Hi Gaz63,

Unfortunately there are no waves at Black's Beach but a good speed run in a northerly...unless there is a cyclone then there will be a storm swell at high tide everywhere.

Definetly go the stinger suit although in rough conditions the risk is lower (consequence is the same though) . My wife recently got a photo of a croc at the mouth of the marina also but I woundn't be too concerned.

I would worry about the 68l unless there is a cyclone then it would be the weapon of choice for sure.

Great places to go: (remembering 6m tides in Mackay so large expances of sand at low tide on some beachs are not uncommon)

Blacks Beach - great speed strip in northerlies
Harbour beach (small waves if you have some imagination)
Town beach - most windsurfers go here but mid to high tide only
Salonika Beach - my favourite as I live there so it is easy to get to
Sarina Beach

I think FSW boards go great in Mackay, there is some great bump and jump, otherwise big sail and big board for lighter conditions.

If you want to sail with other people you really only have one option in Mackay and that is Illawong beach, shown by the green dot in the pic below. Nice grassy rigging area across from the beach volleyball courts. Beware though, it feels up to 5 knots stronger on the grass than it is on the water.



Town Beach is where the red hatching is and if it is more than 15 knots there will be 7000 kiters displaying their plumage to each other in about 500 sq m of water. If it's mid to high tide and over 12 knots from the SE you'll be very likely to see a sail in the green area.

Blacks Beach is great in a northerly. I haven't sailed it in a SE but I think most of the beaches north of Slade Point would be shadowed somewhat by headlands.

Sailing off east point (head to the harbour, turn right and go past the surf club and car parks and follow the dirt road to the end) in a SE is great if the tide is too low for Illawong. If you like waves Harbour beach can get overhead onshore conditions in 20 knots +. If there is a big swell down south you can even surf here! This is near the surf club at Harbour beach earlier this year

Thanks heaps Squid Lips & FormulaNova some invaluable advice that would have taken a heap of time and false starts to find out. Shame about so many tea-bags crowding the water with their 30m lines. I am a traditionalist and enjoy that I am not restricted to the red zone marked on the map and like to wonder out a bit.
The photo of the waves looks a good launch platform for a bit of fun air time.
With all the talk about tides I have invested in some booties for comfort and reckless garbage.
Thanks again I'll print out the map and all the good info for my trip.
Seabreeze website - what a winner!!!!

FormulaNova said...


I also stuffed up and when sailing back to where I launched from I had no idea which beach was which Next time I will take a flag!

These trees are right in front of the rigging area, easy to spot from out to sea



Bluedog, those photos are great! I haven't sailed up in the corner there, only down where the lifesavers patrol. Will have to go dodge some kites next northerly!

Gaz

This is what Salonika Beach is like out of interest. It is about 45-55 mins south of Blacks Beach (around 25 mins south of Mackay city gates).

I will try and get up to Blacks Beach if the wind is up. It would be nice to have a sail back up there again.