...to Geraldton in December.

Flying, so limited in choice

95 kg (hopefully 90kg by Dec.) sailor / 185cm tall
98l wave board (too big?)
want to limit to 1 mast, prefer no more than two sails, def no more than 3 (baggage limits)

I guess, main thing I want to know is, for a two week trip am I going to be mostly OK (not miss too many days on ave) that time of year with max 5.3

Do I need to go as low as 4.2 at my weight / height? (Please don't say lower)

Never sailed there before, .

Cheers

In my experience, (it's been several years since I was there), the wind normally builds up slowly, so you may need a 4.2 late on a strong day, but you could have several hours on a 5 earlier in the day.
And I haven't been there in December, We came back to Mandurah in November, when the wind started here.

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musorianin said..
...to Geraldton in December.

Flying, so limited in choice

95 kg (hopefully 90kg by Dec.) sailor / 185cm tall
98l wave board (too big?)
want to limit to 1 mast, prefer no more than two sails, def no more than 3 (baggage limits)

I guess, main thing I want to know is, for a two week trip am I going to be mostly OK (not miss too many days on ave) that time of year with max 5.3

Do I need to go as low as 4.2 at my weight / height? (Please don't say lower)

Never sailed there before, .

Cheers

As decrepit said, don't get hung up on one spot. Gero is great but if you look like getting skunked, be prepared to travel to get wind as it will be windy somewhere.

Last time I flew west to sail it was 40 when I got to Perth in Dec, roasting hot and zero wind. Drove to the SW rather than suffer no wind+mid 40s around Perth or up the coast. SW was 15 degrees cooler and 18-25+knts every day for a week. It seems like long distances but sure beats sitting around sweating when it's cranking only a few hours away. Drive the morning if necessary and sail into magnificent sunsets. Bloody good times.

At 90ish kg I use to bring two bags of kit, one with a 94ltr wave board, the other bag with 5.3, 5.0 and 4.5 (15-30knts will do it), 2 x 400 masts and a boom. Stuffed in wetties, towels, spare fins, accessories etc.. to adjust the weight and for rail protection. One big bag of kit doesn't work for me anymore, gets too heavy and awkward for my old body. Make sure the bags are under the limit and pay prior for the extra to avoid check-in hassles. Carry on bag can have a few clothes for the trip, everything else can brought at Target for less than the slab you'll consume in the first few days.

At 90kg I'd bring a 90 quad and 105 slightly faster rockered board
4.2 to 5.5 in 4 steps. ish...

but you can't do all that huh. Bring whatever and as u bought stuff from me before I'll swing you a second board on loan. Smaller one might be easier for me but will see on the day huh

Cheers all,
Ok that's given me some pondering to do. Thanks for the offer Mark, i might be in touch...

Good news...If the smallest sail you take is 4.2, it's gonna blow 3.5 all day every day

FWIW
I get there a bit, often fly from Brisbane, I'm 86-90kg pending

5.3 / 4.7 is petty hard to beat 85/95 ltr wave board.
current set up is 5.5 - 4.7 90ltr

1 board 2 sails you can easily travel within weight limits etc on flights and makes the trip a lot easier than travelling with more gear ..

If its 'light' then thats a rest day! ..or as mentioned earlier, hit the roads its always windy somewhere in WA ,
Gero is hard to beat , but it does get some troughs that can skunk you ...but then when it turns its insane wind for a week!

Locals will tell you , and I tend to agree its not 'quite as windy' as it used to be , still 100 times more wind than Qld though! ....a 4.2 would be 'optional' nice to have but not essential.

It is weird sitting out the lighter winds that you would normally sail at home with , seems like wastage , and it is !
but thats entire 2nd set of gear you'd need, pack a long sleeve for the evenings ..for a Qld'r it can get quite cool when the sun goes down, and the water is much cooler than what you'd be used to here also.

TIP: Pace yourself..if you get a windy week , you don't want to blow out after a 6 hr session on day one! unlike Qld when it starts , it doesn't stop until it's dark ! , so you literally can sail from 1-7pm ! No afternoon storms to skunk it out, ..it just blows, blows and then blows some more , then eventually someone turns the lights off!

Looking forward to this summer ..planing two trips this year :)

your gonna have a ball ,I'm a bit heavier 100 +,but 5,0 was my most used but still got blown off the water a few times after 3 pm ,and had a 5,8 .
Lancelin's worth a look too .

No 98l is ok for you, 5.3 and 4.7 may be ok. Best would be 5.7 to 4.2. Gero is great but try Lano and Greenhead for good waves if they are working if u are driving up and back. Have fun??