Old Vid Caloundra early '90's

> 10 years ago
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Bondalucci
Bondalucci
VIC
1580 posts
VIC, 1580 posts
6 Jun 2014 9:45pm
I was doing search on Caloundra Windsurfing and this came up.
Not sure if it's been on SB before, but no doubt the QLD folk will recognize people and sails.

Haircut
Haircut
QLD
6491 posts
QLD, 6491 posts
6 Jun 2014 10:14pm
thanks, that was an interesting watch for a bit of nostalgia.

liked the cheese roll attempts
Gestalt
Gestalt
QLD
14953 posts
QLD, 14953 posts
6 Jun 2014 10:31pm
whilst not in that video I was there nearly every weekend. I'm not sure what happened to the guys, I think the majority of them took up kitesurfing.

a couple are no longer with us and the rest still windsurf but hit the waves at neil st these days.

my quiver back then was a 5.7m jv slalom sail (local) and a hot pink fluoro 6.5m wildwinds which I used on a 9'2" custom wave slalom.... fluoro yellow and purple spray job. they were the days!!!

for speed sailing I'd borrow a 9'2" needle which I now own. that place was the bomb in an easterly. willy who passed a few years back was unbeatable.

we also did a lot of longboard racing there and at the lake. dieter from sunshine coast sailboards sponsored most of the events. steve allen used to join in. I think he was about 18 or so then as well. jesus he was fast.

they were good times and windsurfing was at the top of it's ride then. just in Caloundra/Maroochydore there was 6-7 shops and at golden beach where that vid was shot there could be 60-70 people at once blasting around.

the area now is completely different because of the sand movements. the mouth of the passage however is returning to it's former glory.

p.s. I thought the guy at 1.10 was me because it looks exactly like my setup but then he looks to have a beard so I'm not sure.
Steve1001
Steve1001
QLD
241 posts
QLD, 241 posts
7 Jun 2014 11:11am
Wow that was great to watch. Thanks for posting it gestalt. Enjoyed reminiscing about sailing 25yra ago.

Hasn't the gear improved! So much better today! Also, the standard of the average windsurfer is higher today. The sport has grown in disciplines ie speed, slalom, wave, formula etc. so much better today., more choice, better wind range......etc.
Gestalt
Gestalt
QLD
14953 posts
QLD, 14953 posts
7 Jun 2014 11:26am
bondalucci gets the credit steve.

here is another of the same spot and same guys. I kind of remember Marcus, pretty sure they were vitamin sea team riders. this one has the miami vice music which suited the vitamin sea guys of that time. hehe,

conan
conan
NSW
181 posts
NSW, 181 posts
8 Jun 2014 9:09pm
Nice video's guys is that sanbank still there &what wind does it work in thanks guys
Gestalt
Gestalt
QLD
14953 posts
QLD, 14953 posts
9 Jun 2014 9:14pm
Unfortunately the sandbank is gone. It used to work in an easterly.

i think these days there is an ok run in a NE.
conan
conan
NSW
181 posts
NSW, 181 posts
10 Jun 2014 9:46am
I'll be up there in a couple of weeks any suggestions .
Gestalt
Gestalt
QLD
14953 posts
QLD, 14953 posts
10 Jun 2014 10:17am
no probs conan,

what type of sailing? do you have a car or staying on the beach?

if it's flat water then golden beach,
if it's bump and jump then the bar on an incoming tide
for waves, neill st or the bar seem to be the spots this time of year.

keep an eye in the qld forum, myself and others post where they are going on the weekends so other can have someone to sail with.
SeanAUS120
SeanAUS120
QLD
769 posts
QLD, 769 posts
10 Jun 2014 4:10pm
Gestalt said...
It used to work in an easterly.


There used to be a pretty legendary drag race course from Gemini Towers all the way to the boardwalk at Bulcock Beach in an easterly.

I'm not in the video but I sailed every summer school holidays at Caloundra since about 1990. I was about 6 years old and not strong enough to uphaul at all so dad would just watch from the beach and whenever I'd crash he'd paddle out on the surfski and we'd swap and he'd sail the kit back to the beach and I'd paddle the ski. Pretty funny when I think about it now.

Dad taught me to waterstart not that much later and to this day on the Pro Tour I still don't use an uphaul rope... think I just mentally don't like them! haha.

Great video!

Gestalt
Gestalt
QLD
14953 posts
QLD, 14953 posts
10 Jun 2014 5:56pm
yeah it was a classic spot.

that drag race lead to some fairly aggressive moments off the water at times. not only was it a full speed blast down to the boardwalk, then there was a gybe and a screamer back upwind to the towers. all done back through the fleet of 60 other warriors coming down the course. it was nuts.

it started to lose it when the trees grew on the sandbank, yeah it was every bit as flat as burrum. the gybe area up at the board walk was like glass. it is once again that flat up at the board walk but needs a southerly now. if someone were to go up there in a southerly they may find it a good spot for alphas. there is a new run forming from the boat hire out to the bar along the sand bank. not sure how good it is but worth a look for those that sail speed there.

you still have the issue of the trees on the middle sandbank tho. it's kinda off the radar because the speed guys sail down to the south and the wave guys stay in the bar.

while we're reminiscing.

one year. we had a slalom race from the happy valley side. the idea was to do as many laps as possible in a 20 minute time frame. we all lined up and they dropped the flag.

as we were all pumping to get going in the slop created by 50 slalom sailors this guy was rounding the mark and coming back along the course. he copped a mouthful from everyone for sailing along the course during a race.

then, everyone realised it was steve. we had only gone 20-30meters and he was on his return lap 300 meters in front of the entire fleet.
Rustbucket68
Rustbucket68
TAS
488 posts
TAS, 488 posts
10 Jun 2014 8:37pm
Wow what a flashback..thanks for putting that up.

I Still remember sailing with Lloyd, Willie, Jaap, Craig, Steve, Otto, Clive, Charlie and the others of the Vitamin Crowd at Golden beach for many years. We used to hang out at the shop and watch vids if it wasn't windy.

Willie was always the one to catch along the sandbar on the easterlies and it was a nice long run. Sometimes you could sail all the way to the towers. Bulcock Beach the spot for the south easters inside or across the bar.

Sometimes there was no place to park and there would be 50 plus on the water. Good times and great memories especially the end of year get togethers.

I went back to Caloundra in 2013 for a look and it had changed so much and no windsurfers to be seen even with wind on the water. We used to be at the beach in any conditions even if only to socialize.

Maybe one day it will pick up again. Paul T.
Boombuster
Boombuster
QLD
585 posts
QLD, 585 posts
10 Jun 2014 9:19pm
Think I saw a young Kel in movie?
I started on JVs they were good sails in those days.
Gestalt
Gestalt
QLD
14953 posts
QLD, 14953 posts
10 Jun 2014 11:42pm
yeah they were,

I'd even go as far as to say they were the first sail I saw that worked on the open leach idea.
stanly
stanly
QLD
307 posts
QLD, 307 posts
11 Jun 2014 7:16pm
Wow...trip down memory lane I used to sail at the tip of Bribie back then, used to park on the Caloundra side on the spit out the front that's been washed away.
Used to only be able to water start in one direction because of the current. Lots of sore ankles from trying barrels with those heavy glass boards. Biggest sails back then must have only been about 6.5.
Amazing how back then every just wore shorts and maybe a t-shirt, or those fluoro wetsuits...

Back then I used a 8'10 watercooled wave slalom and Gaastra wave slalom sails about 5.5 and 4.5, but was probably only 55kgs back then.
AusMoz
AusMoz
QLD
1514 posts
QLD, 1514 posts
11 Jun 2014 7:50pm
Sailing Caloundra 1990-91 was better than what it is today! And I could see the shallow areas better!
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