What's the lake like at Pt Fairy? With the norwester, I'm thinking of making the short trek tomorrow morn. Prob launch from the airstrip.

Any advice appreciated...

SAILED years ago had steel pegs near the shore be careful and mud on bottem

G'day Scotty,

I'm pretty sure I'll get there around midday, it pays to be there when the tide is up. It does have some old wooden posts near some of the edges but they are easy to see, even on high tide. With a NW the runs are a bit on the short side but the depth and flat water make it good practice grounds for jybing etc.
I was out there last weekend and a few blokes got there just after I left.
Another spot which I reckon is a bit better due to the longer distance and chest high water is the Peterborough lake. It does have a few dangerous submerged posts, reefy bits etc. but they are all close to the shores. I call the Schomberg Inn to find out what the water is like before I head over there. When the mouth is open it drains out and is not suitable. The mouth was open a few weeks ago so I reckon I'll be at P.

What a great spot in a NorthWester! Good to finally catch up with you Jason...although I made the biggest mistake...didn't take everything I could (missed my 'big' board). Struggled through the lulls for most of it, and only managed a couple of good runs. It was good to meet the Warrnambool guys too, I think we should make the short trip more often.

Not sure how anyone else went today, but we got flogged by the 30kt+ gusty winds...gonna be sore tomorrow!

It was great to actually catch up and chat with some people who windsurf, it's a bit of a one sided conversation when I chat to the Missus about windsurfing. Unfortunately the wind wasn't really co-operating. I still enjoyed the day and well worth the drive.

Unfortunately I didn't get out today, had to watch a local footy grand final. It looks like there is no shortage of wind over the next week though. I might try and get an hour in after work one arvo.

Let me know when conditions are shaping up for Portland and I'll be down there.

Sunday arvo looks the goods for the lake again, if anyone's keen?

This time I'm taking ALL of my gear!

we'll be there around miday Scotty. All our gear and the whole tribe in tow!!

I'll be in there today, I'm just not sure when, probably around midday. Hopefully I'll catch you guys there.

Jason, I should've got you to make the extra 40min journey to Portland today. Full-bore Northerly made it a great sesh on the leeward side of our breakwater in the harbour...flat, but still scary!

Hopefully see you tomorrow, we've got a few numbers heading over, and the wind looks like it won't be dissapointing us!!!

It looks like you guys made the right call. I got two nice runs in before the wind went to crap at around 3:00. I didn't take my light wind gear because I was all inspired by my new "Winner to Wavesailor" DVD. I'll have to sit tomorrow out unfortunately. Have fun!

Lesson: take every bit of kit you own when going to the Port Fairy Loch.

Select to expand quote

McMahon said...


Lesson: take every bit of kit you own when going to the Port Fairy Loch.

I learned that the hard way last time...tomorrow I'm taking both my boards and a sail range between 5.5 - 7.5! Sorry to hear you didn't get the full day out of it, it dropped here just as we were packing up about 2ish, then swung to a light west with 30-40kt blasts for the rest of the day...I think we got the best of it though.

Tomorrow is showing 30+kts! I might be pushing my luck with the 5.5!

lucky buggers enjoy

Be good to see some pics guys

Select to expand quote

Old Salty said...

Be good to see some pics guys

Here goes...

Smile if you're happy Rog...



Bet you're not smiling now Rog! This is about 0.5sec befor the best (hooked-in) catapult I've seen for ages!



Hmmmm, must work on my facial expression! (& that gut!)



One of the local crew showing how it's done...



Enjoying Vic Spring weather...



Leigh, trying his best to keep that board down...



Luke & Leigh making the best of a pummelling gust!



Luke...



Another local (John?) in full control...



My attempt at a last jump...unfortunately after an earlier run in with a shallow sandbar, landed the board sideways snapping my fin and ending the day for me...

Some more...

"Hmmmm, do we reckon we'll get to the other side & back before it hits?"



Half-time...& time to change-down a sail size! (or 2)



2 hands for beginners, Bert...



Yep, you'll need 2 hands to hold that down!



Don't wave you fool! We're looking at the guys floggin along behind you...



Pretty-much everyone in this shot...even the guys with the balls of steel that turned up out of the blue with some old gear and decided to try to have their first go at the sport in 30+kt winds! A big Kudos to them...



Finally, a good pic to show the typical conditions for the day...



All up...fun had by all - even if we ended up with 2 torn sails, a snapped fin, and a bunch of guys that realised that 4.5m sails just aren't small enough sometimes...oh, and 5 kids that needed dettol baths and wire brush scrubbing when they got home, a big thanks to the photographer who is kicking back atm with a scotch to try and get blood flow back into her fingers...

nice one scotty,maybe next time

Thanks guys for the pics. Awesome shots awesome day. Give the photographer another scotch on me.
Where abouts is the Lake at Port Fairy? The fence in the water makes a good jumps coarse!

Bugger it, Saturday was definitely the wrong day. I'm not sure you could fit another windsurfer in there anyway.
Here's a pic of one of my two runs for the day before the wind decided to call it a day.

Thanks for the memories.That's what a lake full of water looks like.[bloody Victorians]

We used to have a lake here once with cows grazing in the pasture,even the cows are leaving now.

Select to expand quote

pirrad said...

Thanks for the memories.That's what a lake full of water looks like.[bloody Victorians]

pirrad...not to say we don't have enough water around here...coz we do, over average rainfall this year has helped! North about an hour & half and they're still battling drought conditions.

The lake though is tidal, so filling it isn't an issue...just time the trips when the tide's up...

Select to expand quote

Old Salty said...

Thanks guys for the pics. Awesome shots awesome day. Give the photographer another scotch on me.
Where abouts is the Lake at Port Fairy? The fence in the water makes a good jumps coarse!

Old Salty, the lake is just out of Pt Fairy to the east, across the road from the golf course which is situated between the lake & beach. The beach is a great surf beach for windsurfing (I'm told), I'll be checking it out this year. If you're wondering where Pt Fairy is...it's about 20mins to the west of Warrnambool.

And, I haven't seen anyone take up the challenge of jumping the fence...yet!

Select to expand quote

pirrad...not to say we don't have enough water around here...coz we do, over average rainfall this year has helped! North about an hour & half and they're still battling drought conditions.

The lake though is tidal, so filling it isn't an issue...just time the trips when the tide's up...

IMO,i think the tidal option may have been the better LONG TERM solution to our lower lake situation than the current patch up method's the authorities are putting in place.

Pirrad,
Lake George at Beachport has plently of water and you can sail it on any wind direction, come down on the long weekend, we are still in SA.

Windy as!

I've just moved to Warrnambool at the start of the year and had been wondering if the Port Fairy lake was any good for windsurfing. No-one could give me any answers until I saw this thread. I'll definately be giving it a go now.

If anyone's heading back for another group sail, I'd love to join you. As long as you don't mind sharing the water with a beginner-intermediate hack. I have upgraded boards and could use some tips from more experienced windsurfers to get the most out of it.

Select to expand quote

buckles said...


If anyone's heading back for another group sail, I'd love to join you.

You're more than welcome to join us...keep an eye out for this post popping back up!

Select to expand quote

As long as you don't mind sharing the water with a beginner-intermediate hack.

That'll make another one of us 'hack's' on the water.

Select to expand quote

I have upgraded boards and could use some tips from more experienced windsurfers to get the most out of it.

I'll see if I can find you one.

Northeasterlies this weekend. I think this lake could be a good option for me. :)

You guys have to many good spots on the other side of the bay, Dam. wish they would build a brighe across the heads of the bay. it's not fair. It's allways been my dream to windsurf with some cows in the back ground. now it does not get any more australian than that.

I will be staying at warnambool over christmas. how far is it from there??? and how do i get there??

Select to expand quote

windtechno said...

I will be staying at warnambool over christmas. how far is it from there??? and how do i get there??

It's 10 min from Warrnambool. Head toward Port Fairy through Killarney and turn left at Woodbine Rd. Follow the road through the Right hand bend and then right at the far end of the air strip for access to the lake. :)

Shout out when you get here. If I'm not visiting family elsewhere, I'll likely be up for a sail. :)