Hey what's the go with windsurfing in the pond at safety bay, is it frowned upon? I see only kitesurfers in there. I want a place to learn in which is safe enough.

most windsurfers have given up on the pond since its getting shallow (and dirty) nothing stopping you learning in there though, other than the fact that its full of kiters to play dodge ems with.

Couple of years (maybe a couple of a couple) and the pond will be gone then the kiter's will be behind the penguin Island sand bar

Mandurah estuary is probably the best place to learn . Not many people out and waist deep for hundreds of meters. All the sailers ive met are top notch too.

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wilko_1986 said..
Hey what's the go with windsurfing in the pond at safety bay, is it frowned upon? I see only kitesurfers in there. I want a place to learn in which is safe enough.

Frowned upon? No. Kitesurfers have gradually displaced windsurfers, just from sheer numbers. Be prepared for idiots not looking around them before they jump or suddenly turn. You also get beginners that think its safe in the pond, which is got to be one of the more congested places to learn kiting, so sometimes there are kitelines or even boards just floating around, so keep any eye out.

The good kiters are fine as they do look around, and do know who has right of way and when.

Its a great place to windsurf and learn how to gybe. The sandbar near the jetty varies in depth, so don't go too far into it if you don't know how deep it is as you will run aground. I saw someone do this today, running fast, close to the shore, and almost on queue his fin hit the sand and he came off.

In my opinion, you should learn to sail there. Keep an eye out for kiters, and learn when you have right of way, but always be prepared for others that don't or just want to act like knobs.

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Subsonic said..
most windsurfers have given up on the pond since its getting shallow (and dirty) nothing stopping you learning in there though, other than the fact that its full of kiters to play dodge ems with.

Is it really that bad? Sure, at low tide the sandbar is low, but the rest of its okay.

I remember when there was a boat or two still moored in the pond, and then a few outside of the jetty. It was dirtier then, plus the challenge of getting through the wind shadow of the boats.

I have fond memories of great seabreeze days late in the afternoon when the wind is still going, the water is flatter and there is a little bit of swell just before the jetty so you can play around doing small jumps. Its an awesome place to sail in the right conditions.

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FormulaNova said..

Subsonic said..
most windsurfers have given up on the pond since its getting shallow (and dirty) nothing stopping you learning in there though, other than the fact that its full of kiters to play dodge ems with.

Is it really that bad? Sure, at low tide the sandbar is low, but the rest of its okay.

I remember when there was a boat or two still moored in the pond, and then a few outside of the jetty. It was dirtier then, plus the challenge of getting through the wind shadow of the boats.

I have fond memories of great seabreeze days late in the afternoon when the wind is still going, the water is flatter and there is a little bit of swell just before the jetty so you can play around doing small jumps. Its an awesome place to sail in the right conditions.

I guess it depends on how you like to play in there, but for me, gone are the days of being able to swing through gybes over the sand bar. Its just too shallow now. and the amount of rotting weed is getting worse. Not to mention there is an outlet of some sort on the foreshore that pumps god knows what into the pond. Whatever it is, its not storm water.

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Subsonic said..

FormulaNova said..

Subsonic said..
most windsurfers have given up on the pond since its getting shallow (and dirty) nothing stopping you learning in there though, other than the fact that its full of kiters to play dodge ems with.

Is it really that bad? Sure, at low tide the sandbar is low, but the rest of its okay.

I remember when there was a boat or two still moored in the pond, and then a few outside of the jetty. It was dirtier then, plus the challenge of getting through the wind shadow of the boats.

I have fond memories of great seabreeze days late in the afternoon when the wind is still going, the water is flatter and there is a little bit of swell just before the jetty so you can play around doing small jumps. Its an awesome place to sail in the right conditions.

I guess it depends on how you like to play in there, but for me, gone are the days of being able to swing through gybes over the sand bar. Its just too shallow now. and the amount of rotting weed is getting worse. Not to mention there is an outlet of some sort on the foreshore that pumps god knows what into the pond. Whatever it is, its not storm water.

I was out on the sandbar yesterday (on a kite, don't judge me!) and it was great. I always thought that if more kiters actually went to the end of that sand bar and turned just as it went deep, it would be better for everyone. Less congestion, and everyone can turn, but instead you get kiters that do really short tacks and turn even before the jetty. It has me confused. Out on the sandbar yesterday I could play to my hearts content.

I have noticed its shallow over the last few years but always put that down to just coinciding with low tides. I was using pretty short fins as well.

I do remember going back a few years doing great carving gybes, heading way down wind, and then turning round the boats. Other than there being no boats anymore, can't you do this anymore?

Mind you, I can understand sailors not wanting to sit behind some kiter that will suddenly turn without looking. The sad news is that they do it to other kiters as well. I had some guy drop in on me from upwind the other day and then turn...

Tides are really low at this time of year, and this year more than usual. Soon there should be enough water over the sandbar for bigger fins in the afternoons, and earlier in the day as the season progresses.

Don't do it to yourself. There are to many kites to make it a safe place to windsurf now and there are many better options available such as Novara in Mandurah. I've recently been learning to Kitefoil on the pond thinking it was the safest environment for it however it's a small space once you get a few kites in there and I found myself constantly looking around trying to be wary of others.

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Jonski said..
Don't do it to yourself. There are to many kites to make it a safe place to windsurf now and there are many better options available such as Novara in Mandurah. I've recently been learning to Kitefoil on the pond thinking it was the safest environment for it however it's a small space once you get a few kites in there and I found myself constantly looking around trying to be wary of others.

You decided to try and learn to use a foil in the pond? You can already kite and you thought that would be a good idea? Why? Over the other side is so much better with more room and less kites. Its bumpier, but you are on a foil.

Honestly, I think that's what causes a lot of problems in there. People that are learning and drop their kites, or end up tangled, or doing ridiculously short tacks. The last one bugs me the most as the pond is big enough if you go from sandbar to sandbar to do your turns, but people on kites seem to go very short distancs before turning which really congests things. On a foil, you have even less distance because of the depth.

Would it be a problem if I hired a boat for a day and parked it just where the kiters want to do tricks and take photos? Surely that's a nice safe place to park a boat in windy weather

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FormulaNova said..

Jonski said..
Don't do it to yourself. There are to many kites to make it a safe place to windsurf now and there are many better options available such as Novara in Mandurah. I've recently been learning to Kitefoil on the pond thinking it was the safest environment for it however it's a small space once you get a few kites in there and I found myself constantly looking around trying to be wary of others.

You decided to try and learn to use a foil in the pond? You can already kite and you thought that would be a good idea? Why? Over the other side is so much better with more room and less kites. Its bumpier, but you are on a foil.

Honestly, I think that's what causes a lot of problems in there. People that are learning and drop their kites, or end up tangled, or doing ridiculously short tacks. The last one bugs me the most as the pond is big enough if you go from sandbar to sandbar to do your turns, but people on kites seem to go very short distancs before turning which really congests things. On a foil, you have even less distance because of the depth.

Would it be a problem if I hired a boat for a day and parked it just where the kiters want to do tricks and take photos? Surely that's a nice safe place to park a boat in windy weather

My situation in a way was similar to the OP whereby it's not my normal place to sail but gives the impression of being a safe place to learn new tricks. I was the only kite out for a while and it was great but once the wind picked up a little and another 10 guys appeared it was already crowded. Now that I'm getting long runs on the foil I will stay clear of the pond and advise others to do the same as per my original comment.

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Jonski said..

FormulaNova said..

Jonski said..
Don't do it to yourself. There are to many kites to make it a safe place to windsurf now and there are many better options available such as Novara in Mandurah. I've recently been learning to Kitefoil on the pond thinking it was the safest environment for it however it's a small space once you get a few kites in there and I found myself constantly looking around trying to be wary of others.

You decided to try and learn to use a foil in the pond? You can already kite and you thought that would be a good idea? Why? Over the other side is so much better with more room and less kites. Its bumpier, but you are on a foil.

Honestly, I think that's what causes a lot of problems in there. People that are learning and drop their kites, or end up tangled, or doing ridiculously short tacks. The last one bugs me the most as the pond is big enough if you go from sandbar to sandbar to do your turns, but people on kites seem to go very short distancs before turning which really congests things. On a foil, you have even less distance because of the depth.

Would it be a problem if I hired a boat for a day and parked it just where the kiters want to do tricks and take photos? Surely that's a nice safe place to park a boat in windy weather

My situation in a way was similar to the OP whereby it's not my normal place to sail but gives the impression of being a safe place to learn new tricks. I was the only kite out for a while and it was great but once the wind picked up a little and another 10 guys appeared it was already crowded. Now that I'm getting long runs on the foil I will stay clear of the pond and advise others to do the same as per my original comment.

Yeah, agreed. That makes sense. I had thought the worst and thought why would you insert yourself into the throng in there, but if there's few out, its a good place.

I love the pond, and it's my usual go-to place between late spring, summer and early autumn since 2011. I normally go 2 or 3 times a week after work after 5pm, and over the last couple of years I seem to be the only windsurfer 90% of the times.
The water quality this year is great, I'd dare say better than that of the river or the estuary. A couple of years ago it was sub-optimal though.
In 8 years going to the pond, I never had any incident with any kiter, I normally sail between the jetty and the outer sand-bar and kiters barely come anywhere near.

The reasons why I love the pond are:
a) Perfect place to practice freestyle or for learners (flat and no currents)
b) Great parking (spot availability and right in front of the rigging area + the pond itself)
c) Lawn to rig the sail
d) Shower to rinse the gear

The biggest downsides I see are:
a) Don't go if you don't have a weed fin
b) For most days, it has become too shallow for slalom gear with standard sized fins. Whereas freestyle boards (with the corresponding freestyle fins) get away everywhere regardless of the tide, I can see that many days a standard >30 fin just won't go.

I have thought about going down to the pond (Mellville my usual spot) as a beginner to try and get in some practice on my gybes (start of my 3rd season just managed 2 so far). It is a fair drive from where I live be at least an hour. My question in relation to this thread will this be worth my while or will it just be frustrating due to kite numbers Would possibly try during the week to avoid crowds

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Clarrie67 said..
I have thought about going down to the pond (Mellville my usual spot) as a beginner to try and get in some practice on my gybes (start of my 3rd season just managed 2 so far). It is a fair drive from where I live be at least an hour. My question in relation to this thread will this be worth my while or will it just be frustrating due to kite numbers Would possibly try during the week to avoid crowds

It is congested around the launching area for the kites, but most of them don't tend to go all the way to the sandbar which is where you should be practicing your gybes. Check the tides are okay for fin clearance, but often on that side you don't have much competition from kiters, except for when the Euros come to town enmass in January.

When you head back to the north side of the bay, just go to the sand bar and tack or jump in the water and start again. The air at that end is not as clean, so you are better off practicing on the other side anyway. I found it was much easier to learn to gybe over the sandbar near the jetty. Cleaner wind, and less congestion from other sailors.

If nothing else, you should be sailing along wary of the other sailors and kiters around you. If you are, you should be okay most of the time. That said I ran over a floating upside down kiteboard that made a gouge in the bottom of my board, and had someone crash their kite in front of me and the lines pretty much made my board stop instantly as I catapulted over the top. So there are risks.

IMO you would be better off launching at Carlisle street and make your way out to the jetty at penguin island for some great gybing practice conditions. At the other end it is shallow enough to stand if you fall in and can be fun gybing on the small waves coming over the bar. If the tide is low you still need to be careful of running aground but there are deeper parts to get through. Far less kite traffic to contend with and even though you are sailing further out still perfectly safe in the onshore sea breeze. And as a bonus the water looks amazing this time of year.

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Swindy said..

IMO you would be better off launching at Carlisle street and make your way out to the jetty at penguin island for some great gybing practice conditions. At the other end it is shallow enough to stand if you fall in and can be fun gybing on the small waves coming over the bar. If the tide is low you still need to be careful of running aground but there are deeper parts to get through. Far less kite traffic to contend with and even though you are sailing further out still perfectly safe in the onshore sea breeze. And as a bonus the water looks amazing this time of year.

Great sail here yesterday amazing water colour - as advertised by Swindy !