Live at Narrabeen.
Assuming you are driving to work, you can drive straight up Wakehurst Parkway to get to Chatswood. (and also to get towards the freeway to go to the north coast or to the city to go south).

Surf is good everywhere but you'll get less crowds the further away you are from Manly and Dee Why.
Still close to Long Reef for sailing, as well as the lake and not too far to Palm beach.
For $700 per week you should find something good close enough to the beach.

if you want to be able to sail lots then be prepared to drive south wanda beach is the windiest wave spot in sydney and botany bay is also the windiest flat water spot. SW-SE winds are best at windang near wollongong and NE winds are definately best on seven mile beach. gerrroa when theres sth swell and shoal haven heads when theres NE wind swell. wherever you live your goin to have to drive for good sailing, northern beaches sailing is very up and down, cya on the water

forgot to add...
... you don't find the combo of good windsurf spots and being close to a major city in many places anywhere in the world. I generally get about 50 to 100 days of sailing in a year... mainly due to the close proximity of the main spots to the CBD areas. I often take a work break during the day to go out sailing for an hour or so if the conditions are right. NE seabreezes and Southly changes are usually predictable as far as strength and duration goes... I have not seen this in many other places in the world other than say Lake Garda, the Gorge or Maui... and of course WA.

Hi all,

Thanks for all the info. On the driving nothing can be worse then what I currently have to put up with in London. Takes around 2 hours to get down to Hayling Island, after which time the wind has died, and then 4 hours stuck in traffic jams trying to get home. An hour or so to a good location and back should not be to much of an issue.

The big question that I now have is on enclosed windsurf trailers. When living in South Africa I used to have a windsurf trailer, every time the wind blew all you did was hooked the trailer up to the back of your car and away you go. All the wet gear stays out of the car and you never forget crucial bits of kit after driving for a couple of hours. I have been searching a couple of the Australian websites however have not seen anything like this advertised in the classifieds. I am guessing that you have a different name for a trailer down under, could you let me know what this is? Or alternatively do you know of a place where I could pick something like this up?

Also, Are there any windsurf clubs that you can join to meet up with other windsurfers. I have a couple of buddies living in Sydney, however they are into different hobbies and I would also like to meet up windsurfers that I can go sailing with on weekends (after I get a green card from the missus)

Thanks for all the help

Cheers,

Rob

You'll probably need to get one custom made. There's lots of manufacturers in the Yellow Pages but when I rang around I found their quotes outrageously high $2800 was the lowest, I think this is because trailers of 3.5+ m are generally for heavier loads. My solution was to get a sailing dingy trailer (eg something you'd use to tow a laser) and build my own box on it. The trailer frame cost $900 (new) and the box materials cost about $300.

Occasionally you see a s/hand one on these pages.

Enjoy Sydney!


Malcolm

I wouldn't rush in to the trailer idea. some of the places where you'll want to sail you'll find will be a drama finding somewhere to park with the trailer still attached. only a couple of the spots that I can think of have "boat ramp" style double-length parking. easier down south or up in Qld, but not on the northern beaches of sydney.

If you're not keen on the van idea, which worked really well for me in sydney (I had a transporter... 'car comfort, van size'), think about a roof box. you can lock it and leave it up there if you like. keeps the car dry and they're not too pricey, and you won't have to register it, insure it, maintain it.... you get the idea!

anyway, my advice would be do it the "hard way" for a few weeks (chucking the stuff on top of the car) and figure out what's going to work best for you. that way you won't get stuck with something that annoys you and nobody wants to buy!

"who give a rats about geographic names"?
Probably people who want to get to either place, considering they are quite far apart. Particularly as this thread evolved from someone wanting to know a suitable place to live for his certain needs. Steering him inland to the northshore area may throw him off a little.

FYI: I have no British blood in my veins, but you're right about the similar DNA. The amount of times I got stopped on the streets of Britain by someone who asked if I was their brother, you would not believe!

In my 29 years of being born and living on the Nthn Beaches, I not once ever encountered/witnessed any such discrimination. Not to say it's never happened, as it would have happened in any part of the world from time to time, but to label an entire community as having "quite a lot" of such people just makes you appear quite narrow-minded and stupid really.

As for the wind, of course anyone knows that Sth Sydney is much windier that north Sydney. I never stated otherwise so what's your point?
As I no longer live there, I don't care how windy it is, or isn't.

I had to leave because there were too many Germans asking for directions to the North Shore.