I vaguely remember someone mentioning this before so I know it has been done by members of this forum.
Will be keen to get some tips, experience, what not to do, (or even how long it takes) to get from one side to the other?
How safe do you say it generally is?
Any insight appreciated.
I have done Kyeemagh to with 200 meters of Kurnell in a Southerly once.
Also did Dolls Point to Kurnell in a Northerly and La Perouse to Kurnell in a NWer.
I wouldn't recommend the La Perouse to Kurnell trip. On the way back the wind started to stutter and I nearly got dragged out to sea by the outgoing tide.
The Dolls to Kurnell sail is fun and there are some pretty awesome ramps on the way.
Kyeemagh to Kurnell in a Southerly is interesting. There seems to be a wind funnel about 500 meters wide starting just South of the run way. It reaches all the way over to Kurnell. Either side of it though the wind is pretty gusty and gets worse the closer you get to Kurnell.
I know people do it quite a bit in a NEer. In a North Easter my recommendation would be to not start the sail over too late as the wind tends to swing around to the North around 5 - 5:30pm. Also remember that the wind is generally strongest between 3 and 4:30pm.
Most importantly if you do it alone have an exit strategy. Ie know what you are going to do if the wind dies, you break something etc. . Don't count on passing boats helping you out.
If your really worried, someone told me yesterday some police stations will lend out those epirb thingys for free if you ring and book it..
Thanks Steh, that is very useful. I don't think I am capable of doing it any time soon, but it is one of those things that I hope to achieve within the next 24 months. I still have a few basic things to learn. 
Its not too hard to sail from Kyeemagh to Kurnell and return on a NE seabreeze. Starting from Kyeemagh you will find the wind gets stronger and more consistent the closer you get to Kurnell. Equipment failure would be an issue if it happened out in the middle when the shore is a long way away downwind. But it is downwind all the same so eventually you would end up on a beach somewhere if everything breaks. On the other hand being so far from shore gives you a clear state of mind as you forget about all the crap going on in your normal life.
I guess it takes around 10 minutes to make a crossing, depending on fast you are going. It would be best to go over with someone else so you can keep an eye on each other.
hey man, once you can go a couple hundred metres cross wind, upwind, off the wind, you can tack and gype ok,, then thats it, your ready, if your scared of the water or from being away from the shore, wear a life jacket, windsurfing offers more than just high performance sailing, a lot of the joy can be found from sailing in open water, long distances, exhilatring scencary..........sweet moments like the one your in, you can do it man, ha, ,,,,,,i once launched from dolls point, it was ese, i sailed up to la perouse and then out the heads and then just worked my way down to collary, it was sweet, much more memorable then most of my sessions, ive done a few other adventures as well,, when you get ready,,,, me, you, i wanna sail from newcastle to botany in a ne, ha, good luck man
It's really easy in a NE, given that you can handle swell (fighting for angle and controlling your speed is really different from super flat water condition)
I've been thinking of doing it again this summer to show guys from the club, but I somehow always had winds that were too N. Having to get there on a broad angle and come back with two or three reach wouldn't be the best experience. In my experience, if when cruising your angle brings your from the northern car park to the end of the runway, it is really a piece of cake. Expect the wind to be a tad stronger in the middle.
I also suggest getting one of these aqua pack waterproof pocket and to put your phone in it, just in case. Cause if something happens and you're left drifting to the shore, it might take a couple of hours....
Ive been from dolls - kurnell a tonne of times on race gear (kite course gear).
I did it in a NE seabreeze 20-25knts.
all in the space of about 3 hrs.
easy
would love to do the run back in a honking NE.
the direction is perfect for off the wind speed reaching.
I've done this many times in a NE. Most of the time it is not planned, and I just find myself in a good gust as I get past the end of the runway so just keep on going!! I've never had any issue, but I would not want to break equipment. One time I was overpowered on the way back, so you want to be able to cope with a change in conditions with the equipment you have. Generally the wind is most consistent in the middle, so keeping going is not usually an issue. Sometimes the swell can be quite large, so you want to be comfortable with that. I've done it with big equipment in 10-20 knots and with small equipment in 20-30 knots.
A couple of times I have followed someone else I saw going, and it does feel safer to know that if something went wrong, that another sailor may see and help you.
Never done it, so can't help you out, plenty of guys do though, so I hope you get some good info. Best bet is to do it with someone else, adds a comfort factor, and someone to share the joy with.
Milsy, lets start with Soldiers to North Entrance - done that a few times and it is a joy, especially once you get into Pelo's...
hey,, yeah, for safety reasons i wish i had someone with me,my only concern is broken gear, the misus drove and met me at my destinations, so someone sorta knows whats going on, at botany, big but enclosed body of water, i dont really take any precautions,,,, ive sailed at soliders, had a whale and baby come about a metre away from, hung around me and breached a coulpe of times,,, i absolutly shat myself and havent been back to soliders, ha, it was big, slimey, oh yeah, it still makes me shutter to think about it, ha,,,,, id love to do a big one, create some exciting tracks, just doing lovely fast runs down a coastline, if anyones keen, we should try and make it happen,,
Why not cruise over to Kurnell, have a coffee and sail back.
dont need the missus and if the wind picks up, it just means you go faster.
hey, hows it going,, powersloshin, do i know you, i think i do, i think your martins buddy, the sexy italian,, yeah, me ,you, it has to be about 150km, down the coast line, missus will do driving, me and you do the shredding, id like to do it in 10 to 20 kts, maybe a bit less, just fast, comfortable freeriding, bearing off, sweet gypes, pffffff, will be in sydney in about an hr from newcastle
did it last week in NE on 7.0/62cm slalom board, kyeemagh-kurnell-kyeemagh. downwind on the way over, upwind (3 tacks) on the way back. did some sparring with someone on a red severne race sail who sailing out of kurnell and who followed me about halfway on my way back.
probably took me less than 10min on the way over, around 15 on the way back.
We do this run all the time when we launch from kurnell and head across to the runway. the Red Severne would be the Barry the Kiwi.
Michael Thompson does it regularly from kayemagh - sails to kurnell as the winds building as the wind kicks in a lot earlier than the aieport then wanders back once the conditions there start to get a bit hairy.
Can get some really big swells out in the middle which can be pretty scary when bearing away at about 25 -30 knots.
Also seen some huge pods of dolphins which sometimes come and play :)
Personally i only really like to do it on my bigger gear as its more forgiving if the wind drops. (115 board)
It would be cool to do a downwinder and would only take two sailors with cars to do it. A bit of shuttling back and forth at the start and finish would do it.
An issue doing it off the beach in a seabreeze would be the probable strengthening wind during the day. If the wind picks up from just say 15 knots to 25 knots then it would get pretty tough if you started out on bigger equipment.
Its so friggrin easy its not funny . The first time i did it it was a totally misserable day raining & the only other boat or person on the water was a large container boat just going through the heads .and as i have total disregard as to my own saftey I thought stuff it the worst that could happen is i have to ditch the sail & have a long paddle back . It was great wind was good fully planned there & back so i did it twice . If the wind is at the right angle i'll do it every time its only 20 min . What scared me more a couple of years ago a large bait ball went up & down runway & across head for 3 days in late autum & i was the only idiot out again & it was really teaming with fish i saw a kingfish at least a meter jump through it & i though there would be sharks for sure & i though dont stack the jibe but i did anyway right in the frigging middle of it. My water start was very effiecent.I did think about trolling a line but what would i do if i actually caught something
I've done LaPerouse to captain Cook's landing, Kurnell on a reach there and back. Also been from north of Dolls Point to SES Silver Beach Kurnell.
Learn self-rescue techniques & if in doubt, chicken out.
Saturday, 23 Feb13, at about 2pm I went from Kymeeah to Dolls Point, twice. It is about 4.6kms.
My board is 112 litres, this helps in varying conditions.
Long runs, focus on being comfortable, release any muscle tension..
Years ago when I worked in the windsurf industry in NSW there was a group trying to organise a Wollongong to Sydney windsurf. I don't know if i ever happened.
The longboard racers in Wollongong back in the late 80s used to sail out around the tankers for training.
When I do coast runs on my longboard I have a drybag on the rearmost footstrap with flares, mobile phone, 3mm rope, knife etc, just in case. If it is cross-onshore worst case scenario is ditch the rig and paddle.
Sounds like fun.
Clarence
Wow.....really doesn't sound like a walk in the park! What I am hearing is.....large swells, big fish jumping out of the water, needing flares and knifes!!
But I am not all discouraged yet.....as it sounds like it has already been done many times over by the guys who have responded here.
I should now go back to basics and learn how to do things like water-starts as a minimum, and maybe buy one of those long paddles that the SUP guys use (as a spare) and tie it to my mast!!
I'm from Perth originally l remember back in the late 90s 1999 to be exact me & a few locals from the safety bay sailing club did freo to rottnest Island. Its about 7 km,s on one tack .we all did it on s/sw seebreeze in about 15 knot,s on big gear I reckon we all Saw a few large sharks& rays.not to mention the large swell.lt was good but if you going to do long treks do it with a few other's anything can happen!
