I'm putting together a list of downwind destinations. I've got Perth, and was wondering if there are any other world class downwind spots that people should know about in Aus? Key criteria

logistics: more foiling than driving, shuttles, ferries etc or easy roads
quality: predictable trade wind like conditions
reliability: worth flying all the way there

Here is the full list if you're interested: travel.dwfoil.com

Happily take comments and edits, especially if you can help me refine the rating (been to X and it is better/worse than Y is useful!)

Cairns is "poor man's Hawaii " according to James Casey. Our winter best time to go

He Has a whole Casey catchup episode on it with JB.

Thanks I had forgotten to add that, will check it out

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Spark said..
Cairns is "poor man's Hawaii " according to James Casey. Our winter best time to go

He Has a whole Casey catchup episode on it with JB.

Cairns can be incredible. And I plan to go back again next year (3rd year in a row). IT does have "trades" but they are lighter than Hawaii, but logistics are excellent, easy drives with runs from 5km to 45km with easy ins and outs. Recommend staying at Palm Cove, it is expensive, but beautiful.

Regards,

JB

We probably have it better than we'd let on on the easy coast in Sydney also. If I look through my calendar/chat group we DW a lot! But our runs are very technical and logistics can be harder with traffic depending on when you run, but well managed admin and you've got some of the most advanced runs around and potentially with some of the best DW rider in the world.

South coast of NSW is incredible. miles of coast, generally windier than Sydney. Bigger ocean style runs. I am personally heading to Ulladulla in a few weeks and will be DW as much as possible.

Central and mid coast NSW are also great. We actually have so many options.

Melbourne is starting to unlock their potential. I DW'd there about 4 years ago and told them this is a mecca that needs to be exploited! Now, the group is growing daily, and logistics are relatively easy for quite sizeable runs. It is like a big bay run, kind of like Perth, but IMO potentially better!

It is a long way for the rest of the world to travel, but Australia has an ever growing DW scene, so many groups in just about every pocket, everyone is so inviting and happy so share admin and car shuffles. Key thing when you arrive (or better, prior to arriving) is reach out, find who is the a good contact in that area and ask to be added to the DW chat group. Offer up help with admin and logistics, and you'll likely find your self on at least 2 runs a day in most areas if the bumps are on.

Awesome idea BTW, love the idea of a calendar.

Ride safe,

JB

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Windgenuity said..

Spark said..
Cairns is "poor man's Hawaii " according to James Casey. Our winter best time to go

He Has a whole Casey catchup episode on it with JB.

Cairns can be incredible. And I plan to go back again next year (3rd year in a row). IT does have "trades" but they are lighter than Hawaii, but logistics are excellent, easy drives with runs from 5km to 45km with easy ins and outs. Recommend staying at Palm Cove, it is expensive, but beautiful.

Regards,

JB

Hi JB,
So when you head to cairns what are your expecting in terms of frequency of DW days and what size or style of bumps are we talking?
Thanks for any help as i wonder if its worth spending a month there in July just for DW?

Great idea, but I would remove your Northern hemisphere seasons and use calendar months instead. Plus, Americans don't know what "Autumn" is...

Anywhere with good ocean ski paddling works for DW foiling. Millers' Run in South Africa wouldn't be too bad and the ski guys have been doing this downwinder for decades.

Focusing on Australia, agree with JB that the July SE trade wind north of Cairns is epic and reliable. Pity no swell... which makes the East Coast 3 hours south of Sydney over Christmas so good.

have a great festive season all!

Thanks JB -excellent info, will add it to the various pages, thanks for the info!

NathanG - yeah seasons and hemispheres, to be honest it started out as a 'escape UK winter' and evolved. On the page there are various ways to pivot the arrangements. Southern Hemisphere is already blessed with the weather, no desperate need to travel. Surfski was the starting point, I have two decades dabbling myself and originally from CT, so Millers definitely in there as are the rest of the surfski spots.

Any particularly windy places in the Pacific that I should consider? Have a page for Fiji, seems decent but not world class.

Also exploring wind acceleration zones, which make otherwise uninteresting spots like Bali somewhat viable (ie Bangsring on the Java - Bali channel)