Gosford/Saratoga Sailboards - (Racing, Freeride & Lessons)

OK, point taken. I guess it looks much nicer from the deck of a 40'er...

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AUS126 said..
Hey Jethrow, If your keen to windsurf to Box Head from Palmy let me know. I've been waiting for the right conditions to do it for a while. Preferably a 10 to 15 knot southerly with small southerly swell so we can play around in the waves. Worst case scenario just catch the ferry home. Steve

Let me know if you are doing this. I will try to join you either in the crossing or the waves. I'd most like to sail over and meet you then sail back with you. Its a hell of a big work though to sail that far straight upwind in a southerly.
Also I'd definitely choose a different board for the crossing compared to sailing the waves. (and sail)
Possible exception would be a windsurfer LT or a Kona. But a race board is going to be nicer for the crossing , and you will wreck it in the waves.
Say goodbye to your mast track in the first fall. Especially sailing backside onshore, there will be a close out.

If the real desire is to sail the box.... let me know .... I have lots of gear I can loan you.
Large oes wave board
pacifico wave
exocet duck tail wave
Kona
and various size sup, with sail attach

Bring a rig across on the boat, or I could loan you something there as well.
Rigs and waves are a bit iffy, so replace what you break.
I'm always looking for company in the waves with a sail.

I actually prefer a westerly if there is a southerly swell
or a strong NE can work, once again southerly swell needed.

Easterly swells don't really make it into the box.

Cross or cross off is lots of fun, even if the waves are small.

If you do come over aim for the 2 hrs either side of low tide.
High tide is ok but only with big surf.
Check surf cam,
uminaslsc.org.au/surfcam2/

and if the wind fails us and you do come over on the boat I can also organise paddle surfing gear as a back up.

Saturday 12-Oct-2019
Heat 2 NSW Summer Raceboard Series

No sailboards at Gosford tomorrow due to Heat 2 of the NSW Summer Raceboard Series which will be held at George's River Sailing Club (Botany Bay). For details please visit the following Seabreeze post :-

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/New-South-Wales/Raceboard-NSW-series?page=1#8

Sunday 13-Oct-2019
Saratoga Sailing Club

Racing commences at Saratoga Sailing Club for the 2019/2020 series. This year we have allocated different classes to each weekend. This Sunday will be the Windsurfer Class Pointscore. So bring your Windsurfer (Original, One Design or LT) and get amongst it. All other boards are welcome to join us, so come down and check out this fantastic venue. Racing starts at 2pm.

www.sarasail.org.au/

Finally, congratulations to Lyndon (Heavy1 here on Seabreeze) for firstly completing his highly challenging Windsurfing for Research Whitsunday Island hop adventure and also for raising $2903.50 for research into mitochondria disease. What a great effort! Many thanks to those in the Windsurfing community who donated to this very worthy cause. To see Lyndon's blog and the pictures of his adventure or to make a donation please go to the following link.

kollinginstitute.everydayhero.com/au/windsurf-for-research?fbclid=IwAR148X37gs2PzvRVyl6MdZwkXElSWdQagDGPJ-4Xc5mUxYjyOVylVnYbDDE

Saturday racing at St George proved a little beyond me to complete a course within the 20min time from the winner. It was a quite windy south Easter, a rather long course and constrained by reefs which I managed to find at speed. I had some company at my end of the competition so it was fun anyway.

Sunday I sailed with Sam on the Gemini Tandem. Sam was very appreciative of my time and pointers but truth be told I had at least as much fun, probably more than he did. We Sailed from Saratoga and as I remember it we had , 8knt southerly , 3 knot south west , becalmed for 15 min (had a nice rest on the big board) 6 knot east , 6 knot south west , finally setting to about 8 knot south east.

Given that my assignment was to work on teaching pointing skills, lets just say we were both very confused.

However Sam did use the harness for the first time, and with great success. And only one of us fell in at all, and it wasn't Sam.

It was certainly the furthest Sam has ever sailed, and probably the fastest. At times we had a brisk sub planning speed. Also we did some good gybes and , as a result of all the wind shifts, Sam is now a master tacker.

Transitions on the Gemini are a hoot. They do require some unique methods.
Think about a Ketch with a steering sail. The beginners sheeting in and out, and over sheeting really steers the board. So the guy on the back needs to have strategies to manage all that.

Im really looking forward to taking Sam out on the Gemini Tandem in 12 to 15knots. He will be so far up in the air he might as well be foiling.

For those who may be confused or who has been following my original post which was titled :-

"Gosford - Saturday afternoon longboard racing"

The title of this post has today been changed to :-

"Gosford/Saratoga Sailboards - (Racing, Freeride & Lessons)"

This was done by the Seabreeze admin team at my request to better reflect that the Gosford sailors are now sailing from both the Gosford and Saratoga locations.

Nice work, saw JD sailing amongst the ferries race on Brisbane Water on the NBN News. Good shot. Well done to the newbies. Could do with a tad more downhaul on one of the sails lol.

Sunday 27-Oct-2019
Saratoga Sailing Club
www.sarasail.org.au/

Sailboard club racing season finally commenced last Sunday at Saratoga Sailing Club for the 2019/2020 series with 3 sailboards racing. It was a beautiful day out on the water with quite a decent light to moderate breeze allowing for upwind planing and even a few nice planing reaches.

I'll be away at Huskisson this weekend for the 3rd round of the NSW Raceboard Series which is being held in conjunction with the Sand & Sea Festival :-

www.sandandsea.com.au/

However Pete, Lyndon and Sam are all planning on sailing at Saratoga this Sunday, so come down and join them.

All boards and all sailing levels are welcome to join us, so come down and check out this fantastic venue. Racing starts at 2pm.

If anyone is interested in learning to windsurf please contact Lyndon (Heavy1) or myself and we'll arrange a suitable time to get you started, alternatively come down to Saratoga Sailing Club any Sunday around midday through summer and check it out for yourself. With the weather warming up it's a great time to learn, especially as we have a few other beginners to progress and share your experience with.

Saturday 09-Nov-2019
Gosford Sailing Club

Only social sailing for sailboards at Gosford tomorrow, Peter and Sam will be at the waterfront around 11:30am and I'll be there from about 12:30pm to give Nick his 2nd lesson (you'll find us on the foreshore in front of the carpark on the southern side of Gosford Sailing Club) .

Sunday 10-Nov-2019
Saratoga Sailing Club

Racing will be on at Saratoga on Sunday from 2pm with Peter and Lyndon both planning on attending.

All boards and all sailing levels are welcome to join us, so come down and check out this fantastic venue.

If anyone is interested in learning to windsurf please contact Lyndon (Heavy1) or myself and we'll arrange a suitable time to get you started, alternatively come down to Saratoga Sailing Club any Sunday around midday through summer and check it out for yourself.

www.sarasail.org.au/

I will be competing at Toronto on Sunday in the Windsurfer Class summer series. Sounds like we're going to have a decent sized fleet, so if you have a Windsurfer One Design or LT come down and join us.

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AUS126 said..
Sounds great Heavy. It's good to find someone else who appreciates wind sups. I've been using the LT in small surf and lighter winds at Palmy, Longy and Makaha and it's been really good. I come across a bit in boat so could easily bring Wally with me if winds are dodgy. I'll let you know. Cheers.

Umina Sup Sail fun. 8knts max 2 ft swells. (Lots of fun where other alternatives not happening)

Interesting the one is much lighter but also at least 40cm shorter.

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Heavy1 said..

AUS126 said..
Sounds great Heavy. It's good to find someone else who appreciates wind sups. I've been using the LT in small surf and lighter winds at Palmy, Longy and Makaha and it's been really good. I come across a bit in boat so could easily bring Wally with me if winds are dodgy. I'll let you know. Cheers.

Umina Sup Sail fun. 8knts max 2 ft swells. (Lots of fun where other alternatives not happening)

Nice work Lynden. Good old Umina/Ocean Beach.

Saturday 30-Nov-2019
Gosford Sailing Club
Not official racing, but a couple of us might be headed out for an afternoon sail. Should be at the waterfront on the Southern side of Gosford Sailing Club by 2pm at the latest.

Sunday 01-Dec-2019
Saratoga Sailing Club

Briefing at 1pm, Racing starts at 2pm, there should be a few of us there including a few new starters from around 11am. Hope to see you there.

www.sarasail.org.au/

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SeeLegs said..
I just sent reply to John Doolan about Brisbane waters windsurfing, but i must have done something wrong. so here it is again in short. I'd like to surf. Been many many years since i last did. Still have most of my gear. Need board and mast for older F2 wave sails. Would prefer to try out/borrow/hire b4 i purchased as i have no idea what length or volume i now need. Did have a F2 Sunset Slalom once. Cheers

Great to hear from you.

There is a small group of us that sail at Saratoga Sailing Club each Sunday. We are already at the club today, but start racing from 2pm.

Come down and meet us all. I have replied to your email. Including my mobile number, so feel free to give me a call.

John