The Stuart Inlet is defined as the flats north of the Port Salerno Inlet, west of Sailfish Point, East of Sewall's Point, and South of the NE Ocean Boulevard Bridge. The Stuart Inlet is an incredible flat water riding spot with mangrove runs, hidden islands, and lots of places to explore on a twin tip. The bay is predominantly waist deep and great for beginners through advanced riders. As you go further north towards the bridge, it becomes deep enough to hydrofoil.
The Stuart Inlet is open to the public, but has a lot of users within the waterway - the spot is one accident away from having kiting banned. Stay away from all other boats you see out there, especially fisherman. A good rule of thumb is to stay at least 100 yards away from anyone else on the water. The only viable way to access the Stuart Inlet is by boat using a boat launch. We run trips out to the riding area throughout the windy season (December - May) and take riders to the spot for a fee. Call us or email us to set up a ride along.
This spot can be kited in most wind directions as long as it is coming in from the ocean. Offshore breezes (anything with west in it) is coming off the land and tends to be extremely gusty. The bay is big enough that you can position yourself to get a good fetch (distance between sources of wind disturbance and you) and get a good breeze approach. Expect to ride 15m - 7m kites on average during windy season in December - May, trending towards bigger kites. SE sea breeze is the predominant wind and tends to build as the land heats throughout the day. NE frontal driven breezes tend to bring the strongest winds and are gusty and chilly.
The current tends to rip through the inlet either helping or hurting your ability to go upwind. Be wary of the direction of the current and where it flows fastest within the channels.
It can be extremely shallow in areas depending on tide, be careful of landing in shallow water and hurting yourself. There is also a ton of boat traffic flowing through the ICW and people partying on their boats on weekends. Stay clear of the ICW Channel no matter what!
There is a federally protected bird island on the west side of the channel close to Sewall's Point that you must stay 500 yards away from. As a rule of thumb, if you avoid going west of the channel, you shouldn't run into problems. South of the Hutchinson Island Marriott on the eastern edge of the inlet there is a bay. Stay out of that bay, it is a bull shark breeding ground!
If you go out, we recommend referring to Google Earth on your phone, it will tell you where the deep water channels and shallows run and where you are relative to them.
The Stuart Inlet is defined as the flats north of the Port Salerno Inlet, west of Sailfish Point, East of Sewall's Point, and South of the NE Ocean Boulevard Bridge. The Stuart Inlet is an incredible flat water riding spot with mangrove runs, hidden islands, and lots of places to explore on a twin tip. The bay is predominantly waist deep and great for beginners through advanced riders. As you go further north towards the bridge, it becomes deep enough to hydrofoil.
The Stuart Inlet is open to the public, but has a lot of users within the waterway - the spot is one accident away from having kiting banned. Stay away from all other boats you see out there, especially fisherman. A good rule of thumb is to stay at least 100 yards away from anyone else on the water. The only viable way to access the Stuart Inlet is by boat using a boat launch. We run trips out to the riding area throughout the windy season (December - May) and take riders to the spot for a fee. Call us or email us to set up a ride along.
This spot can be kited in most wind directions as long as it is coming in from the ocean. Offshore breezes (anything with west in it) is coming off the land and tends to be extremely gusty. The bay is big enough that you can position yourself to get a good fetch (distance between sources of wind disturbance and you) and get a good breeze approach. Expect to ride 15m - 7m kites on average during windy season in December - May, trending towards bigger kites. SE sea breeze is the predominant wind and tends to build as the land heats throughout the day. NE frontal driven breezes tend to bring the strongest winds and are gusty and chilly.
The current tends to rip through the inlet either helping or hurting your ability to go upwind. Be wary of the direction of the current and where it flows fastest within the channels.
It can be extremely shallow in areas depending on tide, be careful of landing in shallow water and hurting yourself. There is also a ton of boat traffic flowing through the ICW and people partying on their boats on weekends. Stay clear of the ICW Channel no matter what!
There is a federally protected bird island on the west side of the channel close to Sewall's Point that you must stay 500 yards away from. As a rule of thumb, if you avoid going west of the channel, you shouldn't run into problems. South of the Hutchinson Island Marriott on the eastern edge of the inlet there is a bay. Stay out of that bay, it is a bull shark breeding ground!
If you go out, we recommend referring to Google Earth on your phone, it will tell you where the deep water channels and shallows run and where you are relative to them.