Guys

I'll hopefully be taking my new rig out this Saturday/Sunday. Almost a complete newbie - I had 4 lessons late, late last summer. Starboard Go 09 + Kult 6.4 sail. Never used it before, so no idea what to expect. To be honest, i'ts gonna take me a few weeks to get my balance again - so looking for somewhere to sail that'll be reasonably foregiving. Wondered whether any of you good people could give me a few hints on:

1. The best wind conditions for Elwood for a beginner (and what to look for on the Bay Wind Forecast chart...i.e. knots/direction)

2. Is Lysterfield worth it if Elwood is too challenging? I mountain bike down there and the lake looks tempting.

3. I'm looking forward to getting down to Inverloch/Sandy Point. Which is best for beginners and are there any regular groups travelling down at w/ends - and is it worth the drive. Finally, what weather conditions should I be looking out for?

Thanks in advance and hope to hook up sometime

Cheers

Croweman,

I very strongly recommend you do NOT go out on the bay this Saturday. The forecast is for 30 knots+ winds and storms which means it could be gusting up to 40 knots+.

Sunday is looking better for beginners around 12 knots so you'll be able to uphaul easily on fairly calm waters in the afternoon.

1. Elwood is good for beginnners when the wind is blowing anywhere between westerly and southerly (i.e. WNW, W, WSW, SW, SSW, S) up to about 20knots. Winds stronger than this will be too much to handle for a real beginner plus the waves will be getting bigger and make it hard to uphaul and may destroy your gear in the shore break. If the wind is Northerly then go to Green Point in Brighton. BEWARE: if there's any easterly component to the wind then it will be blowing offshore and if it all goes wrong you may not be able to get back to the beach!! Next stop Geelong. As summer kicks in we'll be getting afternoon seabreezes so from around 3pm onwards you should be seeing 15 to 20 knots south-westerlies which are good for beginners at Elwood and there will be plenty of other sailors there.

2. Haven't heard anything about sailing at Lysterfield so I'd be surprised if it's any good. Very flat water and very little wind would mean you'd be just floating around on a board holding up a mast with a sail stuck on it...not gonna learn much that way.

3. Haven't sailed Inverloch but Sandy Point is great for beginners. As a beginner it would "work" on pretty much any wind direction and even in strong wind there are usually some areas that are protected/secluded from the full force of the wind. Don't know about regular groups. The drive from Melbourne is about 2.5 hours and definitely worth it but I'd make sure someone else is gonna be there. It's in the middle of nowhere and if the worst happened you'd want someone to be there to help.

Welcome to the greatest (and most frustrating!) sport on the planet.

See you on the water. I'll look out for a Go/Kult combo and come say "Hi".

Select to expand quote

CagedAtWork said...


Sunday is looking better for beginners around 12 knots so you'll be able to uphaul easily on fairly calm waters in the afternoon.

Hey croweman,

Cagedatwork is spot on, you will want a constant-ish light wind (anything from 5-12ish knots), if your at the uphaul, balance badly, and fall down stage. Need enough to lean back against a bit, but not too much that the sail is overpowering you and sailing itself

Look for flat water spots with easy access, no dangerous areas nearby, check the tides so you know where your gunna end up when you float away (this will happen), wear a lifejacket, as you will be stuffed from swimming alot and don't sail to far from the shore (make sure the wind will blow you downwind back to your start or another safe point)

You might be past these tips, but better then not having them

Goodluck, this is the best sport ever, but starting is hard

Dunno about Viccy spots

I would follow previous posted and not sail this weekend. What you need is 10 - 15 kts. As a beginner I would recommend that you start where there is flat water to get your balance and feel for windsurfing and get a few of the basics down pat, then go to the bay.
I have sailed all 3 places you mentioned.
Lysterfield Park Lake is great to start as a beginner as the water is flat and the wind is generally lower than forecast. If you get into trouble the shore is not too far to swim to. However, being a lake the wind gets a bit flukey and will change in direction so as you get better look for alternate places to sail.
Inverloch is great. In the inlet flat water and good consistant winds. Shallow in places which is ideal for learning and again if you get into trouble not too far to swim. Do not bother on Northerlies as the sand hump in the middle of the inlet is too difficult to navigate. My first choice of sailing even though it takes me 2 hrs to get there.
Elwood is shallow in close and is flatish on NW and is a good place to learn. Be careful on N and S as you will be sailing straight offshore and as a beginner you do not want to be stuck out in the middle of the bay and struggling to get back in.
I would visit all 3 places and speak to the windsurfers there as to the best conditions. We are a friendly lot so do not be bashful

Select to expand quote

CagedAtWork said...

Croweman,

I very strongly recommend you do NOT go out on the bay this Saturday. The forecast is for 30 knots+ winds and storms which means it could be gusting up to 40 knots+.

See you on the water. I'll look out for a Go/Kult combo and come say "Hi".

CagedatWork and Dism

Greatly appreciate your insights - not least in terms of the STRONG recommendation to stay indoors tomorrow and fight another day....wind tips have been printed off and will be put to good use in the future. Hopefully get some more tips from you out on the water some time.

Thanks again

Select to expand quote

We are a friendly lot so do not be bashful

Thanks for the lowdown on Lysterfield - sounds like a useful fallback option if the Bay's too messy.

I noticed that Elwood Sailing CLub are running some socials from the 20th Nov. I'll probably try and get along - so if anybody sees a 6.4' Pom (sorry about that bit) then make sure you say G'day.

Cheers

Haha, yeah there are plenty of pommy windsurfers on the East Coast, Croweman

We just think of Pommies as unevolved Australians, hahaha, jokes

Your gear sounds flash, what volume GO?

make sure you put padding on the nose and boom of your board, so that you don't wreck your investment!

Select to expand quote

dism said...


We just think of Pommies as unevolved Australians, hahaha, jokes

Your gear sounds flash, what volume GO?

make sure you put padding on the nose and boom of your board, so that you don't wreck your investment!

When I look at David Beckham, I tend to agree that evolution may have started paying us back for previous misdemeanours...but we did discover somewhere sunny to sail.

166 I think - I'm not exactly Kate Moss. What's with the padding? Do you buy it or 'improvise'. There's a cartoon image forming in my head of a load of sun kissed locals bent double in laughter as I turn up with a new board complete with bubblewrap accessories. Suppose it helps with buoyancy....

Where do you sail?

Select to expand quote

CROWEMAN said...

dism said...


We just think of Pommies as unevolved Australians, hahaha, jokes

Your gear sounds flash, what volume GO?

make sure you put padding on the nose and boom of your board, so that you don't wreck your investment!

When I look at David Beckham, I tend to agree that evolution may have started paying us back for previous misdemeanours...but we did discover somewhere sunny to sail.

166 I think - I'm not exactly Kate Moss. What's with the padding? Do you buy it or 'improvise'. There's a cartoon image forming in my head of a load of sun kissed locals bent double in laughter as I turn up with a new board complete with bubblewrap accessories. Suppose it helps with buoyancy....

Where do you sail?

I have a GO that I used when I was learning and although I didnt use a nose protector, it does have a few dings in it. I did suceed in putting 2 cracks in the nose of a brand new board the first time I tried it though.

In this topic

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35546

there is a picture of a nose protector to give you an idea of what Dism meant. You can buy ones for the GO or make your own.

Select to expand quote

OceanBlue64 said...

I have a GO that I used when I was learning and although I didnt use a nose protector, it does have a few dings in it. I did suceed in putting 2 cracks in the nose of a brand new board the first time I tried it though.

In this topic

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35546

there is a picture of a nose protector to give you an idea of what Dism meant. You can buy ones for the GO or make your own.

No bubblewrap in sight! Thanks for the link - makes a lot of sense when you read the threads.

Croweman you can pick up boom protectors from any ws shop, they are just some padding in a velco setup that wraps around the clamp on your boom

As for board protector, there is hard fiberglass onces like Monster made in the link, soft ones and I just put a half a pool noodle gaff taped to the front of mine (but i'm a povo uni student with older boards), you have good expensive gear, spend a bit more to keep it that way maybe

I'm a Coffs harbour NSW local stuck inland at Armidale atm (started ws last spring/summer like you)

Hope ya get some wind and a good spot to learn, as heaps of questions here, google stuff there is alot to know about this sport (you'll get addicted)

Hey Croweman

Before you go for a sail in the bay you can always check out the baywinds site, the bloke that created the site should get a knighthood:

earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/engage/dynamic-earth-updates/bay-winds

Nearly every kiter/windsurfer/sailor in melbourne uses this site.

Sandy pt is an awesome place to go & learn, again check the forecast and also very important check the tide - needs to be a low tide. Dont park too close to the water, unless you want to claim insurance. Plenty of friendly crew there as well (like most spots). You can get some of the flattest most perfect conditions in australia!

Some other places good to learn in melbourne are Hampton and St Kilda.

With Hampton you can park FREE on beach road, rig on nice grass then carry your gear to the beach (dont sail between the flags if they are up). Best conditions are SSE to SW wind - West a bit too onshore. It has a fair amount of wave protection from Sandringham yacht club, but wind is a bit gusty. If you have a big fin (>500mm) watch the rocks, outside the breakwalls you are ok. A few kiters but they are cool.

St Kilda is also slightly wave protected but can have plenty of kiters if the wind is up. Go a but further up the beach, normally there are a few windsurfers out that can give you some advice. Good for SE to SW winds, also NW winds as well. Many a batten has been broken on the shorey in winds over 15kts so be careful. Primo scenery walking past as well on most days when the sun is out. The water can get a bit skanky after a rain, be careful. You have to pay for parking on the water side of the road.

Be careful with your big fin (I assume you have a long fin and a shorter one) - when I started on my GO I nearly hit every underwater obstacle in the bay, I was forever fixing my fin. maybe use your smaller "shallow" fin when starting?

You have bought a great first board/rig combo!

Select to expand quote

latedropeddy said...

Primo scenery walking past as well on most days when the sun is out.

Sounds like the perfect reason to get down to St Kilda...!

Thanks to all of you for the great early pointers - warmly appreciated.

Select to expand quote

CROWEMAN said...

3. I'm looking forward to getting down to Inverloch/Sandy Point. Which is best for beginners and are there any regular groups travelling down at w/ends - and is it worth the drive. Finally, what weather conditions should I be looking out for?

Thanks in advance and hope to hook up sometime

Cheers

I sail Inverloch when not at the Pit,great spot for beginers with lots of sand bars to stop you getting into too much trouble.Mainly works on SW and E winds.Big highs centered over Tasie bring easterlys,Cold fronts SW,s, not many sea breazes East wind can get stronger later in the day so take care. Also has a short speed strip to get the feel of flat water.Avoid the Christmas/New year week, far too many jet ski,s,kites,boats,swimers, windsurfers and everything else in the water to be called safe or fun.It takes about 1.5hrs from the eastern burbs to the beach. Hope this helps

Hey CROWEMAN,
Used to sail all the time at Lysterfield when I was starting out. A great place to learn uphauling and waterstarting coz its flat. Had my first planning experience there Works OK in Northerlies and Southerlies. It does have some strange spots where the wind spirals around though. It usually gets 10 - 15 knots less than the bay so is worth the drive if its blowing 25 - 30 knots in the bay and you really want to have a sail. Water is a bit low at the moment so you may get caught with the weed and rocks on the bottom. Enjoy

Select to expand quote

mgorman said...

Hey CROWEMAN,
Used to sail all the time at Lysterfield when I was starting out. A great place to learn uphauling and waterstarting coz its flat. Had my first planning experience there Works OK in Northerlies and Southerlies.

Hi Mgorman

Thanks for the nod towards Lysterfield - I'll give it a go. Was looking forward to getting out today on the bay after a rigging lesson.....Melbourne...! Don't you just love it.

Cheers