Sunshine Coast is seriously one of the worst places if your in to windsurfing! Ive lived here over 20 years and it barely ever delivers! I grew up in Wellington NZ where it is over 30 knots 300 plus days a year. Then I lived in Sydney for over 15 years where summer NE'lys were constant 20 knots to 25 knots followed by strong southerlies and there is a multitude of cross off set ups. Then I lived in Coffs harbour where there was the same strong NE and SE rhythm and set ups. Winter SW'ers by rule should be epic cross-off conditions any where on the East coast of Australia but not on the Sunny Coast. About the only time it may be considered even half good is between September and December when there are a couple of of reasonable N/Ne'rs.

What's the point of your post,
If you don't like it here, f..k off to kiwi land.

my mission this year is to put your theory to the test windislife.

Yesterday was really fun sailing of Mools in 15 knot SE and last weekend off Happy Valley in 15 SW. But if I can't sail there I can choose from Neil St, Cotton Tree, Lake Weyba, Lake Cootharaba or a downwinder from Mudjimba to Mools.

Always seems to be enough wind.

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toeside said...
What's the point of your post,
If you don't like it here, f..k off to kiwi land.

Don't hold back Leo!

Yes its true that SE QLD may not be as windy as other places. Cant really change that. Just get the best gear for the location.

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Haggar said...
Yes its true that SE QLD may not be as windy as other places. Cant really change that. Just get the best gear for the location.

agree, got to happys yesterday, desperate time of year for wind in se qld, to slow on 105l with 5.8m. cracked out the sup and let the good times roll

I don't know about it being that bad. I sailed 52 times this year and there are others who sailed a lot more than me. Hroar and Ragnar are good examples. There were many days I didn't sail and I could have easily if I had spare time.
The other thing is El nino is coming again. That brings strong consistent NE's. You probably lived down South during that weather pattern. Seasons change. Some are full of NE and other have tonnes of SE. We Aussies are a lot more relaxed I take it.

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Windislife said...

Sunshine Coast is seriously one of the worst places if your in to windsurfing! Ive lived here over 20 years and it barely ever delivers! I grew up in Wellington NZ where it is over 30 knots 300 plus days a year. Then I lived in Sydney for over 15 years where summer NE'lys were constant 20 knots to 25 knots followed by strong southerlies and there is a multitude of cross off set ups. Then I lived in Coffs harbour where there was the same strong NE and SE rhythm and set ups. Winter SW'ers by rule should be epic cross-off conditions any where on the East coast of Australia but not on the Sunny Coast. About the only time it may be considered even half good is between September and December when there are a couple of of reasonable N/Ne'rs.

Thank you all for your positive responses. Obviously frustrated having a quiver of gear for higher wind and cant afford to buy a whole new set of aircraft carrier sized equipment, or cart around a truck loads of gear just incase!!. I suppose the point is when ever you look at the wind predictions here they are constantly grossly over exaggerated! I can't even count the times they have predicted strong winds 20 knots plus & it never even gets close. Maybe its just a QLD thing, wasn't so bad on NSW coast, they would generally get it right most of the time. Yesterday was another prime example, they all said strong winds 20 to 25 knots, yeah right ... Pathetic! They predicted the peak in the arvo and the peak was in the morning. Agreed it did actually used to be a lot better here many years ago and I used to get out on the water heaps on smaller gear that i have now. Being a long time naturalised Aussi I'm proud to see the absence of prejudice in our community.
Enjoy.
www.zakel.ws/2014/06/01/down-the-line-new-zealand/

I only take 1 board and 2 sails to the beach

if it's a location further afield I take 2 boards and 3 sails. but that's my entire quiver right there and my biggest sail is 6.4m which I hardly use anymore.

you just gotta have the gear that suits. windsurfing moved away from small boards a long time ago and it's better for it. I've been out many a time having fun when the kites were dropping from the sky.

the idea that big gear is aircraft carrier gear is what's stopping you from windsurfing. pick your gear based on your weight. what's aircraft carrier to a small guy is a perfect balance for a big guy.

and then there's sup sailing....... the final frontier.

I plan 2 weeks ahead based on the computer models and I'm never feeling like I've missed out. sure there is sometimes a 24hr adjustment when it comes to the weather but it's not so bad.

p.s. the only spot I've seen in qld that gets a taranaki type setup is Currumbin. the rides are shorter though.

other than a few weekends doing other stuff I've windsurfed nearly every weekend on the sunny coast over the last 2 months. in conditions from 5 knots to 25 knots. this month alone I think I've been 3 weekends in a row. all of it cross shore to cross-offshore conditions.

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Windislife said...

Sunshine Coast is seriously one of the worst places if your in to windsurfing! Ive lived here over 20 years and it barely ever delivers! I grew up in Wellington NZ where it is over 30 knots 300 plus days a year. Then I lived in Sydney for over 15 years where summer NE'lys were constant 20 knots to 25 knots followed by strong southerlies and there is a multitude of cross off set ups. Then I lived in Coffs harbour where there was the same strong NE and SE rhythm and set ups. Winter SW'ers by rule should be epic cross-off conditions any where on the East coast of Australia but not on the Sunny Coast. About the only time it may be considered even half good is between September and December when there are a couple of of reasonable N/Ne'rs.

You've been here for over 20 years and you've only just worked this out?
Doesn't really say much for your powers of observation does it....

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Windislife said...

Windislife said...

Sunshine Coast is seriously one of the worst places if your in to windsurfing! Ive lived here over 20 years and it barely ever delivers! I grew up in Wellington NZ where it is over 30 knots 300 plus days a year. Then I lived in Sydney for over 15 years where summer NE'lys were constant 20 knots to 25 knots followed by strong southerlies and there is a multitude of cross off set ups. Then I lived in Coffs harbour where there was the same strong NE and SE rhythm and set ups. Winter SW'ers by rule should be epic cross-off conditions any where on the East coast of Australia but not on the Sunny Coast. About the only time it may be considered even half good is between September and December when there are a couple of of reasonable N/Ne'rs.

Thank you all for your positive responses. Obviously frustrated having a quiver of gear for higher wind and cant afford to buy a whole new set of aircraft carrier sized equipment, or cart around a truck loads of gear just incase!!. I suppose the point is when ever you look at the wind predictions here they are constantly grossly over exaggerated! I can't even count the times they have predicted strong winds 20 knots plus & it never even gets close. Maybe its just a QLD thing, wasn't so bad on NSW coast, they would generally get it right most of the time. Yesterday was another prime example, they all said strong winds 20 to 25 knots, yeah right ... Pathetic! They predicted the peak in the arvo and the peak was in the morning. Agreed it did actually used to be a lot better here many years ago and I used to get out on the water heaps on smaller gear that i have now. Being a long time naturalised Aussi I'm proud to see the absence of prejudice in our community.
Enjoy.
www.zakel.ws/2014/06/01/down-the-line-new-zealand/

Same NSW central coast lately..

where are you located sbc,

because the wind records for port Macquarie show all this month it's been 15+ knots majority of days.

www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/IDCJDW2115.latest.shtml

I looked on your profile sbc then looked at Newcastle obs.
www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/IDCJDW2097.latest.shtml

shows 15-20 knots every day give or take daylight hours.....

I have my Acid 86 and 4 and 5 m sails for when it pumps, and thats a lot of fun. But when the wind is 10 to 20 knots I then turn to my 90 to 110 L freerace / freeride boards and up to 8m sails. The modern big sails are light in the hands and QUICK ! So I substitute speed for bump and jump / wave riding. I love both but speed is hard to beat. Rippin accross the bay or ocean at 25 knts + is a lot of fun and exhilarating. You can get really good cheap gear in the second hand market these days so it doesnt have to break the bank !

I'm sick of all the bro's coming over here whinging about the country and steeling the jobs when we still have unemployed in the country... They are the new Whinging Pom!! IMO

Well said Toeside!!!

my maths may not be the best but I dunno why the complaints, obs for Maroochydore,

SW-10.79913606-8:49
NE-11.87904967-14:57
ENE-10.79913606-14:24
SE-14.03887688-16:26
S-14.03887688-10:29
SE-18.89848811-13:29
S-18.89848811-8:28
ESE-25.91792654-15:57
SSE-26.99784015-17:23
SSE-34.01727859-16:14
S-23.21814253-2:21
S-16.73866089-5:01
SW-11.87904967-3:18
W-12.95896327-12:58
W-17.8185745-14:31
SW-14.03887688-9:41
WNW-11.87904967-12:39
S-22.13822892-8:43

direction, speed in knots, time.

approx 16% of days this month less than 10 knots
approx 20% of days this month have had 25-35 knots
approx 64% of days this month have been between 10-25 knots.

in general after 2pm has the strongest winds.....

Can you provide us daily reports Gesty

look because I like you all,

over the school holidays i'll provide you live reports from cotton tree for at least 4-5 days.

Since I moved to Sydney 4.7 and 80l has been my most used combination. Shearwater outgoing/SE is cute.
: \

And now I'm in ...Canberra. So... yeah : C

EvlPanda have you sailed lake Burleigh Griffin yet?

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Gestalt said...
where are you located sbc,

because the wind records for port Macquarie show all this month it's been 15+ knots majority of days.

www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/IDCJDW2115.latest.shtml

They lie Mr Gestalt. I'll sail anyday it's over 10 knots and I've been out 3 times this month And this month was better than the last few!

how can obs lie? it's just data recorded by a computer, the tower is 4m above the ground in that spot. that's pretty close to what is around on the day.

I'm not saying you haven't been getting light winds though.

there could be numerous reasons why that might be.

1. time you are on the water
2. location you are sailing
3. gear

sailing at a location where it's offshore wind while sailing 200m max from shore isn't going to realise good winds nor is hitting up a lake and expecting the forecast wind to have any chance of reaching it's full potential.

people for whatever reason sail the same spot, maybe it's time to find some new spots. I think there is a tendency for people to really underestimate the effect that topography has on the wind.

I was sailing a few weeks back in 20-25knots on my 5.3m fully lit. trying to keep my board in the water. less than 1km up the waterway people were on 7m sails.

Those readings are taken at the Port Mac airstrip. I'm pretty sure the aircraft take off right in front of the wind gauge

Seriously, we have limited spots (especially flatwater) around this part of the coast, and those we do sail are the windiest sailing locations. I sail the open sea most of the time, and a more accurate report the past 4 months or so would be 4 or 6 days over 15 knots, and the magority being 4-10 knots with a sprinkling of 8-14's. Today is typicle- Coffs now (9.45 am) showing 11-14 knots from the north. Port now- 0 At SWRs now on the beach- 3-6 knots tops The sunshine coast looks like WA compared to here lately. My most used sail in the last 4 to 5 months has been a 7.4. and I'm a light weight...

PS- Don't take notice off the Coffs forcast. It's taken from the roof of a car driving down a wind tunnel.

I was looking at port maquarie. the obs there right now are inline with your SWR obs. I suspect in a S-SW wind that won't be the case unless you head to black rock.


sunshine coast has been pretty light really. the wave sailors up there trend to float and ride in the light stuff. 115-120lt boards. it's impressive to watch and way beyond my skill level as I'm too heavy for that so I use a sup designed for wavesailing. I go out in no wind but it's most fun in 5-10 knots.

I just think better days to come, hey

Do a simular chug and wave thing here. Been using my 111 with a 5.8. Hard work til you catch a wave, but yeah, definitly good fun!

Up Noosa again for two weeks in Sept. Fingers and toes crossed it's as windy as last year. Really keen to try around Coloundra bar and the flatwater stuff. Amped!

Catch ya.

i've been looking at spots up that way for around September as well.

the spots to explore seem to be

noosa bar and cotton tree for the NW winds
stummers creek at Coolum for the N winds

Caloundra is still ok in a NE wind for flat water. there is also a short and somewhat shallow run at cotton tree that I want to look at. I've not sailed cotton tree so plan to head there a bit more. just that it's a big drive for me. noosa is over 2 hours each way and Caloundra about 1 3/4 hours each way.

worth it though.

drop another post in the qld forum when you head up again if you are after some company to sail with.

Will do Gestalt, and cheers for the info on spots to try. Now prey for some good nor-easters and a few souhterly fronts.

Interesting thread!...I'm trying to figure out how to move up to the Sunshine Coast and am hoping to retire there, love WS up there.
I spent my teenage years in Auckland and yeah it was a bit windier there but nothing beats the freedom of NO WETSUITS!! (for most of the year anyway) and the warm water in SEQ.

well the brains trust believes the strong el nino we are predicted to have means better than normal northerlies. I wait with anticipation.

I also forgot to mention Mudjimba and of course Mooloolaba.

Mooloolaba to me is more an ocean slalom spot than a wave spot.

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stanly said...
Interesting!...I'm trying to figure out how to move up to the Sunshine Coast and am hoping to retire there.
I spent my teenage years in Auckland and yeah it was a bit windier there but nothing beats the freedom of NO WETSUITS!! (for most of the year anyway) and the warm water in SEQ.

my wife would like to retire near noosa. I think I could do that too but Caloundra and surrounds has better windsurfing options in my opinion.....

cheaper as well.

traffic in Noosa is appalling in summer.