Postby luke-warmwater » Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:32 am
You are right to be wary of some of the statements about the winds in Thailand as it is not really a high wind destination. I too, have found that some of the websites for Thai kite spots are somewhat overly 'optimistic' about the wind strengths, presumably to attract business. As a kite-tourist choosing where to spend my hard-earned cash and my limited free time, I find this very frustrating, (although this problem of exaggerating wind statistics happens in other places too).
In my experience, February is a bit early for Hua Hin and a bit late for Chumphon as this is the time when the winds change direction which messes things up for a few weeks. When the wind does blow in Hua Hin, its never really that strong and you generally need a big kite, circa 14m. Be careful not to base your travel plans on reports about last year as this was unusually good, probably caused by the 'el Nino' effect. This year is the opposite, its a 'La Nina' year which has caused a huge drop in the winds around Asia. Thailand, Vietnam and Boracay have all had a terrible start to the season. Chumphon is always a gamble as it gets hit-and-miss wind anyway, but this year people have been sitting around for periods of 3 weeks without any wind followed by just a few days on the water before it disappeared again.
If I was going to Thailand in February, I'd also consider Laem Son (near Ranong) which is reported to have much stronger winds than anywhere else in Thailand due to a funneling effect. I havnt personally been to Laem Son but reports from those who have, say the winds can be much stronger, as in 20-28kn. Not much there though other than a couple of bungalow resorts, but it is in a National Park so should be nice.