Anyone interested in a downwinder please submit. Milsy wants to do Newcastle Botany and I am scared to go alone with him

Also it would be interesting to hear tips from people that have had the experience, personally i find it very hard to control the board with strong winds and deep angles.

Start small, going from Kyeemagh to Dolls Point would be a good downwinder to start with.

yes, you and Mobydisc are right. I crossed Botany a few times, went to Kurnell from George's river, Doll's Pt and Kyeemagh, but it's nothing compared to a long trip, should start with a shorter one. But these things need more than one person and 1 car...

powersloshin said...
Newcastle Botany and I am scared to go alone with him

That's a very very long way and the only wind direction it would work in is a NEer. The wind is pretty variable over that stretch. Some areas get barely any wind while others would be crazy windy.

I would recommend you start small. Perhaps try La Perouse to Cronulla in a NEer. Make sure you wear a life vest, bring a flare and a phone in a water proof bag.

Be prepared for lots of big debris floating about. I have once hit a tree floating of Bare Island nearly taking off the nose of my board. Also beware of the migrating wales at certain times of the year. I once helped a friend sail his race boat from Rushcutters Bay to Pittwater. I think we spotted about 6 wales along the way. One of them directly in your path.

Not sure whether this topic is even serious but there's a massive difference between open water sailing and sailing on Botany. In the other topic on crossing Botany bay guys are commenting on how swell can build up in the middle of the Bay. Rest assured that that's nothing compared to what you'd face sailing on open water...

hey, ha, your brother is a hell man roger,, now, everybody settle down, look if you think sailing from one point to another in an enclosed body of water is a big deal then i dont think your ready to tackle the ocean, ive sailed all over bot, heaps of people have, its no big deal to me, i would never think sailing from keemaugh to kurnell warrants a mention, but its ok and i think well done if this is something your working towards for yourself, as i said if you wanna work some confidence up in terms of sailing away from where you started, then botany is a good safe option with some long runs, if you want to get some confidence in the ocean........sail the ocean, its no big deal, its all windsurfing, the only real challenge of the ocean is the break, once your out past it, youve just got rolling swell to deal with, the further you go out, the more the swell changes direction, making it easier to bear through, personally, im pulling out of sailing with you guys, it appears people think its too big a deal, me, ill do it when i feel like it, pfffff," rest assure nothing like what youd face in open water", get real man, what are we gunna face? the worlds end,,,,,, although i do agree with stelsger, i have had problems with whales, there not malicious, but there massive, slimy and scary,,,,, powersloshin, moby, you guys should challenge yourself, sail all over bot, ive sailed with both you guys, your both magnificent and can easily do it, the only real concern is broken gear, everybody breaks gear, ive broken gear about 2km out to sea, in the middle of botany, canton, la perouse, still here and still happy to sail away from shore, my concern for you powersloshin is your gear, but in bot, its ok, theres land alround you.......this is something that really is no big deal, im sure when windsurfing attracted more people, braver people, they would be sailing from bryon to sydney, alot of my local heros have all done some long big sessions, ****, ol pete and me regulary sail from canton to entrance, ill tell ya a sweet run is start at keemaugh, and all the way out the heads at la perouse in ne, back your skills boys, in boxing terms you cant always work the bag, its time to start doing it for real, start easy, perhaps mundine, ha goodluck, c ya soon

Roger303 said...
A few summers ago my crazy brother sailed his Hobie 18 single handed from Pittwater up past Newcastle to Port Stephens on Christmas Eve, arriving well after dark. On boxing day he shoved the boat off the beach and sailed back to Pittwater in a massive NE'r, full sail.(he previously circumnavigated the globe in a 25ft steel home made thing) He didn't bother bringing any fresh clothes for Christmas. Nutter.

Cripes that bad enough in a 32 ' yacht!

sailing from ramsgate/Kyeemagh to kurnell is no problem for a decent Bump and jump/slalom sailor.

i dont know why theres talk of a car??
as mentioned in another thread, i do the crossing a lot.

if you launch near, hollywood you can make it back no probs.
Ok its not a full down winder, but a loose reach both ways is pretty nice.

I'm in the planning process of doing brisbane - sydney for charity.

just not sure what kind of gear to do it on...

hey,, goodluck jb fletch, thats a great idea, i sometimes dream of sailing around australia, bringing the missus and circumnavigate the coast, camping, staying in some of the better places for a while, ha, it would take forever, wind direction and strength would be hard to rely on, different everywhere, but goodluck man, its a great idea,,,, yeah, in the eighties, ninties, people used to sail everywhere, with the better gear now, people prefer to overload and blast off, high perfomance,,, thinking about it, lake macquaire would offer some big enclosed sessions, probably better on formula, bryon and crew go all over that lake,,, a good one for some confidience in the experience, and can just rely on yourself, dont need to move car, is palmy, go out pittwater side, then sail around pittwater a bit, then out the heads at broken bay, then come in at palmy beach, then go back ha, sometimes you dont need much wind, but you can still find yourself feeling sweet sailing around a headland or something, the open water situation can feel real humbling, especially for the basic free rider,me, but its good, it brings all your spirit out and thats why remember those sessions much more than the sess you broke thirty etc,,, good luck all, to infinity.................. and beyond!

i want to organise a proper race from palm beach (norther beaches) to botany.

foot flat to the floor, ledge to lancelin style.

would be awesome, except you'll have to start with a 7m sail on the northern beaches and then you'll need a 5m in botany.

im keen if anyone wants to trial it tho

What are you objecting to Mr Red Thumb? If there's an error enlighten us.
Surely not my protractor joke? No-one is that delicate.

With the poor quality of windsurfing equipment now days you will need a chase boat if you are doing a coast run.

JBFletch said...
i want to organise a proper race from palm beach (norther beaches) to botany.

be prepared to sail quite a bit off shore. Having done this stretch on a racing yacht a few times I can tell you the is pretty sketchy close to shore. There is also a drop in the strength of the Seabreeze the further out you go.

Perhaps pick a few beaches along the way as emergency landings... the most iffy part would probably be Manly to Bondi. There is pretty much no way to get off the water along that stretch.

Perhaps start small and do Newport to Long Reef or Palmy to Long Reef. That's not too far.

Ah Boris I see your early release for good behaviour must have come through.
I take it you have to wear the ankle monitor and stay 500m from any school or playground again

I thought your recent incarceration and well constructed, good natured and dare I say 'helpfull' posts were too good to be true.
I guess they were monitoring your computer use from the pedophile wing.

I think you may have got yourself confused with EyeMhardcore based on your last post.

Good work Warrior.
I didn't realize you were such a Lake Wally!
You can see that bank off Nelson Bay I mentioned, where he has stopped for I assume a play in the waves. Was there any ocean swell on the bank that day or just wind chop?
You could do that Port run backwards in a westerly too. The westerlies in the Port are probably the best in NSW. (But sail Birubi if possible!)

Count me in on that Birubi to Stockton coast run.

Boris said...

Borris said...
Ah Boris I see your early release for good behaviour must have come through.
I take it you have to wear the ankle monitor and stay 500m from any school or playground again

I thought your recent incarceration and well constructed, good natured and dare I say 'helpfull' posts were too good to be true.
I guess they were monitoring your computer use from the pedophile wing.

I think you may have got yourself confused with EyeMhardcore based on your last post.

Ah dear cousin Borris. Pedophile jokes? Really?
That money that aunty spent on remedial school really hasn't paid dividends yet has it?

Whats tomorrows lesson? The letters 'G' and 'H'? Or "how many colours do apples come in?"

As for EyeMhardcore. As if. That dude (or maybe female) wishes he was me.
He makes irritating posts that are highly controversial. I bring the community together with insightful dialog.

talking to yourself again?