I am looking for some good flat water locations to sail. I am a beginner so I need very flat water. I went for a sail on Saturday at Seacliff and had a disastrous time in the rolling swell and onshore breeze.

Can anyone recommend spots and the appropriate wind directions. I have sailed at Westlake's while doing lesson but I really hate the gusty conditions it presents.

Boggy lake with the wind direction from anywhere south is one of the best places to learn and advance you can stand in most parts of the lake it is flat in light wind and if you get into trouble when the wind is from the south you just get blown back to the shore. Most Saturdays and Sundays if there is some wind there will be windsurfers down at Boggy.

Here is the boggy fact sheet:

www.windsurfing.org/files/FactSheet_Boggy_Lake.pdf

Sea cliff is a great place to learn, best in a SW breeze, there is a large sand bank there which is great to learn on.

Another couple of good spots would be goolwa lake, where we learnt to sail.

We also check out Kent reserve at victor harbor, good flat water , consistent winds, best in southerly and SW winds, Our daughter loves his spot to learnt at

Boggy is also a great spot, flat water, good consultant winds and plenty of friendly crew, but watch out for the cow patties. Works best in a SW

Persevere with sea cliff , invest in some booties though.

Lee. I'm taking the day off tomorrow and going to North Haven for some slalom sailing (NE, N and then NW winds). It's the flattest water on the metro coast.

West lakes can be good. It's super flat and ideal for the very early stages. Can get a little gusty as the wind increases though.

Select to expand quote

divaldo said...

Sea cliff is a great place to learn, best in a SW breeze, there is a large sand bank there which is great to learn on.

Another couple of good spots would be goolwa lake, where we learnt to sail.

We also check out Kent reserve at victor harbor, good flat water , consistent winds, best in southerly and SW winds, Our daughter loves his spot to learnt at

Boggy is also a great spot, flat water, good consultant winds and plenty of friendly crew, but watch out for the cow patties. Works best in a SW

Persevere with sea cliff , invest in some booties though.

Where is the sand bank at Sea cliff? I was sailing directly in front of the boat ramp. Up hauling the sail always turned the board parallel with the beach and the swell made me fall in backwards just after I was able to stand upright. The people on the beach must have had a good laugh then got bored and moved on.

Select to expand quote

jn1 said...

Lee. I'm taking the day off tomorrow and going to North Haven for some slalom sailing (NE, N and then NW winds). It's the flattest water on the metro coast.

Where do you launch from at north haven? I dont know the area at all. I wish I could have the day but its not possible.

Try rigging and sailing just south of the caravan park, there's a cafe there, wear booties. Perfect at low and high tide for learning.

Select to expand quote

leenis said...

Up hauling the sail always turned the board parallel with the beach and the swell made me fall in backwards just after I was able to stand upright. The people on the beach must have had a good laugh then got bored and moved on.

Yeah that was me 4 years ago . Here's the place:

www.google.com.au:443/maps?ll=-34.784533,138.48143&spn=0.00087,0.001206&t=h&z=20

Will probably see you on the water as some stage.

J

Select to expand quote

divaldo said...

Try rigging and sailing just south of the caravan park, there's a cafe there, wear booties. Perfect at low and high tide for learning.

Is this sand bank you are talking about, running perpendicular to the beach? And is the beach access through the stairs at the southern end of the caravan park?

www.google.com.au:443/maps?q=seacliff+sa&ll=-35.037474,138.514588&spn=0.003277,0.004393&oe=UTF-8&hnear=Seacliff+South+Australia&gl=au&t=f&z=18&ecpose=-35.0382529,138.51459134,342.92,-0.183,14.186,0

Select to expand quote

divaldo said...

Boggy is also a great spot, flat water, good consultant winds and plenty of friendly crew, but watch out for the cow patties. Works best in a SW

They have removed the cows from boggy now they have planted hundreds of bushes. Think the cows destroyed the first lot of plantings.

Select to expand quote

legless said...

divaldo said...

Boggy is also a great spot, flat water, good consultant winds and plenty of friendly crew, but watch out for the cow patties. Works best in a SW

They have removed the cows from boggy now they have planted hundreds of bushes. Think the cows destroyed the first lot of plantings.

The cow patties are easy enough to see/avoid. It was the goose $hit that always bothered me

Select to expand quote

ezee B said...

legless said...

divaldo said...

Boggy is also a great spot, flat water, good consultant winds and plenty of friendly crew, but watch out for the cow patties. Works best in a SW

They have removed the cows from boggy now they have planted hundreds of bushes. Think the cows destroyed the first lot of plantings.

The cow patties are easy enough to see/avoid. It was the goose $hit that always bothered me

The geese seemed to have moved on now too! Boggy is looking pretty good at the moment. It will be a good spot for the summer race series.

Is the any thing wrong with sailing in the patawalonger, north of the king street bridge? Would it be ok on a westerly/easterly wind?

Select to expand quote

leenis said...

Is the any thing wrong with sailing in the patawalonger, north of the king street bridge? Would it be ok on a westerly/easterly wind?

If you don't touch the water you would be OK,

I dont think there is a more polluted waterway in SA,

Did a sup paddle in there around christmas, the oil slick that formed on the board after 40 minutes paddling was pretty bad,

Select to expand quote

divaldo said...

leenis said...

Is the any thing wrong with sailing in the patawalonger, north of the king street bridge? Would it be ok on a westerly/easterly wind?

If you don't touch the water you would be OK,

I dont think there is a more polluted waterway in SA,

Did a sup paddle in there around christmas, the oil slick that formed on the board after 40 minutes paddling was pretty bad,

I thought it would be like a freshly flushed toilet after all the rain we have had.

Gusty westlakes is better than the pat, so until you get the waterstarts and beachstarts sorted out stick to westlakes / goolwa lake / boggy, or maybe seacliff on a very calm day.

Sailed Glenelg north years ago and got a really sick from the polluted water coming out of the pat, never sailed near it again.

Cheers
Graeme

If you sail Westlakes you just need to pick the right spot to suit the wind direction.

Northerly - Bower road end of lake by the dragon boat club.

SW-SE - legtrap (Dotterel Drive) has nice lawn and toilets
SW - Tiranna way (dont go here on a s-se as its gusty due to footy park and houses interferring)
S - Main rowing lake, providing there is no rowing on, unless you like causing a bit of chaos.

That said, yep its still a lake thats gusty due to effects of houses etc but the above guide is what i use when i take my daughters to teach them.

other than that the suggestions from Divaldo, JN1 and legless are all great to in the right conditions.

Good luck with your learning

Leenis. I used West Lakes heaps when I started for the only purpose of learning beach and water starts. Pretty much what Bondage said.