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ausbinny said..
Don't need to explore it's already found - Michealmas Cay and Arlington Reef (although tide dependant) both just North of Green Island if you don't mind being rescued (if gear / body breakage) you can sail to Arlington from Green Island to get your Km runs in

I've found this one Grub Reef North of Cooktown - would probably leave from Coen somewhere or charter from Cooktown SE would be square ESE could get some deep off wind down the bottom end

That one looks very interesting.
But from the photo, you cant tell if the sandbar gets completely dry with a defined straigtish edge (It doesn't look like it there) . We looked at a lot of spots that looked promising on GE, but found few of them got reliably dry sandbars.

I came across an interesting one the other day,halfway between Jackson Bay and Haast. Interesting lagoon along the bay100 meters from the shore,it may show on Google Earth.

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sailquik said..

aeroegnr said..
Are you mainly looking for a shallow area that doesn't have a lot of interfering buildings up wind, but does have a sandbar to stop the chop from building?
What length is desired?

Not dumb questions at all.

It does not need to be shallow if it is flat. But it adds to the safety level if you can stand up and walk ashore if something goes wrong.

Preferably, you need to be able to sail within a meter or so if a shoreline so there is very flat water, or at least only small 10cm ripples. Sandbars are great for this because they often taper smoothly to the waters edge letting the wind blow in a quite laminar way right to the surface without any turbulence. Of course, any obstacles upwind will make the wind turbulent, gust and make control more difficult on the edge. = slower.

You need enough run-up length to get to around 25-30+ knots when you turn off the wind for the speed run. 50 to 100m is often enough and the run-up doesn't need to be super smooth, just flat enough to build speed in control and bear-away into the run without loosing control. Then you need at least 200 to 250m for a 10 second run at top speed, longer is always better, but always harder to find spot like that. Spots where you can run a top speed Nautical Mile are rare indeed!

The other factor that is required is an ideal angle to the wind. Somewhere between 120 and 135 degrees off the wind, but much more than around 130 will stay to get following chop in most places.

I am always amazed that so very few good speed spots have been discovered or explored in North America. I am sure they are there. It just seems that enough enthusiasts willing to explore and sail them are not.

Here you go, in the Juan de Fuca strait between USA and Canada. A few windsurfers sail there, but timing of the wind is the trick. Wicked tides as well, 8 feet change.

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Roo said..
If you want a real mission, head to the bottom of the world in the land of fire. 6km long runs with a perfect wind angle.

Hi Roo, where is this spot ? Thanks

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Roo said..
Here you go, in the Juan de Fuca strait between USA and Canada. A few windsurfers sail there, but timing of the wind is the trick. Wicked tides as well, 8 feet change.

Ahh yes. The famous Dungeness Spit. Saw pictures of that one many years ago. from the google maps it looks ideal. Enclosed water with howling winds directly off the ocean. :-) But i have never heard of anyone speed sailing there. Has it happened?

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sailquik said..

Ahh yes. The famous Dungeness Spit. Saw pictures of that one many years ago. from the google maps it looks ideal. Enclosed water with howling winds directly off the ocean. :-) But i have never heard of anyone speed sailing there. Has it happened?

Only know of one speedsailor to go there and the wind was not brilliant, Mark Ghan. Westerlies are not as strong as the Easterlies. The inside section marked as Dungeness Bay is a wildlife refuge. Location is around 6 hours from here and about the same from Seattle. ARooBar is a better choice when a big south westerly storm comes through.

Tsawassen ferry terminal has some pretty flat water if you sail on the offshore side of the spit. We had 50 knot winds there a few weeks ago I sailed Centennial beach that day

Centennial beach near Vancouver B.C. Canada,pretty windy when I'm on a 3.7
6'4" 220

It's on iwindsurf

?si=4tuGQ-zA_7qJlQLv

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sailquik said..

ausbinny said..
Don't need to explore it's already found - Michealmas Cay and Arlington Reef (although tide dependant) both just North of Green Island if you don't mind being rescued (if gear / body breakage) you can sail to Arlington from Green Island to get your Km runs in

I've found this one Grub Reef North of Cooktown - would probably leave from Coen somewhere or charter from Cooktown SE would be square ESE could get some deep off wind down the bottom end

That one looks very interesting.
But from the photo, you cant tell if the sandbar gets completely dry with a defined straigtish edge (It doesn't look like it there) . We looked at a lot of spots that looked promising on GE, but found few of them got reliably dry sandbars.

It would also need a mid / low tide I'd say it is tucked in between some other reefs so minimal / no swell (at a guess) on a "low" low tide the reef itself would likely be dry

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sailquik said..
I am always amazed that so very few good speed spots have been discovered or explored in North America. I am sure they are there. It just seems that enough enthusiasts willing to explore and sail them are not.

The spots are there, the speed sailors are not. Here's one near Provincetown on Cape Cod:


The line is 750 m long. The sandbar is maybe 2-3 ft above water at high tide. Currents are pretty strong there due to a 10-12 ft tide, but it should be ok for 2 hours around high tide in SW wind. But access during the summer is limited (very little parking nearby at $25 US per day). Space to get back is a bit limited, especially if wind direction would permit broad runs. I've never been able to convince anyone to explore it with me.

Here's a km long strip on Long Island:
I've seen videos of windsurfers on freeride gear there. It requires sailing a few km through chop to get there (or a boat).

Here's our own Sandy Point in Rhode Island:
That one has been sailed by speedsurfers a few times, although top speeds were usually only in the high 30s. It requires sailing more than a kilometer upwind through chop to get there from the public launch. The island is a bit high so it affects the wind some. The biggest issue is that any south wind in this area is very up and down, and strong winds usually do not last long. Here's the wind meter from our last trip there 7 years ago:
Since it takes a while to get to the island, I ended up being always on the wrong sail size that day. Of the 4 of us sailing that day, one guy set a PB of 37.7 knots that day, and he was a way faster windsurfer than I was back then. Makes me appreciate how nice it is to be able to launch directly into flat water at places like Coodanup, Albany, or LG, without having to go upwind throw 2 ft of chop first .

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brendanF113 said..

Roo said..
If you want a real mission, head to the bottom of the world in the land of fire. 6km long runs with a perfect wind angle.

Hi Roo, where is this spot ? Thanks

G'day Brendan,
it's down at the bottom of South America in Chile. Nearest airport is Punta Arenas. You take a ferry across the Magellan Strait and it's on the eastern side of Cabo Negro. maps.app.goo.gl/fJ1R7Pc5x7bLyPfj8

Weather station stats for the nearest airport: www.windfinder.com/windstatistics/porvenir_aeropuerto

Cheers,

Roo

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Roo said..

brendanF113 said..

Roo said..
If you want a real mission, head to the bottom of the world in the land of fire. 6km long runs with a perfect wind angle.

Hi Roo, where is this spot ? Thanks

G'day Brendan,
it's down at the bottom of South America in Chile. Nearest airport is Punta Arenas. You take a ferry across the Magellan Strait and it's on the eastern side of Cabo Negro. maps.app.goo.gl/fJ1R7Pc5x7bLyPfj8

Weather station stats for the nearest airport: www.windfinder.com/windstatistics/porvenir_aeropuerto

Cheers,

Roo

Thank you Roo
interesting spot.

Has any of the Tassie boys checked out Bruny Island? The Neck Game Reserve Lookout - Google Maps

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Jacko51 said..
Has any of the Tassie boys checked out Bruny Island? The Neck Game Reserve Lookout - Google Maps

The neck is good sailing. But the land mass itself is too high for speed sailing.To get in close enough.

Some great spots around Tassie especially Cape Grim way. But tides are our issue, 2.5m plus changes from high to low. Otherwise if we had a high tide venue it would be on all the time here in Tassie.
henty river always showed potential but lacks wind getting in close to shore as it goes up and over high land mass behind the run.

stanley west and eastern inlets are epic! Nearly every direction covered for a speed sail. Again tidal venue.

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sailquik said..

ausbinny said..
Don't need to explore it's already found - Michealmas Cay and Arlington Reef (although tide dependant) both just North of Green Island if you don't mind being rescued (if gear / body breakage) you can sail to Arlington from Green Island to get your Km runs in

I've found this one Grub Reef North of Cooktown - would probably leave from Coen somewhere or charter from Cooktown SE would be square ESE could get some deep off wind down the bottom end

That one looks very interesting.
But from the photo, you cant tell if the sandbar gets completely dry with a defined straigtish edge (It doesn't look like it there) . We looked at a lot of spots that looked promising on GE, but found few of them got reliably dry sandbars.

I was fortunate enough to sail at Michealman's Cay in 2013 thanks to Cam! Insane spot to sail!! But Daffy is correct! Not exactly an edge to sail against as the reef ran out shallow tapering off. It was a highlight and still is for me for a venue to windsurf at! Extremely long reef! If we could incorporate a chop float breaker along it. But then we need 35-45knots of wind to go with it regularly