need advice on sailing spots

Hello, Raggy,

The following is a summation of many posts.

As you might already know, we have three windsurfing outlets in Melbourne, www.shq.com.au/ (closest to you), www.rpstheboardstore.com/ (another 10 minutes' drive) and Zu Boardsprts, www.thezu.com.au/ (another 5 minutes' drive).

You might consider going to a newsagency and getting a Melways street map. The locations that follow are cross-referenced to the Melways.

Frankston Lifesaving Club, Melways 100A, B6. A known car-breaking area. Works in northerly and southerly.

Frankston, bottom of Oliver's Hill, Melway 102, A4. Works in northerly.

Mornington, Melways 104, D10. You need to explore this area for sailing spots or get advice from "Forum Lurkers".

Mt. Martha, Melways 144, K11. Works in westerlies.

Safety Beach, Melways 150, D11. Works in W and SW

Rye, Melways 168, J4 (in the Yacht Club area). Works in NE, N and NW. WQatch out for sandbanks.

Between Safety Beach and Rye there are many beaches to pick from, but the two above are the most popular.

Coming back to Frankston and heading north:

Keast Park, Melways 97, D11. Works in N and S

Bon Beach, Melways 97, C4 (off Williams Gve). Works in N and S.

Parkdale, Melways 87, B10 (at Parkdale Yacht Club). Works in S and E

Mentone, Melways 86, K8. Works in S and E.

Most of the parking areas north of Frankston are "fee payable", around $3/hour or up to $14/day, so take coins with you.

Coming south from Melbourne:

Elwood, Melways map 67 B4. Works mostly in a S to SW. Parking fees payable. Also close to the RPS store.

Dendy Street, Melways 76 C1, park near Norwood Avenue. Works mostly in a S to SW.

Green Point, Melways 76 C3. THE spot to sail in a northerly. A very bad shore break in a southerly. Parking fees payable. Close to the SHQ store.

Hampton, Melways 76 E6. Park on Beach Road near the sculpture of the Reclining Lady/Hampton Life Saving Club. Works mostly in a S to SW.

Rickett's Point North and Rickett's Point South. Melways 77 C8.

On Beach Road, there is a Teahouse and either side of it are entrances to car parks (fees payable). The north carpark gives access to one of the best wave sailing spots in Melbourne BUT it only works in a 20 knot + southerly. The waves break against a reef and it can be tricky getting over the reef at low tide. There is a break in the middle of the reef indicated by markers, otherwise, watch the sailors already there and, if they are sailing over the reef, there should be enough water to prevent fin strikes. There is another reef close to shore, which only shows close to low tide (Gilliligan's Island). If you are coming back into shore and sail through the gap in the outer reef, you have to make sure to stay clear of Gilligan's, otherwise you'll have a fin-strike. The area between the shore and the outer reef is very flat, ideal for tricks and hero gybes.

To the south of the Teahouse is another carpark and it leads onto a dirt track, down to a final parking area at the Beaumaris Life Saving Club. This beach works on W to E and is THE premier spot to sail in an Easterly. In summer, in low wind conditions, there will be lots of families swimming there and if you want to sail, it would be best to ask the Life Savers where (they'll probably tell you to keep outside the flagged area (flags on the beach). Also, if you are near swimmers, you MUST be very careful to keep away from them. In a big easterly, the families will be blown off the beach and it would be best to watch what other sailors are doing when they go out to sail. There is a big reef to one side of the sailing area and it's best to keep away from it at low tides, although the experts often wave sail over it.

We are having a very odd season here. We normally get Southerly afternoon sea breezes, but these have been rare this year.

Generally, our prevailing summer winds are SW'ly, with occasional N and SE'ly thrown in. In winter, we look forward to cold Northerlies.

A sail range of 4.0 to 7.5 will cover most wind strengths here and a 3-board range of approximately 80/100/125 litres will match the sails. In a pinch a 2-board range of say, 110 and 85 L will cover most conditions.

You might care to look at the Watkins site (www.baywx.com) for some good info and particularly the water temps available from the drop down menu bar, so choosing a wetsuit might be easier.

The JMan (search this Forum) lives further away from you but travels to many of the beaches I have mentioned.

Hope this helps.

Awesome guys thanks heaps look forward to meeting local crew in the new year

It's a plan! Sounds great to me

WindMan, what a great list of sailing spots! I often sail at Mordialloc/Parkdale/Mentone in Southerly to Westerly. I was surprised to see you suggest this location in the easterly simply because I am not confident sailing in an offshore wind.

Can someone tell me a little about what it is like to sail there in the easterly?

Raggy - this site should have more details

thewindmap.com/#-38.40410147066251,145.107421875,9