Advice: stay away from Encuentro Beach near Cabarete with your SUP.
The surf schools don't want you there.
I don't live in Cabarete anymore, but it sounds like somebody needs to join the line to gag on my d*&k
I might consider one of the rooms to store my quiver. I would however have to sleep elsewhere.
Wall to wall sups and "chic" hangouts and shops..... Stay away with your shortboard, windsurfer or kite gear. The trendoids dont want you there!www.sup-cabarete.com/blog/yoga-ocean-workshop/923.html
Yeah plenty of trendy SUP yoga types, but the town is cool as hell, I'd be amazed if this ban on SUP's was for real.
Last I heard all surfers, SUP's bodyboarders, kiters, windsurfers etc were welcome. And the real OG's of Cabarete can do every discipline better than you, as proven in the annual Master of the Ocean competition where the winner needs to get the top score out from Winsdurf, kiteboarding and surfing events.
Man I love that place, rum so cheap, girls so pretty
Sad to confirm that this story is true! A friend living over there at the moment has told me first hand - the locals are "re-educating" any SUP surfers (supposedly peacefully) that they need to go up to Coco Pipe lefts.
I guess too many newbie gringos on SUPs has been the tipping point.
I don't think I would want to start a feud with any of the Dominican locals, life is cheap over there and when the lights go out those dudes can get a little scary.
I guess mostly I'm upset because I have such great memories of that place, and it saddens me to hear of this sort of **
I can confirm, sup's have been banned. I have supped there for 3 years without the slightest problem. There were rarely more than five sups in the lineup at one time, and most had supped before. I see it like the locals got scared of what could happen in the future if any more show up. I can sort of understand after seeing how some sup'ers show up and surf without the slightest concern about those around them. But I can't understand how they can make rules that have no legal backing. The locals feel they own the beach and can do what they feel, and the rules are enforced by a local mafia. Pretty sad and scary...and really bad for all businesses as its the reputation of the entire beach that is hit.
Hey guys. I live in Cabarete and write for a few of the hotels here. I found this thread through my Google alerts. I am a paddle surfer and I feel the need to clear this up. You are absolutely allowed to paddle surf at Encuentro (THEY HAVE NOT BEEN BANNED), we just have a designated area now. It begins at Coco Pipe and goes to the left (if you are in the water).
@Zealot: Coco Pipe is only 25% of Encuentro beach and is for surf experts only (biggest waves of the spot). The left rides you towards rocks and the right lets you end up in a shallow part with aggressive (painful) rock bottom. So the not the best part of Encuentro.
Last week the local surf schools tried to confiscate (not so peacefully) a SUP of a tourist who surfed a wave to the right and had ended up into the forbidden zone.
Stay away.
Select to expand quoteJohn4F said..
Advice: stay away from Encuentro Beach near Cabarete with your SUP.
The surf schools don't want you there.
Ha ha ha.... I find it more than mildly amusing.
The surf school makes it's living off 1 thing:
Turning non-surfers into surfers
Every graduate moves forward to clog another line-up
They make their money adding bodies into the line-up.... and think they have the right to complain about anybody else?
Ha ha... fools & hypocrites
supthecreek: true
In order to run a surf school will cost about $5,000 - $7,500 (10 boards+surf socks)
In order to run a SUP school will cost about $20,000 - $40,000 (boards + paddles + surf socks)
And hardly any of the guys from the SUP schools know how to SUP
So the SUP is a treat to their existence.
Instead of embracing the future they limit their growth potential.
This actually looks like a pretty cool place so sad the locals are going to kill it for them. I'll just cross it off like list like Mauritius I'm not paying to go on a holiday if there is a big chance of getting hassled by agro locals. I can stay home and experience that for free.
There are so many places worldwide where you are so genuinely welcome , why bother with somewhere like this. It's reminds me of my early days of snowboarding where you could only use certainly lifts and areas , I just didn't board at those resorts neither did anyone else, they soon got the message and look at it now.
Yes Piros, locals basically welcome visitors. I think too, they are catching habits from visitors quickly as well as they will catch this matter of aggression against SUP as other visitors with surfboard are carrying with them.
on island where i use to go i got copped twice with my 7'11" and 6'5" SUP from an other visitor because i was using a SUP . I'm worry locals will catch this aggro style quickly as well as visitors do not have to pack a awesome surfing spot with so large boards and so few experience for the most of them
Select to expand quotePiros said..
This actually looks like a pretty cool place so sad the locals are going to kill it for them. I'll just cross it off like list like Mauritius I'm not paying to go on a holiday if there is a big chance of getting hassled by agro locals. I can stay home and experience that for free.
There are so many places worldwide where you are so genuinely welcome , why bother with somewhere like this. It's reminds me of my early days of snowboarding where you could only use certainly lifts and areas , I just didn't board at those resorts neither did anyone else, they soon got the message and look at it now.
yes it was a sad day when they gave up and let snowboards on all the mountains.
but there's hope . the kiddies are realizing they can do much more in the bowls and slope style on skis.
until then all we can do is keep praying god will punish knuckle draggers
