Select to expand quotebushfire said...
As fast as a seagull 
Nice shots Jase.
Faster then a seagull...Much faster.
Sorry guys none from Saturday, I've a few more from Friday that I'll try and get on Flickr tonight after work along with the hi-res versions of the above for anyone that wants to download them.
I'll post the link when I've got it done, Cheers.
Nice shots! It looks like you get a lot more wind down there than up the central coast way.
Great shots ! Just wondering where you rig up/launch and what suburb that is in the background (I'm originally from the Illawarra but I don't recognise that area).
I haven't sailed on Lake Illawarra since the late 80s or anywhere since 1994 ! But my wife & I have retained equipment (incl 3 boards of varying lengths) from that era and we're planning to move to the Shellharbour area (from Canberra) in the coming months when the sale of our house goes through (touch wood).
So, like some others I just read about in another thread, I have the idea of using the old stuff to get reacquainted with windsurfing. A few months ago I rode past Oak Flats Sailing Club so I thought that area might be a good area to start (cycling is my obsession now). Back in the 80s, while visiting family in Wollongong, I went out a lot on the lake from the yacht club at Warrawong and also from Berkeley, as well as off the beach at Towradgi & Corrimal.
Anyway, I'll see if I can get out again sometime after we get settled down there.
Greg
Hey Greg,
things haven't changed too much with the areas - theres still the yacht club windsurfers who meet most Saturday Afternoon's during the warmer months (start Sept) which is very casual and a good way to meet others in the same boat.
Lots of ocean sailing to be had off Corrimal, Bulli and Windang (arguably the best sailing anywhere) - but Towradgi not so much these days
the speed sailing (per the photo's) - and any sailing on the lake in a westerly is done off Primbee these days, access from 'Bundah Pl' - its over the shallow weedy area so you need a shallow weed fin to have any fun.
otherwise anywhere in the lake is good these days - since the permanent entrance opening the water quality has improved heaps and no where near the weed levels of old. pretty well anywhere is good to sail from in the right wind
theres a 'Illawarra Windsurfing' facebook page which has heaps of info etc
hopefully see you on the water soon!
Thanks very much for all that information, Mike. I look forward to making my windsurfing 'comeback' in the Illawarra next summer!
Greg
Hey Greg.
There's actually a disclaimer attached to Mike's words of wisdom....."By taking on all this local information, you must renounce all other GPS teams and solemnly promise to join the Illawarra Speedsters" Check out GPS team challenge site to see who we are...
www.gpsteamchallenge.com.au/team/view/98
Look forward to welcoming you back to the Gong.
Eckas.
Thanks, Eckas. Wow, that looks pretty serious. While I have Garmin devices for cycling and running, it hadn't occurred to me how easy it would be these days to record your speed when sailing. That's how long I've been away! Good to see that there are people of my vintage in your club (one year younger than the upper end of of the Grand Master age group !).
Back in the 80s I enjoyed reading the reports of speedsailing records in the magazines and still remember the images like those below of Pascal Maka and Fred Haywood blasting to new marks (taken from scans I made of articles in my windsurfing magazine collection, before I gave it to another forum member a year or so ago).
Now I'm inspired to get out on the Lake again on my old 8'9" fibreglass board (bought from the old Performance Sailboards shop in Flinders St) to relive some of my younger days ! However, I'm under no illusion about how much the equipment and techniques have changed - I happened to buy an issue of UK Windsurf back in 2008 that had an article by Peter Hart explaining those changes in great detail, in the context of telling the story about a guy of my vintage who was making a comeback with equipment from 1990.
Greg
