You just missed Chuck Hardin in St. Simons today. He said it was full blown nukin 4.0 with gnarly swell and chop. The wind direction is probably a little more conducive to Tybee (NE wind at St. Simons has a weird wind shadow), but Tybee definitely gets much more shorebreak. I certainly wouldn't sail there alone.
Thanks for the info. Not going to sail anywhere alone...
and I wouldn't mind staying away from anything gnarly, too.
From what I understand, NE at Tybee isn't so good either....I'll recheck that info, though.
I've been looking at the marine forecasts and the call is for several days of good NE wind. I'm very tempted but I'm wondering where would be a good spot might be for surfsailing on NE, especially given that the swell could be sort of huge. Being a less than fully experienced surfsailor I usually avoid shorebreak sites and look for inlets or breaks on sand bars. One site I've been looking at is Nassau Sound, between Amelia Island and Big Talbot Island in North FL. Another site I've never visited, but would like to check out is the Fort Clinch State Park at the north end of Amelia. Any ideas for good NE sites?
Noel should move northward and compliment the high above to produce something with a little more east to it by the weekend. The cloud cover is forecast to break Friday afternoon and Saturday with temps in the 70s. Water is around 75 or so. Anywhere along the SC to N Fl coast should be good.
Tybee is actually good on NE. Seas will be fairly large but there'll be faces to play on and port jumping. There will likely be very strong long-shore (not RIP) currents running as it's been honking all week and tides are running real high with the wind and full moon. Sometimes the current and shorebreak combo at high tide makes it near impossible to punch out, but when the tide moves out about half way, the break usually backs off a bit. Hint - walk way up the beach before launching to compansate for the current. After you're out 50 to 100 yards, the current is no longer a factor.
I'm still sailing in a bathing suit but I did put on a short sleeve fleece on Monday when we had temps around 65 at sailing time. 4.7 Sunday and Monday. Looks like 5.5 today. And really blowing Friday and Sat!!!
Drive less - sail more. Post if anyone's heading to Tybee & I'll come over there to sail. peace s, tc
Fred Dey has sailed there some and I think Eddie has too. Mimi went there over the summer but didn't have the high winds.
Fred told me that Fort Clinch State Park at the boat ramp is good but there is a extreme current during tide changes. You also cross the ship channel so you need to be smart. If you go to the pier you can put in there but it is a long walk over the boardwalks to the beach. The rock jettie goes out for what seems like a mile so you will get some protection from the waves on a NE. You could handle it easily but it is likely a little over my head.
Thanks Thin'Air (not sure if you got my pm).
Decided to go hang out at Tybee (South of pier) in hopes of getting on the water. May bag it, if signs of gnarliness continue... or I may try the backside (Back River...or Tybee Inlet?).
Hey Tim - tried to PM you but apparently according to the website you don't exist. Anyway I'm looking at Wed. & Thur. Never been to Tybee & need more info - could you call me this PM? Thanks - Chris - 404-525-7190.
If the shore-break is too much, you might try the north end of the island near the old fort, or the inlet on the south side (never sailed the inlet, but I know people to sail there).
The windsurfing customers I have in Savannah/Tybee tell me they go to a launch on the back side of the south end. Somewhere down there is a road that ends at the water (the river) with a nice grassy rigging area. It's somewhere between 16th and 18th but on the river side. Of course, not likely to be anyone back there but you if you go by yourself on a weekday.
St Simons has a great windsurfing beach -- the public beach known as East Beach. Semi-open ocean that flattens out pretty good at mid-to-low-to-mid tide -- and there will always be people around. But N can be a weird thing there. A true NE is fine. If you can get somebody from the St Simons Surf Sailors to let you rig out of the compound right on the beach -- sweet! -- You can't beat it.
Thanks you guys. No sign of windsurfers. Pretty gnarly high tide. Though in the evening the kiters came out during low tide & I met an out-of-towner that predominantly windsurfs when not travelling. I think I found the "river" btwn 16th & 18th...it looks like an acceptable place to sail alone...maybe better on a North/South wind. (thanks, Chuck!)
Anyway, I'm thinking of packing up the windsurfing gear & pulling the kayak out of storage while I'm in Savannah. Kayaks are everywhere!! Even on this windy day!
A kayak? If you've got means to carry multiple boards, consider a stand-up paddleboard that has a windsurfing mast track. Talk about versatility! You may never get a whiff of the windsurfing skunk again.
Stand up paddleboarding (SUP) is truly revolutionizing wave surfing and becoming the stick of choice for lighter-wind windsurf gliding and swell-riding. It makes wave surfing much more accessable to those who thought they would never consider it, can't devote their life to it, or live inland and can't get the time on the water to build major surfing skills. (Yet the tools of SUP-ing also enable the talented surfer to maximize marginal conditions or catch and ride much bigger surf than they thought possible.)
Yes, an SUP would be good.
Then people will stand on the beach and watch me in awe...sorta like how they do with the kiteboarders now.
Just kidding.
I would like to do that & plan to give it a try in non-alligator-infested calm waters.
You just missed Chuck Hardin in St. Simons today. He said it was full blown nukin 4.0 with gnarly swell and chop. The wind direction is probably a little more conducive to Tybee (NE wind at St. Simons has a weird wind shadow), but Tybee definitely gets much more shorebreak. I certainly wouldn't sail there alone.
Thanks for the info. Not going to sail anywhere alone...
and I wouldn't mind staying away from anything gnarly, too.
From what I understand, NE at Tybee isn't so good either....I'll recheck that info, though.
I've been looking at the marine forecasts and the call is for several days of good NE wind. I'm very tempted but I'm wondering where would be a good spot might be for surfsailing on NE, especially given that the swell could be sort of huge. Being a less than fully experienced surfsailor I usually avoid shorebreak sites and look for inlets or breaks on sand bars. One site I've been looking at is Nassau Sound, between Amelia Island and Big Talbot Island in North FL. Another site I've never visited, but would like to check out is the Fort Clinch State Park at the north end of Amelia. Any ideas for good NE sites?
Noel should move northward and compliment the high above to produce something with a little more east to it by the weekend. The cloud cover is forecast to break Friday afternoon and Saturday with temps in the 70s. Water is around 75 or so. Anywhere along the SC to N Fl coast should be good.
Tybee is actually good on NE. Seas will be fairly large but there'll be faces to play on and port jumping. There will likely be very strong long-shore (not RIP) currents running as it's been honking all week and tides are running real high with the wind and full moon. Sometimes the current and shorebreak combo at high tide makes it near impossible to punch out, but when the tide moves out about half way, the break usually backs off a bit. Hint - walk way up the beach before launching to compansate for the current. After you're out 50 to 100 yards, the current is no longer a factor.
I'm still sailing in a bathing suit but I did put on a short sleeve fleece on Monday when we had temps around 65 at sailing time. 4.7 Sunday and Monday. Looks like 5.5 today. And really blowing Friday and Sat!!!
Drive less - sail more. Post if anyone's heading to Tybee & I'll come over there to sail. peace s, tc
tc / thin'air
Fred Dey has sailed there some and I think Eddie has too. Mimi went there over the summer but didn't have the high winds.
Fred told me that Fort Clinch State Park at the boat ramp is good but there is a extreme current during tide changes. You also cross the ship channel so you need to be smart. If you go to the pier you can put in there but it is a long walk over the boardwalks to the beach. The rock jettie goes out for what seems like a mile so you will get some protection from the waves on a NE. You could handle it easily but it is likely a little over my head.
Thanks Thin'Air (not sure if you got my pm).
Decided to go hang out at Tybee (South of pier) in hopes of getting on the water. May bag it, if signs of gnarliness continue... or I may try the backside (Back River...or Tybee Inlet?).
Hey Tim - tried to PM you but apparently according to the website you don't exist. Anyway I'm looking at Wed. & Thur. Never been to Tybee & need more info - could you call me this PM? Thanks - Chris - 404-525-7190.
Here is a great overview of the Tybee launches:
http://www.hightidesurfshop.com/kiteboarding/launchsites.html
If the shore-break is too much, you might try the north end of the island near the old fort, or the inlet on the south side (never sailed the inlet, but I know people to sail there).
The windsurfing customers I have in Savannah/Tybee tell me they go to a launch on the back side of the south end. Somewhere down there is a road that ends at the water (the river) with a nice grassy rigging area. It's somewhere between 16th and 18th but on the river side. Of course, not likely to be anyone back there but you if you go by yourself on a weekday.
St Simons has a great windsurfing beach -- the public beach known as East Beach. Semi-open ocean that flattens out pretty good at mid-to-low-to-mid tide -- and there will always be people around. But N can be a weird thing there. A true NE is fine. If you can get somebody from the St Simons Surf Sailors to let you rig out of the compound right on the beach -- sweet! -- You can't beat it.
Chuck Hardin
Whitecap Windsurfing, Inc.
c:706-833-WIND (9463)
Thanks you guys. No sign of windsurfers. Pretty gnarly high tide. Though in the evening the kiters came out during low tide & I met an out-of-towner that predominantly windsurfs when not travelling. I think I found the "river" btwn 16th & 18th...it looks like an acceptable place to sail alone...maybe better on a North/South wind. (thanks, Chuck!)
Anyway, I'm thinking of packing up the windsurfing gear & pulling the kayak out of storage while I'm in Savannah. Kayaks are everywhere!! Even on this windy day!
A kayak? If you've got means to carry multiple boards, consider a stand-up paddleboard that has a windsurfing mast track. Talk about versatility! You may never get a whiff of the windsurfing skunk again.
Stand up paddleboarding (SUP) is truly revolutionizing wave surfing and becoming the stick of choice for lighter-wind windsurf gliding and swell-riding. It makes wave surfing much more accessable to those who thought they would never consider it, can't devote their life to it, or live inland and can't get the time on the water to build major surfing skills. (Yet the tools of SUP-ing also enable the talented surfer to maximize marginal conditions or catch and ride much bigger surf than they thought possible.)
Chuck Hardin
Whitecap Windsurfing, Inc.
c:706-833-WIND (9463)
Yes, an SUP would be good.
Then people will stand on the beach and watch me in awe...sorta like how they do with the kiteboarders now.
Just kidding.
I would like to do that & plan to give it a try in non-alligator-infested calm waters.