Downwind Deck takes on Festival Del Viento in Nayarit, Mexico
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
Downwind Deck has ventured to Nayarit, Mexico for one hell of a week. We kicked things off at Festival De Viento with three days of non-stop kiteboarding action, packed beaches, stacked heats, and enough wind drama to keep everyone on their toes.
Day 1 — Big Air, Highest Jump & Absolute Chaos
Day 1 delivered pumping wind and full-send conditions for the Highest Jump and Big Air competitions. Riders were boosting to the moon while spectators lined the beach watching the action unfold across Banderas Bay.
The women from the Yucatán Peninsula absolutely cleaned up in the Women’s Highest Jump competition, taking two out of the three podium spots.
@Courtnyo from Downwind Deck took 3rd place
@Anna.goodday secured 2nd place
And well… this writer completely forgot the name of the 1st place winner from PVR area. Very sorry. We blame the wind, sun, and lack of sleep.
A special shoutout to @Sara.ricaurtee — someone we will gladly share a 3rd place podium with any day. If you know, then you know.
There’s honestly so much happening at Festival De Viento that it’s nearly impossible to keep every event straight. Who won Men’s Highest Jump? Men’s and Women’s Big Air? You’ll just have to stay tuned until the sweet awards photos get posted.
We’re hoping to share official Day 1 event photos from the photographers very soon.
Day 2 — Less Wind, Same Madness
Day 2 brought slightly lighter wind, but absolutely no shortage of action.
The morning kicked off with a chaotic downwind race across the bay. The strategy? Stay close behind the start boat, avoid kite tangles, don’t crash, and absolutely bomb it downwind. Easier said than done.
Many riders stayed on the water all day as organizers stacked competitions tightly together to make sure everyone got the best possible conditions during the wind windows.
Freestyle was up next, bringing powered unhooked tricks, huge rotations, and aggressive riding from some of the best competitors on the beach.
Our favorite women’s heat featured three of the Yucatán Peninsula standouts battling it out:
@Anna.goodday
@Sara.ricaurtee
@Anandagamio
The event quickly rolled into Men’s Freestyle featuring our favorites:
@einarsaad
@ericrienstra
@maxico25
Between surf freestyle, regattas, beach chaos, sponsor activations, and fiestas running late into the night, there’s simply too much happening to catch it all.
As for who actually won the Day 1 and Day 2 events? We find out tonight.
Huge thanks to all the sponsors, @festivaldelviento and @amk_mxoficial for throwing one hell of an event. Managing 300+ competitors, changing forecasts, live scoring, technology, scheduling, and nonstop moving parts is no easy task — and we appreciate everything happening behind the scenes to make this event possible.
More updates coming soon from Nuevo Vallarta. Stay tuned.
While the Puerto Vallarta area kiteboarding season is coming to a close, El Cuyo is still blowing! Head on over to Downwind Deck Hotel to book your stay and come kite with us!
Day 2 Photos taken by Downwind Deck
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