Now that winter is fast approaching and to avoid a few months of depression I have to ask the question "where to go" .
I've been to Sri Lanka a few times but last year we nearly all got sick and I copped a tropical ulcer that took 10 weeks to heal. Not too keen for a repeat.
I think S.E Asia is mainly a millpond in our winter. Any suggestions?
Cheers Nick

I'm going up to Cooktown for kite surfari in July they get 25kt trade winds all day from now till about august/September

They pick you up from cairns and do a week catered stay

Yeah I've got friends going up next month.
Archer Point is popular I know but not a big area and need to camp at Cooktown.

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Mistral Nick said..
Yeah I've got friends going up next month.
Archer Point is popular I know but not a big area and need to camp at Cooktown.

60 bucks a night for twin share at the Top Pub and only 15mins or so drive to Archers....

Why not stay put mister nick....

El Nino is coming

Your in the wrong state mate. WA cranks in winter. It's a year round sport when you live here. Woooooo

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Humdinger said..
Your in the wrong state mate. WA cranks in winter. It's a year round sport when you live here. Woooooo

Which part? None of the forecasts on SB look particularly good / consistent.

25-30 kn day here yesty was a cracka. had some pretty strong gusts 40-50kn. Down the southwest where its at in winter. All the woosters were amongst it. Couple high teens were cracked...yeew

Also gotta strike early and strike fast in winter phoney. We chasing the fronts and storms so gotta hit it when they there

Hmm so inconsistent (and not warm) is what I'm hearing.

If boosting big is your thing then it's where it's at but Yeah its not for everyone

OMG yeah I need tips of where to go for a weekend sesh before I start to go mad!??
I'm in Melbourne (west side of the bay) and the wind here has been very much gone for weeks now!??

FIJI FIJI - if you want a winter holiday - PM me.

We run kiting / windsurfing and Foiling weekly trips, airport arrival back to airport on departure packages.

Thanks - its lovely and warm and windy up here...... :)

Warren Francis

Just at the end of winter, but I'm doing this!

windseekersredsea.com/trip/the-windseekers-kite-safari-3/

Bit of a mission to get there from Oz, only downside.

What about Hawai? Not cheap though.

I just spent a week at Safari Lodge with a mate who wings. We shared a waterfront Bure. It was basic, clean, and a good size, only 20m from the water's edge. Exactly what we needed. The property is on the waterfront, with direct access to the beach. Plenty of hammocks and lounge chairs for those who want to take it easy. A massive lawn for rigging and drying gear. We also had a pair of kiters from Goldie and a family from Auckland (the husband was a beginner wingers). Plus, another kiter and winger who travelled on their own and stayed in the dorm. The rest of us stayed in the beachfront Bures.

Most importantly, we had wind every single day. Mostly in the 12-15 knot range, which increased to 20 knots by mid-afternoon. Mostly used 5.5/6m2 wings and 12/15 kites. We went down to 4.4 wings and 9/11 kites in the mid-afternoon.

The bay in front of the lodge is massive. As others have said, the coral is exposed at low tide. And then you need to walk a couple of hundred metres to a safe launch spot, no drama. We used the boat every day. We had a skipper's meeting at 11 AM and then decided on the plan for the day. Usually, there were some freshly baked treats and coffee/tea at the same time. We chose the option of a boat trip to a spot, either 5 km or 8 km upwind. The spots offer butter-smooth water behind the exposed coral when the tides drop sufficiently and only light ripples once the water covers the coral. The anchor spots were chosen to optimise for wind direction. The 5km anchor spot offers a 5 km long reef if you really want to ride for such a long time in one direction. Both spots offer a vast, vast terrain for sailing. The spots also have channels in the coral, so you can link different parts of the "park" and find channels with wind chop. At the end of the flat water session, we would sail DW home and stay in a channel to ride the wind swell.

In terms of wind, this spot is exposed to the SE tradewinds. The wind blows in cycles of several days on, a couple of days off. We were told the cycle is typically nine days on and two days off. We had 7 days of wind. The wind stopped blowing the day we left and two days later, the forecast was one for another several-day run, just a much stronger wind forecast than what we had. Windy.app is very accurate in terms of forecast.

We liked it so much that we have already put our names down for the same week next year.

The place and experience met and exceeded my expectations. I hoped for warm weather, high confidence in the forecast, all-day winds, warm water and sunshine during the AU winter at a reasonable price with friendly locals and not too far away. I got all of that and more.

Cost break down $$ ?? Or is it true what they say about foilers and never having to checl the pricetag at aldi? Cost per boat trip everyday etc? Dinner drinks a beer etc etc

Accomodation was ~$2500 per person sharing the Bure. Single accommodation in the dorm is significantlhy less.

Beers were about $7 each, Local Fiji Gold.

No other costs.

The food was a highlight. Mostly vegetarian and using local produce. Even the hardcore carnivores were surprised that they managed the week without meat. Ask Jason and Tony.

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ArthurAlston said..
Accomodation was ~$2500 per person sharing the Bure. Single accommodation in the dorm is significantlhy less.

Beers were about $7 each, Local Fiji Gold.

No other costs.

The food was a highlight. Mostly vegetarian and using local produce. Even the hardcore carnivores were surprised that they managed the week without meat. Ask Jason and Tony.

I'm happy to add to Arthur's comments as i was one of the wingers in the pic and have no hesitation to recommend a trip to Safari Lodge if you are looking for consistent trade wind and a good setup.

I've winged and kited in Hawaii, AU, NZ and Fiji and in terms of value for money and wind guarantee, this place rates highly. I was with Arthur, Jason and Tony, plus Russell and Eliz from NZ and covered 350kms on the water in six days, a classic 3-4 hour session each day and we could have done double that if we were bothered to get on the water (when it was blowing) in the mornings ......

The bures were bigger than most you experience in Fiji and in good condition - no issues, the food was a surprise, I'm not a vego and every meal was interesting and what you needed to fill the tank, the beers were plenty if you wanted them, and the best thing was the logistics on the water - 10am briefing, 11am boat departure, 3 hours on-site supervision by Warren at a reef 5-8kms from shore and then a downwinder home into the beach where the boat pointed out the coral free entry points - very good service and no additional cost for any of this.

Sure there was a bit of tidying up of old gear that could be done but you should remember there is no council pickup on the island - you've got to put the old stuff somewhere.

I'll be back next year - great price, great wind and warm company from Warren and the team.

Just a reminder: www.seabreeze.com.au/Members/Help/ForumRules.aspx
Carry on.

on Cocos Keeling now.

7m last two days. epic 12 km to Direction Island from kiting beach with the support boat, 6 kiters, 4 girls.
4 Girls!

All day on the Island, from 9.30am till late arvo. zephir tours organised this, but i did not go :(
watched them leaving...Ah well.

Touched 3 massive turtles passing them close. Chased sharks close to shore, 1m each, they are so fast.