loopy : its an easy spot to sail, but its also easy to get caught out. by this I mean, no wind and being off shore. Happens only in a S or SSW wind because you need to tack out to sea (heading south) and then tack back into the beach and then do big long broad reach heading north. but in a W or WSW you can just hug the shore in both directions. Launch from the surfclub and across the channel. at low tide there are some banks on the other side of the channel , but the water it perfectly clear usually so you'll see those. generally no need to take account of tides. there is always water there (on ocean side). scuff your feet when walking in the shallows there. at certain times of the year (I dont know when) there can be quite a few stingrays along the beach. you can see them as you sail along. they are black and look like rocks, but there are not rock there. never had any close encoutenrs myself, but that was one of the suggetions given to use during the 1999 speedweek up there. look forward to meeting you. cheers. anton

Neill : Excellent! Just give me a call if the forecast looks good. Would be nice to meet you and have a blast about. So I presume Mangawhai is good in a W or SW? Any particular state of tide? I've not sailed there before so a few pointers would be good. Photos certainly made it look good!

crispy : No worries - good luck and good speeds.

crispy : Hi there - now you guys have GPS do you want to get into the GPS Team Challange? Have a look at http://gpsteamchallenge.com.au/ Cheers Chris Parkinson (Crispy) Team - SpeedEnz 0274410002

Neill : Nice vid of you guys sailing at Meola. Liked the mix of camera angles. Presume you were being chased by a jetski? Cool stuff.

desmo : good to see you managed a sail this pm too. get as many as u can before going away next week.