Reading this sign may save you a $500 fine.
Has anyone been fined?



A north Easter does funnel into the bay so it is a handy after work sail for me.

Note that where you are told to sail is in some wind shadow to start with.

Forgot to mention:
I sailed it yesterday afternoon, there was a guy out - looked like a 7 metre sail, my biggest is a 5.7.
The board I was going to use was 130 Lt, a handy size for the lulls and the crapy air at the part of the beach you have to launch from.

You can also launch from south end but a bit of a hassle through the boats. You are more likely to see the Rangers on the w'end although
you will struggle to find a park anywhere around Balmoral if the weather is good. NE has always been good there once over about 15 K,
it's better than off Fairlight in North Harbour where I see some sailing in NE.

Balmoral also good in E/ESE (not often this direction). SE some still sail off Clontarf, not the longest run but some funnelling.

Unsure if anyone has been fined, the Rangers used to hassle us a bit when we sailed regularly at Balmoral.

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tomp said..
you will struggle to find a park anywhere around Balmoral if the weather is good.

Thanks I might just stick to going mid week after work..

[If there was a decent SE wind in these swell conditions I would bother to drive to Long Reef]

Don't do it.
I know windsurfers that were fined there, but that was at least 10 years ago.

Launcing I used to bog out to through the boats until I was outside enough to get a gust to reach towards Clontarf. The gusts would really funnel there making great speed runs down towards china man beach
But this summer I have sailed long reef pretty regularly - late in the day when the ENE swings genuine NE and then north. Sometimes finishing at dusk

I have sailed it quite a bit lately. Rangers have never said anything to me, even had a bit of friendly chat with one of them only a couple of weeks ago. I only go midweek though and once I go out, I pretty much stay out. Coming back to beach I do it very slowly. Very nasty chop in the bigger NE'ly but good up to about 20 knots. A few of us go off their for formula occasionally, sail up to Manly and back down again.

I use to sail there eons ago, The signs have been there forever. I launched and landed off the beach, next to the sign, but stayed out in the middle of the bay, never got hassled.

you can also launch, legally, from the south end car park, near the dinghy club. You just need to walk or swim your gear past the rocks into the wind line.

weekends are a nightmare for parking, so best limited to weekdays.

Watch this space as discussions and proposals currently in train, but we may(with a bit of luck) soon have options for windsurf club racing, launching out of Balmoral Sailing Club.

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Ads72 said..
Watch this space as discussions and proposals currently in train, but we may(with a bit of luck) soon have options for windsurf club racing, launching out of Balmoral Sailing Club.

I have no gold to put in the parking meter

last time l sailed there was about 2 years ago .l sailed out from the southern end .l had to navigate my board through all those moored boats hit one accidentally. finally got out into the windband nearly got cleaned up by a manly ferrie.wind started too die off so had too wind pump my way back to shore derigged got to my car & noticed l had a parking fine.never been back since.

Haven't sailed there in yonks, but Balmoral sure never was the kinda crowd to be dangerous to the swimmers...
Launching from the south side is annoying, the wind being flaky for the first few hundred meters and all the boats.

Maybe that's why we don't see too many sailors there anymore...
But where else to launch from if you wanna sail to Grotto (??).

Next to the boatshed overly priced restaurant. As in right on the main swimming beach, where people do laps and such.
Confused yet?



www.google.com.au/maps/@-33.827515,151.252053,3a,15y,21.68h,88.02t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s1HZgWhPZnWL80Aw_nNUkDA!2e0?hl=en

Looks like a pretty place to sail.

Yes, a tad confused, but that is potentially a better place to launch than chugging through the boats in the southern corner. Agree with others here though, the best launch is the far northern corner as it's usually straight on the plane and upwind to Middle Head where the Grotto wind funnel is at it's best. My interpretation of the signage at the northern end is that launching is permitted at the very far end but you need to stay out of the swimming area marked by yellow buoys.

The parking meters there with the hungriest in Australia, so if you can't scam a local parking sticker, a 2 hour session becomes quite an investment. I guess it keeps the rabble away.

In the absence of waves at Wanda, Balmoral is my flatwater destination, so plenty of time there this summer.

Started there in the eighties, back then everyone sailed at the slab next to the wharf, southside. You couldn't walk on the beach without treading on windsurf gear. I do recall a mate having his board impounded for a month for sailing inside the buoys, though I think he drifted in with gear breakage. Remember how stoked we all were that he made it into the Mosman Daily, pics and all. That was about 1985. I suspect an extra zero has been added to the fine since then.

These days the rangers have a far more lucrative and easier kill with parking fines, than to be chasing windsurfers. The only warning I received was on one day in 1991, there were at least a dozen, maybe 20 sailing from the north end (Edwards Beach) prohibited area. Quite a sight watching the rangers running up and down the beach, trying to stop launchers, as another few would come in. Made quite a game of it that day. I think that's why they don't bother anymore.

I usually launch from right in front at Edwards. If there is a crowd, I make a point of swimming safely right out into the clear, then get out and stay out, never gybe inside the buoys. Come in very slowly and well away from swimmers. If too many to come in safely, then use the rockpool area and walk it back.

Parking at Edwards is 2 hours free, and by mid afternoon, even on the weekend, most are heading home as the Nor'easter becomes unpleasant on the beach. Fortunate perhaps, but have not had a parking problem at all this summer weekday or weekend.

This is me, about to rig and launch right in the illegal spot, all whilst parked in a no stopping zone, madness. Also note the green car taking 2 spaces... but you get a bit of that in Mosman.

www.google.com.au/maps?hl=en-AU&gbv=2&ie=UTF-8&fb=1&gl=au&ftid=0x6b12ac097cf701b5:0x8f24c7452d348adf&q=Edwards+Beach&ei=LD3gVISGAYSC8gWT9oF4&ved=0CBYQ8gEoADAA&output=classic&dg=brw

Wow, did not even know the "other" side of Balmoral even had it's own name

Balmoral was at its best yesterday. Seabreeze blowing onto the beach. Informal races from the permanent mark at the island to the mark past grotto. 5 guys racing

Great arvo session. Will try again for next wk also so if anyone else would like to join us for some end of summer twilight sailing, you'd be more than welcome. The more the merrier?

gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?date=2015-02-18&team=5

Some more tracks from last Wednesday.

Out of curio: what's the rule once you get past Middle Head & Grotto.
Is it just out of the Manly ferry way, or just not allowed?
Been there sailing a few times, never know what's legal.

Has anyone ever made it all the way past the Heads from Balmoral on a NE?
Seems like a long way downwind...

Windsurfing restrictions for Sydney harbour.




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510sub said..
Windsurfing restrictions for Sydney harbour.




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Yeah, this way always a dumb rule. It's like banning Volkswagons from the freeway.

The channel 9 news showed video of a windsurfer at Balmoral struggling in the southerly winds.