Okay, last weekend was epic, but two in a row?
I am wondering if anyone out there knows somewhere where a 30-35 knot Westerly can be sailed on a mid to high tide, with smooth water, and predictable ramps, and I mean somewhere within driving distance of Launceston in a couple of hours.
Someone posted some amazing shots of Port Sorell a year or two ago that looked like Greens Beach on a good day. Will Port Sorell work in this sort of wind?
Yeeeee haaaa....
Bring it on Huey!!!
Bakers beach is the place ticking all the boxes with a bonus of perfect down the line waveriding...
Those photos from Port Sorell were on a day with a huge Northwesterly... I remember Felix and I sailed Bakers that day and it was huge... Not sure if the waves would get all the way in Port Sorell bay on a westerly wind/swell...
Okay, last weekend was epic, but two in a row?
I am wondering if anyone out there knows somewhere where a 30-35 knot Westerly can be sailed on a mid to high tide, with smooth water, and predictable ramps, and I mean somewhere within driving distance of Launceston in a couple of hours.
Someone posted some amazing shots of Port Sorell a year or two ago that looked like Greens Beach on a good day. Will Port Sorell work in this sort of wind?
Agree with Jimo, you'd need a pretty exceptional swell i would think. I sail there because I'm not ready for the big stuff in +25 knots (ie Bakers, BB) and can find enough smaller waves/ramps to have fun with. The wind can be patchy in the bay and the currents come into play around the sandbar. Izaak & Perks would be the experts.
I have had a couple great sails in a decent NE however, whenever i see a E/NE forecast, i get a little bit excited, but usually end up in Stanley which is as consistent as Low Head in a N/Westerly. On a NE, all of the boxes above are ticked at PortC!
If I get the chance to work from home on Friday, i can give a report
I had a look into the crystal ball...
I saw a very windy Friday afternoon with a building swell on a high tide...
Bell Buoy looked chunky, with unorganized up to mast high waves, and some nicer ones breaking of the point... East Beach point had some nice peeling waves on a high tide, but the rocks looked a bit daunting...
Bakers was cross shore with more organized overhead swell lines for DTL riding...
First thing I saw on Saturday morning were waves that were breaking all the way to horizon...
Bell Buoy was off the scale with plenty of fresh westerly wind... noticeably bigger than the last weekend... it looked epic...
At Bakers I saw the air filled with spray blown off the tops of peeling logo high waves by the smokin' cross-off wind... The wind was a bit more gusty, but no one complained... I saw myself getting up to 10 turns on a wave...
It looks like there will something for everyone, except for those faint-hearted!!
Not yet sure what will be the spot of choice for each day, but Bakers looks like it will be too good to be missed, at least for one day.
What are other people thinking? Anyone coming up from the south?
I am of the understanding G4K that you have more than your fair share of that crystal stuff in the south of the state, according to news reports.
As for Jimo's crystal-gazing / dream / vision / fantasy, call it what you will, all I can say is - check those obs!
Greenie and I got a couple of hours on the water this morning at Bellbuoy before the wind got really ratty. It was not too bad under 4.0 square metres, and it was nice to sneak a sail in on the low tide, and before the serious weather hits.
I think that we can forget about tomorrow.
Had a good sail at Bell Buoy in the afternoon ...
It was a bit gusty on the inside with the high tide, but big sets rolled in consistently...
I am going to Bakers Beach tomorrow morning, will be there around 9 am ... Should be great DTL fun.
I got eaten alive in the afternoon at Bellbouy today, but Alan sailed until the sun went down.
A couple of photos from today.
Don't you just love those Bellbuoy barrels - the glassy faces, perfect shoulders, smooth, crystal clear water, warm temperatures, sandy beaches...
Ohhhhhh - sorry, you mean the OTHER Bellbuoy...
Today afternoon was probably the best Bell Buoy sail I had...
After a good session in the morning the wind dropped for half an hour and some people left...
But shortly after the wind came back and waves picked up again...
The sets were huge... Over mast high waves breaking of the point and holding the size for a few turns with cross offshore wind providing perfect dtl conditions with smooth faces...
Still can't believe that Bell Buoy was that good.
A few shots that I took of Gil and Al as I packed up...
The wind stayed good all afternoon, but the waves started to drop a bit...
Wow great photos, though they probably don't show how tough the conditions were. With a high tide starting to drop there was still a massive wind shadow on the inside and the wave pattern became quite random but it was still massively windy on the outside. I rigged a 4.5 which made getting outback a little easier and Gill went with the 3.7 which made it super difficult to get through the bombs. It was very offshore and variable which made it easy to get pulled over on the way out. Regardless, props to Gill for tackling really tough condition after minimal time on the water over the last 4 months. I had one of my longest swims for many years when I ended up in the rip and wore a dozen waves on the head.....fun times..
Photo of Gill weaving a path through the chaos.