Heres the problem. I've found a good shallow lake for speed area at Peterborough Vic. My 38cm fin slammed on the brakes a few times when I hit a shallow spot.

What can I expect when sailing with a 30-33cm fin and a 7m sail (I know it's a missmatch but it's too good of a sailing location).

Thanks,
Duke

I use up to an 8.3 on my hypersonic with a 33 on it.I have found you can't have the mast foot at the back of the track.Moved it almost all the way forward and nearly no spin out.But i sailed wave boards for many years so i am light on my back foot.

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McMahon said...

Heres the problem. I've found a good shallow lake for speed area at Peterborough Vic. My 38cm fin slammed on the brakes a few times when I hit a shallow spot.

What can I expect when sailing with a 30-33cm fin and a 7m sail (I know it's a missmatch but it's too good of a sailing location).

Thanks,
Duke

Get a good powerful weedfin, about a 28cm, Lessacher, or Choco, should do the trick

Whats the go with the weed fin, do they hold a bit better than a standard fin?

Thanks for the responses.

Cheers,
Duke

Isn't the other way around? If there's shallow water around you're going to hit it. Rather crash in 38 cm of water than 28cm of it. Go a bit longer.

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McMahon said...

Whats the go with the weed fin, do they hold a bit better than a standard fin?

Thanks for the responses.

Cheers,
Duke

A good powerful weedfin, allows you to sail in shallow water, and if you hit something, usually the impact not as bad as you hit at 45 degrees, but if you ground or hit something big then in just as much trouble. A well designed weed fin can give you heaps of lift so you can use a big sail, without having to use a deep pointer fin, which limits u in shallow water.

Hey Duke,

Spotted the Curdie river estuary at Peterborough myself. My sister has a dairy farm just upriver from Peterborough and have spent a bit of time down there wondering what it may hold.. I'm trying to convince my family to have a "family getaway" down that way and just so happen to throw my boards in.. If I ever do I'll send you a pm..

Cheers

Red

PS.. another spot that looks amazing on google earth is between lake Gnarpurt and lake Corangamite. The foxhow rd runs between the two.. NE of Terand

from personal experience i would stay clear of a spot that shallow.
Don't say you weren't warned.

Sounds good Red. Give us a yell when your down next. I just went to the Peterborough estury Sunday for the first time but a few windsurfers get out there when the conditions are right.
Lake Coragamite is massive. I guessing it would be too shallow, the lake opposite has dried up in recent years. If you give it a go let me know what it's like.

Duke

What did you do to yourself Bertie? The place I'm talking about is a soft sand/mud bottom.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=37848

And even Bertie got off better than someone who ended up in a wheelchair for life after crashing in shallow water on Narrabeen Lake many years ago.

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Chris 249 said...

And even Bertie got off better than someone who ended up in a wheelchair for life after crashing in shallow water on Narrabeen Lake many years ago.

Can someone tell us the story behind that event?

This takes us back to the topic of folding fins and break-away harness lines...

A very sad story and seing it was such a long time ago Ill try and use whatever brain cells I have left to remember.
No names mentioned.
A local windsurfer was sailing around on Narrabeen lake and hit a sand bank and catapulted. He ended up completely stuffing his spine. He was saved by a doctor who administered first aid until the ambo's arrived. He didnt want to be identified and left the scene. The sailor ended up in a wheel chair as a paralegic complete with bag etc.
He went onto become quite the businessman and made the most of his situation. A nice bloke too.
As we all know Narabeen lagoon has been silting up steadily over the years and its sailable area is now about 1/2 what it used to be. be careful and ask around if you are not sure where the banks are.

That's it.

He may not even have hit the sand with the board, or not very hard, as he was on a New Toy which had a notoriously delicate fin box, yet the board was not damaged. IIRC it had the soft plastic washer that New Toys were sold with, because they could take so little impact.

So even a simple fall in shallow water can be almost a killer. Mind you, one of the Wollongong crew suffered a broken neck in a deepwater fall last season. Luckily he was wearing a lifejacket that kept him afloat, and the guy who came over to see what was happening did the right thing; he's back sailing now.