hi folks
names Andrew
very new to the sport as in, went and spent a week up on sunshine coast wanted to try something different so tried windsurfing and loved it. so as any normal sane person would have done i rushed home and bought some equipment ... anyways its a slalom board with 3 sails ... a 5m a 6.4m and a 7m only saying the sail size incase that makes any difference to my next question :)
wondering what are some good places to practice at ... im in murrumba downs just west of redcliffe and was wondering where is safe... safe as in if i fall off im not going to emerge from the water with an extra eyeball on my face as 3 is enough already...
well theres one of the 7 quick tips for new posts broken already ... wonder if i can break all 7 b4 i finish
anyway sorry i tend to go on a bit about a lot of nothingness
was thinking of trying out at redcliffe on saturday if its not raining ive read a bit of queens beach in the forums so though my try there .... cant go to far on sat as im working saturday night but if anyone has any better suggestions id love to hear them
cheers muchly
A

hey,
I've been up to north pine dam and out to wivenhoe too. consistant wind, no nasty things in the water, fresh water. But really, I wish there was a noobs day somewhere you could go with your own gear and get some tips....

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dachande said...

hi folks
names Andrew
very new to the sport as in, went and spent a week up on sunshine coast wanted to try something different so tried windsurfing and loved it. so as any normal sane person would have done i rushed home and bought some equipment ... anyways its a slalom board with 3 sails ... a 5m a 6.4m and a 7m only saying the sail size incase that makes any difference to my next question :)
wondering what are some good places to practice at ... im in murrumba downs just west of redcliffe and was wondering where is safe... safe as in if i fall off im not going to emerge from the water with an extra eyeball on my face as 3 is enough already...
well theres one of the 7 quick tips for new posts broken already ... wonder if i can break all 7 b4 i finish
anyway sorry i tend to go on a bit about a lot of nothingness
was thinking of trying out at redcliffe on saturday if its not raining ive read a bit of queens beach in the forums so though my try there .... cant go to far on sat as im working saturday night but if anyone has any better suggestions id love to hear them
cheers muchly
A

ok, lets have a noobs day, I'm No3 by the looks.

I'm planning sandstone point sat/sun morning, high tide just after 8am, should be right for 2-3hrs.
Wind looks to be doing the right thing, NE-SE just right.

Was there last w/e and can recommend the place, bring some booties for a few periwinkle shells at 1/2 tide.

Lets know any thoughts,
Jim

sounds good jim
will have to be a saturday for me tho
gotta bit to do on sunday unfortnatly otherwise id be up for both days
but saturday works for me ive just gotta find out what this "AM" thing is u put after the 8 there :)
might have to take my chances with the shells tho as the only booties i have in the house are my 3 year old daughters and i dont think they will fit

no worries Andrew,
shells arent a big problem, drop by BCF for $25 grab a cheap set???
Only saw 1 stingray - best not stand on them - shoes or not...

lol
did u miss the word safe in my first post jim lol just kidding :)
sounds like learn to sail quick or pay the ultimate price lol :)
im still up for it tho
u are on about the sandstone point just b4 the bridge to bribie arent u ... near goodwin beach ??

yes mate, off Bestmann road, 2nd street on left from bribie rd end.
have a look at nearmap.com.au to check out the beach and area in general.
should be fun!

sweet sounds like a plan then im up for it
so saturday at sandstone at .... 8am right ??
still trying to wrap my mind round that one i knew this would be a hard sport but didnt think it be that hard :)
ill be the one either asleep on the beach or swearing at my sail trying to rig it right :) lol
i tried to rig it up the other day so i wouldnt take hours when i got to the water and just could not get it right so hopefully i get some water time :)


anyone else up for this ??

Don't want to be a wet blanket, but the wind forecast for this weekend is "seriously gnarly", and not the best for open ocean learning, even in relatively protected waters.
Might I suggest Lake Cootharaba ??
Great to see new people coming into the sport BTW, welcome all !!

Hi guys...

Great to hear your getting into the most addictive sport in the world! It will take some time to learn the fundamentals and basics but once you get yourself grounded you will all have a ball, but without a ball.... If ya know what I mean..

Ive been windsurfing for as long as I can remember and have had the amazing experience of being a windsurfing instructor in the Greek Islands for a couple of summers.. The reason I explain this is that I saw many many people get themselves into quite dangerous situations because of lack of knowledge about weather and wind conditions. 99% of people who we rescued were beginners, the other 1% were people who broke equipment.

This weekend is forecast to have very strong winds. It will be very different to a clam or light breeze. It will not be pleasant and relaxing. It will more likely be hectic and VERY energy draining. Dont get me wrong - If your experienced and know what your doing then you can have the time of your life!

Dachande to put it in perspective - your 3 sail sizes. Forget the 6.4 and 7m for the weekend. It will be far too strong. I also think the 5m will be too big for your ability. I'm a 90 kg guy and I will probably be using a 5m on a small board (90ltrs). And I will also be rigging the sail to suit the wind conditions on the day, not just rigging the sail. This can make a HUGE difference!

Please dont think I'm trying to turn you guys off the sport because I'm not. Its an amazing sport. By all means head down and check it out, but always know your limits and if a small part of your thinks its a bit fierce its probably best not to risk it and to plan your next day out with a beer or two in a pub.

Cheers
Michael

Ps. If you guys are keen to learn more about windsurfing, try to get your hand on a book called tricktionary. Its the bible of windsurfing and can teach you a lot of good techniques in everything from rigging to getting out on the water. Find it here - http://www.tricktionary.net/

Ken ho,

I'll be at lake cootharaba and hope it will be 25+ knts.

Dont jinx my weekend of good wind!! haha

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Mucksy said...

Ken ho,

I'll be at lake cootharaba and hope it will be 25+ knts.

Dont jinx my weekend of good wind!! haha

Wasn't trying to jinx you, just trying to keep the newbs out of trouble.
I second your expanded version of the situation thsi weekend.
I'm hoping to rig a 4.5.

quote
was thinking of trying out at redcliffe on saturday if its not raining ive read a bit of queens beach in the forums so though my try there .... cant go to far on sat unquote
go when its raining easy parking no-one using the beach etc watch for wind squalls before and during the rain then wind drop after .
if overpowered use more downhaul and watch the top of the leach twist off causing sail to spill wind ,depower.
have fun, safety in numbers ,help and watch out for each other!

dafunk,

Im not sure if people who have only been windsurfing a couple of time would even know the definitions of the terms you are using.

Overpowered, leech, depower, downhaul etc.... I'm up with ya but week old beginners probably wouldnt be. Just trying to warn them that it could be a hectic weekend for anyone who is trying to learn windsurfing.

lol thanks guys :)

mucksy ... yeah im not even thinking bout putting the bigger sails on for a long time yet
the one i learnt on was a 3.5 training sail and i know theres going to be a huge difference between that to the 5 ... even to a 4.5 but the 5 was the smallest with the kit the board is a 150ltr so im hoping that will help a lil ... least i was told it was 150 will find out :) and thanks for the link :) im looking into that as i type ... so due to that some things might not make sense that i type :)

dafunk squalls and leach twist about the only two things that made no sense

ken ho not at all a wet blanket i wrote this post for suggestions so i wouldnt wind up stopping in new zealand to phone work to tell them i might be a lil late so thanks heaps :)

jim on the strength of the comments and as its my first time on this board and with such a bigger sial than what i first tried i might give sandstone a miss this weekend.. sorry about that .. but once i get used to this board and have a day off when the wind is good ill hit u up and even drag my sisters lil portible hotplate cooker thing and we'll make a day of it

ive been out to north pine river at griffin a couple times to fish went out today to have a look for windsurfing didnt look too bad a couple ramps ... as in boat ramps not wave ramps as im sure most ppl will think when they hear the word ramp :) ..maybe maybe not :) but seems ez enough to get the board to the water ... at low tide the ground seems pretty clear of crap ... except for that engine up near the main boat ramp ......
my other two options are lake kurwongbah and lake samsonvale but i have no idea if they are sudden drops into the water or a gradual decline so i can walk out then get on board as i cant water start and wouldnt know where to go to get to a good launching place at either

i am taking onboard the warnings of the winds being strong and sail size but i am rather stubborn so i will still head out but i will be expecting to be pulled over a lot by the wind and be exhausted by the end of 10 mins ;) if i last that long but i love jumping in the deep end of things so please dont think im ignoring everything u guys have said i very muchly appreciate ur help :)... lol feel sorta bad cos i still want to go out so much even after what u guys have said :)

Daschande,

By all means go out this weekend, and have a ball.
If you get belted around and beaten up by your gear, you won't be the first or the last.
We all did, and at some stage everyone hates every piece of gear they own with a passion, after having the crap beaten out of them by it.
When it's strong like this, it's a good time to learn to water-start.
Hang in the water and let the sail pull you up. Expect to have about a hundred goes before you get it right. I still remember the day I did this. Over-powered in the surf off a beach, and I never did get going. But I learnt SO much, that next time I went out, in better conditions, I just popped up like I was an expert, and I've never had a problem since.
Back foot on the board, let the sail pull you up, and hang like a monkey from the boom. Sounds easy ?? Probably is. Eventually !!
I suggested Cootharaba, cos it's shallow all the way across.

Hi all,
Well...have just got back from Sandy point, just a little breeze this arvo, apparently 30knots from spitfire chanel recorder.
Amazing such wind and next to no chop.

Definately looks like a wait and see day tomorrow.
Cheers

I only knew the terms because I've been sailing since I was a kid and I've been reading the pommie 'windsurf' magazine.
I still don't know If I'm rigging up correctly..but it stays up.

Its great fun, but I'm not 100% sure that my feet are where they should be. Or a thousand other things, but hey, it'll come with time.

I'm keen to try out Lake Cor (what ever its called) up past Noosa.
Time is all I need....

I grew up in the area and sailed bribie a lot. also taught there for a few years. places of choice were the wreck and sandstone point in SE winds and a secret spot in a NE wind.

sandstone point was where i learnt to gybe a short board. to be honest you can't get much safer in a SE wind than sandstone point. it's even safer than VP and makes a great speed run. kiters could break records there in strong winds. it's onshore and very shallow. it's only sailable at mid to high tide. there is a few oyster beds down at the passage end.

that said, i agree with what the guys above have written. safety is definitely not to be taken lightly. gear breaks and muscles get tired and when learnign anything over 10 knots will be too much.

but, if you were thinking of having a crack! sandstone might work well and make sure the tide is coming. and don't go anywhere near the passage!!!! the tide is a conveyor belt.

p.s. your saftey is soley your own responsibility.

did someone mention sailing in the pine river. OMG! don't go in the pine river.
i have seen photos of bull sharks 4 foot long biten in half by other bull sharks! it is a very sharky river.

this is copied from one of the local online papers.

SURF Life Saving Queensland have released an urgentwarning about the threat of bull sharks to local swimmers.
Services Manager George Hill said swimmers should steer clear of river mouths and estuaries after recent heavy rain.
Mr Hill said the deluge flushed large amounts of dirt and debris into the water making it an ideal playground for bull sharks and other hidden dangers.
``With all the recent rain, dirt, tree logs and branches have become dislodged creating a haven for fish, which in turn attracts sharks,’’ he said. ``Bull sharks thrive in muddy environments because they know that’s where smaller fish will be feeding.’’
Bull sharks measuring up to 1.5m were recently spotted in South Pine River as far up as Strathpine with State Member for Pine Rivers Carolyn Male releasing a warning last month.
Surf Life Saving also released guidelines on how to stay safe this summer including avoiding swimming in canals, river mouths or deep channels and swimming at dawn, dusk or at night.
``Swimmers should also be aware that other hazards may have washed into the water after heavy rain, like rubbish, tree branches and rocks.’’