Discussions on Seabreeze and examining Google Earth lead me to check out Lake Macquarie at Swansea.

Today there was a strong westerly in NSW. In my experience westerlies are quite gusty, especially at spots easily accessible by windsurfers on the north side of Sydney. So its difficult to find a place with consitent westerly winds and flatish or flat water.

We went up to Swansea and had a look. The wind was very strong and more importantly very consistent. We were there for around half an hour and during that time the wind did not stop blowing. I'd guessimate it was over 30 knots in the gusts and didn't go below 25 knots. It was too much wind for me as I'm still recoving from back surgery. There were a few kiters out and they were going really well.

We travelled around the lake after this and saw some windsurfers at Warners Bay. The wind was noticably guster and weaker there.

The water was pretty flat too. Out in the lake the water was pretty choppy. Closer to shore the water was flat, not mirror smooth but with small ripples. There are sandbars around reducing the chop. The water is clear and weed free.

The tides are an important factor with some current.

It took us a bit over an hour to get there from Hornsby and the same time back so it doesn't take too long to get there. Below are a couple of photos of the lake at Swansea.

If the wind backs off a bit I'll probably give it a go tomorrow.

Did the seagull get appearance money?

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easty said...

Did the seagull get appearance money?

Probably just a chip

Looks nice - can you post the coordinates or a google earth link?

Looks bigger than lake Narrabeen, was there today, very windy but the runs are so shorts.
Well, it gave me the opportunity to have many breaks ! Forgot to do that winter training...

The seagull was trying to fly straight into the wind but wasn't making much progress.

Leserf, Lake Macquarie is a huge lake, around the same size as Botany Bay. Lots of coves, points and bays around the lake.

Here is a Google Earth screenshot. The ruler is half a km long. From what I saw this run would be in flat water in a westerly.

Looks like its going to be blowing its head off today too.

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Mobydisc said...

The seagull was trying to fly straight into the wind but wasn't making much progress.

Leserf, Lake Macquarie is a huge lake, around the same size as Botany Bay. Lots of coves, points and bays around the lake.

Here is a Google Earth screenshot. The ruler is half a km long. From what I saw this run would be in flat water in a westerly.

Looks like its going to be blowing its head off today too.

Is that an island in the middle of that run?

I think this photo shows that spot in the middle:



From this its too shallow to sail over, its a sandbar with some weed growing on it. We were with a rising tide. The tides would be an important factor at this spot, a rising tide would allow a bigger sailing area and would also help to keep upwind.

If sailing here you would have to sail in channels and be aware of the shallow spots. This weekend wasn't the greatest time to check this place out as the wind was very strong. Watching the kiters and looking at Google Earth, there are other spots to sail around this area in flat water.

Try Shoalhaven Heads surf side in a Westerly. Has the funnelling effect of the river valley plus Mt Coolangatta to the north west. Only trouble is the wave size needs to be under 30cm which does happen a lot in winter. Launch from the end of the road past the caravan park. Don't sail alone.