody can pick up Spanish as a 2nd or 3rd language and become fluent. Sallyanne will assist students with their spelling, vocab and grammar, as well as join in or pair up with students for conversation class. She will also be serving students coffee and goodies, but remember there is NO ENGLISH ALLOWED!

Tuesday´s class was fun and productive. This is your chance to REALLY improve your Spanish. For the next four weeks, we will have classes for all levels, so check out the calendar, decide what level you are at, and enroll.

The Spanish Students! Los estudiantes de la clase :) This is a real fun way to practice your Spanish conversation,

enjoy your morning, meet new people and talk about relevant topics.

Spanish School Spring Schedule for 2011

Which level are you?

Beginners: Monday, Wednesday & Friday from 10:00- 11:30. Cost is 10 americanos a class, or 12 classes for 100 americanos.Includes: Coffee or tea & Cake
Dates: April 22, 25, 27 & 29th. May 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16 & 18th.
Description: We will start out with the basics. Introduction to verbs and grammar as well as basic vocabulary. Learn your when, where, what & why´s, numbers, the alphabet, body parts, sentence structure, sayings, fruit and veggies, etc.

Intermediate: Tuesday & Thursdays 9:00 - 10:30. Cost is 12 americanos a class, or 80 americanos for all 8 classes.
Includes: Coffee or tea & Cake
Dates: April 26 & 28th. May 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 & 19.Description: Lots of conversation and vocab. We will focus each class on a new topic, example: weather and topography, marine life and water sports, construction/building and tools, emotions and holidays, slang and local dialects, Hispanic culture and geography, etc.

Advanced: Tuesdays and Fridays @ 5:00 - 6:30. Cost is 35 americanos a class, or 240 americanos for all 8 classes.
Includes: Pizza & Wine
Dates: April 22, 26 & 29th. May 3, 6, 10, 13 & 17th.
Description: We will analyze songs, articles, poetry and excerpts to discuss in class. We will be conversing most of the class and I will correct all errors. Every day we will add 10 advanced words to our vocab, and do written exercises.

The advanced Spanish on Tuesdays and Fridays includes pizza and wine.

The wine is to help that Spanish flow a little better :) Bring a friend!

You are welcome to show up, but please Facebook or e-maili Jessica Claire Withington Sanchez at jessica@playacentralkiteboardig.com if you want to enroll in advance.

Farmer´s Market on Thursdays at Vivero El Moy in La Ventana

2011-04-12T13:12:00.000-07:00

On Thursdays from 9 am - 12 pm there is a Farmer´s Market at Vivero El Moy, where homeowners and tourists buy their weekly groceries from local La Ventana businesses, people and farmers who set up to sell fresh produce, wood oven baked goods, smoked fish, Mexican and continental art, almond milk and other organic products, and of course, exotic and house plants for sale at Vivero El Moy. Playa Central sets up at the Farmer´s Market with our multi grain and white baguettes, and other goodies like chocolate chip cookies and pecan pies. To get fresh bread make sure to get there early.

Jessica and Vivien at the Farmer´s Market.

To order bread, cakes, pastries, or more information on our bakery and pizza restaurant

please visit http://www.playacentralkiteboarding.com/#!wood-oven

Our chocolate chip cookies and PB cookies are a favorite, we always try to have some at

the Market for our customers. Our white baguettes make great Subs!

Most vegetables are grown in La Ventana and Los Planes, others are

grown on the Pacific side of Baja Sur.

When you shop here you will try new things in your kitchen because you

will want to cook with all this beautiful food!

How refreshing it is to do your shopping at the Farmer´s Market, in the outdoors surrounded by

tropical plants, fresh local produce and friendly farmers and locals to help you.

Paula Sonnenberg, F-One Teamrider and pro kiteboarder stays healthy and supports the local farmers and businesses in La Ventana. Here is a quick link on the pro- kiter http://f-onekites.us/portal/team/paula-sonnenberg-national-rider/paula4/

Vivien from Playa Central with our favorite Spring Break 2011 customers!

Coming to the Farmer´s Market is also really pleasant and enjoyable for the merchants! What a nice place to greet and attend customers. We love this family! They were in town for Spring Break and came by the bakery for over 2 dozen pizzas, 6 brownie Sundays, fresh bread, and lots of lemonade and margaritas while they were in town. When they found us at the Farmer´s Market they had to say hi and stock up on goodies!

Steve, Carol & husband.

viveroelmoy@yahoo.com

Steve, manager of Vivero El Moy, reported that pear and cherry tomatoes are in season right now, and oranges and figs are will be ripe at the end of this month. Steve also offered a simple list of seasonal fruits and vegetables so that people see what veggies and fruits are in season. Some veggies and fruits from Vivero El Moy are yet to be documented since they have not matured.

	Dorment	Flowering	Fruit
Fig/Higo	Jan		April, June & Dec.
Oranges/Naranjas		April	Dec &Jan.
Apples/Manzana		Feb	May & June
Cherry Tomato			Feb & March
Peach/Durazno		Feb	May, June & July
Mango		Jan	May, June & July
Guava/Guayaba			Oct, May; June, Nov
Limes/Limones	Not	Jan	Year Round
Avocado/Aguacate
Dates/Datiles		Sep	Oct
Mandarines, Limes & Kiwis			Nov
Strawberries, Fesas (from Pescadero)			Feb & March
Pear Tomato			Feb & March

On Thursdays you can come and get ranch eggs, natural yogurt, greens and salad fixings. Make sure to see what surprises Alin Aguilar Hardy has, who was stocked with zucchini flowers last week!

Smoked tuna, sierra, and marlin. Hint: make a tuna salad with the smoked fish and serve it on one of Playa Central´s fresh baguettes, the perfect Baja meal!

This on going event has been a great commodity for La Ventana and the people who spend time here, and most importantly, it helps small businesses and farmers promote their business and products and network with customers and each other. The staff at Vivero El Moy reached out to the merchants and invited us to join in on this wonderful idea. A sincere thank you to Carol, Steve and Warren for their time and effort in helping make this happen, as well as they welcoming attitude with all clients, farmers and merchants. Add beautiful plants to your Baja garden from Vivero El Moy. Come by the Farmer´s Market on Thursday and bring your shopping bag!

La Ventana Dog Show

2011-04-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

Fundraiser for the Baja Paws, sponsored by Baja Joe´s, Playa Central and Baja Boardriders. Raised $800 for the "Stop the Littering" Campaign.

On March 7th, 2011, more than 37 dogs were in costume and enrolled in the Dog Show at Playa Cental. It brought the community together for an entertaining event and a good cause. Enrollment cost 50 pesos per dog, and there were La Ventana Dog Show T-Shirts for sale at the door. The categories were Obedience, Best Looking, Best Baby Picture, Agility, Best Costume, Most Toy Crazy, Best Senior and Best in Show.

The LV Paws spades and neuters dozens of dogs each year, and will spade any dog for FREE. LV Paws also rescues puppies and dogs in needs of homes, giving them de-worm treatments and vaccinations. This year we raised 800 dollars for the LV Paws, and hope to double it next year.

We had some very impressive dogs compeeting for the title of Best in Show. Some of the exhibitors dressed up with their dog and got extra points for the Costume Contest.

The La Ventana Dog Show 2011 Committee.

Bobbie Garner, Kent & Cynthia from Baja Boardriders, Claire Donahue, Joe and Angie Cheek from Baja Joe´s, Leon Garner and Jessica Withington from Playa Central. We had a great committee this year , especially sine Angie was the leader! Thanks Angie :)

Our panel of five judges were Larry Russ, Leon Gardner, Sarah Wilson, XX and Rick Shields . We had great announcers, Kent from Baja Boardriders and Shannon Gromley, a special thanks to them. Britney Todd and Krissy Arsens were the greeters at the show and the head volunteers for the LV Paws.

Krissy Arsens showing one of the LV Paws puppies she is fostering for the Best in Costume.

Britney Todd playing with one of the La Ventana rescue puppies at Playa Central.

Dan and Michelle Koff with Lucy Furr, what a great show she put on.

It was great to see that many of the dogs compeeting in the show were once Baja Rescues that were fostered by the LV Paws, and found wonderful homes here in La Ventana.

A special thanks to the Baja Boardriders for sponsoring the event, and to

Cynthia Brown for designing the awesome Flyer & T-Shirts for the Dog Show.

Tucker was the dog that blew the crowd away, especially since the crowd was mainly kiteboarder!! Give it up for the Best in Show winner, Tucker! Here is a video of Tucker, courtesey of Paula Sonnenberg.

Playa Central was proud to be a part of this event and will be hosting this annually. We are aware that the La Ventana Paws makes La Ventana a better place Baja in general is a dog friendly place to travel to. If you are comming to La Ventana, bring your pets, or come and adopt one here!

You can buy a La Ventana Dog Show T-Shirt at Baja Joe´s or at Playa Central. If you would like

to make a donation to the La Ventana Paws, please e-mail Angie at bajajoe@yahoo.com

Playa Central, the New Event Site

2011-03-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

If event organizers could design their ideal place to hold kiteboarding tournaments, their picture perfect venue wouldn´t be far from what a painting of Playa Central would look like.

Mural in the Playa Central Kiteshop, in La Ventana, BCS, Mexico. Artist: Gilberto Fernandez, from Culiacan, Sinaloa. Inspired by aerial photo taken from a chopper by Adam Koch.

In December 2010 the Mexican Asociation of Kitesurfing, (AMK), held a national tournament at Playa Central, where all of it´s main characteristics like being in a cumfy and windy bay, on a wide sandy beache, with a grassy hill and rigging lawn , a big warehouse, food & lodging services, efficient and friendly staff and personel, were apparently essential for the execution of the event.

National anthem, inaguration ceremony on the front lawn. Photo by Adam Koch, 2010.

For the Copa Playa Central, Torneo Nacional 2010, Playa Central arranged lodging for competitors and spectators. Spectators and organizers had the bakery and pizzeria at their disposal during the event so they remained comfortably onsite; merchandise, beer and softdrinks were stored in the warehouse after event hours; competitors were able to leave their gear onsite during the 4 days; we had a meetting room for the skippers, a judges´ tower and coordination room with internet, printers and fax; and we held all creremonies and parties onsite. Being able to catter to all these needs was an important tool the coordinators were able to use to keep spectators at the event site, offer the competitos close lodging thus being able to remain near the competition area for the parties and ceremonies, and easy social media updates for the coordinators and press.

Group photo on the Playa Central lawn, photo by Rockstar.

La Ventana´s thermal wind is above all the most valuable contributor to Playa Central´s success as an event site. Sponsors, organizers, competitors and spectators can count on the wind and are very likely to support and attend the events. La Ventana also has two international airports, one in Los Cabos and one in La Paz, both within 2 hrs. La Paz has a ferri to mainland Mexico, where kiters from Guadalajara, Culiacan, Colima and other cities can cross over with plenty of kite gear. Highway 1, from San Diego is scenic and also key for kite expos or demos, since kite companies can travel in vans and RVs with kites, baords, other merchandise and shade tents.

Thermal wind, channeled inbetween the island and the bay. Playa Central is located at the star *

Map of airports from La Ventana and photo on highway 1, 2011.

The Mexican National tournament, named "Copa Playa Central, 2010", had a total of 57 competitors and attracted world champions Adam Koch, Sean Farley Gomez, and Mexican champions Adam Withington, Fernando de La Torre, Raquel Arroyo, Diego Tron, Warenka Smutney, Paco Chan and Daniel Koeing.

Group photo after awards party at Playa Central.

President of the AMK, Andres Santacruz, and Playa Central manager, Jessica Withington, worked together as event organizers and chose the format, judges, disciplines and scheduled the competition days. A local kite asociation from CozumelKiteboarding.com came to sanction the event, along with Joe Cool as Race Advisor from San Francisco, CA.

Baja Boardriders sponsored the event with their killer buoys, a special thanks to you guys.

The freestyle results were men: 1. Daniel Koeing, 2. Sean Farley Gomez, 3. Paco Chan, women: 1. Warenka Smutney, 2. Shannon Gromley, 3. Cythia Brown. Results for Downwinder race men: 1. Andrew Koch, 2. Adam Koch, 3. Joey Pasquali; women: 1. Cynthia Brown, 2. Shannon Gromley, 3. Warenka Smutney.

Great photo of Andres Santacruz during Copa Playa Central, president of the AMK. Phto by Adam Koch.

Jessica Withington, manager of Playa Central and event coordinator, with event judges Vicente Cardenas, Kenji Jones and Dave Tyburski.

A special thanks to Litewave Dave, Kenj Jones, Dave Tyburski and Vicente Cardenas for being the judges. Thanks you to Litewave Designs and Liquid Force for sponsoring two boards as prizes. A special thank you to Joe Cool and the Koch brothers for advising on the race, and thank you to Cozumel Kiteboarding for their assistance. A thank you to Adam Koch for photographing the event. An extra special thanks to Joe Cool for making this short video on the event:

Youtube Video of Copa Playa Central:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JessicaWithington?feature=mhum#p/a/u/1/u1pFyD1F49E

Playa Central is located on the best launching beach in the bay.

If you are an event organizer, please contact Jessica Withington for information on having Playa Central host your next kiteboarding event.

Open Mic Night on Wednesdays

2011-02-17T15:19:00.001-08:00

In La Ventana, an outstanding kitespot in Baja California, there happens to be an incredible music scene happening at the Playa Central restaurant, a local favorite. Most kiteboarders in La Ventana are people who are here because of the lifestyle people can create while here. We all value spending time on the water and taking advantage of the almost daily sideshore thermal wind and fill the rest of our day with leisure activities, friends and families, passions, and personal hobbies. Luckily there are lots of people who share music as their hobby and are very talented musicians who have time to jam together, practice, and put on a great show for the rest of us.

Playa Central is the yellow building with the rigging and launching lawn. Photo by

Adam Koch, December, 2010.

Look at this picture and check out all the kiters on the water in La Ventana, where do they all go at night? Well, on Wednesday Nights, you can find them gathered at Playa Central.

The famous Open Mic Night on Wednesdays at Playa Central have been very successful and attracted great talent and fun audiences every week this season. We get Blue Grass, Country, Rock'n Roll, Opera, Melodies, Classic Guitar, pop, you name it. Playa Central's lounge room has the perfect acoustics for the concert, with no need for mics or speakers! (it's amazing).

Two local kiters jam on stage during Open Mic Night with a room full of friends and musicians. Photo by Adam Koch, Feb, 2011.

If you come to La Ventana, make sure that you check out Open Mic Night. Playa Central is a great venue to host concerts and the food and drinks are great. If you are planning a trip to La Ventana, bring your instrument and be ready to jam. Walk Ins are welcome, and there are always people who will get up there and jam with you on your first day at Open Mic. It is a great time to show off your talents (or guts :) and have your friends and family in the audience.

When you come you will get to try our wood burning oven pizza, home made pasta and desserts of the night, as well as our famous Mojitos and Margaritas. Musicians are welcome to come up to Playa Central Bakery and sign up during the day, and usually begin setting up at 5:00 pm while the audience shows up for drinks and dinner. The show begins at about 6:00, and is often hosted by two of the most famous local musicians, (both in La Ventana and Hood River), Thomas Corlett and Larry Russ. A special thanks to both of them for sharing their talents and helping the music community in La Ventana grow together.

Movie Premier of ¨Present Tense¨ produced by Nathan Appel Hosted by Liquid Force and Playa Central

2011-01-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday Jan 18th, Liquid Force was setting up for a movie premier, produced by one of their team riders and LF media contributor, Nate Appel, who happens to be in La Ventana right now to document this upcoming kite tournament. The video, ¨Present Tense¨is a collection of some of the biggest American kite events during 2010, as well as some free riding that Nate documented and edited.

The video was projected on a silver screan that is painted on Playa Central´s wall, which is great for events like this. People gathered all over the lawn, ordered pizzas, beer, margaritas, and wine as they watched the 30 min video (Good job Nate with the soundtrack :).

After Present Tense, we watched a Joe Cool raw footage of the Lord of the Wind Showdown (Jan 16-19th), which included course race starts (my favorite), bikini contests, skipper meetings, and parties. Thank you Joe. We also watched Jason Noorwick´s video of La Ventana winter kiteboarding, most filmed infront of Playa Central. Thank you Jason!

Here is a link to Jason´s video:

http://www.kiteforum.tv/video/La_Ventana_Kook_Out.html?Itemid=0

Jessica and Marcela go to Los Barriles for the Showdown

2011-01-19T12:02:00.002-08:00

Since Marcela is a yoga instructor at Playa Central and I am the general manager here, sometimes it is hard to find 100% fun time. We took advantage of the Lord of the Wind Showdown in Los Barriles and excused it as a business trip, and headed South for a three day kite vacay.

The event a

ttracted pro riders from all over the US, Canada and some international destinations. We got to see many pro riders, like Damien Leroy, Sean Farley, Adam Koch, Jon Van Malsen, Adam Withington and finally a girl!! Claire Lutz, from Liquid Force was one of the only pro girls there, and she is a sweetheart.

Now we are all in La Ventana, getting ready for the La Ventana Classic. All of the pro riders are here now training, people are flying in, and we are looking forward to the next week of kite partying.

Cinnamon Rolls

2011-01-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

It is pretty common for the yoga students to stretch back up and walk off the yoga matt into the bakery for some fresh cinnamon rolls after their 8:00 am class with Marcela. Playa Central's cinnamon rolls are pulled out of the wood burning oven at 9:15 am, just at the same time the Ashtanga yoga class ends! One of the students kidded and said the only reason she came to yoga class in the morning was to excuse the cinnamon roll after class.

Some campers sip on La Choya coffee or hot teas served at Playa Central while they wait for Vivien to glaze the cinnamon rolls. It is also common to have kiters come in just before they gear up for a session and fuel up with some baked goods.

Come by Playa Central and buy a cinnamon roll right off the pan.

Bakery hours: 7 am - 7 pm.

Whole Grain and White Baguettes

2011-01-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

At our bakery we bake whole grain bread with flax, sunflower and pepita seed, oats and whole flour. Our white baguettes are made with no oil, and sprinkled with sesame seeds, perfect for subs, toast, and quick snacks.
Avilable daily @ 9 am at Playa Central.

This picture: Vivien and Jessica, sisters and baking partners at Playa Central.

Potato Salad

2011-01-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

Playa Central sells potato salad in To-Go containers, ideal for hungry kiters and family lunches.

4 servings for 55 pesos.

Summer Kiteboarding in La Ventana

2010-08-22T17:15:00.000-07:00

Most wind-sport people who come to La Ventana only visit during October through April for the thermal wind season. This is the second summer in a row that I have been in La Ventana and usually spend my days in the garden, running my AC 24/7, and kiteboarding on the other side of this L shaped bay.

In this image, the red circle on the left (West) is Playa Central, which is gets the side shore Nortes and thermal from Oct-April. During the summer months it is a little different. Playa Central recieves a light onshore wind created from the thermal that comes in about 1-2pm and dies off with the sunset.

So, about two days a week, when the thermal wind is blowing about 16 kn, we take our car and with out using our 4x4 we get to the "Bufadora", which is about a 13 min drive. We kite on our 7m, 9m, and 11m, depending. Sometimes we do downwinders to Playa Central, which is great because we get to roll out kites up on the grass and rinse our gear off.

If you ever do come down to La Ventana in the summer, bring your kites!

Want to learn how to kitesurf? It's simple, go to school.

2010-08-19T23:17:00.000-07:00

As equipment continues to improve in kitesurfing, the number of people who pick up the sport increases. After years of kiteboarding being taught around the world, there have been several general methods developed by instructors on how to learn through a safe and successful process.

As a friend of beginner kiters and a kitboarding enthusiast, I recommend above all things for people to take lessons with a professional kiteschool or at least an experienced instructor.

3 simple tips on how to start kiteboarding:

1. If consistent wind and beginner kite friendly beaches are not available in your home town, plan a 7-30 day vacation to a windy kitespot to get through the learning curve quickly.

2. Find a kitespot with professional kiteschools and make sure to check the calendar to assure you are going during the right season.

3. Once you learn to kiteboard with the kiteschool gear, you will have a better idea of what equipment you will want to buy for yourself. For safety and efficiency purposes, we recommend buying new kites and boards for your new venture.

Now Supplying to Local Stores

2010-08-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

Playa Central Bakery's french bread is now available at Mini-super Oscaritos. We deliver fresh bread Monday-Saturday, by 1 PM.

Pie Pan Pizza

2010-08-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

Pie Pan PIZZA $60 pesos

This will be quick kite fuel for the kiteboarders to load up on when they kite from up and down the beach and land at Playa Central for lunch. Daily pizza along with chalkboard menu pasta and seafood- open seven days a week.

2010-07-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

French Baguette

Playa Central's bakery has this recipe nailed down. We love French bread, in our house in Cozumel we always would eat it with sandwiches, soups, PB&J, anything really. We think it will be a favorite staple for the kiters and windsurfers in La Ventana, yum.

This is a picture of 10 baguettes just before I sold them to a very friendly family that came into he bakery today.

Halleluja, make a joyful noise!

2010-07-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Today the floor in the 4,000 sq foot Playa Central warehouse is finally out! After six weeks of hammering this well plastered swimming pool floor out of out kiteshop and sail shed, we can take a deep breath.

A special thanks to my brother, Adam, for having worn earplugs and goggles and dedicated many hours of hard work to Playa Central.