Hey all,

I am contemplating a move from San Francisco to Melbourne. My girlfriend has a good job offered through CSIRO and we visited for a few days last week to look at logistics and the lay of the land. Unfortunately we only had two days in Melbourne which was not enough time to figure out smaller, but still very important details.

We have a good feel for the job market, housing, transport, prices, etc. and seems like it would be a pretty easy move based on these factors. We really liked the feel of Australian life, the local and national ethos, the friendliness of the people, and numerous other things.

I am less sure about the move from a windsurfing perspective and this is very important to me. San Francisco is windy almost every day from mid March to the end of October. We have plenty variety of conditions, challenging water, a very solid Formula fleet, close wavesailing, etc.

However, the surfing in SF is pretty bad: poor wave quality, very few days of offshore wind, crowded, and cold. So I would not mind a move down in the quality of windsurfing if it meant better surfing.

For now I would figure on Sandringham and my home area. Any answers to the following questions would be greatly appreciated (even better if differentiated by season):
-Number of sailable Formula days (>/=8 knots). Number of solid days (>16 knots).

-Water temperture.

-How big does the swell/ chop get in the bay?

-Size of Formula and/ or slalom fleet.

-Where Formula or slalom guys/ women practice and how many times per week. I.e. can I find people to sail with a few days a week?

-Number of organized races (if any) and size of fleet.

-How far to decent wavesailing? *By 'decent' I mean something challenging to an expert level sailor.

-How far to decent surfing?

-How easy is it to take windsurfing equipment on domestic flights (say I wanted to attend races in Sydney)?

-Anything else worth knowing.

Again, I really appreciate any information you guys have.
Ben

Good morning, Ben,

These answers might start the discussion:

-Number of sailable Formula days (>/=8 knots). Number of solid days (>16 knots). Hope to reply tonight.

-Water temperture. 22 deg in summer, down to 8 deg. C in winter

-How big does the swell/ chop get in the bay? About 1 m close in, up to 2 m about 1 km offshore.

-Size of Formula and/ or slalom fleet. Small, see the Windsurfing Victoria site.

-Where Formula or slalom guys/ women practice and how many times per week. I.e. can I find people to sail with a few days a week? Am not into Formula and you might be struggling here. As for sailing, just about every night between June and the start of March, according to the wind direction

-Number of organized races (if any) and size of fleet. Se WV site.

-How far to decent wavesailing? *By 'decent' I mean something challenging to an expert level sailor. On big days, we have a wave period in the Bay of 5 seconds and it can be challenging just to waterstart in these conditions if you are in the impact zone. Good wave sailing in the ocean can be had at Torquay, about 1.5 hrs from Melbourne.

-How far to decent surfing? In the ocean at Torquay, about 1.5 hrs from Melbourne or the Mornington Peninsula, also about 1.5 hrs from Melb.

-How easy is it to take windsurfing equipment on domestic flights (say I wanted to attend races in Sydney)? Can't comment.

-Anything else worth knowing. Am at work now, so can't spend too much time on the answer. Will reply tonight.

Ben,

Have PM'd you.

Regards.

no one races no more formula killed it

Thanks so much to everyone for their help. A ton of great information came through by private message as well. This information was much more thoughtful and detailed than expected. I feel very well taken care of and informed.

The decision will ultimately come down to what is the best career move for my girlfriend. She is very highly trained (PhD) but in a narrow field. My education and skills are much more general so I can make a go of it almost anywhere.

If comparing Australia to the US, Australia clearly has as much if not more to offer than where we live now.

Thanks again,
Ben

Ben,
Windsurfing Victoria is planning to bring back more racing shortly. When you are in town message me for more details.
Regards,
Stephen