Come join us to make the trek back to Sutton's Beach Redciffe for a great day of slalom/bump and jump fun.
the sponsor for the redcliffe meet is Windsurfingsales, a long time supporter of the club. The guys at Windsurfingsales have once again graciously come to the party with lots of food and giveaways for everyone.
planned for the day are :-
1. bbq [:D] (of course)
2. gun sail mast bag give away
3. gun sail universal and base plate
4. slalom advice from Vando! [8D]
official kick off is at 1pm and we hope to see every there. Sutton's provides classic redcliffe conditions allowing for slalom and bump and jump sailing as well as small wave riding on the way back into the beach.
so throw on a wetsuit and come join us on the water! [:D]
http://www.windwanderers.com/Locations.html
as asual keep an eye on this website or Seabreeze closer to the day to keep up to date with the preceedings.
13-05-08
Latest News …..
Next WindWanderers Meet…….
The next Wanderers meet is planned for Bribie Island. As May is usually a little quiet we are eagerly watching the forecasts for an appropriate opportunity.
More info to follow when the arrows go green.
Lake Samsonvale Watersports Association. (Free Beginner’s Gear Available)
An open day is planned for this Sunday the 18th of May. Myself and a few of the regular crew will be attending and getting wet. Keen to try out a new location have a sail on the lake. There will also be free beginners gear available. Please spread the word. This will also be an excellent opportunity to follow up for those that attended the Women in Windsurfing meet.
The official notice from the LSWSA
Brisbane's nearest lake sailing and water sports venue
Our present big focus is the 'Open Day' on May 18
A major event for club members, guests and the public, don't miss it
Come along and enjoy the chance to sample many different facets of water sporting activities
Here is a link to our promotional flyer ... Open Day Flyer ... check it out
It will take a little while to download, but worth the wait.
If you're still on dial-up, come back after a coffee break
Please print it out, hand it around to your friends and colleagues, stick it up in shops
and workplaces, risk prosecution by plastering it everywhere!
With this year’s event resulting in another successful outcome the planning is underway for the following years event. At this stage all sponsors are once again supporting the event. I am also currently in talks with further sponsors. Another exciting outcome is that I am looking towards accessing a barge for next year’s event to ferry all competitors and gear out to the bank for the day. The barge will also enable bbq and café facilities.
Also in the works is a DVD for all competitors containing all photos and videos from the event. Currently some videos are available on youtube. Follow the links in the windsurfing web section of this newsletter.
Yachting QLD and Padi from surf connect are currently looking into developing a youth team. Any interested parties should contact padi@surfconnect.com or call 0411-789 888. They are also looking for any additional gear to add to the gear already available.
WindWanderers Library
The Starboard sponsored kids rig is now back in the library and once again available for any member of the club. It has seen some worthwhile use over summer. So anyone keen to grab it just drop me a line.
After 4 weeks of waiting patiently for the weather to happen we will finally see the WindWanderers Sunshine Coast meet go ahead this Sunday the 20th of April.
This will also be a great opportunity to try out the Starboard Futura which has been receiving rave reviews around the world.
see meet announcement below for more details.
03-04-08
Next Meet Announced ......
Sunday April the 13th will see the next WindWanderers Meet planned for Golden Beach, Caloundra.
Sunshine Coast Sailboards are supporting us once more by sponsoring the event and brining a very impressive array of gear to the beach for all to use.
Planned for the day we will have gear for Demo from Starboard, Neil Pryde & Bic.
Available on the beach will be :-
Starboard Futura 111
Starboard S-Type 126
Starboard Go 133
Bic Techno 133, 118
Bic Core 135
NeilPryde Solo and Helcat Rigs as well.
we will also have the starboard sponsored kid's rig at the beach and intended on also providing gear for those wanting to try out some beginners kit.
the meet will officially start at the usual time of 1pm and will include a bbq!
location will be the covered area and amenities at golden beach. please keep an eye out on the website for weather updates.
02-04-08
KA SAIL Caloundra WInd Surf Speed Challenge ......
this weekend sees the running of the QLD's only annual speed event this year held at the legendary Burrum Heads Speed strip. the event has an huge prize pool which includes a KA Koncept in the lucky draw. Sponsors for the event include
KA Sail
Caloundra Wind And Surf
Lorch Boards
Sunshine Coast Sailboards
NXS Boards
Seabreeze forums
more details can be found at seabreeze or check out the event flyer
current forecasts are for 20-30 knot SE winds.
17-02-08
Brief review of the Askhuey meet......
A nice relaxing day that turned out to be lots of fun. "Haircut" gave a lot of us the run down on how to Vulcan so hopefully we'll be seeing some more freestylers hitting the water over the next few months. It was also good to see huey co-operating again, the arvo session turned out to provide a couple of decent hours of powered up sailing on the small kit. overall the wind varies from 10-20 knots and we saw about 30 windsurfers making the most of the train.
i'll get a review of the meet up over the following week so everyone can have a look. it will also include photos.
Thanks again to AskHuey for sponsoring the meet. the food was great, the shirts were great and those askhuey sunnies are awesome. the members that were lucky enough to win the giveaways were stoked. check out the askhuey forums for some of the days action aptly named Poledancer forums
14-02-08
February Freestyle meet announced....(AskHuey sponsored)
The February installment for the WindWanderers will be at the Train on the Gold Coast this saturday. 16/02/08. Usual start time of 1pm.
The current forecast for the day is a 15-20 knot SE.
the day is a sponsored by AskHuey and will include
Askhuey bbq
Askhuey sunglasses and T-shirt lucky draws
Vulcan freestyle clinic
details of the location can be found on the WindWanderers website under the location guide.
hope to see everyone there for a fun and relaxed day.
23-01-08
Starboard Women in Windsurfing Meet in Review.......
Pelican Park, Redcliffe
To start the new year the club’s first event for 2008 was the Starboard Women in Windsurfing Meet. A day where we dedicated all of our time and attention to the Women of windsurfing. The aim being to further assist the ladies in the club and encourage new women into the sport by providing free tuition and gear. We also had a bevy of eager man-caddy’s on hand to carry and rig kit when needed. The meet furthermore strengthened our relationship with Starboard. Starboard dedicate a lot of effort towards Women’s windsurfing and also towards windsurfing learners and windsurfing Kid’s. They have programs and equipment to assist including a women’s windsurfing forum and women’s support program. In short Starboard were extremely excited to be a part of the day.
The event also saw us try out a new venue, Pelican Park at Redcliffe. Pelican park or "Bell's Beach" consists of a bay looking south towards the Brisbane skyline while opening out into the broader expanse of Moreton Bay to the east. A great location with a sand bottom extending well out from shore at low to medium tides.
Leading up to the event i received a large response from women wanting to be involved in the day. With 8-10 girls signed on for lessons i had to put in a call to some friends for help. Both Caloundra Wind & Surf and SurfFX offered to lend the club additional gear which was greatly received and appreciated. this meant we could get everyone out and enjoying the sport at the same time. I also asked Justan (aka haircut), Peter and Kellie to be instructors. Peter is a senior ayf instructor, Kellie was the 2007 qld women's slalom champion (both from the sunshine coast) and Justan has fast tracked many peoples learning on the gold coast with his advanced skills.
We started the day early and arrived at the beach around 10.30 to find clear blue sky's, light winds and a lovely 1 foot swell rolling onto the shore creating small breakers. (oops). I must admit i was a little concerned. i had driven past this spot numerous times and not seen it bumpy in light winds before. I crossed my fingers and we kicked the day off, with everyone chipping in to rig up the gear and get some of the learners out on the water.
First on the water was Eliza. she had arrived very early so while the members were organizing the numbers and getting the rest of the gear up and running i managed to show her the ropes and joined her out in the swell for some fun. In no time she had the basics and was beginning to deal with the difficult waters very well.
Not long after Kellie had managed to help Jeanie and friend onto the water and were also running through the basics.
After half an hour the rest of group had arrived and started to assemble on the beach to give encouragement. We decided to get everyone together and start the formal lessons. Pete dragged one of the setups up onto the sand and we set about demonstrating basic wind theory, feet position, uphaul technique and the go position on a board arranged in simulation mode.
One by one each of the girls took their turn. allowing us to provide important advice on the basics. for the next half hour we all had a go, (instructors included). That gave enough time for the tide to recede a little causing the swell to reduce. Perfect timing, as the wind had also swung to the east and eased a little. We all hit the water and began to practice what had been learnt during simulation.
With excellent instructors on hand the girls were up and sailing in no time. everyone was stoked! all it took was half an hour and all of the girls were away. managing to get into the right stance then sail for 20-30 metre's before trying to turn and sail back the other way. watching the smiles made it all worthwhile. the girls were hooked. The rest of the morning was spent with us watching from the beach as the new addictees sailed around the bay enjoying every minute.
By now we were heading into the early afternoon. So, i returned to the grassed area to start the bbq. Mikey also joined me and grabbed a pair of tongs to lend a hand. Slowly, more of the club members, (who had been soaking up the sun while the lessons were being run) found the smell of the bbq too much. By the time the food was cooked we had a small party happening. i think the smell of food must have also enticed the girls off the water also. as they soon joined in grinning from ear to ear.
Another excellent outcome for the day was the inclusion of the kid's gear. having received the starboard kids's rig at xmas i let everyone know it would be available. As a result we had some very eager 4-8 year olds ready and waiting, not just content to play on the beach and watch mum sail back and forth. Kellie grabbed the gear and took the opportunity to get the kids up and sailing. Within an hour they were sailing around by themselves and playing on the gear with each other. it was great to see the effect it had. Starboard has a kid's forum, a kids proline range and also dedicated pro kids events, so to see one of their rigs being put through it's paces was very satisfying. By then end of the session Kellie was swamped and the kid's were loving every minute.
The rest of the day was spent freesailing, lazing on the beach and discussing sailing tips. By the afternoon the wind had increased enough to get the rest of the members out on the water. not quite enough for a blistering display of speed and tricks but enough to get everyone on the plane and enjoying the new location.
the late arvo also saw a couple more girls arrive for some lessons. i managed to grab some of the gear and take christan and Caitlin out onto the water. like the others they were both sailing back and forth after half an hour. We were also joined later by long time club member Jo who was looking to improve her current ability by adding beach starts and waterstart rig control.
Finally as the light was fading i pulled 3 lucky names from the hat and let Lut, Kellie and Sabien know they had each one a Starboard long sleeve ladies wetshirt.
All up we had a very enjoyable day. We saw 12 ladies hit the water along with 6 kids and everyone walked away feeling stoked! After talking to those involved it seems we will see lots of new women enjoying the sport and some very keen kids challenging them the whole way. Everyone i spoke to said that they were now definitely hooked. Some even purchased their first pieces of kit in the weeks that followed the meet. On a personal note i felt that this meet was one of the best the club has had to date. One of the goals of the club is help encourage newcomers into the sport and the Women's meet seemed to take huge strides in achieving that goal. I will definitely be organizing some more meets like this in the future and hope we can build up the windsurfing library to help everyone along during the rest of the season.
There are lots of people to thank for this event. Firstly Starboard. Starboard have provided lots of support for the club. Not only by supplying the food and drinks on the day, but also for providing 3 ladies wetshirt's for the lucky draws and also contributing equipment the the clubs library for future members to take advantage of. I would also like to thank all of the instructors for their help. Pete, Kellie and Justan were all fantastic teachers. furthermore everyone that provided photos of the day for the website. Dylan, Justan and Glenn sent me all of the great pics in the article. Also thank you to SurfFX on the Gold Coast and Caloundra Wind & Surf on the sunshine coast for supplying extra boards and rigs to allow us to get such a large number of people out on the water all at once. Finally, thanks to all of the members for getting involved on the day.
happy winds
Justin.B
21-01-08
OCEANICS MEET DETAILS !!!!!!
RUBELLI Oceanic & Australian
Formula Windsurfing Championships
meet (Friday Jan 25th)
The next meet on the calender for the windwanderers will be something a little different. We are having a FRIDAY meet and joining in at the 2008 FW Australia and Oceanic's competition. Friday is the last day of the competition for the oceanic's so we are sure to get to witness some of the best sailors in the world ripping up redcliffe.
The meet will be at Sutton's Beach. It is not everyday that we are lucky to get events of this caliber in our back yard so the day looks to be one not to miss. The website for the event is http://www.fw-australia.com/ . check out the website to see all of the details.
What's on.
1. the WindWanderers social bbq (sponsored by the club).
also
2. the FE+ class that everyone can enter which will have you lined up alongside the pros but sailing a shorter distance. separate prizes etc on offer. see the signon team on the day.
3. Hive Swim wear fashion parades and beach stall
4. surfconnect demo gear.
Sutton's is a great venue with plenty to offer all sailors. sandy beaches, landscaped rigging areas and lots of facilities. Come along, have a sail, enter a race or spectate and get to see the worlds best put on an amazing display on the water.
all in all we intend another fun filled and relaxing club outing.
Women in windsurfing meet Update.......
The day was a fantastic success. thanks to everyone for joining in it was a real team effort. i have received numerous emails since the meet enquiring about lessons and future learner days. All of them from the girls!. to respond to this i am going to try and org anise something in about 2 meets time. i'll confirm closer to the date but i am looking towards the sunshine coast. the review is still being work on so i apologize for the delay. i have been sent numerous images from the day. some of these are on seabreeze. follow this link. http://www.seabreeze.com.au
21-01-08
Upcoming Meets ......
January – oceanic's meet at Sutton's beach (Windwanderers) – slalom clinic
February – the train (Askhuey) - freestyle
March – Golden Beach (Sunshine Coast Sailboards) – speed/demo
May – Wellington point (Boardcrazy) – gybe clinic/beginners
July – Bongaree meet (Caloundra Wind & Surf) – winter meet
September – North Kirra (SurfFX) - wave
October – Redcliffe (Surfconnect) - gear swap.
November – Mooloolaba (Windsurfing Sales)- slalom/wave meet.
December – Brisbane –victoria point? (TBC) – Xmas Party
09-01-08
Women in Windsurfing meet (Saturday Jan 12th)
The meet is planned for Sat jan 12th (this Weekend) to be held at Pelican Park, Redcliffe.
planned for the day is
1. The BBQ sponsored by Starboard.
2. Starboard women's giveaways. (3 long sleeve wetshirt's)
3. Beginners gear and windsurfing lessons (girl instructors on hand)
To celebrate women in WIndsurfing and offer an opportunity for the girls to learn the sport Starboard is sponsoring of latest meet at Redcliffe. Could all those wanting to borrow beginners gear or receive lessons please email me so I can cater to numbers. Please tell your friends and drag them all along.
We have an afternoon high tide on the day and will look towards starting lessons early to take advantage of lighter winds. I have had an excellent response to date from all of the girls within the club and interest in lessons. Kellie (qld women's slalom title holder) will be helping with lessons and the gear will be ready to go on the beach.
Current forecasts look like the winds will once again be blowing so i am sure we will all enjoy the day.
05-01-08
Xmas Party in Review (Victoria Point)........
For the second year in a row the WindWanderers Xmas party turned out to be a meet that most will not forget in a hurry. The weather, to say the least was extreme. last year we saw a destructive storm cause flooding, hail damage and wind gusts to 50 knots which brought down trees, power lines and lifted rooves off buildings while we all crouched behind a bbq in the open hoping it would pass.
This year it looked like we may be in for more of the same. The forecasts had predicted a low heading towards us that some were calling a subtropical cyclone, while others termed a deep or complex low. One thing was for sure, what would normally have the average punter tieing down back yard furniture and checking the insurance policy had a group of us east coast sailors grinning from ear to ear and counting out the small gear in an effort to be totally prepared.
photo - the flag is flying! 10am and the early birds have arrived.
Leading up to the event i had been keeping a keen eye on the Bureau's extended outlook. A few days out and i had started wondering if there was in fact a chance things would get just too crazy. the forecast read -
"From late Thursday onwards the upper
trough will amplify and induce a low at the surface off the central coast of
Qld. This low will then move slowly southwards during the weekend while
deepening and could potentially develop into a cyclone."
By sunday the conditions were being realized. I arrived at the beach to be greeted by some pretty big smiles and the guys showing me the wind meter reading 37 knots. STOKED! The sand in the playgrounds was blowing horizontal and the cars in the carpark were starting to rock in the gusts. Figuring it was too windy for the marquee i opted to hoist the flag and set about getting the bbq setup for everyone's arrival.
photo - some of the crew studying the conditions.
This year we had a big day planned for the party. the bbq was being sponsored by Kernow Garden Care. Santa was attending with a Starboard kids rig as a present for the club, WindsurfingSales had chipped in with major draws of a Gun Slalom Boom and Loft Sails Quiver bag. Caloundra Wind & Surf had offered some KA merchandise along with 2 videos, a repair kit, tie down straps and gorilla grip. Plus I had also managed to finalize the Members packs which had morphed into xmas presents containing stickers from Boardcrazy, Starboard, Ozwindsurf, Seabreeze, Surfconnect, Askhuey, Severne Sails, Sunshine Coast Sailboards and a Fanatic DVD from SurfFX as well as a dvd i had put together myself throughout the year. What had eventuated was all of the clubs sponsors coming to the party in some way to provide something for everyone involved.
Further more we had an array of beginners gear to use, the land sailors were waiting in the wings and a Lorch demo board was on the beach. Unfortunately all of these items we ended up putting on hold due to the extreme conditions. We will definitely be seeing their appearance again at the next meet when the winds have eased a little. Especially the Starboard kids rig which we will see out on the water. Starboard donated the rig for the windwanderers library showing their support for the youth within the sport and furthering their concept of pro kids.
Photo - better hold on!
By 11am the signs that the day would be big were becoming apparent. The Carpark was filling and we were seeing more windsurfers descending on Victoria Point than had been seen for many years prior. it was impossible to count the numbers but it seemed as if this would be the biggest event in qld for many years.
Some had come just to join in with the bbq antics due to a lack of appropriate gear while others had brought their smallest kit wondering what would be their fate on the water. While we hurriedly went about getting the gear ready we were entertained by a group of Blockart "maniacs" blasting up and down the park putting on a show of slides, gybes and tumbles.
Photo - the race is on.
The wind by the time we hit the water was blowing between 20-40 knots making it a little testing for everyone but highlighting just how good modern equipment is. most were on 4.7m and 4.2m sails. those a little better prepared had rigged 4.0m sails and some of the younger crew were blasting on 3-3.5m rigs.
Photo - concentrating hard.
Photo - Jesse in control as usual.
Photo - The drag race is on!
After an hour of blasting the bbq was on. i grabbed the giveaways and the tongs and fired up the grill. It wasn't long before those not on the water started coming over to help with the cooking. I handed out some beers and we all relaxed to overlook those still out being lifted and slammed as the gusts blasted through. It wasn't long before we realized these same gusts were also causing kaos with the bbq. the sausages were ok but the onions were finding the going tuff. all up i think we lost 1-2 onions blown clean off the hot plate, next time we'll learn and chop them i little less finely. With the cooking complete we all filled the tanks and i grabbed the names for the lucky draws.
first out of the hat was Wim, winning the Gun Sails Slalom boom (still in transport mode) from Windsurfingsales. followed by Mark winning the Loft sails quiver bag also from windsurfingsales.
Next were the Caloundra WInd & Surf Giveaways with Shaun winning a dvd, Glenn a set of tie down straps, Jesse the repair kit, dave the gorilla pads and others receiving key chains, caps and stickers.
Keen to make the most of the outstanding conditions lunch was finished after the giveaways. The wind was still howling and the tide was hitting high. High tide at Victoria point is bump and jump heaven. especially with 30-40 knots blowing across the bay. the ramps out back had increased and the eastern point was starting to work setting up 2-3 foot waves offering plenty for everyone and a nice place to practice a new move we were coining the superman gybe.
photo - heading into the chop
Photo - flying!
some of the tricks starting to be performed were awesome. huge chop hops, massive forward loops and catapults so fast the eye couldn't catch up. To Quote Justan aka Haircut, "The swells out back are so big that my forwards are complete endos with only the tip of the mast touching the water.!"
Photo - Haircut Flying High
Photo - Haircut launches
Photo - location location location!
With the wind still pumping most were content to stay out on the water to enjoy the day. but all of this hard work really gets the hunger going so a small crew of us headed back to the bbq to cook up the rest of the food. the grins were large. the usual banter about who can jump higher and carve harder was replaced with analogies of the wind strength. It is not very regularly that we see wind of this strength over several days in sunny south east Qld so we were all trying to remember the last time huey turned it on like this. A lot of people had traveled from far and wide to enjoy Victoria point at it;s best and they were luckily not disappointed.
The day finally came to a close with Sean rigging his smallest kit (6.0m) and heading out on his isonic for some high wind slalom. with most of us struggling to hold down 4+m sails sean light up the bay tearing back and forth finishing each run with his high speed lay down gybes.
Photo - Sean on the edge of control
Firstly a very merry Xmas to everyone and a happy new year. Also thanks to all of the club's sponsors throughout the year for the selfless support you have shown the club and our members. I would also like to thank everyone for showing their faith in the club, getting involved and helping to make the WIndWanderers the social windsurfing club it is today. Also a very big thanks to Greg, Kellie and Glen for taking the time on the day to stop, watch the action and turn on the cameras. throughout the year all of the members at some stage have recorded the action, picked up the tongs and helped to org anise the meets for us to enjoy.
see everyone on the water again.
Justin B.
Please Support those that Support Us! ....
on the right of the page are the logos of all the businesses that have taken the time and effort to help out with the club. please give them the support that they truly deserve.
