Getting desperate to find a good safe spot near me for winter westerlies and considering Grahamstown Dam.

A skiff club called Sailability has restricted access a few days a week in summer.

Will I get in big trouble if i go windsurfing out there?

www.hunterwater.com.au/news/grahamstown-dam-sailing-aquatic-club-re-opens

Budgewoi?

Yes Budgy is good. A little bit of a trek from hawks nest though.
And compared to the dam, a bit fickle in that a few things need to come together to be good, as far as I know anyway.

What about Myall Lakes?

Yes Myall lakes are doable. Big chop on the broadwater not easy though. There are a few spots to try around Hawks Nest but i guess nowhere is going to look too easy in winter.

Even if you could go out when Sailability was on, they seem to have a break for the winter (1May to 30 Sep).

The fetch isn't as long as at Winda Woppa but it gets choppy - I once caught a wave body surfing (legally, many years ago) at the sailing club. Though you won't get sucked out the heads.

How about in the lee of Corrie Island? I mainly know it from Google Earth, but it would be flat there and I'm guessing the wind would be reasonably steady since the island seems to have no height. Several of the GE historical images show what appears to be ocean swell there - bonus! Should only take about 10 minutes to sail upwind to there, or if? you can get onto that track you're only a few hundred metres downwind.

That link is pretty explicit about there being no access to Grahamstown unless one goes through the club.

What about launching at Tahlee or Carrington in a north westerly? The foreshore is shallow but there's some reasonable grass to rig on, I think, and the westerly can come through the Karua River valley pretty well.

Swan Bay on the public reserve at Waterfront Road looks like a SW possibility. It's probably only a high-tide area due to the sand flats but they don't look too messy from what I can recall.

Roy Wood Reserve at Salamander Bay/Corlette Pt could be a good SW spot although it's a fair old drive. That area can take the full brunt of westerly winds without getting chop that is as big and messy as the Tea Gardens area, but it's not flat when it really bangs in from the NW and W.

Most of the streets that lead down to the waterfront at Bundabah have crown land at the end, and from taking the dogs ashore there when we're on the boat I think you could scout out some reasonable rigging and access to get out to the area to the west of Corrie Island.

Yes I don't think you can legally sail Grahamstown dam ? It would get the Ws though.
Budgy is a safe spot in a W. Big bonuses are it's shallow so no deep water starts ( brr) and you can stand around if the wind drops or goes ballistic. You can use smaller boards as a result.

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wendell said..
Even if you could go out when Sailability was on, they seem to have a break for the winter (1May to 30 Sep).

The fetch isn't as long as at Winda Woppa but it gets choppy - I once caught a wave body surfing (legally, many years ago) at the sailing club. Though you won't get sucked out the heads.

How about in the lee of Corrie Island? I mainly know it from Google Earth, but it would be flat there and I'm guessing the wind would be reasonably steady since the island seems to have no height. Several of the GE historical images show what appears to be ocean swell there - bonus! Should only take about 10 minutes to sail upwind to there, or if? you can get onto that track you're only a few hundred metres downwind.

Yes, big swell energy filters down into there.
People have sailed from Winda Woppa into that area. I'd feel a bit iffy being open to Port Stephens Bay doing that i think.

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sboardcrazy said..
Yes I don't think you can legally sail Grahamstown dam ? It would get the Ws though.
Budgy is a safe spot in a W. Big bonuses are it's shallow so no deep water starts ( brr) and you can stand around if the wind drops or goes ballistic. You can use smaller boards as a result.

They threaten fines, so it doesn't seem so.

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init9999 said..
What about Myall Lakes?

I sail on the Broadwater at Mungo in south winds sometimes and it's good. I imagine savage chop there in westerly.

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Chris 249 said..
That link is pretty explicit about there being no access to Grahamstown unless one goes through the club.

What about launching at Tahlee or Carrington in a north westerly? The foreshore is shallow but there's some reasonable grass to rig on, I think, and the westerly can come through the Karua River valley pretty well.

Swan Bay on the public reserve at Waterfront Road looks like a SW possibility. It's probably only a high-tide area due to the sand flats but they don't look too messy from what I can recall.

Roy Wood Reserve at Salamander Bay/Corlette Pt could be a good SW spot although it's a fair old drive. That area can take the full brunt of westerly winds without getting chop that is as big and messy as the Tea Gardens area, but it's not flat when it really bangs in from the NW and W.

Most of the streets that lead down to the waterfront at Bundabah have crown land at the end, and from taking the dogs ashore there when we're on the boat I think you could scout out some reasonable rigging and access to get out to the area to the west of Corrie Island.

Yes, i think you are right about all of that.
Tahlee launch could be very cool.
I am keen to get out and see what it's like behind the Islands at Karuah River mouth.

Also from North Pindimar is probably worth a try for that area west of Corrie Island. Although there may be some tide pushing there i think.

I heard that some windfoiling was happening in North Arm Cove recently, i think in a southerly. It's hilly there.

Today i tried at Deadmans, the ocean side of Jimmy's beach spit near Yacaaba. Mild-but-wild slow sailing on the edge of oblivion
It was light offshore wind. Super patchy behind the tall dunes and i wasn't game to go off the beach far, but i had fun flirting with it anyway and was happy to get brave enough to take another small step to getting comfortable there. Maybe in stronger SW wind it will be possible to run along the beach, but often the swell has been there too lately, and it's all seemed a bit dicey. But still, it's sooo beautiful and tantalising.

An extra thought about Tahlee/Carrington - the sand/rock spit off Garden Island looks like it could be good for a flat run in W - NW. 100m long. I'm only going by what I can see on Google Earth. Though there are old oyster racks there - they only show in some of the historical images.

I went for a look today. No threat of fines there so far on Jesus country. Very interesting place that Tahlee.
I called a number at the gate and said i want to come in and windsurf, she said "what, windsurf?", "yep" "ok". Cool!
With the churchy vibe on the beach and seeing a path in down by the baths, i thought i was in for some magic there for a minute. But then the wind stopped, soon after a nasty storm came.
I'll try again another day.
No idea about depths, but it looks good.

Depth should be fine, I grew up sailing on the other side of the bay. Once you are out a few meters you won't touch the bottom, likely flat and muddy. I once got catapulted out in the middle at low tide, came up with mud on my mast so I have always assumed it is approx. 4 - 5m deep in most places.

Interesting about the gate! I have only been there once as a kid and can't remember much at all.

Good to know. Somewhere about mast-ish deep in the middle .

I'm not sure exactly what the ownership setup is there. But it was nice that they let me in no worries after calling.

Back in 90s there was a windsurfing shop based at this lake. I stopped there once and sailed with the proprietor of the shop. It was fun sailing on fresh water for a change.

Was that shop on the southern side,
where the aquatic club is now?

It is very interesting getting into windsurfing just now, hearing about what used to be, like old ghost windsurf shops, gone but not forgotten.

They closed the dam to windsurfers about 25 years ago. According to them us windsurfers polluted the drinking water for Newcastle when we fell in.

Ok sounds like the dam is lost to us now - bugger.

I'm wondering about the Hunter river as a speed spot.
I believe some have tried it at Hexam on the big bend, but not up at Raymond Terrace.
Access at Hexam now with all the road works might be tricky?

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MobZ said..
Ok sounds like the dam is lost to us now - bugger.

I'm wondering about the Hunter river as a speed spot.
I believe some have tried it at Hexam on the big bend, but not up at Raymond Terrace.
Access at Hexam now with all the road works might be tricky?

A lot of talk about that over the years. I'd be worried about submerged flood debri..