Hi there;

I will move to study at UTAS in Launceston soon and also I am a passionate of windsurfing and SUP.

I am from Spain, where I usually practice Slalom (118 liters), Waves (90 and 72 liters) and the days without wind, but with waves I do Paddle surf.

Now I am starting to research a bit the windsurfing and paddle surfing in Tasmania and I will appreciate your advice.

I have some questions:

- Are there a big difference to arrive to good spots between a normal car and 4WD car? because the car is the key to travel to good spots.

- What are wetsuit recommended for winter? I have in Spain 4-3 mm wetsuit, but the temperature are never lower than 4ºC.

- Also if you recommend some material it is more than welcome.

Cheers,
Rafa

Rafa,

'Freak in Lonny' here.

You have probably already worked out that you should not listen to 'Freak-in Houston'.

We live in 'The Roaring Forties', so there is no shortage of wind. Last year there was often 5 of us sailing on the north coast (45 min. from Launceston), at Bellbuoy usually, and enjoying some pretty cool ramps. This year, some of our crew have moved on and so a crowded day will be three people...

Wetsuit - something around 5mm through the winter. I have a Patagonia R4 which is a 5.5 with wool lining, but you still needs boots, not only for the cold, but the shoreline is a bit rocky too, but you don't need gloves. Something to keep your head warm helps a lot - helmet is a good option. on SOME summer days you can get away with no wetsuit... Lately the air temperature has been above 20 degrees C and the water temperature 18.

Vehicle - You don't need a 4WD, but it is worth making sure you have something that you can load a good amount of gear into, and leave locked in it too - a van is the optimum (even Houston is smart enough to realise this, although he may have bought one by accident...). I am often taking two board (sometimes 3) 4 sails (sometimes 5), 2 booms, and all the other stuff. When you add a second sailor, the back fills up fast. The other advantages of a van are that you can get changed in it on those cold and wet winter days (and this is REALLY good), and if you go out to Marrawah, for example, you can sleep in the back. Also, if you get a bull-bar on the front you can head down to Hobart, find Houston, a ram him.

Bienvenida!

Rafa those guys are just so young and devoid of sensitivity and life experiences. I know this because they should have mentioned the following site:
www.thespotguide.com.au/TAS/index.html
Good stuff there and welcome to Tassie.
Beware some sailors becoming tea baggers of late, a trend related to excess Xmas cheer or red cordial.

Welcome to Tassie Rafa.
You will get heaps of sailing in living up north.
We are planning a few Marrawah trips over summer so keep an eye on the forum,
i think you were emailing me about the exocet gear??? Still waiting reply for you
Damien

It could work but......the north coast of Tassi is mostly a wind swell so if there is enough wind for swell there is enough wind for a short board....having said that you could travel from Launceston to the East coast or west coast or even down south!!!!! You may struggle to convince any Northern sailors to travel the 90 - 200 minutes to these "far flung" destinations (only joking).....in winter it tends to be a bit lighter or very windy indeed so a windsup could be useful...and Clarence would be keen to introduce you to some long distance coastal sailing.....plenty of options regardless of your set up though you shouldn't be surprised is some sailors expect you to LOOP that SUP.....