Joe / kimba .......Just seen all the photos you posted (in windsurfing) of YOU windsurfing the Goolwa lakes with the weir holding back the sea water in the distance, i could not believe it WHERE s THE WATER. I have been hearing things it is bad but couldnt believe my eyes.

I SAILED there around the mid 80s in Nor Westerlies and Westerlies when Middelton was blowen out and it was to offshore in a north north easter the odd southerly mainly at granite island victor harbour.

Back to the water ...............couldnt believe seeing some punter walking the dog in the back ground ....The water would have been over his head (he would have been in the middle of the river with 1 km swim to either bank.

Crazy ......

Can they still get boats into the marina on Hindmarsh island?

Looks like the lakes have been written off by Minister Penny Wong.

www.abc.net.au/news/2008-08-06/not-enough-water-to-save-murray-lower-lakes-wong/465938

Oh well. At least you will be able to tell your kids about the big fresh water lakes in South Australia. Its pretty unlikely they will believe you.

hoop said...

Can they still get boats into the marina on Hindmarsh island?

A friend of mine has a house on Hindmarsh in the canal system. The water is so low his yacht is now sitting on the rocks.
The water is so low to keep the yacht far enough out to float you cant reach it from the jetty.

It is a sad sad state indeed... and I'm not referring to South Australia !

I remember sailing Goolwa one Christmas a few years ago.
I was there this christmas just gone and it was shocking to see what little amount of water was left.

Kev

Rice farming is almost finished in Australia. While the likes of Cubbie Station can collect every bit of water thats flowing in a river in Queensland, then they will keep working. I belive some of the billions that are being spend should be used to buy up the properties along the river. A billion dollars would go a long long way to buying all the cotton farms in Queensland. Then turn it into a National Park. Of course this will affect business up there but its not much different to governments locking up forests in NSW and closing down timber towns where I lived.

Its a strange situation. A huge amount of water is diverted from the Snowy River and gets pushed down the Murrumbidge river. Check out the river at Gundagai or the Murray at Albury. I don't know but it does not seem natural to see all that water flowing down there.

Then you combine it with the Darling river in Northern NSW and Southern Queensland. Its basically been turned into a irrigation drain. Its dead.

Is the lakes where Stomboy was made? I love that movie. I know I will never live that life. However it makes me sad that people who depend on the lakes will have their lives shattered.

Where are those pictures that started this thread? URL please?

Yer spent a lot of time around Hindmarsh island on the nothern side ,is there just a single channal all the way to milang? ,and no water up to the island on that northern side ?
The footage was good , how deep is it in the section joe is sailing around in?.

Spose you could only sail in that direction now .....sotherly ?

The channel is about 3 metres deep in the centre but you can walk around up to neck deep in a lot of places. There is another channel from rankines landing to the old marina that is sailable on a northerly or southerly but is much shorter.

Between Goolwa and Clayton there is a definate channel with sand mainly on the northern side so in a northerly the wind tide still covers these shallow areas. I have not sailed there in a southerly as we usually head to goolwa. The times I have sailed on a northerly have allowed 3km+ runs and it would be possible to sail between Goolwa and Clayton but the land obstructions result in gusty winds.

There are many spots that we will explore when the sea breezes arive and we can go out in boardies on big floaty boards.

Just uploaded some preety bad pics of Goolwa into the windsurfing section from last saturday when we all headed down for no wind. Couldn't believe it - it's not looking good.

Bubs