Just googling around (speed sailing maui) and came across this pic. And, hell no, it's not maui, but I was amazed at how smooth the water is.

/images/misc/forum-image-missing.gif

Is this The Ray at Southend?

link: dev.windsurfaddicts.com/2012/01/06/jon-white-to-hot-sails-maui/

No idea where but it sure is nice!

Glassy .speed sailors delight.

Im thinking holland maybe looks real nice like

I don't think it's the Ray as no video or photo I've seen from there has a view of what looks like the open sea, or at least a very big bay.

This is West Kirby.

It's my local spot, west kirby. The picture is Jon White, taken at high tide so you can't see the wall. It's super flat at too corner were this picture us taken
But 100 meters further down, we get a bit more chop on the rest of the course. It's know locally of death chop when it really blows.

The first video was taken in 30 knit winds and you can see the coho starting to build. The second video was taken in light 15 to 20 knot winds and it's really flat all the way down the wall.

Albany is flatter than west Kirby's footpath

This would be my all time favourite pics of a flat day, Kaleb and Dave smoking Hrs (27.5 & 26.7) and pbs everywhere


gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2011-07-08&team=27

Far out I can't wait to get another day like that down the west like that johno! Little henty looks the goods!

Select to expand quote

yoyo said...
Albany is flatter than west Kirby's footpath

That spot looks ridiculously flat glassy you guys are in heaven down your way.got a good friend that lives in launceston wait to l tell him about it.

Select to expand quote

gavnwend said...

yoyo said...
Albany is flatter than west Kirby's footpath

That spot looks ridiculously flat glassy you guys are in heaven down your way.got a good friend that lives in launceston wait to l tell him about it.

That's gonna be one long road trip

Henty looks like heaven, West Kirby is no were near as flat as that!

Been meaning to try Roa Island, still not as flat as Henty, but not far off and it has a 3k long reach in very clean air.

Harrington nsw is pretty damn flat ,
It just doesn't happen very often

Lota Creek only works around Sept to Dec but can be very flat winds can be strong but this day it was around 12 to 14kts you also need low tide.

Select to expand quote

yoyo said...
Albany is flatter than west Kirby's footpath

Really? I must get down there!

Select to expand quote

T 11 said...
This would be my all time favourite pics of a flat day, Kaleb and Dave smoking Hrs (27.5 & 26.7) and pbs everywhere


gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2011-07-08&team=27

Yep. That is sensational!! It reminds me of Sandy Point in the old days, but better!

Remember that any place where it is sandbar/wall/reef protected, it is going to be flat with nice laminar wind on a square reach.

When the bank angle gets to 130 to 140 off the wind, these places don't stay so flat. You will always get a significant following chop generated which is bigger as the winds get stronger. I remember being quite shocked at Sandy Point on Big Sunday (Sept. 27) 2009 at the severity of the 'corrugated' chop when I finally managed to hang on long enough to get down the course off the wind. At top speed around 47 knots I thought my board would shatter and my vision was getting blurred. It was like the worst corrugations on an outback road and they felt as hard as concrete at that speed. The wind speed was around 45-50 knots, gusting over 60 and I was literally less than 1.5m from the bank! I have since repeated that speed a few times, but in only around 40 knots of wind the water and the waves generated feel a lot less hostile! Oh, except for the run at Luderitz when the wind went way too broad and I came unstuck going over 30cm chop at 45 knots, simply because the fin was dry between the waves!

The reason why I think Lake George has enormous top speed potential if we ever get SE winds over 35 knots, is that even at 140 off the wind, the water stays really, really flat. That really is a game changer.

I recon Luderitz would be 5+ knots faster straight away if they were able to build in artificial 'weed' beds. I have some ideas about that!

Andrew, being a surfer from way back, and observing the way waves change direction with water depth, I have a feeling that if there's a sudden drop off at the bank to fairly deep water, then the bottom rising away from the bank. The following chop should curve away from the bank instead of back into it, I think that would make for a more pleasant experience, but possibly not as good as introducing Lake George weed.

Select to expand quote

decrepit said...
Andrew, being a surfer from way back, and observing the way waves change direction with water depth, I have a feeling that if there's a sudden drop off at the bank to fairly deep water, then the bottom rising away from the bank. The following chop should curve away from the bank instead of back into it, I think that would make for a more pleasant experience, but possibly not as good as introducing Lake George weed.

Hmmmm......... in theory I agree you may expect that, but I think the channel would have to be very narrow. In the Luderitz channel,(very narrow! ) there was no sign of that happening. The following chop ran dead square down the channel.

At Sandy we get small ripples running out at about the wind angle but larger waves bending back towards the bank. In super strong winds it's corrugated chop running almost straight with you @ 130, and can be 20cm+ only 1-1.5m from the sand.

At Luderitz, some of the more confident/experienced sailors were staying very close to the windward side of the channel where it was slightly smoother. Not a place I wanted to be in the stronger gusty winds because some fins tended to steer you up in lulls and down in gusts. This is not something I had experienced, or at least noticed at Sandy because the wind is usually a lot less violently gusty. The more raked fins seems to do this more.