went to Port Kembla yesterday. was very gusty and strong at times but there were some nice waves coming through especially early on. Just Paul and myself out. Do you guys rate this spot? What are the other options for westerly wavesailing locations?
went to Gerroa a bit this summer so it felt a bit strange riding waves on port tack

Everywheres gunna be gusty in a westerly

Sailed boat harbour yesterday, there was just about no swell getting in so not much fun tide was way too low aswell. Good flat water off the beach though, might try tomorrow if the wind is up.

Will have to give Port Kembla a go soon sounds lke it could be fun, how big were the waves there on sunday?

ma said...

Birubi was good 2ft+ waves, wind got a bit crazy around the middle of the day. 8 sailors out.

MA is on the money, wind topped 40 knots on the gauge at Birubi... windy enough to move the F150 !
Great to see so many sails out

set up in the car park at the northern end of the beach at the base of the headland. waddled the gear a few hundred metres up the beach and launched from there. looked like the waves were a bit bigger further south. i think they were about 3-4ft in the sets (i'm not the best judge!) where we were and dropped as the day wore on.

Birubi sounds good. Does that work in West and North West?

Port kembla is the same angle as Birubi. Its pretty good sometimes.

WindWarrior said...

bdl2333 said...
Birubi sounds good. Does that work in West and North West?

You betcha

so... any pix? other than the one from your injury?

SundayRoast said...

Also had a look at belambi on saturday which looked awsome while the wind blew nor west, which was'nt long! The break of the swiming pool must have been 2-3 meters, way bigger than i've ever sailed!! Has anyone ever sailed there, whats it like?

I've sailed Bellambi, just north of the pool, quite afew times in a NW'r and it's really good.. Basically cross shore and there is a good little bommie that breaks when there is a bit of swell. Also good right in near the pool. The thing with NW'rs is they are shockingly variable. Qwerty and I were going to sail it last weekend but like you said the NW'r turned off pretty quickly.

I've also been keen to try off the boat harbour breakwall (top corner in near the rocks) in a SE'r but i've only ever been there by myself and to be honest the chance of carnage is fairly high. It does however look like a really really good spot when the swell/wind is right. Seems to be an option when Peggy's is not working.

I've also sailed Port Kembla in a SW'r and was also really good. Was going to give that a hit last weekend as well but the wind didn't look too crash hot, went mountainbiking instead haha.

It's a pity DST has ended, has been a bit of wind around this week but there is just not enough time after work anymore :(

My mates surfed the bombie of the breakwall and reckons its a really good wave. I think it needs a little east in the swell for it break right though.

sat is looking good for Birubi again, hopefully.

In my opinion its the most consistant westerly wind spot on the east coast and its a swell magnet.

Birubi went off both Friday and Saturday. As CJW said it was not even a foot in the Gong but we had 2-4ft on Fri and 2ft Sat. I was on a 4.7m both days, no problem. Sure it was gusty at times, but mostly windy - very windy. People were busting aerials and doing sic cutties everywhere. It was swinging WNW and still very manageable. Oh and we had a total of 14 sailors over the two days (and one silly kiter), all local except two...If Birubi gets dead west wind you can be sure it blows. We had a mixture of WNW and still got awesome conditions. From what I hear Port Kembla is more a SW spot. So if you want a genuine Westerly spot, hit Birubi. As far as sharks go the place can get some, but the water was crystal clear on both days and I didnt see one. The local surf club holds nippers comps up there every wknd and you never hear of any attacks do ya....oh yeah, Brett Goodwin was up there early Sat morning with a big smile on his face (ripping too), it must have something going for it.

I agree that Port is definitely more of a SW spot, it's pretty cross off....like CROSS OFF when it's westerly. It's a really good spot in a SW'r though if the swell hangs in.

Actually I think Port K is more of a westerly spot than a SW spot.
SW'rs are just more reliable than straight westerlies (as they would be anywhere).
I've had some cracking sails there when its dead west. Probably same cross-off angle as Gerroa (but opposite tack). SW is still great, but not quite the same.
If it was SW I'd go somewhere else anyway.

Having said that, I would still put my money on Birubi to turn it on at any stage during winter. Awesome place. Definitely a swell magnet (sometimes too much of one).
Would be pretty even though when it comes to finding aggro locals at the nearest pub.

But if the comp is to come down here, my tip is don't base your accommodation at Gerroa.
Make the most of it, stay somewhere like Shellharbour. Explore all the other surfing/sailing spots that you have probably never sailed/surfed/seen.
You'll have all the sailing spots you need within a few mins from there.
Don't just turn it into another "bum around Gerroa and go to the Fishos" comp.

This is just my 2 cents as I wasn't at the AGM, nor do i currently have any voting rights. I just make a lot of sense.

Tim Williams said...

I've had two hardcore sails as well. It almost went off the scale for a great sail at last yr's comp but there's a major duty of care issue when it gets difficult during a sanctioned comp.

So is that the 'real' reason it was moved... too big.. to hardcore... too difficult during a sanctioned comp ?
Must be my tilted sense of perception from too many sessions at the Animal Bay pub in Birubi but I thought that's exactly the type of conditions wanted for a sanctioned comp ?
I mean surely that's one of the reasons associations like the NSW WSA promote and enforce all members to be insured ?

There's been a steady decline in numbers within the association of sailors based to Sydney's north. If no one north of Sydney is turning up to the AGM's to vote on locations we can't expect to have numbers to support it or even for common sense to prevail... democracy as Dan suggested.
That said....
On the other side of the coin surely the association needs to be asking questions as to why there has been a mass exodus of Northern Sydney based sailors ?

Maybe we should look at an 'unsanctioned' event next time conditions swing west ?

Any takers ?

Crash Landing said...

Their argument was a lack of surf rescue (as Tim mentioned) and noahs

IMO if you can't self rescue you shouldn't be out there... as for sharks, recent statistics prove a higher rate of sightings and attacks in and around Sydney.

the club was there to develop groms and women and it wasn't safe to send them out.

Could this be construed as being to the detriment of running an actual wave sailing comp with the ultimate aim to determine/judge the states BEST wave sailor... sailing in WAVES ?

I would have thought learn to sail days, youth development and social days would be the prime opportunity to attract/develop groms and women ?
Surely as a WAVE SAILING ASSOCIATION the aim is to attract and show case wave sailing... in waves ?

With the location of most events being based around Sydney and further south... along with the said focus on attracting and developing groms & women with resulting comps to be held in locations/conditions where learners can participate, the continued exodus of northern based wave sailors will continue unabated.

I think attracting groms and women to the sport is crucial for it's long term survival BUT surely not at the detriment of the associations core goal as determined by its very name - New South Wales WAVE SAILING Association.

That's my 2 cents, donning flamesuit and stepping down from the soapbox now