I am making a list of possible GPS record and PB venues in Australia. places where top class speeds or category records may be set and where speed sailors regularly sail.
Here is what I have got so far:
Sandy Point, Australia
Hardies Run, Mandurah, Australia
Burrum Heads, Australia
Wellington Point, Australia
Pt Walther, Australia
Port Sorrell, Australia
Woodmans Point, Australia


I am sure there are others, especially in South Australia but I guess Claytons Run does not exist anymore so not point in putting it on the list. Please add to the list for me. :-)

Hey Daffy,

These are the one in NSW I know of where a runs of 40+ plus have been done.

Sandringham, Botany Bay.
Yamba, Nth Coast NSW.

Hope to catch you again at Sandy Pt soon.

Sam.

Green Island???? FNQ speed strip
Lake Bonney?????Barmera boys
Lota Creek (Brisbane)?????


PS- you've accidently got Wellington twice.

Henty River Mouth, TAS (2 sec and 5x10)

OK. What I am after is places where there is likely to be at least a few guys on days when it is PB conditions. Places which are a bit remote and are less frequented are not what I am after.
Does Green Island qualify under those conditions?
Probably not Yamba?
What about Sandringham, BB?
More info on Lake Bonney, Lota Creek (Brisbane) please. Are they well used spots. What is their potential?
Henty River mouth seems like a place you would make a special trip to on a really good forecast. You would likely know at least 12 hours before you were going so you could announce that you might set a record/PB before hand. Probably not in the category I am compiling.
I am looking for the 'Go Too' places where most of the keen speedies could be found on a good day and commonly frequent on short notice.

Select to expand quote

sailquik said...




I am sure there are others, especially in South Australia but I guess Claytons Run does not exist anymore so not point in putting it on the list. Please add to the list for me. :-)

Andrew out of interest, what has happened to Claytons Run? Watching the epic NM footage there.. it looked a mouth watering spot.

Definatley Yamba, best kept secret by the locals, huge stretch of flat in a N.E. seabreeze. Gotta be one of the longest on the east coast, but it is seasonal.
Only sailed it once but met heap of non-seabreeze local sailors that don't feel the need to advertise it, friendly guys.

Select to expand quote

OPH said...


Andrew out of interest, what has happened to Claytons Run? Watching the epic NM footage there.. it looked a mouth watering spot.

My understanding is that the Clayton speed channel was only exposed because of record super low levels in the lakes at the mouth of the Murray River last year. Now that levels have risen again the spot has disappeared, probably permanently. The SA guys can fill us in on the details if they can bear to speak about their loss.

What's the 'go to' place in SA now Speed Demons?

Select to expand quote

sailquik said...

OPH said...


Andrew out of interest, what has happened to Claytons Run? Watching the epic NM footage there.. it looked a mouth watering spot.

My understanding is that the Clayton speed channel was only exposed because of record super low levels in the lakes at the mouth of the Murray River last year. Now that levels have risen again the spot has disappeared, probably permanently. The SA guys can fill us in on the details if they can bear to speak about their loss.

What's the 'go to' place in SA now Speed Demons?

Cheers Andrew, damm shame , I presume the Australian perma drought then would have been responsible for the lack of water flowing out of the Murray.

Hi Guys,
Clayton was a strange one, perfect bank and angle but the wind rarely co-operated. Only worked on a NW-N. Those who went on every forecast were rewarded with a few good sessions. A flow restrictor was put upstream of the strip and water was pumped from lake Alexandrina to fill the pool and keep the tourists and weekenders happy.
We have a few possible speed locations to check out, 2 of which are boat trips and so will not get much of a workout. They are past the Murray Mouth into Coorong territory and so we will have them long term but have to contend with the tide levels and wind aligning. There will always be more spots to explore!

Hey Andrew we also have here 2 spots in victoria point ...

Hi Andrew,

I reckon it is fair to say that we no longer have any speed spots in SA - at least no spots that will offer 40+ knot speeds with reliable and regular access. There are some possible new spots (as Kimba mentioned) that we are keen to check out, but they require boat access, or permission to access private land. I've called one land owner about one spot (Pomanda Island) and they were not keen to have any one on their land - they made that very clear to me.

The problem with these new spots is that the gear you need to be riding to get there is not the gear you want to be riding when you are there. Also the days that make these trecks worthwhile (i.e. very windy) would be dodgy boating weather.

We've had a great run over the last couple of years with the Goolwa Alpha Channel giving us speeds of 45knots, and the Clayton Channel with record NM conditions.

At least we have the memories.......until we find the next great spot!!

Hi Andrew and Chris,
Lake George in Beachport is still good for top speeds as I did a heap of 37 runs there 2 weeks ago on al old torquay board and rs4 sail and I am sure you guys with top gear and CA speed boards would have easily pulled over 40 on this day a 30 knot SE seabeeze, the weed beds have made for some very flat water at present for a full nm, do need a weed fin bit sure the KA speed fins are like weedies anyway. just picked up a new KA Koncept to replace the dead rs4.

Select to expand quote

WINDSURFnSNOW said...

Hey Daffy,

These are the one in NSW I know of where a runs of 40+ plus have been done.

Sandringham, Botany Bay.
Yamba, Nth Coast NSW.

Hope to catch you again at Sandy Pt soon.

Sam.

Hi Sam

What about Kurnell Point, Botany? Used to have speed events there in big southerly's in the early 90's.

too much foliage around now Adrian. It really has blocked most of the wind from getting in.
Sydney wise our 3 (?) best spots are alongside the runway in a Nor Easter although I have only known of Rick Murray (AUS4) getting a 40 there, Sandringham, but that is tide dependant and will only ever be 2 second peak spot due to its length and then Narrabeen Lake in a westerley but also only a 2 second peak location. Sandringham has had multiple 40 knot runs, Narrabeen has seen speeds close but I can't remember if 40 has been broken there yet.
Wineman has talked about the Hastings River (3-4 hours Nth of Sydney) potentially having a good speed spot but it's yet to be fully exploited. I know some of the guys up Port Macquarie way (5 hours North) talk up Queens Lake and have done some great speeds there, high 30's.... I think Sanctuary Point (2-3 hours South) must hold some secret spots too but not having sailed there myself I can't comment.

Lake Bonney is a great spot to sail but gets very rough when the wind gets over 25knts excellent spot for slalom sailing with lawn right up to the waters edge(before the drought)and can be sailed in any wind direction,gets very gusty close to shore where flat water can be found, wind can gust from 10-30knts which makes for a very physical session.
One of the best spots in SA is on Kangaroo island,long sandbar consistant clean strong SSE winds, only problem is you need to catch a ferry to the island so a day trip is out of the question and did i mention the big fish this spot has been checked out by boat and when sailed will easliy produce 40+ knot 5x10 .

stanley,tas.has done 40 knots speed regularly around 36-38 speeds

Sa speed demons best spots at the moment are Lake Bonney and Boggy lake 2. Apart from the untested spots. I don't know if Boggy is capable of 40 knots (Sam and me have done sub 39 knots) but i think with a really good blow and the perfect angle it might be possible - we'll definately try.

At the moment any wind would be good wind. I think boggy lake is possible to do a 27+ knot hour and as many k's as you are prepared to go for - 8+ k runs on the right direction.

Cheers.

Chris D did a 41.3 at Boggy 1 when there was weeeed (and water)

Select to expand quote

PS- you've accidently got Wellington twice.

What's the second one

Lake Tuggerah on the Central Coast, 1 hr 45min north of Sydney. Works in west to northwest wind. Need a weed fin.

Area 45 - Home of the Southerly Busters

Golden Beach, Qld (for 2sec and 5x10)
Lake Cootharaba, Qld (for 1hr and distance)

ka72.com says:
Palmyra WA (can someone tell me the friendly name for this spot: http://www.ka72.com/viewge.aspx?fid=3830&tid=0)
Sandy Point, Vic (of course)
Wellington Point, Qld
Burrum Heads, Qld
Hindmarsh Island, SA (this spot: www.ka72.com/viewge.aspx?fid=2152&tid=0)
Melville Beach, WA
Hawley Beach, Tas
Hardies Run, WA
Stanley, Tas
Lake Preston, WA
Mulgundawa, SA (this spot: www.ka72.com/viewge.aspx?fid=2000&tid=0)
Munster, WA

All places that have registered 40+kt runs. (Haven't checked all tracks visually, there may be errors.)

(I'd appreciate hearing any better "local names" for these spots, BTW.)

Cheers,

Dylan.

Select to expand quote

Dylan72 said...

Golden Beach, Qld (for 2sec and 5x10)
Lake Cootharaba, Qld (for 1hr and distance)

ka72.com says:
Palmyra WA (can someone tell me the friendly name for this spot: http://www.ka72.com/viewge.aspx?fid=3830&tid=0)
Sandy Point, Vic (of course)
Wellington Point, Qld
Burrum Heads, Qld
Hindmarsh Island, SA (this spot: www.ka72.com/viewge.aspx?fid=2152&tid=0)
Melville Beach, WA
Hawley Beach, Tas
Hardies Run, WA
Stanley, Tas
Lake Preston, WA
Mulgundawa, SA (this spot: www.ka72.com/viewge.aspx?fid=2000&tid=0)
Munster, WA

All places that have registered 40+kt runs. (Haven't checked all tracks visually, there may be errors.)

(I'd appreciate hearing any better "local names" for these spots, BTW.)

Cheers,

Dylan.

You may find Palmyra should be Point Walter, home of the Slowboat!

'Munster' would be Woodman Point.

I've mentioned this site a few times. I'm not affiliated with it but it's got a lot of global locations.

The interface is a bit clunky but adding a location is pretty quick

thewindmap.com/#-26.863280626766237,136.0546875,5

Lake Preston, WA. a.k.a "Yoyo's" or even "Cheesegraters". It needs water (rain) and a Norwester so it would work maybe 3 days per year.

Hey Chris, completely forgot about this photo that we took a few weeks ago and it certainly looks like the spot in a North Wester - have quite a few more from other angles as well.

Select to expand quote

birdseyeview said...

Hey Chris, completely forgot about this photo that we took a few weeks ago and it certainly looks like the spot in a North Wester - have quite a few more from other angles as well.

great pic of yo yo's !!!
the view is from the n/west to sth east..the preffered direction.

Aus 1111 is right- it really needs planets and solar systems to line up for it to work.
it has delivered a couple of times with a couple of sailors extracting a couple of 40kn..ish 2 sec peaks...trying to get a 10 sec run is a lot harder...

warning - if you fall in you will probably end up like this!... ...or close to it

Select to expand quote

snides8 said...

birdseyeview said...

Hey Chris, completely forgot about this photo that we took a few weeks ago and it certainly looks like the spot in a North Wester - have quite a few more from other angles as well.

great pic of yo yo's !!!
the view is from the n/west to sth east..the preffered direction.

Aus 1111 is right- it really needs planets and solar systems to line up for it to work.
it has delivered a couple of times with a couple of sailors extracting a couple of 40kn..ish 2 sec peaks...trying to get a 10 sec run is a lot harder...

warning - if you fall in you will probably end up like this!... ...or close to it

..or worse, you might completely dissolve

Where is point henry, VIC on your list????? mate i was over that side of the bay on the week end and had a look at the speed strip, it's just as good as sandy point with miles and miles of flat water..