Hi WA folk. I'm wondering if WA is a good spot for a holiday this summer. Do you guys think its feasible to have a fly in fly out holiday, rent some good gear to just blast around on. I'm thinking somewhere like lancelin might be the spot , would I be right in this assumption? I'm from QLD and have only been windsurfing for a little while. I really just want some nice flat water, some reasonable gear, consistent wind and perhaps some instruction to push me along a bit.
Is the christmas/ new year period super crowded ( to the point of being unpleasant) or does it just push accomodation prices up a bit???
Try Rick at Sailwest Geraldton, he used to look after holidaying windsurfers with hire stuff. But he's moved now and I'm not sure if he still does it. (Google his website)
WA is a great place for a summer holiday, I went in feb for 5 weeks and did the west cost from Esperance to Monkey Mia, the wind blew every single day. The best place i sailed was Geraldton as it has a mix of all types of sailing conditions and in my opinion suits the beginner/intermediate to the ground. You can get rental gear from Rik at Sailwest and accommodation was aplenty and reasonably priced. Feb was a good time as most of the tourist action was over but there was still plenty of action on the water, Coronation Beach was so busy it looked like one of those old photo shots from Hookipa with sailboards littering the length of the beach. I'm going back in feb again for 4 weeks, this time I'm going straight for Geraldton no sight seeing this time.
What the smallest gear you've sailed, as i was use to 120l and a 6.2, when in WA i used a 95l and a 4.7 most days?
It will be a good holiday, and you'll learn heaps...have fun.
jase.
thanks for the tips guys. jase - i'm from Manly QLD and ride around (badly and not often enough) on a 145litre board and have 5.3, 6.4, and 7.5 sails. As i'm a public servant i can use the christmas new year to get a longer holiday so i'd like to go then. What is wind / croeds like in december / january ( Or isn't it that clear cut).
i'll check out the sailwest site when i get some time.
Hi,
I went to WA for a summer windsurfing holiday about 10 years ago and it was great. I spent most of my time in Lancelin. I'm pretty sure you can hire gear there. Depending on how long you are in WA, it may be best to go to Perth, hire a car and some gear for a month from a shop like Second Wind.
Crowds were not too bad when I was there but perhaps with kiting its a bit more crowded.
The biggest sail I used there was a 5.0 and I used two boards, a Wind Action wave board I wrecked there and a Bic wave board I bought there. The seabreeze normally blew pretty strong, starting around noon. Sometimes a nasty easterly wind blew. Not very pleasant when camping. Lots of flies and really dry.
Had my xmas and new year holiday in Gero last year. Rented my gear from G-Spot Xtreme www.gspotxtreme.com.au/
7 days in a row of solid wind and increasing swell. 14 days in a row of Corona from the WinterSun bottle shop. Flat water, waves, learned to carve gybe, sailed the spot, survived a couple of big nights out.....
Coming back this year with a crew. See you there!
Rory, you'll find any place over Xmas and new years to be a bit more crowded and expensive then usual that's just part of life. Most of the thrill seekers will be out at Coronation but you'll find 2 great locations right in Geraldton itself. I recommend just sailing of St.georges beach, it's basically flatwater sailing but on a good day there will be some decent swell to launch of and the odd wave to catch. This is where i learnt to water start and gybe. If your into waves just down the road you'll find Sunset beach, great spot for the beginner wave sailor nice sets waist to shoulder height won't punish you or your gear if you screw up, just awesome.
Here's a few pics from my holiday....cheers
If you are only after flat water, then you will have no problems with crowds in Lanno.
thanks for the tips guys. I was originally drawn to lancelin mostly due to its proximity to perth ( i guess thats also a double edge sword though). I'm now thinking geraldton looks pretty sweet. Thank's for the piccy's jase those look like some little gems of spots.
final question ( well for now anyway) is it usually windier further north in WA in december/ january, ie. is geraldton likely to have more consistent wind than perth / lancelin?
They say Geraldton is the second windiest place in Australia, apparently Esperance is windier. What i liked about Geraldton was that there was no rush you just got up in the morning when ever you felt like it have some breaky and stroll down to the beach. Just casually rig up and then sit back in your deck chair and wait...then the wind switches on and it's like all your Xmas have come at once, this happens every single day and you just sail to sundown or till your arms fall off, which ever comes first. My trip may have been blessed by the windsurf gods but i had a cracking wind every day i was there and kick myself for wasting time travelling up from Esperance and doing the tourist thing. There was three days that i did not sail in 4 weeks, one due to travelling to Monkey Mia, one on the return trip and one day due to pure exhaustion and a bit to much ale the night before.
Check out the BOM web site for Geraldton for feb and you'll see what I'm talking about.http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/dwo/200902/html/IDCJDW6048.200902.shtml
Have a look at the data for the time you wish to go and it might give you an idea of what to expect...but no guarantees.
lancelin is a pretty good option as it has fairly reliable wind smooth inshore conditions with fun outer breaks exellent for jumps ,waveriding gets bit crowded but if your not to fussy about that you will get plenty of waves perfect intermediate sailers spot asuming it blows as should still be
