Port Macquarie

Nerdburger lives there , contact him through seabreeze - he's always up for company especially if you wear tight shorts .

I am looking forward to having another windsurfer in town. WELCOME ABOARD! We have about 4 guys in town that sail slalom gear only, and two of us sail slalom and wave gear... there is a plethora of Wing Foilers in town, and at Middle Rock there are usually 4-5 dedicated kiters.

There are plenty of spots to sail locally, and I have broken them down by wind direction below:

North East

Town Green: This is on the river right in town.......clean and clear water. This is the spot that Jethrow refers to above. Rig on the grassy area, and then carefully fly your gear as you step down the rockwall to launch. I can show you where I find easiest. There is a large shallow sandbank here, so it is necessary to either sail at higher tides or just use smaller fins. I use a FSW board set up as a tri-fin so I can use a 23cm centre fin and sail anywhere at Town Green except at a big dead low tide. Some guys use slalom kit here and steer clear of the sandbank and sail just north of the sand bank with the wing foilers.

McInerny Park: On the Hastings River, rig up beside the sailing club. Preferable on a run out tide as it gets lumpy ..great for FSW bump and jump sailing. Short runs too (200m), so lots of tack and gybing practise.

Town Beach: NE is very onshore, but with an easy planning board (larger FSW or freeride gear), you can launch at the rock on the southern end and get runs all the way over to the North Shore (north side of the river). Big tides have a large waterflow at the river mouth, so steer well clear. I only sail here if I want a hit of BnJ and am pressed for time and can't get to Middle Rock and the tides are not right for the above two spots.

Middle Rock: 20mins drive South, just on the south side of the town Lake Cathie is Middle Rock Beach. Follow the signs down a short dirt road and drive down to the second carpark at the end of the road. Cross-On wave spot on the southern side of the rocks. The rocks in the ocean protect the water state so it doesn't get too choppy or roughed up when the wind hits. Fun spot for a FSW board. Usually 4-5 kiters and a wing foiler or two.

Dead Southerly: This direction sux for Port Mac. If it is a big southerly I usually head down to Pacific Palms which is about a 1.5hr drive south. A HUGE lake with clean clear water. I sail Freeride gear at the sailing club........and I usually use a weed fin to dodge any ribbon weed.

South West: Queens Lake. Launch off Seltin Glen Drive (or the sailing club) which is about 35 mins drive south of Port Mac (via Laurieton). SW funnels down between North Brother mountain and a gap in the forest. Need a weed fin or a swept back wave fin usually or the ribbon weed will do your head in. A wide lake which is good for BnJ, and there is also a shallow mudbank which can provide some beautiful flat water for speed runs and GPS sailing. Have a look at Google Maps, you can see the mudbank in the NE corner of the lake. Some of the guys take their slalom kit here in a NE and have had good sessions, but I find the NE wind fickle here and have never had one of these good sessions, and there are better spots to sail in a NE for what I like.

SW is also awesome for Pacific Palms.

South East: Queens Lake. LOOOOOOOOOONG runs across the flatwater on the mudbank..Super fun on a sunny day and 20kn wind......this doesn't happen often though.

SE is also sailable on the north side of Middle Rock, but I haven't done so, but NerdBerger does and says it is great

Shoot me a message when you get to town and are ready to roll