Sat 14th, swesterly, where to go in Sydney?

st george sailing club
is good in a sw be sure to talk to someone who knows the area mind there are a few dont go spots due to oyster bays .... NOT COOL

palm beach also works well if you like bump n jump... sand point lane launch spot

I've never been to Palm Beach for a sail, so I might head there. Looks the goods in google maps.

Moby, last time I went to Canton Beach (3 months ago) it was weed central. It was that bad that even a weed fin would be not much help.

Yeah it is pretty weedy there. I've only sailed there a couple of times and the weed fin I have seems to do the job.

A weed fin is pretty well mandatory there though.

SSW will work but you'll have a wind shadow for the first 200 metres or so.

You live a bit west of Sydney don't you Razzamatazz? Perhaps heading down to Lake Illawarra would be the go?

Yes Katoomba to be precise. Lake Illawarra would be a good 3 hrs drive. Phew, that's long. Where would be the best place to launch though?
I've been checking the graphs for the airport over the last two days or so and the wind never seemed to be as strong as forecasted. It seems to be just the opposite for Slies or Nlies when it usually seems to be a bit stronger then forecasted. Anyway. I'll just have to see what I feel up to on Saturday at 5 in the morning. Still want to try my new board and get it going a least once so might be worth the trip. Oh and also how's the weed situation since I do not have a weedfin?

u do need a weed fin but its not been that bad for the past few weeks crag pulled a 34 kn up there last week so its not that bad !
good long runs and if its 25+ it should be good fun

Hi Fabian, a great place for easing into wave sailing is Dolls point, when it's working. Right on the point there in carruthers drive there is a sand spit. You can get some nice friendly waves but it will need to be on a lower tide. I've sailed there in an east swell and had nice waves around 3-4'. At low tide it's chest deep for a few hundred metres.

It's a weird street to get into, a one way maze with tyre slashing devices on the road toprevent acccess from the wrong way. You can park right near the beach or there is also a park on both ends of the point where you can rig.

Sadly for the wind direction forcast botany doesnt actually work that well.

1. Kyeemagh - this is good and gets really strong winds when the wind is SSW as it can run up the coast it funnels into the airport area. In a WSW - SW tho it will be off shore and have a massive wind shadow.

2. bonna point is actually a intersting place to sail in a SW and works really well in a SSW. if you sail off the end of the point near the snad bar the wind tends to funnel thru Qualbry bay and can get pretty strong. The down side is it is a bit of a hike to get out of the widn shadow since the rnagers always lock up the end carpark. also if ya break things out there you are goign to get blown into middle of botany.
That being said we have had some awesom sessions down there.

3. Sandringham / St george yaght club. Awsome spot when the wind is deep south and the tide is low- the sand bar comes out and can get some massive speeds.
In a SW tho its not very nice clsoe to the bridge and the angle of the sandbar is totally wrong . the area near the bridge has huge wind shadows when the wind is too far to the west.

4. Dolls point can wor in a SW as the wind funnels down thru the gap. cant really ride the break tho as the waves are on the north side of the spit and sheltered in a SW. major problems with this area is tides flow thru here really fast and if ya break something you will get sucked out into botany bay. also kiters now think they own this area - some kiters even tried to tell us it was a kite only area and poleys were not welcome HAHA!

5. La parouse - havent really sailed this area so cant say how good and bad the forcast wind angle would make it. from the diagram tho it looks like it would be tough getting out deep but once you cleared the heads you should have a pretty good angle of attack on the swells coming thru the heads.

I think i will probably end up somewhere around dolls point. I personally dont like the area that much but since low tide will be at 11 am the tide will be turning back in and the current should be pretty slow. Might work up enuf energy to drive aroudn to la per and try that :)

Its a pity they have blocked off access to the east side of the runway. the wind direction would be unreal for runs down the back of the second runway.

LaPa is the best spot for SW wind in Sydney.Launch from the shop and head through the boats to Yarra Bay.Not easy to get to the bay but pretty rewarding once you do.
Great flatwater runs in the little sandy bay and you can take breaks on the beach.
Best done with a mate or two.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I might head to LP, and hopefully there will be a few people out going off the posts above. Safety in numbers, I'm still not confident in strong wind so it would be a great have other sailors around.

I reckon it'll solid by lunch time and bl*ody cold, only 14 deg now and the wind chill will be brrrr..

We've got a westerly down at the gong.15 to 20 knts,bit less than what was forecast,hopefully that will increase this arvo.Heading over to the Yacht Club for a blast

I b there around 1pm

It can be busy on a nice day, lot's of tourists, but you can usually find a parking spot.

Nice grassy rigging area next to where you park.

It was a bit more south yesterday and the wind was a fizzer. More like 8-15 knots, off and on. There were a few guys out slogging and planing in the gusts. The forecast didn't materialize.