Windsurfing, Wing Foiling & Kitesurfing at T-Bay
South West Rocks (also referred to as Trail Bay or T-Bay) is located on the NSW Mid North Coast approx 80 km north of Port Macquarie (3.5 hours from Newcastle or 5 hours from Sydney).
This spot offers superb flat water sailing in a NE breeze on crystal-clear turquoise blue water.
It is suited to windsurfing, wing foiling and kitesurfing.
During the warmer months NE winds prevail, providing smooth water in-close, and open bay conditions once you leave the protection of the break-wall. The only real swell to enter the bay is nor-east, but any sizeable swell with “east” in it will usually wrap around the point providing some fun waves to ride or jump.
Sandy bottom & can stand up in most of the area. Nice tame rolling waves to pop-off.
It can also be a great area for beginners when the onshore wind is light as the water is shallow and protected.
Not so good for kitesurfing as launching in the off-shore breeze can be difficult.
Access/Launching
Most windsurfers & wing foilers launch from the gaol end of the bay where you will find a grassy rigging area, town water & cold showers.
Park right out on the point and use the concrete ramp near the break wall to access the beach.
From the beach the water is smooth and only waist-deep for quite a way out before hitting the small swell wrapping around the heads/break-wall.
For kitesurfers the beach is huge so there is plenty of room to rig & launch your kites.
Potential Hazards
This spot is reasonably safe for all levels of riders with plenty of spots where you can touch the bottom closer to shore. As with most coastal areas around Australia you should be aware of sharks. This area gets the odd Bronze Whaler, Tiger Shark, Hammer Head and yes Great White.
Other Activities
This spot has so many things to do including swimming & lazing on the sandy beaches, surfing, snorkelling & scuba diving, fishing (beach & boat), SUPping, sightseeing, visiting places of interest like the historic Trial Bay Goal or the Smoky Cape Lighthouse.
Check out this great video showing what you can expect at this spot….
1 Review on “South West Rocks (T-Bay), Mid North Coast NSW Australia”
I wing foiled here on a ENE breeze of about 8 to 12 knots. As a beginner it was not enough to get me onto the foil however others had no trouble. The point was shadowing the wind somewhat meaning I had to sail quite some way of shore to try and get some clear wind. I had never sailed in ocean swell before so that added to the challenge. In fact I woke up the next day feeling very sore as I had used muscles I didn’t know I had.
I had a bit if a frightening experience on this day where I came within a couple of metres of a large shark which I believed was a Bronze Whaler (about 3 – 4 metres in length). I sailed right past it (not on the foil), puckered up and managed to no fall off. I sailed about another 300m hoping he didn’t follow me before gybing.. and yes I fell off. Boy did I get back on quickly. I limped back to shore and that was the end of the day for me.
But aside from this little incident I thoroughly enjoyed the magnificence of this spot and will get back here some day.