Makaha (Long Reef) or Newport Reef. Both spots are awesome with good swell.
Plenty of spots in the Gong if its a quicker drive for you.

A few weeks back some pics were posted in the forum of wavesailing at the entrance to Port Hacking. They mentioned launching at Dharruk Park. If you sail Wanda, that's got to be closer than Newport

Bladez said...

Ah yea longreef, heard a bit about it but never been tempted, might give it a try. Where abouts is Newport Reef?
Never windsurfed around the gong either, any general directions?

Newport reef is off the southern end of Newport Beach (about 15 mins drive north of Long Reef).
Best to go when others are there though, so you know where the rocks are.

As for the Gong, try Peggys (northern side of Bulli point). Drive down Bulli pass, turn left anywhere it says Sandon Point or Bulli Beach and you can't miss it.
Windang (northern side of Windang Island). There's a new breakwall there but can be epic with the right conditions.
Towradgi pool (not in it, but on the nth side of it off the point). Thats at the southern end of Corrimal beach which is about 5 mins south of Bulli beach.
Then theres several other spots which are too difficult to give directions too, but just as good.

So sorry, beg to differ....

As far as I know, wavesailing port tack means the wind is on your left when you are catching and riding waves. In a southerly, this is what happens at Toowoon Bay.

Anyone please correct me if I have been deluded!

Thanks

Darook park is only an option when the swell is very big when it works it can be a lot of fun. Other spots to try near wanda are merries reef, shark island and windy point.

Merries reef is accesible from the boat harbour 4wd park or you can sail straight across from wanda its not too far away. Pretty fun place to sail, is cross on but can handle heaps of swell and provide some awsome jumping alot like sprecks in maui. There are some points on the reef which are cross shore but they are a bit sketchy to get to and get out of. I dont recomend sailing here alone its along swim if anything goes wrong. Might sail here tomorrow.

Shark island is cross shore in dead south and can provide some good sailing on a high tide. Not a long wave ride but a really deep take off will give you some adrenalin kicks. You can launch at the blackwoods beach nearby or just sail up from wanda.

Windy Point can be sailed when there is alot of south swell, some east or north east swell. It is cross to almost cross of in a southerly. Problem with this spot is when it is working it is also a very popular surfing spot, its also somewhere you dont want to stuff up as there a some pretty gnarly rocks to be encountered doown the break.

I'm not a wave sailor - I need someone to explain please - so I can follow this thread.

Q 1) Am I right to assume Port tack is left foot forward - with an onshore wind would that mean you are riding a right hand break?

Q 2) Is Longy cross offshore in a NE'er?

Thanks

I have always been of the opinion that the tack is called looking out from the beach not the direction you are sailing ( otherwise every beach would be both port or starboard on any given day provided you return to the beach at some stage)
eg if your looking out at the water at wanda for example in a noreast it would be considered port tack wave sailing ( even though you are technically ridingthe wave with your right foot foward, starboard tack ), or the other way, if you were standing on the beach at nobbys in a southerly it would be blowing from the right so considered starboard tack, however it would probably be rubbish and you would go home dissapointed therefore making it an irrelevant conversation.

555 said...

dan berry said...

I have always been of the opinion that the tack is called looking out from the beach not the direction you are sailing ( otherwise every beach would be both port or starboard on any given day provided you return to the beach at some stage)
eg if your looking out at the water at wanda for example in a noreast it would be considered port tack wave sailing ( even though you are technically ridingthe wave with your right foot foward, starboard tack ), or the other way, if you were standing on the beach at nobbys in a southerly it would be blowing from the right so considered starboard tack, however it would probably be rubbish and you would go home dissapointed therefore making it an irrelevant conversation.

When heading out you're not 'wavesailing' though.. That would be "Starboard tack jumping", and "Port tack wavesailing"...

I think the "it depends on whether you're coming in or going out" view is too confusing for its own good and no more accurate than the other view.
I also agree its purely based on direction of the wind.
If its southerly (on the east coast), then its starboard tack, and port tack in NEr's (unless you have some weird strip of land where the waves break toward the east) and there's no sense in breaking it down into jumping and wave riding.
Your ability to ride waves in a southerly has absolutely nothing to do with your ability to jump in a NE'r, and vice versa.
If you prefer port tack conditions, then it can be assumed that you ride waves better with your right foot forward, and jump better with your left foot forward.
I'm sure there are plenty of guys in WA (other than the elite sailors) who are very good at wavesailing "right foot forward", but a bit out of whack when it comes to jumping right foot forward, and likewise for anywhere else that has a dominant wind direction all season.

Also, I think people attribute many of the flat water sailing standards to wave sailing where they shouldn't be. eg. Port/Starboard tack wavesailing, right of way, etc, etc.

Dan is right, although if you're standing on the beach at Wanda, then you'll be rushing home to tell everyone on Seabreeze how awesome it is rather than actually sailing.

Sailing 101 (for those who need a refresher) -

Port Tack: Wind coming over port/left side of board (so left foot forward or try making an L-shape for left with thumb and index of mast hand - this doesn't work on starboard tack as L is wrong)
Starboard Tack: Wind coming over starboard/right side of board (right foot forward)

Note: This is independent of wind direction or surf/whatever, it's a relationship of wind with the sailor.

Davmen - I don't wavesail, but surf a bit. Port tack on an onshore wind would be riding an left-hander (breaks left from rider viewpoint)

dism said...
Davmen - I don't wavesail, but surf a bit. Port tack on an onshore wind would be riding an left-hander (breaks left from rider viewpoint)

Yep just realised I wrote that in reverse. - So, Port tack on an onshore - same as goofy/forehand = L-hander?

again: what brien said...

To confusing for me!
Port, starboard, starboard , port.
Left, right, Left.
Anzac day is next week.
Im going sailing.

Right.. so playing devils advocate here..[}:)]

If a sailor is windsurfing (just windsurfing..) on a river for example, with his left foot forward, and the wind coming from his left he would be on port tack? He then sails out the river mouth into some waves. Still left foot forward, wind coming over the board from the left side, still on port tack?

He jibes onto a wave, and having turned through 180 degrees, now has the wind coming from his right, and his right foot forward. And you're telling us that he's still on port tack??

And that's not confusing?!

Then, this sailor carries on sailing, sails back up the river, and at some point magically discovers that he's not on Port tack any more because there aren't any waves, and he's now on Starboard tack...

Magic! How does he know when the tack changes?

See, now it's confusing AND arbitrary! Not to mention at odds with every other marine sailing vessels definition of the terms Port and Starboard tack.

I still maintain that the spot is Port tack, and the sailor is on Starboard tack while riding the waves.

I don't care what direction the winds coming from, its what i feel like on the day. Some days I want to sail starboard tack so I go and sail starboard tack no matter what the winds doing. Then I might go in for a drink then decide to catch a few port tack waves so I just do it.

I don't see what's confusing now. 555 (and my earlier note) were right. People that keep bringing it in relation to the beach or the wind direction keep obscuring things.

Think of it as an international rules that applies for triangular racing, or out on the open on the ocean when two boats meet: couldn't possibly have anything to do with the beach.

If people don't know port from starboard, then it's no surprise the right-of-way rule on the water is so often ignored at windsurfing...

But let me be pedant even more here: it's not the position of the left foot when in front of the board that makes it a port tack. It's a port if the left foot (or hand) were in front if the sailor was sailing in a normal position! Reason is that I do a fair bit of freestyle, and I often cross path in funny positions that require me reasoning the ROW rule right on the spot.