What do you guys think of this run in a NE? The white line is 500m, and the angle looks about right for a NE seabreeze (maybe a little deep - I'm NO expert). It'd have to be quite a low tide to expose the bank, or at least break the chop. But it looks like there's smooth water downwind, with Kurnell's strong seabreezes.
From Google earth
On Google Maps:
www.google.com:443/maps?ll=-34.006071,151.18513&z=17&t=h&hl=en
the wind is certainly more consistent and most of the time a bit stronger when it is blowing nor east at Kurnell. I say this though as evidenced by the wind graphs and not from experience. Looks like it could be good though albeit possibly a bit shallow. I just wish Kurnell was a bit closer.....and not in "the Shire"
Looks good but agree with Rexy, make sure you take your passport with appropiate visa's on the day trip
And check your boot on the way out for hitch hikers
Looks like a good possibility. Might give it a go someday. Im still itching to check out that sandbank at Mainbar in a westerly. (Even further than Kurnell)
We used to sail this spot in big southerlies , there was even some crew that had a crude video timming set up, the run was of the groins to the north and pretty flat from memory , I don't remember the sand bar really comming out of the water ,that may have changed.It was 20 years ago so could still be worth a look .
Maianbar is the place. Head into the National Park toward Bundeena but take the turn off before Bundeena and voila! I sailed it back in the 80's in a Nor Easter and it was heaps of fun. A Westerly though would be a different kettle of fish.
Yep. My mistake. Its mainabar that Im talking about. Sam pointed it out for westerlys on the forum a few months ago.
hey shear tip
i don't know when you were out there last , but when i was last out there at low tide it was 3ft deep {90cm}never going to come out of the water { sandbar}at low tide .in a good nor easter a bit choppy angle is good for running along the troughs but then you have to tack back to where you started from . up behind the oil wharf is less choppy but a bit less wind .as for maianbah you need minium 25 kts to enjoy your self . and what 's this crap about "the shire" rex serious windsurfers don't complain about the distance they travel as long as they have a good sail when they get there!
Hi Conan,
I was over that way last weekend, it was at high tide when I was sailing over the bank, near the marker beacon. It looked pretty deep, around 6 feet or so, hard to tell accurate depth. It wasn't until I checked out the area on google earth that I saw breaking waves and the image was watermarked 2008, so I guess it's a fairly recent shot of the area.
I guess you don't need the bank to be fully exposed to break the chop, but what interested me about the google earth image is how much of the NE seabreeze chop is broken even though the bank doesn't look fully exposed.
I think next spring/summer when I cant get a park at Kyeemagh, it might be worth a trip if the tide's right. Even if the tide's high, it's pack away the gps and head out for some b&j at kurnell. You'd still get some good times for the 1hr, NM and distance. Maybe even some good alphas in behind the groynes. Another HUGE plus about kurnell vs kyeemagh is there's NO jetskis. But that thread's been done many times before...
if you don't want to drive around to mainbar (in a westerly) than launch at darook park and sail upwind. its easier if the tide is incoming.
hi shear tiip
to sail from kyeemagh to kurnell in 15 kts takes about 10 minutes a good angle there and back but very bumpy in the middle . i often sail around the bay and out the heads for somthing different beats going back and forward [boring] .