Hey Guys,
I'm lucky enough to be passing through Kalbarri next week and the forecast has wind :) Just wondering if there is any tips for Jakes or surrounds, anything to look out for??
Thanks in advance
Gaz
Yeah I'm doing a slow hop up to Exy, So Coro's etc are all on the list but Ive never kited Kalbarri and really want to kite Jakes but cant find much information. The swells looking small so probably wont be much chop anyway.
Select to expand quoteGazuki said..
Yeah I'm doing a slow hop up to Exy, So Coro's etc are all on the list but Ive never kited Kalbarri and really want to kite Jakes but cant find much information. The swells looking small so probably wont be much chop anyway.
The wind shadow is certainly worth looking at, hence youll see a few crew surfing when theres decent wind, not a great sign IMHO, the kalbarri rivermouth has a few nice sets coming through, but rock dodging skills come into play
Iv'e never kited Kalbarri however I wouldn't think it be very good. Heaps of cliffs and brutal rocks along that coast.
used to kalbarri each Oct
try port gregory or the beaches north
river is gusty ++ but ok, traffic and bouys for entertainment
never seen jakes kited, some have talked about launching just south and riding up to it
good luck, no easy escape route, rocks and barnacles and oysters all down wind if things go pear shaped
I've been to Kalbarri a few times and have also never seen any kites at Jake's. There's enough open flat rock to safely launch and land...but not much of an escape if things go wrong. And if you drop your kite, good chance it will get mauled onto some rocks...not much, if any, sandy beach around there. I personally wouldn't kite it.
I've kited in the river mouth a few times...launched and landed near the pelican feeding spot. Can be a bit gusty, but have had a couple good fun flatwater sessions in there.
There's another spot called Lucky Bay that is maybe an hour south of Kalbarri that I hear can be pretty good. Never been though.
I've been to Lucky Bay a couple of times now and not once has it been really worth kiting.
I've seen a youtube(?) vid and heard lots of stories suggesting it's a fairly big area, with lots of fish etc when i've been there it hasn't been very wide or deep at all. Cast too far and you'd come close to hitting the exposed reef.
The north side of the river has a few nice spots before the but it's not really a place you'd kite unless you've really planned on being there.
The surfing at Jakes is still good in the onshore winds, plenty of locals still surf it when it's onshore.
The locals are a pretty heavy crew, so if you kite Jakes and piss anyone off, perhaps your car (or yourself) might not be drivable afterwards.
Just sayin....
i worked in kalbarri for a month about 10 yrs ago- kited it a lot of the days kids were at school around lunchtime. in the afternoon theres to many surfers but just after lunch i found a window most days from 1-3 when no one was out. had some cracker sessions out there, the end bits gets pretty gusty and offshore so its hard to ride the whole wave but the first section is good when its big and windy. had one day that was big and pretty westerly with a 4-5m swell and also kited Lopes- that was a fun wave to. i reckon the other waves down bit are kiteable- the ones before town and the river mouth. dodgy coastline but as all sharp reef. lucky bay is fun just south by 30 mins.
i wouldn't even pump up a kite there but if theres more than one bloke in the water surfing as its very localised.
