Has anybody here tried wingfoiling on lake Summerset of Wivenhoe dam?

I was kitesurfing at least weekly up until I moved to SA 7 years ago, now I am back in sunny QLD and living in Lowood. It's about a 2h drive to the closest beach and I just have not managed to get there much. On the other hand we have a few lakes that are pretty close.

So these wind wings are getting me keen on sailing again. I've found nowhere on Wivenhoe dam that is a safe place to run the kitelines (Weeds/rocks/sticks all on the shores) but with a wing I should be able to walk everything into the water and get going free of plants.

I bought a Tahwalhi SUP from BCF and well, it's very relaxing and I'm out enjoying God's good creation. But wing foiling sounds more fun.

There is a fortnightly sailing club at Hayes Landing that mostly has Wetas, which are a little too far out of my price range and i don't have a towbar. In chatting to them they enjoy 15 knots, can handle 25. But our lake often is more likely 8 knots. Unfortunately there are no weather stations close to the water, so it's always a drive out there to check.

Oh, I'm 185cm and 95kg (6.07 foot, 209pounds)

So what I'm considering now is:
1. Do I wait until next summer and try to get some foiling lessons from Surfconnect at Sandgate before I buy anything?
2. Do I get a big ~120L inflatable board like the $1800 FANATIC SKY AIR PREMIUM from Briskites that I can deflate to fit in my car, learn on, and possibly sup-foil with? But that I might outgrow in 6 months.
3. Do I wait and look for a great 2nd hand deal on SurfFX/Seabreze/oceanaddicts. Where it might take me 6 month to save $500
4. Do I just guess that I will end up wanting a downwinder board of about 95L and get that now? making the initial learning to foil harder. and possibly requiring roof racks on my car.

As for the wing, I'm looking at a ~6m wing to keep, possibly the North Loft (my favorite kite is my 2012 North Fuse 12m) or maybe a S26 Naish Wing-Surfer Matador LT, because I like bright colours and no windows.

For a mast I honestly have not looked much but there is practically no swell on these lakes so something sort i suppose. I'll probably get whatever the shopkeeper recommends when I buy my board.

Depending on the board+foil I could continue learning by SUP-foiling, or if the wind picks up, use my kitegear. The alternative is that I get a wing first and just muck about with my SUP (that has no daggerbboard).

Thanks for reading

Hays Landing or Billy's Bay in a good southerly or westerly is the go, Logan Inlet is too sheltered. Best to swim or paddle out a bit from shore as there are some submerged stumps depending on water level.

You don't need lessons to learn winging, it's very safe unlike kiting so you can just grab gear and go.

I wouldn't buy an inflatable unless you have to, quite horrible to ride, better off with roof racks and a hard board.


At 95 kgs you will need a 130lts board initially, otherwise you will struggle. But a longer downwind type board is a good option as it gets going in lighter wind.


6 mtr is a good size to start with and a 1500-1800 front foil wing. There are plenty of option secondhand or run out stock.

Yes you can foil in Wivenhoe dam. Being an inland lake, the wind is gustier than in the bay, but better than nothing. I've also foiled in Clarendon dam. It's also ok.
Like airsail said, get roof racks instead. I would not recommend a 95L DW board for a 95kg beginner, you'll just struggle for longer. If you buy a 130L board second hand, then you shouldn't loose much when you sell it in a year's time.

Lake Clarendon not far from Lowood gets cleaner west and SW wind.
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Thanks for the replies!
So for now I decided to look for a second hand smaller wing (suitable for ~20kt). With the plan of using it to downwind with my SUP, then paddle back. This should let me slowly learn the basics of handling the wing.

But then I saw that with the new (end of summer I suppose) sales on most of these shops it was about the same price to get some of the similar wings new. Settled on a "S26 Naish Wing-Surfer Matador LT" for $779 from briskites. Not sure what wing it will actually be since Wing-Surfer & Matador appear to be different models on the Naish website. The bright orange and lack of windows was what attracted me. So much of this surf gear seems to be the same colour as the cloudy days that I take it out in.

I'll defiantly look at lake Clarendon next time I'm heading out.

You have a couple of months of no wind (the doldrums) before the westerlies start, and they can be strong.

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raskalnickoff said..

I'll defiantly look at lake Clarendon next time I'm heading out.

Hit me up with a message when you see a westerly forecast at the weekend. Will likely be going to Lake Clarendon

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raskalnickoff said..
Has anybody here tried wingfoiling on lake Summerset of Wivenhoe dam?

I was kitesurfing at least weekly up until I moved to SA 7 years ago, now I am back in sunny QLD and living in Lowood. It's about a 2h drive to the closest beach and I just have not managed to get there much. On the other hand we have a few lakes that are pretty close.

So these wind wings are getting me keen on sailing again. I've found nowhere on Wivenhoe dam that is a safe place to run the kitelines (Weeds/rocks/sticks all on the shores) but with a wing I should be able to walk everything into the water and get going free of plants.

I bought a Tahwalhi SUP from BCF and well, it's very relaxing and I'm out enjoying God's good creation. But wing foiling sounds more fun.

There is a fortnightly sailing club at Hayes Landing that mostly has Wetas, which are a little too far out of my price range and i don't have a towbar. In chatting to them they enjoy 15 knots, can handle 25. But our lake often is more likely 8 knots. Unfortunately there are no weather stations close to the water, so it's always a drive out there to check.

Oh, I'm 185cm and 95kg (6.07 foot, 209pounds)

So what I'm considering now is:
1. Do I wait until next summer and try to get some foiling lessons from Surfconnect at Sandgate before I buy anything?
2. Do I get a big ~120L inflatable board like the $1800 FANATIC SKY AIR PREMIUM from Briskites that I can deflate to fit in my car, learn on, and possibly sup-foil with? But that I might outgrow in 6 months.
3. Do I wait and look for a great 2nd hand deal on SurfFX/Seabreze/oceanaddicts. Where it might take me 6 month to save $500
4. Do I just guess that I will end up wanting a downwinder board of about 95L and get that now? making the initial learning to foil harder. and possibly requiring roof racks on my car.

As for the wing, I'm looking at a ~6m wing to keep, possibly the North Loft (my favorite kite is my 2012 North Fuse 12m) or maybe a S26 Naish Wing-Surfer Matador LT, because I like bright colours and no windows.

For a mast I honestly have not looked much but there is practically no swell on these lakes so something sort i suppose. I'll probably get whatever the shopkeeper recommends when I buy my board.

Depending on the board+foil I could continue learning by SUP-foiling, or if the wind picks up, use my kitegear. The alternative is that I get a wing first and just muck about with my SUP (that has no daggerbboard).

Thanks for reading

There's nothing wrong with the Sky Air. I took one to Fiji last July for a month. Great. Was able to leave it inflated on the beach for 3 weeks and it rides like a hard board. But starting out its not a good choice. I think at least 130 litres and 28ins wide and 7 ft long is good. But as important is a large foil around 2000cm. These seem large but so many get stuck by going small at the start with both board and foil making for a frustrating learning experience. Go for known common brands so you can move them on quickly when its time to upgrade.

Select to expand quote

raskalnickoff said..
Has anybody here tried wingfoiling on lake Summerset of Wivenhoe dam?

I was kitesurfing at least weekly up until I moved to SA 7 years ago, now I am back in sunny QLD and living in Lowood. It's about a 2h drive to the closest beach and I just have not managed to get there much. On the other hand we have a few lakes that are pretty close.

So these wind wings are getting me keen on sailing again. I've found nowhere on Wivenhoe dam that is a safe place to run the kitelines (Weeds/rocks/sticks all on the shores) but with a wing I should be able to walk everything into the water and get going free of plants.

I bought a Tahwalhi SUP from BCF and well, it's very relaxing and I'm out enjoying God's good creation. But wing foiling sounds more fun.

There is a fortnightly sailing club at Hayes Landing that mostly has Wetas, which are a little too far out of my price range and i don't have a towbar. In chatting to them they enjoy 15 knots, can handle 25. But our lake often is more likely 8 knots. Unfortunately there are no weather stations close to the water, so it's always a drive out there to check.

Oh, I'm 185cm and 95kg (6.07 foot, 209pounds)

So what I'm considering now is:
1. Do I wait until next summer and try to get some foiling lessons from Surfconnect at Sandgate before I buy anything?
2. Do I get a big ~120L inflatable board like the $1800 FANATIC SKY AIR PREMIUM from Briskites that I can deflate to fit in my car, learn on, and possibly sup-foil with? But that I might outgrow in 6 months.
3. Do I wait and look for a great 2nd hand deal on SurfFX/Seabreze/oceanaddicts. Where it might take me 6 month to save $500
4. Do I just guess that I will end up wanting a downwinder board of about 95L and get that now? making the initial learning to foil harder. and possibly requiring roof racks on my car.

As for the wing, I'm looking at a ~6m wing to keep, possibly the North Loft (my favorite kite is my 2012 North Fuse 12m) or maybe a S26 Naish Wing-Surfer Matador LT, because I like bright colours and no windows.

For a mast I honestly have not looked much but there is practically no swell on these lakes so something sort i suppose. I'll probably get whatever the shopkeeper recommends when I buy my board.

Depending on the board+foil I could continue learning by SUP-foiling, or if the wind picks up, use my kitegear. The alternative is that I get a wing first and just muck about with my SUP (that has no daggerbboard).

Thanks for reading

There's nothing wrong with the Sky Air. I took one to Fiji last July for a month. Great. Was able to leave it inflated on the beach for 3 weeks and it rides like a hard board. But starting out its not a good choice. I think at least 130 litres and 28ins wide and 7 ft long is good. But as important is a large foil around 2000cm. These seem large but so many get stuck by going small at the start with both board and foil making for a frustrating learning experience. Go for known common brands so you can move them on quickly when its time to upgrade.

Totally agree with the Fanatic Sky Air inflatable. I bought the 103litre to travel to Thailand for a month - still here lol
there is a 150 litre inflatable in Perth I noticed for sale - would be an ideal learning board - stable and rides like a hard board when pumped up. $500 all up - great deal !!

I'll be taking mine back to fiji for the winter foiling season after Thailand :)

get some gear and get out there !!