Hey guys,

i have been in Melbourne for a little bit more than 10 months now but only kiting in St Kilda Beach... Well, not for the last 5 months thought, winter definitely is not a kiting season in Melbourne, i shall remember that for next winter ;)
Anyway, i'm getting bored of St Kilda Beach, it's never really flat, always choppy and the wind is usually gusty, this is really no perfect spot for freestyling :)

So i was wondering if you guys, locals, could help me out on this and give me some information on where i can find a perfect flat spot when the wind blows N, NW or SW? and how to get there? and if you go out there often on the week-ends?

I also wish i could know some other kitesurfers who i could head out with and kitesurf in the week-ends, i'm bored of being alone and i'm pretty sure there're great trips to do around here :)

Thanks for your replies guys, that'd be very helpful ;)

Alex.

Thanks for the tips, these spots look fantastic and it's definitely a good option when northerlies blow as it's just not kite-able in St Kilda Beach.

What about southerlies? is there any good flat spot when the wind blows S or SE?

Another question: How do you know when it's windy at St Kilda Beach and kiting? i live in the city and i have already experienced the "it looks windy but it's not kiting" and "it doesn't look windy but it's kiting" thing a number of times and well if i could find out a way to be sure about wind conditions in St Kilda beach, that'd definitely improve my track record of kitesurfing sessions at St Kilda Beach

Thanks for the tips

Alex.

On a S seabreeze wind best spots are St Kilda which can be epic when conditions are right and its not too crowded with beginners sitting in the flats
Altona is also awesome on a S and i have never had a bad session there even if its busy you can always find space and the water is so flat
Brighton and Hampton are less crowded but very choppy on a S wind so not the best.

On a SE wind Port Melbourne works but its not flat. SE is Altona's best direction i rekon and its always sick when it kicks in there.

Northerly winds I always go to rosebud as its flat, clear, shallow and never crowded. Pt Henry also works on a N wind and is pretty flat.

On W-SW winds St Kilda gets pretty gusty and choppy and Rosebud/Altona dont really work too well.

Inverloch down the coast on the Mornington Peninsula and past Phillip Island is the best spot for a SW in all of Vic i rekon. Its a big rivermouth with some epic sandbanks which at Low-Med tide give offshore conditions with water as flat as concrete, and at High tide you can kite on the sandbanks which is shallow and relatively flat. Inverloch also works on a SE wind.

Other WSW spots are along the east side of the Bay at places such as Carrum. Carrum gets some decent bay waves on a NW-SW and there are nice flat sections and kickers...same at Aspendale.

Also on a WNW-SW Pt Henry on the offshore side is some of the flattest water ever but the wind can be a little gusty so can be risky as there is no land untill Frankston if u get in trouble.....which is a fair way. You can also kite on the onshore side on a WNW-SW and its fairly flat also and no risk as there is land haha
Hope this helps

ewan

buy a hood, booties and decent wettie, and take an hour drive.

turns out winter is the best time of year to kite in Melbourne, with only 2 other riders ever out at spots. also discovered you lose most of your heat through your head, and your feet are the only part of your body consistently in the water. $100 on booties and wettie and i cant believe how warm it is. completely nulled the issue. seriously i rant and rant and rant to my mate who gets out after an hour with chattering teeth. i only notice how cold it is when i (foolishly) remove my hood packing up the kite!

3 seasons of summer kiting and i learnt to ride and bit of jumping.
1 winter of having all these spots to myself and at most 3 others and im unhooked, looping, railey, s-bends or whatever the ferk this newfangled jumping shid is... and generally going stupid and then having to google when i get home to see "what the ferk was that i was trying?"
why wouldnt you when you have got the place to yourself? ha ha ha. ha ha ha... i am just laughing my arse off as this winter has been the biggest step i have taken in kiting. ha ha ha. im slightly crazed and loving it now. lots crazed. crazy crazy yum yum kite kite woop woop.

Good tip saff. Again I have to say it tho... simply not cold with current setup. Also wonder how the drysuit would behave in a heavy Bells hold down in an old school paddlesport session?

Whatever works I guess, the point is: remove the cold factor from winter and winter rocks! Even starting to dread the return of summer with it's crowds!

I wasn't really thinking about the cold when i said winter isn't a kiting season as where i was before, it was even colder and i still kitesurfed. My point was that i can only ride on St Kilda beach (no car) and St kilda beach is only kitesurf-able by Southernly winds (right?) and the problem is southernly winds in winter tend to be ... Stormy ... it's sunny, you think you're gonna ride for hours and then all of a sudden, it rains, there's 40 knots (you'd better have anticipated it before otherwise you're in trouble) and the session is over.

I have tried to ride a couple of times this winter and it was always the same thing, i spent more time in the tram than actually kitesurfing, that's why i'm saying winter is not a kitesurfing season; i bet if you have a car, you can move on other spots and catch better conditions though.

But anyway, winter is over :) and thanks for your tips, i only need to find a mate who i could get out there with now :) ... (??? anyone interested :) )

craggers said...

Good tip saff. Again I have to say it tho... simply not cold with current setup. Also wonder how the drysuit would behave in a heavy Bells hold down in an old school paddlesport session?

Whatever works I guess, the point is: remove the cold factor from winter and winter rocks! Even starting to dread the return of summer with it's crowds!

The predator is designed for exactly that reason. It's a drysuit with a 1mm over suit that takes the air out and makes it skintight enough to duck dive under waves without feeling like your wearing a kiddies tube.

It was originally designed as a surfing drysuit (Pyro Surf) but they ended up switching it to kiting because people kept using it instead of their original kiting drysuit.

Albos said...

i wear a 4/3 wettie and booties during winter and thats enough for me, you can get sleeveless wetsuit vests with a hood to keep the head warm aswell.

Craggers where is your profile picture from? It looks like inverloch but i'm not sure, i'd love to have a flat water session soon, looking forward to some wind

profile pic is from an uncrowded spot approximately 53 pages from the front cover of latest Kitemag in readers pics section. iv ridden it once, and i can only hope im the only one there again next time when i get out there. i have seen it mentioned once in the forums, so there is at least one other out there who knows it. aside from that: closed mouths cause few crowds.

ps. if anyone recognises it... shutthafkup.

Looks a lot like Marlo. And if it is then its no big secret.MARLO MARLO MARLO.

P.S your the tosser that posted a pic of it.

so people are going for an arvo sesh from melbs are they?you havent been around long have you. plus you could fit a hundred kiters there and not be crowded.

yep.hence the start of this post. damm them choppers.