Hi guys,

i am reaching out for help to understand the locations & frequency at those locations of waveriding in Victoria.

A bit of context first:

After 6 years where i went on to kiteboarding (had 15 years of windsurfing prior to that), i can't wait to get back into jibing, jumping, surfing, i miss it too much.

But before i spend thousands of dollars (literally), i need to understand if it's worth the investment - I am only after side / side - on 20+ knots waveriding (2 sizes between 4 - 5 & 1 waveboard). I have searched the web for info on where & how often to catch those conditions in Victoria with no success until now.

So i am asking for help here:

- Where are the spots to get those conditions in Melbourne?
- How often should i expect to be able to catch those?

Note - I am open to hitting the road within the 2 hours mark away from Melbourne.

If i feel like i can hit a decent number of sessions a year (at least once a month on average), i'll jumping on the next sale. If not, well ... I'll be looking at spending more time in Hawaii on holiday .


Thanks a lot for your help.

Cheers,

Alex.

Hello, Alex,

Short answer: Don’t invest in the sport.

Longer answer: 20 kts plus: infrequent. Mainly during winter and spring, but sometimes in summer. Note: it’s been a shocking year for wind this year.

Side on: look for SW'erlies blowing on shore between Safety Beach through to St. Kilda. Westerlies occasionally.

Side: hardly ever.

Sail size range: 4 to 5. A 5.0 will work in 20 kts and a 4.5 will cover MOST of the winds above 20 kts.

One board: 82-85 L waveboard or something like a Tabou 3S, single fin. Get a number of wave fins, from 27cm down to 20 cm, to extend the range of the board.

Where: Safety Beach, Frankston, Keast Park, Bon Beach, Parkdale, Mentone, Rickett’s Point North, Hampton, Dendy Street, Elwood, St. Kilda, Middle Park.

How Often: never often enough.

2 Hour road trip: Torquay or Westernport fit the bill.

Once a month on average: 12 times a year is possible, but generally forget the period March to about the 2nd week of June (Autumn = the doldrums ).


Hawaii: let’s see. Warm water, great swell, great winds, girl sailors in bikinis. Have to say H is the place.

Firstly, Im a not a wave sailor but more a bump & jump sailor. Occasionally, I'll get down to Torquay but usually family commitments mean that most of my sailing is done on the bay here in Melbourne.

In April this year I started recording every windsurf session and since then I have sailed 17 times: 5 times I used the wave board and only 2 times were really the strong "stormy" conditions your are after (i.e. wave board, 4.2/4.7m sail, and big chop). Mostly here in Melbourne I would sail a 105 lt free wave board with a 6.2m or a 5.3m sail. So based on these stats, in Melbourne, you probably won't get to your 1 day per month requirement.

However, if you are prepared to drive down the coast to get proper waves (rather than wind chop on the bay), prepared for some 'float & ride' wave days or interested in some freewave/freestyle then I am sure you could get your numbers up.

I easily get out 12 times a year! I almost got 12 days in a row last summer.
I'm mostly sailing around Torquay and can get out after work when it's daylight savings which helps. Admittedly if you are restricted to only weekends you will get out less.
I mostly use a 4.8 and 77l wave board. Though the 5.3 does get used occasionally.
Second hand gear is cheap too. Go speak to the guys at the zu in stkilda and get into it!

I would have to disagree about the whole infrequency thing. The first two points are talking about the bay - you are never going to get proper wave conditions there.
Guys that live down the coast (especially east side) easily get more than one day a month of decent wavesailing.

I'd suggest getting a 5.3 and 4.7 with a board 10L above your weight. But... The most crucial thing is flexibility. If you can't work your job/commitments around the wind to some degree you will struggle getting down the coast and end up being relegated to bay sailing which doesn't sound like what you want.

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Al McLeod said..
The most crucial thing is flexibility.

yeah, if you can put aside 10 days a month that you might go windsurfing on... you will get between 2 and 5 days wavesailing... if you put aside 2 days, then you might get one...

So basically... organise nothing ahead in the rest of your life, don't have children and avoid committing to women or employers,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to respond, i really appreciate it.

To summarize it all, to get what i want (20+ knots side/side-on waveriding), i need to meet 2 requirements:

(1) I need to drive down outside the bay
(2) I need to be flexible on weekdays to catch the conditions

Unfortunately my city life with family clearly does not enable me to meet those criteria.

Sounds like it's not worth the investment. I really want to get back into wave riding though... I have been kite surfing for a while and i love it but a good old back loop or off the lip beats any kite surfing any day. I have been out in strong westerlies in winter where i wish i had a windsurf; with a bit of organisation, i could look at hiring some windsurfing gear from the Zu on those days to get my fix. Then, plan a holiday in a proper place like Hawaii.

Thanks for your responses, definitely helped reach a decision.

If you can only sail a few days a year, might be worth checking rentals from Zu or SHQ. They are pretty expensive (that is compared to other countries) but you will get just what you need when you need it...
No investment, no storage...

I think the answer is to go with al's suggestion but add a light wind wave board. You can get out in anything on one of these.

I'm 75 kg and use a 118l Goya. Loads of fun.

A few mates use an SUP in the waves on light wind days. Also super fun.

I've been out 4 days in the last week

Hi guys,

just to let you know - Despite my rational assessment of not investing into windsurfing, the emotional drive has prevailed and i've just bought some waveriding equipment.

It seems like i will be looking at wind forecasts and good waveriding conditions on the weekend from now on; gathering info from here & there, i have got Ricketts Point on W and SE, 13th beach on NW & W.

I have heard about "Rafs" but not sure where that is?

Any other suggestion in winter especially? i.e. strong cold westerlies & northerlies usually.

Also, got myself a 4.4 (i am really targeting those strong winter westerlies & northerlies here); would you guys suggest another size if it means getting more sessions?

Looking forward to seeing you on the spots ;)

Cheers,

Alex.

Congratulations, getting back into windsurfing.

In terms of gear, I would definitely recommend a larger sail (a 5.0m would be a good step up from the 4.4m). Depending on your weight & board a 5.0m should get you going in the low 20 knot range.

For winter, top bay spots are Green Point for Northerlies, Ricketts Point in a Westerly. Even though Ricketts has a nice little reef, I would still regard this as bump & jump rather than a wave sailing beach.

For the west coast, you have Pt Danger & Raff's beach (S & SW) or 13th for the NW. There are other spots but they are too hardcore for me, so I'll let you search out those. FYI - Raffs beach is in Barwon Heads / Ocean Grove (its marked in Google maps).

ALSO - April, May, June are usually the worst months for wind around Melbourne...do not get depressed as the wind comes back in mid / late Winter.

Thewindmap.com !!

Though site is looking a bit flaky now

Yep, gonna go for 2 sizes 4.4 and 5.0 ... Should cover all the conditions i am after.

Here is my list:

N --> Bon Beach
NW --> 13th Beach
W --> Ricketts
SW --> Raffs
S/SE --> Torquay

Any Sat or Sun over 20 knots, i'll down there from now on :)

so looking forward to it ...

Sounds like a visit coming Al
maybe some hosting too

Looking like 20+ out there at the moment!

Was at 13th yesterday ... Epic... A lot of people down there, probably saw you but don't know the faces yet. I had a Severne 4.4 and Stubby.

Was my first time at 13th, loved it. Went to Raffs / Ocean Grove the last 2 times it was W/SW, will go to 13th from now on.

So happy to be back into windsurfing, so much better than kiting :)

i saw you.

are you on the 13th video i posted yesterday?

Yep, i am. At the beginning, you see a guy walking down the deck to the car park (red car parked next to the deck), that's me.

Awesome video by the way wish i had stayed longer in the water

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Yuppy said...
I think the answer is to go with al's suggestion but add a light wind wave board. You can get out in anything on one of these.

I'm 75 kg and use a 118l Goya. Loads of fun.

A few mates use an SUP in the waves on light wind days. Also super fun.

I've been out 4 days in the last week

If I had that size board and sails I would be sailing here at Phillip Island every 2nd day here lately it's been a 5 day marathon and this whole week is looking good hmmmm must just be lucky I guess