Howdy......My wife stayed down the coast with some friends a few weekends ago at Shoal Bay, and came home raving about the beautiful bays and beaches and wanting to book in some annual leave so we can go down for a week or so in spring. Started to do some research and looked through the piccies she took and came across this one of Fingal Bay....




NICE

Googled it and a NE there looks like it would come straight over the sandbank and dunes between the island and mainland in the left of the piccy - I started frothing thinking of GPS possabilities due to what should be flattish water???. It looks pretty enclosed on a map, does it get rough in there at all? I guess due to facing south if there was a big south swell it could be an issue, but on a normal spring season I am thinking it should be flat? NE get in there ok or am I deluded?

I saw that sick em rex has sailed there in a S/SE, but I couldn't reply to the thread he started as it was too old. So sorry for strating a new one

Open to any suggestions for GPS and wavesailing spots in the area (Nelsons Bay) in say a NE given that will be the prevailing wind pattern in spring - Any hints pretty please? Ta in advance. Adam

EDIT: okay, so i found this thread (after dropping the 's' from nelsons for the search) www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/New-South-Wales/nelson-bay-neasters/?SearchTerms=nelson,bay

No mention of Fingal though in a NE - sand dunes too high for consistent NE?

2alluring said...

That looks like jimmy's beach/ hawks nest, or is that the same thing???

Its not Jimmy's Beach in the photo. However Jimmy's Beach is a great place to sail in flat water in a NE seabreeze. The wind is pretty well straight offshore, depending upon the angle of the beach. One issue is launching from Jimmy's Beach as there is a wind shadow going out around 30 meters in the water.

Launches up or down the beach don't have as much of a wind shadow.

I sailed there a couple of years ago in a good NE wind. Launched from Shoal Bay over the other side as we were staying there. It was a magic day. Formula races were on that day plus there were plenty of freeriders out too.

The only downer are the sharks around there. That girl attacked who was water skiing gives me second thoughts about the place now.

I can't imagine Fingal being good for speedsailing but it can be good for wavesailing in a NE. It needs S or SE swell or it'll be flat, but if there's any wave you'll get nice smooth little bearaways, which we don't get much of around Newcastle (we have lots of bearaway spots but they're a little onshore and bumpy). If it's windy enough you'll get a few jumps.
Other NE wavesailing spots around Nelson Bay are One Mile, cross-shore but it's a bit of a walk or sail or 4WD, and Birubi which is about 20 offshore and gusty unless you 4WD a few kms down the beach.
There's only the occasional wavesailor at any of these beaches.