I'm off to New cal on a cruise on 27th december

we are stopping at:
Noumea
Santo
Wala
Vila
Champaigne Bay
Lifou Isle
Isle of pines

Is there wind at this time?

Are there good windsurfing spots?

Are there wave sailing spots?

Hi Yuppy

only Ilse of pines/nouméa/lifou are in New Cal, all the rest is in Vanuatu

Only place to sail would be Nouméa, when coming off the ship, grab the first bus(not the choo choo trains) that goes to anse vata bay and hop off at the stop next to Aloha windsurfing (rental)
ask for Jerome or Matthew and tell them I sent you.


Windy all year here, just ask Curtis or Nigel !

cheers


sean

Today.... and it's been like that for over a month.....

good luck if your on princess cruises. cruise every year and done the same Noumea cruise last year.
was due in port at 1 oclock but arrived just on dark so couldn't go sailing very off was I.
every cruise its the same Oh we have some trouble and can't keep to speed so need to slow down BUT its crap they are just saving fuel.
complain and they give you a 100 buck voucher whoopee i'd rather have my sailing arvo.
the other ports there is nothing.

don't buy duty free on the boat wait till you get to villa in town there big bottles of scotch for around 10 bucks. bargain.

yes, seen that happen often, delayed arrivals...
was told by crew that main reason is they'd rather keep you on board than see you spend your cash in shops and activities.

Few years ago ships would only arrive at night and leave in the morning.
Saw two cruise ship in the harbor yesterday though, they were there early (1.00pm)

Select to expand quote

seanhogan said..
Hi Yuppy

only Ilse of pines/nouméa/lifou are in New Cal, all the rest is in Vanuatu

Only place to sail would be Nouméa, when coming off the ship, grab the first bus(not the choo choo trains) that goes to anse vata bay and hop off at the stop next to Aloha windsurfing (rental)
ask for Jerome or Matthew and tell them I sent you.


Windy all year here, just ask Curtis or Nigel !

cheers


sean

Yep, amazing sailing destination and great local crew. Had nothing less than 25 knots when I was there for 2 weeks in October.... the most consistent, steady wind you'll find anywhere. Will be back same time next year, with my small board this time

Thanks again, Sean, for your hospitality.

Select to expand quote

N1GEL said..

seanhogan said..
Hi Yuppy

only Ilse of pines/nouméa/lifou are in New Cal, all the rest is in Vanuatu

Only place to sail would be Nouméa, when coming off the ship, grab the first bus(not the choo choo trains) that goes to anse vata bay and hop off at the stop next to Aloha windsurfing (rental)
ask for Jerome or Matthew and tell them I sent you.


Windy all year here, just ask Curtis or Nigel !

cheers


sean

Yep, amazing sailing destination and great local crew. Had nothing less than 25 knots when I was there for 2 weeks in October.... the most consistent, steady wind you'll find anywhere. Will be back same time next year, with my small board this time

Thanks again, Sean, for your hospitality.

Yip what he said ^^^ sailing here is bloody special and the locals (including Minister of Tourism Sean Hogan) are a great crew. Take some decent fins or they will end up in the bin . Great hire at Sp8ce as well from local windsurfing legend Laurent Gauzere seen in this insane vid (minus the long hair)

Select to expand quote

seanhogan said...
Hi Yuppy

only Ilse of pines/nouméa/lifou are in New Cal, all the rest is in Vanuatu

Only place to sail would be Nouméa, when coming off the ship, grab the first bus(not the choo choo trains) that goes to anse vata bay and hop off at the stop next to Aloha windsurfing (rental)
ask for Jerome or Matthew and tell them I sent you.


Windy all year here, just ask Curtis or Nigel !

cheers


sean

Thanks Sean

What is the street adress for Aloha windsurfing?
I'll jump in a cab

just tell the cabby "plage anse vata, aloha windsurf location"

send me your arrival date and time via pm, I might even be able to pick you up.

Hey Sean,

Any tips for group trips? A bunch of us from the Illawarra and south coast are talking about following Nigel over around October November next year. I guess we could doss in Nigel's hotel room

Hi Stu

First recommandation would be to hire a large van from the airport, you'll save heaps on the transfers + you'll be able to use it to store your gear.

It's definitely worth staying at a place close to the beach, that way one guy drives the gear to the spot and the others stroll down...

Nigel stayed at Hilton la promenade, which has the best location, at the moment Tilldark is staying at Le Lagon, 50 m up the road, cheaper but still very nice.(he got a good deal and a room with view for a 5 weeks stay)

If you're planning to book more than three rooms over an extended period it's smart to contact the hotel directly and see what sort of rat eyou can come up with.



Sean

Thanks Sean, some good tips. I'll be sure to follow up. I really need to get in touch with the hotels, van hire and air line etc. directly to see if we can get some deals. We get so used to taking what we can get on the latest website these days, it makes us(me) lazy. Maybe I'll go old school and pick up the phone lol.

I think we've all seen the Diabolo Funboard clip and lost our $#!T. Where was that filmed? Are these type of spots very accessible?

ahahahah, filmed at ilot goeland, 15 mins sail from anse vata beach.
there's a rough patch of about 1km ( Tilldark) in the middle of the trip but surely worth it.
same conditions can be found closer at ilot maitre
(6 mins)

and there'll need to be some detailed analysis of what size sails and board to bring...

Select to expand quote

seanhogan said..
ahahahah, filmed at ilot goeland, 15 mins sail from anse vata beach.
there's a rough patch of about 1km ( Tilldark) in the middle of the trip but surely worth it.
same conditions can be found closer at ilot maitre
(6 mins)

I'd be up for that! Looks amazing

Select to expand quote

Dezza said..
and there'll need to be some detailed analysis of what size sails and board to bring...

Without looking into it much. At 82kgs I was thinking one board - 101L JP Slalom, 3 sails - Reflex 5.6 - 6.2 and 7 or 7.8 but that's just a guess

HI Sean,
I'll be there from 6th Jan to 13th.
Do you mind if I drop your name too?
Really looking forward to it. The wife is from Toulouse so we were heading over to France again but then she decided to surprise me (her family aren't too happy)...
Do I need to bring my harness?
Thanks
Adam

Yes fabulon, please do, they have waist harnesses (but not for big blokes...like me)

That's a nice surprise you got !!! (sooo much better than Toulouse in winter !)

I'll be returning from Oz on the 9th, will see you then !

Hi all

I am planning a travel from Italy to Australia and then to NewCaledonia in August 2016 (beginning).
I would like do 3/4 days windsurfing.
Do u suggest only Noumea? or also other spots?
I need to rent all the stuff.

Tks a lot

Emanuele

PS - I just saw diabolo windsurf and I am getting crazy!!!

Anyone want to organise a seabreeze group trip to New Cal next year? I have a "pass out" because worst year ever.

I'm already in and I haven't even hit 'post' yet. New Cal actually looks more appealing than Maui to me.

@ Sean: Am I right in thinking one can turn up to a hotel, hire a car or buggy or whatever, hire gear, go sailing?
i.e. turn up with nothing more than board-shorts and a towel?

you may even leave the towel at home.... "some hotels" have them

no buggy rental though, just normal cars or vans.

It seems a group is under way for october/november next year


here's a nice recent video, you can skip the first 48 sec, sponsors pushing...

That's amother great video to entice us there. Nigel your holiday for two is looking a little more crowded

We are coming over next year, is the shopping good Sean, got to kept my wife happy to.

it all comes down to the exchange rate when you come over.

Plenty of french brands

fine dining, and keep a day or two (preferably non windy ) for day trips to isle of pines and the light house island

Select to expand quote

seanhogan said..
Yes fabulon, please do, they have waist harnesses (but not for big blokes...like me)

That's a nice surprise you got !!! (sooo much better than Toulouse in winter !)

I'll be returning from Oz on the 9th, will see you then !

Thanks Sean,
Yes, winter in Toulouse can be pretty hard but summer has its challenges too. I was there last year in June when it was bloody hot. I walked up stairs late one night to go to bed and bumped into my mother in law coming the other way to get a drink of water...... She was completely naked.... I'm still recovering.
Might see you on the 9th.
Really looking forward to it.
Adam

^ What happens in New Cal stays in New Cal eh?

Select to expand quote

fabulon31 said..
......................I was there last year in June when it was bloody hot. I walked up stairs late one night to go to bed and bumped into my mother in law coming the other way to get a drink of water...... She was completely naked....................

What has been seen cannot be unseen. The Seabreeze community are all feeling for you (BTW I assume no amount of Fabulon would get those wrinkles out either) ;-)

Select to expand quote

F2 said..

We are coming over next year, is the shopping good Sean, got to kept my wife happy to.<img src=' ' class='forumPostTextImage' />

Unless your missus is happy to sun bake or hike around the city, coastline and mountains, there's not much else to do for her. There's no department stores like we have in Australia and there's only a very small handful of boutique retail stores in Anse Vata and the prices are wild. You'll need a lot of spending money if you're going to buy more than just dinner. For example, hamburger, chips and softdrink will cost you around $40. 2 pizzas and a couple of sprites leaves no change from $100. That's not even "fine dining", so expect to pay $80 - $100 pp for a meal in a resturant. As for car hire, you'll need about $170 per day for a Suzuki swift, a van will set you back well in excess of $250 per day. Windsurf hire from Lorrent is about $30 per hour or more (depending on conversion rate). I would suggest budgeting $200 per day per person (not including windsurf hire), and with that you will still need to visit the bakery each morning to make rolls for breakfast and lunch.

Don't let that turn you off though... the windsurfing is awesome!!

Here's a video I made while over there. The first few runs were a bit under cooked and port tack is upwind so quite a bit slower than starboard. Then the wind really kicked in well over 30 knots toward the end of the video and the water in the middle gets quite rough. The runs are between Anse Vata to Ilot Canard. Perfect for open water slalom, bump'n'jump, and even some small wave sailing off the corner of Ilot Canard.

yoohoo !! that's me at 1.13 !! Love that video mate !! Was great sailing with you !

Still have to try Yann's wizmount, POV is just awesome !

This will give you an idea of the sailing area and the view from the mountain behind Anse Vata out to Ilot Canard. I think I sailed about 35 kilometers that day.