So it looks like Jonathan, DJ, Teeps, myself and maybe Waterhorse for tomorrow. Teeps and I will carpool ourselves and aim to be at Sandridge Life Saving Club Port Melbourne for a 1pm start. We will leave a car at Sandringham around 12.30. Not sure what Jonathan and DJ have planned. Perhaps add here when you work it out.
This is the BOM wind forecast chart for 1pm...
Planning to meet at Sandringham at 12.30 to start at St Kilda or Port Melbourne at 1.
Pity it's moderated a little...
today crook, tomorrow good, meet y'all at Port M, hopefully be able to get a lift back to port after the show? 
I am at work so will paddle home at 8.30am then I have the little one for the rest of the day. Have fun in the arvo.
Dave
It blew its tits off last night here in Melbourne.. It's still honking now.. It's looking good for the arvo.. 35 knots NNW .. Bring it on.. 
I just have to decide what board.. 14 or 17..
DJ
Just spent a happy (?) hour riding to work into that northerly on the bayside trail - white caps everywhere...
Today will be all time - it's honking. I would have come, but my car is in for a service this week.
Wow that was hard work out there today wind blowing a gale so hard that i had chest pains in the middle of the bay mmm not an ideal spot to have them! in hospital under observation bummer
30+ knots. One of us had chest pains and is now in hospital as a precaution, another was throwing up over the side of the board. And a first time downwinder scrambling to avoid the rocks at the gates of hell. It was a bit wild. Good thing we have exceptional safety plans here in Vicco.
Geez I had a bad feeling about today, Down at St. Kilda this arvo and the wind looked like it had a bit of easterly in it, which means your going to Tassie! Hope everyone pulls up OK
Wow Ockanui, hope it turns out OK for you, that's scary - at least you're already on the 'breeze, that's a good sign
What a wild hoot of an arvo.
Somewhere off Point Ormond I fell in, then started paddling on knees back towards shore a bit. This made me feel seasick, and hence, I fed the local marine life.
Anyone else ever got sick out paddling? (I don't mean 'fully sick', just the unpleasant kind...)
Oka mentioned the chest pains when he got back - so glad you went and got it checked mate. Hope everything's okay. As I said, you're body is telling you something.
Glad I took my PFD today. Safety first. I got two little kids!
By the way, we all look after each other out there. It's part of why I love SUP. Special shout-outs to DJ, Jono & PT. Keeping the flock together... Good stuff.
T'was a wild day on the bay.. They are saying 70 kph winds and there is now a severe weather warning.. Tomorrow is looks great..
There was a huge turn up today with Jonathan having a full load and my 17 having to go on the roof.
MickV was there with his beautiful DC and Jean was there with the girls from the mon/wed Sandy paddle group.
WTF.. we might see lots of little Starboards in the future.
We're off.. These strong wind down-winders always look easy-peasy at the start.. Unfortunately the northwest wind had turned back to the north and maybe we should have started from our normal starting spot because we ended up paddling 90% on the right side to prevent heading towards the heads.
We soon started to get spread out and I waited for the tail enders to catch up.. You know it's strong when you get those little ripples across the waves.
It was a real eyeopener for Scott on his first real down-winder.. It was a great effort by him and the other down-wind virgins.
I was having a ball and got some of the longest runners on my 17.
I paddled across to Green Point to see if anyone else made it across and were waiting.. But no one had stopped there due to the off sure wind.
I joined up with some of the tail enders and we paddled to Sandy marina together.. It was a nice sight to see the flat calm water in the marina.
DJ
DJ - I'm sure you and/or Paul took some video footage. Would be good to see that too. How did the newbies find the experience? It would be good to hear from them.
Now, how come we get 12 on a middle of the day Monday downwinder when yesterday there were just three of us? Doesn't anyone work anymore?
Ooops...like some other publications....I got distracted with the pictures and just looked at DJ's post and failed to see the text above DJ's post. Hey Mike, hope all is well and hopefully it was just the cold and exertion etc.
Great to see the group safety measures worked well.
Teeps, I haven't heard of ppl getting seasick on a SUP, but many years ago I used to scuba dive and we had one bloke who loved it, but he only had to look at the water and he started burleying-up. He tried all sorts of remedies, but just in the end tried to get into the water asap, as he was ok once under the water.
Thanks lads for thoughts , signs are good, I mean I can still post on the breeze, just having a few tests all being well I'll be out for tomorrows session
That was an epic two hours of my life.
Thanks for having me along, Get well Mike, you might have put the moz on yourself by asking me what I do for a job.
I would type more but it hurts to lift my fingers.
OK. confession time and the fingers are better now after holding cold beer.
I had done a few No winders at my local and after watching hours of DJ's vids I thought to myself I should be ok. I've been farting about on my 14 glide for 18 months so I know how it handles.
I could not have been more wrong. Nothing I had done or watched or thought about in any way prepared me for today. I did however manage to get my wettie on with PFD and leggie ok, even remembered in the scramble to grab my paddle.
The wind was howling as we left the beach and as soon as we popped out from under the hill we took off. Not knowing exactly where I was headed also caused my a little concern.
The wind in my opinion had a little to much north in it and the waves and wind were pushing me not where I thought I should be heading. I was concentrating so hard on where I was going I was stuffing my techniqe and falling in. Watching the more experienced crew dissapear off into the distance was a little unnerving as well. It was nice to know that there was someone designated as last to keep the staglers in line.
I guess the conditions may have been a bit much for a first timer but you have to start somewhere. DJ paddled along side for a while and gave some great tips which I will put into practice next time. The catching runners thing is really hard. Don't look over your shoulder look in front and aim for the dip, the exact opposite of surfing. I was exhausted towards the end and the waves had settle a little so it was more enjoyable and I got the hang of it near the end. Out in the middle it was more a battle so stay upright so technique went out the window.
As I finally entered the marina I thought bugger that for a joke and never again. On the drive home that all changed as I had time to process all the events of the day. Sure it was really rough, really windy, really @#@#ing hard work. I can't really say enjoyable but more of an experience. I think with more experience the joy will come.
Thanks for having me along today.
Cheers
We've all been there, done that.. and thought about not doing it again.. and then you do.. Then you notice how much better you are the next time now that you know what you're getting yourself into and what to expect.. The learning curve is pretty steep till you get to that intermediate level and then you aim to be better.. It's also a bit of 'if he can do it so can I' and wanting to get to the end without falling and stuff like that... It's a huge sense of achievement when you see it all coming together... and great fun.. You did great today Scott.
DJ
Stupid transcoding... this video aint happening tonight. GoPro and Final Cut Pro really don't like each other. Bring on the new upgrade.
OK. confession time and the fingers are better now after holding cold beer.
