Whoah.



Edit: obviously the live reading I posted was a little time sensitive. Use this instead:
www.bom.gov.au/products/IDV60701/IDV60701.94893.shtml

Meh, you all get the picture anyway. Some good stories.

Yeh
I was down their with my 1 mtr sail(raincoat) and 5 ltr board(skate) and did 50 kts before I hit the water. Official measurement by Speed camera before I hit the water and accelerated away

Whoa, I know the pros can sail in those sorta conditions in the French Trench, but is there anyone floating round in Aus that has a crack at these conditions (11am-4pm)?

Certainly. Most of the more experienced bay sailors have a 3.5m in their kit, just for these days. If it was a Sandy Point, they would be on the smallest speed gear.

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dism said...

Whoa, I know the pros can sail in those sorta conditions in the French Trench, but is there anyone floating round in Aus that has a crack at these conditions (11am-4pm)?

Just tried to sail at Sandy Point and got well and truly SWATTED!!!

There was low tide and a sandbar in the north end of the boat hole entrance at just the right angle for the North wind measured on my gauge standing on the sandbar at 30-45 knots just before I launched, or rather 'got launched'. When I measured that 45 knots gust there was no 'smoke' on the water. As soon as I got down the bar a bit there was just a smoke haze cloud of water mist blowing down the inlet. The water was frothing from the edge of the sandbar and I was laying in the water trying to stop my gear being blown away. No way in the whole wide world I could even hold my rig (4.4m KA Koncept) up in the water start position, let alone sail. I managed to walk up to the top of the run in the lulls holding the rig down in the gusts. I stood there for 15 mins waiting for a lull to 30 knots so I could get going. Standing in hip deep water with my back to the wind I had water spray blowing up into my face in the turbulence in front of my body to the extent that I was having trouble seeing anything. Finally it seem there was a bit of a lull. At least the 'smoke mist' stopped. I tried to start. As soon as I started I was accelerating out of control, sheeted out, out if the straps and harness and petrified. Lifted and dumped on my back!
I waited some more until it seemed a bit milder and tried again. This time I got the feet in and hooked in but was still sheeted right out and out of control. Thankfully I encountered a 'lull' and managed to sail to the end of the course in some sort of control at 37 knots. That was it. I'm out of here..........

4.4m KA Koncept, iS 50, 20cm speed fin, 6kg of lead in the vest. I am 75kg dry.

Definitely gusting to 50 knots! Un-sailable!!!

I stand corrected.

I had a similar day to Sailquik, but replace Sandy point with Cape Woolamai surf beach.

Left work about 12.00 so I was committed to a sail. Tossing up between Rye back beach and Wooly on the way down thinking I can always chicken out and sail Rye front beach is it goes to ballistic.
Found myself veering off to Philip Island dogging dust storms and trees. Witnessed big gum fall over on the side of the road and hit a fence- awesome.

Got there and it didn’t look as bad as I thought - cross off heaps of banks holding the swell. Then after about 10 minutes into the session it must of picked up from 30knts to 40kts +. From out of control to too out of control.

Waited for a lull but it never came. Wind kept building.

Duct back to a shop to pick up a wetty, that took an hour because the Island had lost all its power due to a tree and we had to use a manual credit card swiper.

Wind dropped back to about 30knts so went back out at Woolamai. Slightly bigger waves than before on the incoming tide - was good but still too windy. Then about 40minutes later the wind picked up again and it was getting dark so got out of there. A Jap tourist made me pose for a picture but didn’t wait for me to put the gear down and wipe the snot on my face.

Traffic lights out everywhere so had a fast run home. (Conspiracy those things , we don’t need them)

Thought there would be a replay of the action because I was in front of the Woolamai Costalwatch Camera, but that’s right the power was out so no replay.

Back in the 90s when I still lived in Europe I used to sail a lot in the South of France. I remember one particular day where I saw a 20 foot container roll across the road.

We went to one of the Etangs (salterwater lakes) with an area usually known to have less wind. My weight at that time was about 90kgs... I sailed with an 80l board on a 3.5 sail. Most of it was fine until the big "container rolling" gusts would hit.

What was really depressing however was a local French man who came down in the afternoon when the wind had picked up a bit more (yeah, I know. What's the point). He was on a 65l board and had a 2.8m sail. That seemed to be the perfect combo given that he weight about 120 kgs. I have never since seen anyone do mast high forwards in those sort of conditions. Especially not on a lake.

So I think at 75kgs I am not surprised you would have problems... someone with another 45kgs of balast would have started to have fun at those conditions.

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sailquik said...

dism said...

Whoa, I know the pros can sail in those sorta conditions in the French Trench, but is there anyone floating round in Aus that has a crack at these conditions (11am-4pm)?

Just tried to sail at Sandy Point and got well and truly SWATTED!!!

There was low tide and a sandbar in the north end of the boat hole entrance at just the right angle for the North wind measured on my gauge standing on the sandbar at 30-45 knots just before I launched, or rather 'got launched'. When I measured that 45 knots gust there was no 'smoke' on the water. As soon as I got down the bar a bit there was just a smoke haze cloud of water mist blowing down the inlet. The water was frothing from the edge of the sandbar and I was laying in the water trying to stop my gear being blown away. No way in the whole wide world I could even hold my rig (4.4m KA Koncept) up in the water start position, let alone sail. I managed to walk up to the top of the run in the lulls holding the rig down in the gusts. I stood there for 15 mins waiting for a lull to 30 knots so I could get going. Standing in hip deep water with my back to the wind I had water spray blowing up into my face in the turbulence in front of my body to the extent that I was having trouble seeing anything. Finally it seem there was a bit of a lull. At least the 'smoke mist' stopped. I tried to start. As soon as I started I was accelerating out of control, sheeted out, out if the straps and harness and petrified. Lifted and dumped on my back!
I waited some more until it seemed a bit milder and tried again. This time I got the feet in and hooked in but was still sheeted right out and out of control. Thankfully I encountered a 'lull' and managed to sail to the end of the course in some sort of control at 37 knots. That was it. I'm out of here..........

4.4m KA Koncept, iS 50, 20cm speed fin, 6kg of lead in the vest. I am 75kg dry.

Definitely gusting to 50 knots! Un-sailable!!!

sounds like a session to remember sailquick..... put a smile on my face! we never get conditions like that up here.

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Gestalt said...

sounds like a session to remember sailquick..... put a smile on my face! we never get conditions like that up here.

Is is very rare down here as well. I really can't remember ever seeing strong wind here from true North. Often there is Strong Northerlies on the Bay but down here there is bugger all. Manic winds from the NW do happen a few times a year though...... and of course there is occasionally a belter of a WSW storm that puts 40 - 50 knots across the Sand Spit here, but the top end of that is un-sailable as well! I am happy with a nice mellow 35-40 thanks very much.

sounds like you should have got out the 3.7 wave sail Daffy and flattened the guts out of it.

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yoyo said...

sounds like you should have got out the 3.7 wave sail Daffy and flattened the guts out of it.

Hmmm, I knocked back the offer of a 3.3m Kaos last year.......

Reminds me of an old saying (slight licence applied):

Question: What size sail does it take to sail in 50+ knots of wind?

Answer: First you have to want to sail in 50+ knots of wind...........

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sailquik said...

yoyo said...

sounds like you should have got out the 3.7 wave sail Daffy and flattened the guts out of it.

Hmmm, I knocked back the offer of a 3.3m Kaos last year.......

Reminds me of an old saying (slight licence applied):

Question: What size sail does it take to sail in 50+ knots of wind?

Answer: First you have to WANT to sail in 50+ knots of wind...........

True. I had Tonys 3.3 metre Kaos in my car having borrowed it for my 10 year old over Easter. But then the gust came through Point Wilson at 60 plus knots and the 3.3 just looked too big.
The Kaos 3.3 on a carbon waveboom makes an ideal kids rig on a Hypersonic 105 btw.