Magnetic Island kite spots

A few of the people at the Alva weekend recently were asking about kiting Magnetic Island off Townsville. There is a friendly local crew of about 6 of us that ride whenever it is on, plus various tourists and mainlanders from time to time.



We mainly ride at Nelly Bay in the ESE wind, but in the last 6 months we have been able to put in some time at some of the other bays in various alternative wind directions.

In the interests of promoting good karma and keeping our spots free of accidents, I've updated some of the web info on the Island kite spots, so non-locals can work out where and when to go.

http://www.tevenei.com/kite/magnetic_kite_map.htm

It is generally kiting over reefs here, so knowledge of the right tides etc are pretty critical. If you need to stand on a sandy bottom to relaunch your kite - stay on the mainland. If you don't like deep water and sharks - stay on the mainland. If you are a raw beginner - stay on the mainland!

If you've got all your crap in one sock, and enjoy kiting in the ocean with reefs and waves and turtles and nice scenery - we look forward to seeing you Island side some time!

Andy

Andy,
One day, when the planets of wind, work and other commitments align I would love to come over for a kite. Just need to work on getting all my crap in one sock though...

Btw, I find it hard to look at the photo you posted without thinking of the logistics of launching at Nelly, kiting past the headland and doing a down winder all the way to Pallas.....

I have an inflatable boat that could be used as support, just might be hard to find someone prepared to drive it while the kiters are whooping it up....

many years ago I sailed my windsurfer from the old Quarantine station area to Mag island and back no problems, didn't seem too far.