There is none at all at this moment so could be nice to contemplate for a while the strongest wind you have been sailing ever.
Ideal will be attach Seabreeze wind speed graph for that day to proof it, or photo.

My recollection:
1.WIND 45-55 knotts about 3 years ago, Life Saver spot, Melbourne, when waves were up to mast top,
and next time at Sandy Point, water flat as usual
2.EQUIPMENT Board Fanatic 130 L, sail 5m KA - mast 400
3.EXPERIENCE complete disaster on Life Saver, I managed to flip sail on top of the only boy around , but same wind and full enjoyment on Sandy Point

How far under water was your board when the waves were up to the mast top?

Winter Gale gusts to 60kts Warners Bay Lake Macquarie Caveman waveboard c 85ltres 3.2m 90's sail....rose coloured glass memories as it was 20 years ago.. only remember big ramps & jumps ( obviuosly not in the gusts...) . hanging on for grim death!I probably got flattened but I can't remember that..I do remember the board getting picked up and thrown downwind and not being able to waterstart as the sail was pushed flat onto the water sailing in similar conditions.
( news weather report that night..re strength)

The strongest winds I've sailed in were probably around 50 knots plus at Illawarra Lake. It was a massive winter westerly at Primbee. Used a 3.7m wave sail and a Bombora 260. Any time wind got under the board it flew up and ended in a huge crash.

There is strong wind and there is solid wind.

I sailed a big botany southerly way back with 25-50 knots, very wild. I was on my 4.2m and seemed to cope.

I sailed in cervantes WA and the wind was a solid 30 knots, I mean solid no gusts no repreive. The wind meter wnt straight to 30 knots and didnt budge. I was struggling on my 3.5m.

I've had a couple of sessions in Maui on a 3.3 (I'm 90kg).

So a lot dependes on the consistency of the wind you are sailing, I reckon.

Found a recording from 2009
www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/public/sigwxsum/pdf/sigw0509.pdf
63knots

mine woud have to be about 40 knots but a super cold wind, was on a winter front, top of the water was blown off, i actually turned flat thats how dense the air was, was on a 4.2, too windy got bored went home

55 knot westerly at Marmong Pt on Lake Macquarie.74 lt board & 4.2 sail. Managed to sail for about 30 mins. Not much fun. I remember this day well as peto was out the same day a bit further downwind and lost his rig. Blown away. Remember that Peto?

WINDY MILLER said...

tried to sail at sandypoint on that windy day a couple of years ago.

, 85lt board and a 4.2 was way tooooo much...

i think the wind was 40+,, so dont know how u had fun on a 5m and 130l board!!!

twas no fun 4 me

Right, Sandy Point is quite interesting place...absolutely flat water.. perfect stable wind ...starting point a bit in the wind shadow ... then when beach start from knee deep water everything is just about staying on the board speeding and speeding up ( you think without any limit ) just a few meters along of that sandy bank
Since back then gybing at such speed ( 65km/h) even on flat water wasn't my favorite option the main concern was how to stop the board running at the end
Turning up wind is not the option either when you are just a couple meters of the bank...Even sail released completely and board keep planing and planing...

This is quite interesting experiment ...it is not like sudden wind gust but small incremental change...
you do beach start,, take perfect position,,, wind pickup slowly... you improve position...wind getting stronger ..., defend your position ... to that tipping point that wind could blow you off your board ... but in such perfect condition 45-50 wind is not enough...
I think Mythbusters or Jack Ass should do such experiment under jet engine - how much wind you could withstand in perfect position

Doesn't look much like that but there was 35-45 knotss on that day ... too much for me back then .. so I took only my camera not the board...

what is interesting here - there is not video editing at all , just one continuous piece.
Usually you watch video and guy makes big jump. ok milisecond later sailing again ...in fact could spend five minutes to find his gear and water start ...here is everything in real time...

The Gorge - Dougs Beach: 3.5 - gusting to 65 knts

South of France - Etange de Leucate: 3.2 - 70knts+, saw a 20 foot container roll over on the way home.

Lake Garda: 3.5 - gusting to 65 knts, who would have thought you could have 3 meter wind swell on a lake.

All of these were a case of survival sailing rather than anything enjoyable.

Waiting4wind said...

There is strong wind and there is solid wind.

I sailed a big botany southerly way back with 25-50 knots, very wild. I was on my 4.2m and seemed to cope.

I sailed in cervantes WA and the wind was a solid 30 knots, I mean solid no gusts no repreive. The wind meter wnt straight to 30 knots and didnt budge. I was struggling on my 3.5m.

I've had a couple of sessions in Maui on a 3.3 (I'm 90kg).

So a lot dependes on the consistency of the wind you are sailing, I reckon.

Yep no way i could have sailed in a consistent 60kt wind!The lulls were where you managed to sail..
I was just thinking recently how much consistency affects sailing. I'd been sailing in gusty 8 - 15kts.. an occasional 100m 15kts puff and then mainly 8kts..no fun not planing much.. Then another day I go out in a consistent 15kts and planing nicely!

paddymac said...




gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?team=16&date=2009-09-27

Yep thats my biggest day. Got smashed . I,d love another day like that as i,ve learn,t a lot since then and bought a 4.4 . I wonder what wind Spotty needs to run his 4.4 as he still felt in control with his 5.0

Macroscien said...

what is interesting here

If that is 35-45 knots then I had a threesome with Pippa Middleton and Beyonce last night.

He's using a 5m or more. He has to bear away to get planing at several points. FFS I even saw him pump to get going at one point.

What are you smoking if you think this is strong?

If you can sail with a 5m then it isn't strong.

Strong is when

you can't walk upwind,
you need three people to help you carry a 3.3m and your board to the water,
every jump ends up being at least six foot higher than you anticipated,
other sailors simply disappear from view as they get bitch-slapped/ swatted by the wind
you can sail for around fifteen minutes at a time
the best sailors only make half their gybes
on the beach there is a gathering of the sort of people who cause tailbacks in the other direction after a freeway accident because they slow down to look

And I'm sorry but you didn't sail in 45 knots at sandy on a 130litre board and a 5m. Please don't encourage others to do similar things by saying that you did.

EDIT: I've watched it again. He made a backwind gybe and attempted an upwind 360 (which he didn't make). Anyone who does front to sail manouvres in 35 knots.. let alone 45-55 knots is world class.

[b]

If that is 35-45 knots then I had a threesome with Pippa Middleton and Beyonce last night.
Strong is when

you can't walk upwind,
you need three people to help you carry a 3.3m and your board to the water,
every jump ends up being at least six foot higher than you anticipated,
other sailors simply disappear from view as they get bitch-slapped/ swatted by the wind
you can sail for around fifteen minutes at a time
the best sailors only make half their gybes
on the beach there is a gathering of the sort of people who cause tailbacks in the other direction after a freeway accident because they slow down to look

And I'm sorry but you didn't sail in 45 knots at sandy on a 130litre board and a 5m. Please don't encourage others to do similar things by saying that you did.

EDIT: I've watched it again. He made a backwind gybe and attempted an upwind 360 (which he didn't make). Anyone who does front to sail manouvres in 35 knots.. let alone 45-55 knots is world class.

Yes and no.
NO, This bay area is protected from NE wind and waves.Anyway if we could have access to historical charts we could check records for Auckand , Takapuna just a day or two after RSX world championship finished few years ago.
So guy, Nico, sailing there was one of those RSX racers represent France on championship , not just me or you.
Usually sailing in Takapuna take place in the open water not in the bay, which only safe lunching point.

YES, others couldn't even watersart- there is short moment when Nico did return borrowed rig to the right owner and that guy bump straight into water after waterstart. Another guy has his gear smashed to pieces completely at the distance, at bank brakes waves about same time as video was taken.

YES,Ginger, You are welcome to GC and I am happy to go with you on bumpy Shearwater with my 5m KA Concept (excellent exceptional sail anyway) anytime you want at 35-40 knt, but will be using my 84L wave board as this is not flat Sandy Point. The problem is that you could possibly control 5m sail in strong wind but not that huge board on bumpy chop.
To be fair I use my 4.2 only when is 35 and above.

IT ISN'T VERY WINDY IN YOUR VIDEO

I'm with the ginger one here. No way is that anything other than mildly average. The way the water is moving, the way the spray (and lack of it) comes off the board, the way the dude is sailing, all of it shows - that is not very windy.

In my two years in northern NSW we have had some pretty windy days. Why one day it even blew a gnats nuts around. One day I saw a sombero blow off an old ladies head. One day is was so windy it was mildly unpleasant to stroll along the seafront with a baby in a pram.

Windy is when your VW camper blows onto its side in the night whilst parked at Tarifa. Windy is when there is solid spray you can't see through 3 foot above the water. Windy is when you can't stand on the beach because the sand is blasting the skin off your face, and then it starts hailing and actually draws blood on your cheeks.

I rode my bike south out of Cadiz once and had my knee down going along a straight road. The black on my bike leathers was sand blasted off to a rough suede look. One half of my bike looked about 10 years older then the other half. The road was actually closed, but I didn't speak spanish (officier).

Windy is when your 3.2m sail powers you sideways less than your board sends you upwards. Windy is when you open your car door and the wind bends the hinges so much that you have to open both front windows a smidge and tie a roof rack strap all the way through your car to keep the door shut for the next year.

Windy is when you see more than one truck on its side on the way home. Windy is when you get home and your shed isn't there anymore.

Windy is when 'Wow, its Windy' is top story in the nightly news.

Drive your car at 95 kmph and then put your head out the window, look forward and see how long before your eyes hurt so much you can't see and you can't actually breathe. That is a 50 knot wind.

Your video isn't very windy.