what about here?
this was taken this morning... ESE - probably around 20 knots but gusting to about 30 at times..
watch out for the rocks near the shore, they are sharp
..
I've often thought about that side of the river, but I have NEVER seen anyone out there before!
no idea if its "out of bounds" .. first time here for us too..
here's a picture with you in it!
There were lots of whitecaps there when I went past.
Closer than Peli Point...
Looks great.
Why don't people usually sail there?
No one sails here coz we are so lucky we have so many spots to choose from.
Ask any of the visiting euros and they will tell you they cant believe the spots they have sailed alone .especially outside of the metro area.
I often wonder why cockburn sound is so empty (except for woodies)
I was out at Point Walter on Sunday and it was lots of fun. We were sailing further east of Point Walter itself, east of the jetty, and only a handful were out. The marine safety patrol came along to move us on as we were a danger to the waterskiers! Who goes waterskiing in 25 knots and 0.5m of chop? Everybody ignored them and they went away.
Does anybody know if there is any legeslation on windsurfing in waterski areas? I can not find anything at Dep. of Transport that says that you can not windsurf, just that you can not jetski without towing a waterskier. I understood that waterskiing was not allowed unless you are in a designated area and not that other water activities were banned from that area.
Its a load of rubbish anyway as there were no waterskiers.
They said they would be back in force this weekend to catch people. If it is not a howling easterly then they are going to have a boring day!
Just had a look at the Swan Canning Riverpark Boating guide (Dec 2010) and I cannot see anything about exclusive use of these areas. Obviously makes sense not to sail through them if they are being heavily used but the areas only apply on weekends and public holidays.
Looks like we could have a confrontation at Point Walter tomorrow morning if they are holding to their word as the easrterly is going to be good again. I have read the legeslation and it seems that other activities are permited in the waterski area, such as traversing with another vessel, but all rights of way must be observed as normal and you must not be causing a "danger" or behaving in a manner which could be deemed dangerous. This is where the law basically leaves it up to the river police to manage their turf and if they think that windsurfing that day is causing a danger to other river uses they could in theory fine you etc. You would then be left with an appeal in court to overturn this. I think if the river police turn up (rather than the Safety Patrol) they would agree with us anyway, that when it is that windy, there is no danger as long as everybody is behaving themselves and not being stupid.
I'd agree with Seb that providing we are being considerate of other river users, then the authorities are more likely to not be too pedantic about how they apply the rules (if indeed we are contavening any rules).
Just lately, the Swan River Trust and Department of Transport have been running Swan and Canning Rivers “Sharing the Rivers” forums. The forums have covered the changing trends in use and the intensification of conflict between uses and users in the Riverpark (i.e. the waters and shoelines).
The purpose of these forums has been to help shape a draft an Aquatic Use Management Framework for the Riverpark. A draft document is due to be released later in 2011, for public comment and will probably form the basis of a fair bit of legislative change.
In the process, windsurfing (and kitesurfing) are considered "low impact" activities (both on other river users and the environment) and currently appear to be attracting little attention in this process (compared to such activities as jet skiing, power boat racing, water skiing, wake boarding, etc.), other than there is an understanding of the need for reasonable rigging / launching areas.
It'd be a pity to be attracting attention to ourselves for the wrong reasons at this time.
I have just spent the afternoon with Hundreds of people in Kings Park looking over the water of Perth, thinking how good it would look if there were dozens of windsurfers on the water and the promotion this would give our sport, I think we need to sail there more on an Easterly.
Had a great sail this morning from pt Walter. Lunched at 7am and sailed for a couple of hours. Just me a couple of other WSers (but heaps of kiters).
Great place to sail in easterlies but one has to be careful with the boats and make sure to know rules re right of way etc..
Once when I was living in South Perth and working at the Supreme Court, I sailed to work across Perth Water in an easterly. In a suit, jacket and tie.
