Hi All,
The wife and I (with 2 young kids) are researching moving up from Melbourne to Qld, but outside of Brisbane. Working from home thankfully means we are flexible on location, other than the usual considerations like schools, nice communities, house prices etc.
But I've delegated all that nonsense to focus on the really important issue of which is better for windsurfing, Sunshine Coast or Southern Gold Coast (Palm Beach etc)?? After all, my 4 yr old boy will need to turn pro to ensure I get new gear in my retirement, so he needs a fair go. Any advice gratefully received - his future is in your hands.
I apologise in advance if this creates a rift in the Qld windsurfing community and tears families apart.
Select to expand quoteRigbig said..
Hi All,
The wife and I (with 2 young kids) are researching moving up from Melbourne to Qld, but outside of Brisbane. Working from home thankfully means we are flexible on location, other than the usual considerations like schools, nice communities, house prices etc.
But I've delegated all that nonsense to focus on the really important issue of which is better for windsurfing, Sunshine Coast or Southern Gold Coast (Palm Beach etc)?? After all, my 4 yr old boy will need to turn pro to ensure I get new gear in my retirement, so he needs a fair go. Any advice gratefully received - his future is in your hands.
I apologise in advance if this creates a rift in the Qld windsurfing community and tears families apart.
Wavesailing or flat water stuff? There are plenty of options where I live on the Sunshine Coast. You may want to compare wind strength and swell height between the regions as this will determine how often you get on the water, enjoying the conditions that suit you the best. I will let others answer that question though.
I'm getting in the waves and my wife flat water (well, flat compared to Port Phillip Bay...). I was thinking wind strength would be an issue but is roughly the same for both GC and Sunshine?
If you want your son to turn pro don't leave Port Phillip Bay 
man the sailing is good down here.
I grew up on the sunny coast and have lived the past 5 years on the goldy ( now in Melbourne for the next 12 months ) and to be honest choosing between the two is a little difficult, as it is really swings and round abouts . Yes your correct the wind strengths are the same. I did a 12 months BOM wind average calc a while ago and the GC and SC got 14 knots
AS far as wave sailing is concerned I'm completely neutral . As far as flat water sailing is concerned I would rate the Sunshine Coast above the GC only because the Broadwater is getting a little too crowded.
But for the purpose of the question , if i was going to choose a place to live based purely on windsurfing with no restrictions on house pricing I would choose Moffet headland . Wave sailing is great you can teach the little fella to sail on the passage you are an hour away from the spots on Morton Bay ( Brisbane ) which are great flat water locations and Redcliffe which is similar to PFB . And to the north Lake Cootharabah fresh water lake great spot for camping .
For windsurfing between the two, you would have to say Sunny Coast,
heaps more flat water options, river and river mouth options, plus 2 x big lakes and all seriously less crowded when it comes to boats etc, parking etc, everything is easier up here!
There are spots on the Sth end of the coast, central or Nth that are all good.
Wave sailing we have beach breaks that can be tricky, but also the 3 main river mouths and places like Neil St with offshore reefs all work really well when we get the big SE blows.
Wind...I'd say in Spring Goldie gets stronger NE winds than Sunny coast...SE's are probably similar to each place.
Surfing think the Gold Coast would win hands down, especially the southern beaches, again more crowded than sunny coast, but from the Goldie you are close to all the amazing uncrowded beaches of Nth NSW...heaps of wave sailing spots there also, not so flatwater.
Biggest issue with both, especially this season is lack of decent wind, Melbourne/Vic heaps windier location that SE Qld, but we have warm water as the trade off, you wont need a thick wetsuit, if any at all, so probably could argue better place for the kids to learn.
Just don't expect any Point Dangers, or Sandy points here
if you own a 4m sail, sell it down there before you come...5m day's are also a rare treat.
