From: joel@ssd.intel.com (Joel Clark)
Subject: Re: post
Organization: Supercomputer Systems Division (SSD), Intel
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:09:31 GMT

In article <y74LwB1w165w@shakala.com> duckgybe@shakala.com (Bill Geisinger) writes:
>Costa Rica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lake Arenal
>It is happening as you read. Just arrived back from a very short 
>excursion to Lake Arenal in north Costa Rica. It never stopped blowing! 
>Day and night,night and day! I personally never sailed anything bigger 
>than a 3.9 the whole timeand I actually spent about three hours on a 2.9 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------
>Bill Geisinger  - duckgybe@shakala.com 
>Shakala BBS (ClanZen Radio Network) Sunnyvale, CA 408-734-2289

Bill and I happened to meet each other at Rock River Lodge.  Being a Gorge
sailor I would confirm anyone who enjoys sailing the Gorge in 30-40 mph
winds will be happily challenged by the Lake Arenal conditions. The comments 
from the Tico Winds rental owners where "the season started late this year",
about Dec 17. When I left on Dec. 30 it had been blowing day and night for
13 days. I'm sure it continued at least the next 2 days.  They say it 
should continue until at least April or so.  The average sail size 
for all these days was 2.5 to 4.0 meters. Some sailors were saying
"pray for a 5.0 day".  Their hands had several blisters each. 
The shoreline of Lake Arenal is very indented with valleys and islands. The
wind blows down the lake about 15 miles to the sailing site. So the waves 
which are 2' to 4' high tend to come from straight down lake but are 
very short and extremely choppy because of the wave reflections from the
uneven shoreline.  At the sailing sight the wind blows about 45 degrees to
the prevailing wave direction so you sail out straight into the waves and
sail back parallel to the waves with the whitecaps breaking across the 
board. In the overpowering conditions it takes everyone a day or two to
learn how to keep on plane and make good upwind progress. 
The wind is a result of the Caribbean trade winds squeezing up over the
continental divide at Lake Arenal.  This is why the wind blows day and night.
They are not thermal winds. The wind can be gusty because of the low 
surrounding hills but it is constant.
There are two launch sites, Tico Winds and the Tilawa Rentals.  Tilawa is 
run by the Tilawa Hotel.  General opinion on the Tico Winds side was they
had better service.  Diane and Peter (the Tico Winds owners) were very
friendly, constantly checking that everyone had the right equipment, tuned
properly and kept a very close eye on everyone on the water. If anyone
got stuck on the wrong side of the lake or behind a island Peter or Diane
would be there within 20-30 minutes to get them and the equipment back
to the launch site. They had 30-40 boards and about 75 sails. There were 
generally 5-12 sailors at the site at any one time. They charged $30  1/2
day and $45 full day for board, mast,boom and sail rigged with pads and
harness lines with life jacket if desired and harness seat. Board and mast
only, was $35 full day, board only $30 full day with 1/2 day rental also 
available.  They also had discounts on 4,5,or 7 days rental.  I did not
meet anyone who wanted to sail a full day in those conditions. 
The launch site is sloping grass to the water with hard packed dirt in 
the water.  Some gullies cause 2-3 foot drops as you walk out into the water.
The road to the launch site is 1/2 mile of 4X4 mud track.  As I left they
were beginning to dump and spread gravel on this road. 
The Tilawa hotel is not completely finished. Despite current ads the
tennis courts and pool are non-existent.  The hotel itself is also still
being finished.
The Rock River Lodge has 6 rooms at $35 a night in a single long bungalow
with one double bed and bunk beds in each room.
There are also 6 cabins owned separately but managed by Rock River. They
were not quite finished, though at least three should be finished now.
They rent for $50 a night and will soon have kitchen facilities.
The showers have instant hot water (the more you turn on the water the 
colder it gets). This is standard for any tourist hotel outside of San Jose.
The walls are very thin ( I could hear my neighbors turn off the lights) 
But after a day windsurfing nobody was making any noise but some snoring.
The Rock River Lodge also serves breakfast $5 supper $10 and Costa Rican
beer $1.  Breakfast and supper are all you can eat. Suppers we had were
lasanga, stirfried chicken and vegies, and stroganoff and always included
salad and nice deserts.  I drank the water in San Jose, and Rock River Lodge 
(and several other places in C.R.) with no problems.  
To get to Rock River Lodge, from San Jose drive NorthWest on the 
Inter-American highway to the town of Canas. Turn right near the (only) 
traffic light past the town square and continue up the highway to 
Tilaran. There are several hotels here also. From Tilaran take a hard left
at the Y leading into town near the Auto Mechanic sign:
					Tilaran
					   O
					   |
					   |
					  / \
					 /   \
			 to Lake Arenal /     \ to Canas
	
It is about 1/2 hour drive to Rock River Lodge.  There are several signs.
There are several other places to stay around the lake many of them tourist
hotels for birdwatchers or fishermen.

I spent two weeks in Costa Rica and visited several places besides Lake
Arenal so anybody who want more info on windsurfing at Lake Arenal or 
anything else about Costa Rica just send me email.

joel
joel@ssd.intel.com





 



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