Hey guys
I m heading to port douglas for 2 weeks early august.
I read that its the good time of the year for kite surfing there with the consistent trade wind. What kind of wind are we talking about? Thinking of taking just my 11m switchblade but not sure about the 9m because of lugage issue.
Does any body know about this spot?
Thanks

I have kited there.

The wind can be very light so take your big kite, the wind is also not so dense as in the west.

If you go further North then you will need the 9 - Cape Flattery for example. 25knots +

I did a trip there last year, a little later than now though (July). Everyone we encountered told us how the wind had howled non stop for weeks prior to us arriving. BUt for the week we were there, nothing. We did the trip to cape flattery and even there we needed our 14's.

It just depends on the luck of the week you're there. I wouldn't travel all that way if it was specifically to kite without taking light and strong wind gear. You could easily get either.

Hope i get lucky then with the wind. I ll probably check cape flattery. Is it easy access or 4wd only as i can t really see anyroad on map.
I ll provably take both then.

4WD only and a 6+ hour drive north of Port Douglas. You need to be entirely self sufficient if going out there - unless you go to the Kite Surfari camp.

Take both, go tell the family now

My theory is that if you're going on a kite trip you'll only need the kite you didn't pack. Take everything

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Gateman said..
My theory is that if you're going on a kite trip you'll only need the kite you didn't pack. Take everything

Yeah fair it s always like this. I may take the 7 9 and 11 then. But
I ll probably forget cape flattery if i can t get there easily. I ll have a car there but not a 4wd unless i hire one.

Windiest place in NQ is Archer Point, 10 minutes south of Cooktown. It's worth the drive, but very Isolated. Wonga Beach just north of Mossman is pretty sweet too and usually a bit windier than Four Mile. It's only 30 minutes North of Port Douglas.

DM

its an alright spot, nothing epic . seems to get windy in cycles.

worth kiting it though - have have some great sessions there.. 7 (have had it very windy) 9 and 11 is a good choice - i didnt bother on the very light days

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ActionSportsWA said..
Windiest place in NQ is Archer Point, 10 minutes south of Cooktown. It's worth the drive, but very Isolated.

When I went there it was like this:

20 min drive off the highway, down a dirt road (suitable for 2WD in the dry). Place was completely deserted with not a soul in sight. Drove up to the lighthouse and back. It all felt very eerie.
Saw several warning signs that crocodiles have recently been spotted in the area.

At this point the decision in the car was unanimous that we should just get TF outta there! If anything happened to you out there you would be screwed. Maybe it was because it was during the week and maybe it gets people there on weekends, but somehow I doubt it.

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Phoney said..

ActionSportsWA said..
Windiest place in NQ is Archer Point, 10 minutes south of Cooktown. It's worth the drive, but very Isolated.

When I went there it was like this:

20 min drive off the highway, down a dirt road (suitable for 2WD in the dry). Place was completely deserted with not a soul in sight. Drove up to the lighthouse and back. It all felt very eerie.
Saw several warning signs that crocodiles have recently been spotted in the area.

At this point the decision in the car was unanimous that we should just get TF outta there! If anything happened to you out there you would be screwed. Maybe it was because it was during the week and maybe it gets people there on weekends, but somehow I doubt it.

I was at Archer Point recently and it also made me nervous. There were two camps set up but I was the only person on the beach as the campers were probably huddled behind their shelters avoiding the wind.

The wind was strong but gusty. The amount of usable beach for launching and landing is small and every where else was rocks, mangroves or trees. If I had equipment failure I would have been blown in to an inlet south of the only nice bit of beach and if I was injured I would have been screwed.

The water was clear at least but it was getting late in the day (closer to croc time) and I was too powered for my liking on my 10m. I kited gingerly for 20 minutes and gave up.

Cooktown in general was a bit like that. I went to Walker Bay beach the day after. Plenty of beach at least but the wind was strong and gusty and the wind swell waves coming in were the biggest I've ever been in being a sheltered FNQ local. I did not feel comfortable. No-one else on the beach or nearby and thoughts of crocs and sharks in the back of my mind. Only kited for 20 minutes again.

Thanks guys for your advices. I ll probably stick to 4 miles beach as it is litterally across the road. Very shallow from memory. Hope i get some good windy days.

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flow001 said..
Thanks guys for your advices. I ll probably stick to 4 miles beach as it is litterally across the road. Very shallow from memory. Hope i get some good windy days.

Take the biggest kite you have or save your time and don't bother bringing anything.

I'm just jaded but I'm starting to lose interest in kiting because I feel our wind is ****.

If it's windy, you'll have rain squalls coming through. If the airport is reading 20 knots, I'll drive 20 minutes to the beach and it'll be barely worth inflating the kite or worse...you'll get set up and out on the water only for the wind to die 5 minutes later.

And then days the airport is reading 10 - 15 knots, I'll just go for a walk and it's blowing hard.

4 mile is a nice beach...for riding a bike along . And if it's actually windy it can be fun.

Hope it does blow hard when you're here.

When I was at Archer Point with a few mates late July a few years back there was another group of 6 guys staying there for a week so I really think it is hit and miss as to whether you have the place to yourself or not . I def wouldn't kite there alone without assistance if something went wrong.We were staying at 4 mile for 5 days , a nice place to kite . At low tide there is a reef about 300m out that gets quite shallow ask the locals about it. Yule point just south of 4 mile is another good place to kite at low tide, good flat water between sandbars. Our last day was only 12 knts at 4 mile so we drove up to Archers for the day and had 30 knots of really steady wind ,it was well worth the 500km round trip.

Point Archer is the best go to when Port Douglas 4 mile beach isn't windy. Cape Flattery isn't a practically realistic option unless you're with Kite Sufari, or have a 4wd and are feeling really adventurous. If you leave Port Douglas by 6am, you'll be kiting at Port Archer by late morning. No 4wd needed, just take the turn off to Point Archer on your way to Cooktown. Head into Cooktown for meals, pubs and accommodation if necessary. Is only 20 minutes further into Cooktown, north of the Point Archer turn off.

Port Archer is inline with the true trade wind conditions of FNQ and is very reliable compared to 4 mile beach at Port Douglas which is hit and miss, even when green arrows show up on a forecast. PA is an isolated spot, yet there's reasonable beach space to set up and launch. I can't recommend doing the drive north enough if your sitting on the beach in Port Douglas with your pumped kite on the beach, wondering where the wind is.

I can't speak about anything further north of Port Douglas and 4-mile beach, but you should ring WindSwell.

windswell.com.au

They really know that area, because they're always at the beach.

I took the family up to Pt Douglas a few years ago and of course packed my kite and twin-tip! Did some research, so only took my 17m Fat Lady and glad that I did. Winds ranged from 12-18 kts, so got as much kiting as I wanted, just working around all the touristy stuff that you do up there!

Funny reading this. I'm in Port Douglas now (10/6/19) for a week. We left Sydney in early May. The wind has been up and down with the occasional rain scrawl. Kited in light winds on 4 Mile Beach but still fun since we'd driven 1000km with no wind!! Had a foil session today but it was a bit bumpy out back. Heading on to Cooktown in a few days and the infamous Point Archer. Updates to follow.

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KIT33R said..
Funny reading this. I'm in Port Douglas now (10/6/19) for a week. We left Sydney in early May. The wind has been up and down with the occasional rain scrawl. Kited in light winds on 4 Mile Beach but still fun since we'd driven 1000km with no wind!! Had a foil session today but it was a bit bumpy out back. Heading on to Cooktown in a few days and the infamous Point Archer. Updates to follow.

Couple of mates at Archers right now...

This is the wind reading from yesterday....

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Gilly3 said..

KIT33R said..
Funny reading this. I'm in Port Douglas now (10/6/19) for a week. We left Sydney in early May. The wind has been up and down with the occasional rain scrawl. Kited in light winds on 4 Mile Beach but still fun since we'd driven 1000km with no wind!! Had a foil session today but it was a bit bumpy out back. Heading on to Cooktown in a few days and the infamous Point Archer. Updates to follow.

Couple of mates at Archers right now...

This is the wind reading from yesterday....

Up on the hill ...

Was it the same readings on the beach?

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Gilly3 said..

KIT33R said..
Funny reading this. I'm in Port Douglas now (10/6/19) for a week. We left Sydney in early May. The wind has been up and down with the occasional rain scrawl. Kited in light winds on 4 Mile Beach but still fun since we'd driven 1000km with no wind!! Had a foil session today but it was a bit bumpy out back. Heading on to Cooktown in a few days and the infamous Point Archer. Updates to follow.

Couple of mates at Archers right now...

This is the wind reading from yesterday....

You need a wing surfer to go with that gadget.