I'm not really sure what type of sailing you are into but we have a small fleet of TS-16's sailing from our club (BYRA) on Sydney's northern beaches. They launch from the boat ramp at Bayview and race on Pittwater. I'm sure they encompass a vast range of sailing skills and it's always more fun to sail and socialize with like minded people.

Other than that, for cruising, Lake Maquarie is hard to beat and not far from Brooklyn. Port Stephens is a sailing wonderland but a few hours further north. Jervis Bay is also wonderful but at probably 5 hours south, better kept for the annual holiday.

PM me if you are interested in BYRA...

Lake macquarie is is about 3 hours further up from Brooklyn, so I would say that is still pretty far. I'm guessing if you guys are racing in Pittwater the weather must be decent then? Might give that a go this Sunday if it is going to be as hot as they say it is.

Port Hacking sounds decent and it isnt too far though I rarely drive down south, only pass through so don't really know the area and well prefer driving up the F3 then making my way south doing 40k's through traffic.

So this is probably a stupid question, but what is the best way to get a good indication of how much wind I will be seeing when I get down there? Im just sick of driving down and having a slow afternoon.

Not really interested in overnighting yet (especially in this cold) so the places that are more then 1/1.5 hours away are not on my list. I just need somewhere close that I can go to every 2nd weekend where I can get some more experience under me before setting out on some adventures come summer.

Thanks for the help.

Hi,

When you go to Brooklyn, instead of launching at Mooney Mooney, try driving another 5 mins up the road to Brooklyn itself and launch at Parsley Bay. It's a good, large ramp in an enclosure. Go 50 metres out of the enclosure and you're among the moored boats. Another maybe 50 metres and you've got wide expanses of open water. You should be able to cut the motor in minutes instead of hours.

Secondly, there are some great spots around Sydney but it does depend on where you are. Forget Sydney Harbour itself but on the Parramatta River, for example, there are excellent ramps at Burwood and Abbotsford among others. Drummoyne Sailing Club has a fleet of TS16s that race regularly and they have their own little ramp to launch from. As others have mentioned, Pittwater is a great place to sail although you'll find the wind can be pretty changeable sometimes, especially towards the southern end. It can be damn frustrating sometimes sailing along nicely and then suddenly finding the wind shift 180 degrees!!

Thirdly, winter is always a tough time for sailing. Lots of calm days with little to no wind. Normally in August we get lots of blowing monkeys out of trees type weather (hasn't hit yet!) and then it's into good breezes through spring and summer. So you shouldn't have much longer to wait.

There was a TS-16 cruising on Pittwater this arvo (Sunday). It had a light blue deck and dark blue cabin. Was this you?

So if I am seeing this right this saturday and sunday will be Northerly/Westerly? Head up to Pittwater or somewhere else?

Oh yay it is raining this weekend....

Pittwater sure, but what about Broken Bay proper. Might be the ticket.

If you're interested in getting the Marine Alert try this www.rms.nsw.gov.au/maritime/index.html

Gives you a forecast wind alert for your area in an email or SMS.

If you're in NSW that is.

Michael

Looks like it is going to be pretty big westerly winds, but I mean if it will less in the enclosed waters as you mentioned maybe it should be ok. My mates dad had a fishing trip canceled because it was going to be too messy, I guess we will see.

I will be heading at to Brooklyn tomorrow morning at like 7am and hopefully the next time you hear from me wont be on the 5pm news as 2 21 year old's drown at Brooklyn. So yer unless convinced otherwise, I'm going for it :). As long as it doesnt rain which it looks like it wont, and i don't end up needing help to right the boat, I will be happy.

Will be launching at Parsley bay.

EDIT - Just got back. Parsley bay really is a lot easier. Thanks so much for that :). Winds were pretty nuts, I know it was supposed to be sheltered, but there were plenty of white horses (?) and the gusts were nuts. Didn't end up in the water though so that was a plus. A cat went end over and had to get dragged back by a passing jetski, poor guy was freezing. I would believe the 20-25 kts it says on the map. My hands are aching. Also realised I have a lot to learn but it is fun. Probably last trip up before the weather gets warmer. It is nice to be able to get sprayed and not freeze. Dont think I will go out in that strong of a wind again without a bigger boat.