Looking for riders,Brisbane,Goldy and Sunny coast

Looking for fellow riders, i am located inland and have to travel a few hours to the open water and have nobody to ride with, Just starting out in the sport and interested in meeting new people, finding spots to hit and learning from someone in the know. Done 2 hr lesson and have no worries getting up and staying up (previous wakeboarder/Surfer)

Ha what a crack up, i thought i was the only one in this damn town who kitesurfed......
I am about 15mins west of the switch

im going to noosa this week for 7 days, hopefully its a good spot to learn.
Where do you guys normaly kite, what is a nice spot (flat and shallow water) on the eastcoast?

if anyone wants to have a kiteweek to learn together, please contact me. I dont wanna leave Oz before i can kite!!! I had lesson already, but havent had the time yet to get up and going on the water. Contact me here or on 0406220388

thanks for the reply webby, i might gonna check it out in a week or 2. Hopefully there is cheap accomodation there, cant be arsed to travel every day.

Hi Philis

Sandgate Beach (nicknamed the ‘pool’ as it is next to Sandgate Swimming Pool) on the northside of Brisbane is also a great location for kiting. It is located on Flinders Parade, between the 7th & 8th Avenue, right next to the Sandgate Swimming Pool. If you dont have a car, Sandgate train station is on the Shorncliffe line, only half hour direct ride from Brisbane City Central.

The ‘pool’ is the most ideal learning location in Brisbane as it has no rocks or reefs, and you can walk out a mile and can still touch bottom. Works in almost all onshore wind direction (northerly to a SE), there is plenty of rigging area all along the water front. At times we get a few jellies there, mainly blue blubbers which don’t sting and most people don’t have any reaction with them. It is only the lice that live on them that will give you itchy patch. Certainly no medication is required. Ice and water help ease the itch. Last season we did not even get any jellies.

The Brisbane City Council upgraded the foreshore only months ago, spent $13m in the process. All the grass has been re-laid, and there are toilets, shower, water taps, drinking water fountains as well as BBQs. Plenty of parking too. There is also a fish & chips shop with a licensed restaurant right across the road (Flinder’s Fish & Chips). 200m up the road towards the church and hill is Doug's Seafood - our top recommendation for fish & chips in Brisbane. We are also opening a club house at Sandgate shortly and accommodation will be available.

If you are coming to Sandgate - some advice that will make your kiting experience a lot more enjoyable, and more importantly - safer:

KITE SETUP - pump your kite up anywhere along the waterfront, but do not set your lines up or launch from the grass area as you are far too close to trees, footpath and beach goers.

LINES SETUP - take your kite right out to the water's edge and set your lines up right by the water. You have tons of room to recover in case anything goes wrong, and also you are also ready to jump on the board right after launch. There is a lot of turbulance from the trees, and the wind is not as clean as it is out by the water. Why fight against the wind and walk like 500m with the kite in the air to get to the water at low tide? Why put yourself at risk by launching right by trees, other kites and people all around you? Remember safe kiting will allow you to keep kiting and kiting minimising your damage/repair cost, injury time-out, and also ensure our sport is practised in a safe manner, not only to yourself, but also to other kiters as well as the general public at large. Last we want is our sport to be banned at any location because of silly behaviour. So please be a considerate and responsible kiter!

Last but not least, always try to get someone to launch and land you where possible. It just brings the risk right down to the minimum.

If you need gear or lessons, we are the only accredited IKO kite-school in Brisbane and we are based at Sandgate (school at Shorncliffe). We have plenty of new & used gear for sale or rental and we deal with many top brands in the market. $1250 buys you a complete 2007 set (kite, bar/lines, safety leash, pump, bag, harness and board), or $1800 buys you a current 2008 set. All kits purchase also come with a free lesson too! If you are already a kiter, you can also rent a kite with harness and board for $35 an hour. We accept all major credit cards and are open 7 days a week.

Let us know if we can help, otherwise enjoy your time in Brisbane!

Regards

Padi
Surf Connect Wind & Kitesurfing School

is there any cheap accomodation for backpackers in sandgate or in redcliff?

Thanks for the reply and pm surfconnect

Good to hear that there are heaps of people going to Sandgate/Brighton. I've just moved there and will soon start kitesurfing there. Hope to catch up with someone who can show me where all rocks etcetera are.

What's the difference between going to Brighton or Sandgate, seen that there seems to be the two spots people gather at, and then not so much in between.

See you out there

/Johan