Reasonable northerly today, maybe an indication for a good spring/summer ??

lets reclaim some wind too

I am completely down for this.

Hey nacra, if there is a little 2ft swell, and sideshore to cross/on you'd be surprised how easy it is. And FUN!

Honestly on the right wind angle, and a small widely spaced swell, it's no harder than shearwater at its worst. When I say 'widely spaced' I mean the wave period. The surf can be difficult on a light, dead onshore wind when you get hit by a wave every 4 seconds.

I am keen as to give it a go just need to learn what directions work and where for the surf. I know Shearwater well now and want to learn the surf just as well because it seems like you can still get a sail in when the wind is too light for the Broadwater

I have moved quite close to there - I can see kitesurfers there from my balcony - I got smashed up there one day in a southerly - it put me off - the sweep runs so fast S to N that you cant get on the plane fast enough to negotiate the surf & from the south the waves are heavy. I have never tried in a Northerly - I have sailed down at Kirra in the N & it is great you can swoop down the water on the inside of the break & choose your spot to cross the break.

I am in!

qldnacra said...

evlpanda. What i meant was not the actual wind strength itself just that it seems like you really only need just enough wind to get onto the wave then the wave supplies your power. That's what it looked like from watching a couple of windsurfers at Currumbin a few days ago when there was stuff all wind, no where near enough to be planning at Shearwater for instance, but once they got in front of the waves which were only about 2 foot or so they could ride them in then chug back out around the back again. Looked like not bad fun for a very light wind day. It was one of the very few occasions i didn't have all my gear in the car or else i may have just given it a shot. They were on SUP's though.

Just take care to start on a run-in tide.
Sailing in the open ocean is a different ball-game. You'll fall in a lot, and get tired quickly. There's no other place to learn it though, and while Currumbin will punish you with un-expected close-out sets, and gnarly swell and dodgy wind, it's reasonably forgiving on a run-in tide. Run-out can be another story, and don't get caught going around the front of the rock. That can be fatal.

There is this thing called the Currumbin Triathlon, that everyone does eventually too...............

Best move you could make IMHO is pick up one on the new jp 106lt? single thrusters from Surf Fx when they arrive. Ian has always been cool to deal with and these boards will fit perfectly into our Qld wavesailing needs.

That's the sort of info i'm after Ken. The little tips and things to look out for and the places to go and not to and when. Will speed up the learning process. In theory.

rustle said...

Best move you could make IMHO is pick up one on the new jp 106lt? single thrusters from Surf Fx when they arrive. Ian has always been cool to deal with and these boards will fit perfectly into our Qld wavesailing needs.

No way, best move you could make would be a triple forward! (IMHO)

Not sure whether it is just my imagination but I dont think it is as windy as it used to be??
I recall sailing in the early and mid 90's and using <5m sails heaps more.

A 1030 high in the bight (like the chart forecast for this Sunday) would always result in a strong SE that would blow consistent 25knots for a few days. Not this gusty/fickle rubbish of last few seasons including the rain on the 2nd day - shutting it all down.

www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml

And where are the strong westerlies this year. We are almost in September.

Lets blame it on climate change (like everything else).

Everyone always talks about how windy it was in the 90's..?? Mahi you were on a diet of rice cakes and carrots, probably weighing in at 55kgs fully soaked and that pink naish sail you used in all conditions was bagged out like a spinnaker. I used to love flying past you on my 5.3m Team edition JV . I'm blaming board and sail design. Sails are so flat now, boards are either planing or dogging there is no low speed glid or semi planing and no fluoro. I agree we need more ahd Seal / Sea Lion type boards and also more wind would be good.

qhenton,
You are showing your age having owned a JV sail. Good on you for supporting Australian made produce. JV sail with windaction board was the hot combo in that era.

You're probably right in that we are all carrying a few more pounds these days (from too little sailing) and can't get on the plane anymore.

I'm not sure I know your identity however I recall a chubby little kid with mullet shadowing me on many occasions and owning a JV sail as you describe.

mahi said...

JV sail with windaction board was the hot combo in that era.

Actually if you were on a JV sail there is a good chance you were riding a Wind'n'Waves - John Broadhurst board. All the JV's were sold on the southern end of the coast through Derek Goodchild and most of the guys buying them sailed with John and Giles from W'n'W so got boards from them. There was a JV team rider on the coast who's name was Lance, but he was into racing. Bill and Martin at Wind Action rode Neil Pryde and Echart I believe sold mainly Gaastra, but also Pryde and a few others (early Aerotech maybe).

EJ didn't sell new JV due to a feud Jaap had with one of the Sunshine Coast shops that EJ was linked with... Jaap explained it to me as a Dutch vs German thing.

I had custom built JV sails back in the late 80's and was part of what could be loosly described as a team, but by the 90's was riding the first Combat Waves at one stage and then onto Gaastra HeatWaves.

da vecta said...

I would like to see if we could get Ecki down for a sail. I would lend him a rig.
Has anyone heard from him?

Brendan I heard Echie recently got back to the coast after sailing around S.E Asia for a while with his brother? Apparently he had been ill but was ok now.
Agree would be good to see him though and his mate Bourquhardt