The Conservation and Land Management Department (calm) of the W.A. Government has effectively banned windsurfing, kite, and catamaran sailing in perhaps the most popular, and best sailing bay in the west.
It has established a Marine Park in the area, and from July 1st 2008 prohibited all power craft from speeds above 8 knots to protect seals and bird life. Non-motorised vessels and craft are encouraged to comply with this limit.
This will shut down all fun sailing in the bay, as I am sure that if the limits are consistantly flouted then it is easy to extend the ban to law. I guess (for me living in the middle the bay) I will have to transit the area as slowly as possible until I am offshore and then work windward to Safety Bay. The crazy 30kt downwind rides back home in breaking water off the reefs will be dangerous but fun, last year I would sometimes chicken out, and run home thru the bay!
The sad thing about all this is that PETER DANS is a CALM Officer and part of the planning team. He won the world speed trials held in Shoalwater bay in 1984 with a then incredible speed of 29 Kts on his Gaastra powered windsurfer.
If anyone knows where Peter is they could encourage him to tell us more about the implementation of this ban in this forum.
Interesting .. did some google action & found the following pagehttp://www.dec.wa.gov.au/hotproperty/property/marine-parks-and-reserves/shoalwater-islands-marine-park.html
There you'll find the full management zone information.
Regards the speed limits it says: "An eight knot speed limit applies to motorised vessels within the Shoalwater Islands Special Purpose Zone (Wildlife Conservation) and the Seal Island Sanctuary Zone from 1 July 2008. Non-motorised vessels and craft are encouraged to comply with this speed limit."
I take that to read the purple bit?
Yes the purple, or blue Bit in the large map.
I guess the Editor should copy this to the Kites thread, there are always more Kites than windsurfers in the bay
But if it is a stronghold for seals and penguins, that's fair enough. Plenty of other places to sail in WA, I'll still plan on the occasional trip.
Thanks for the heads up, I had seen the new markers but had no idea what implications they might have.
Hey jaymac, is there any literature or photos re the world speed trials in 84? That is amazing, I would have never pictured that.
Non-motorised vessels and crafts, including kite surfers and windsurfers, will be encouraged
to comply with the speed restrictions. However, additional spatial controls to kite
surfers/windsurfers may be required during the life of the management plan to protect wildlife
values. In addition, the south-western boundary of the Warnbro Sound water ski area may be
Department of Environment and Conservation
Shoalwater Islands Marine Park Management Plan 2007-2017 68
reduced to minimise the any potential impacts on little penguins as they travel to and from
their foraging areas in Port Kennedy and Comet Bay.
It might have been even earlier, 1982 perhaps when the Safety Bay Yacht club set up a 500 m course between Penguin Island and the point, the sand bar was well established that year giving smooth water. Americas Cup Sailor Andy White's, son came second. The outright world Speed sailing record was 31 knots at that time I think, so Peter Dans came very close to in setting the Australian record.
Cannot find any more details at the moment, it was written up in the Magazines so I might be able to find something.
I have an old mag somewhere with the "International speed trials" and which was a Woodman Point - might have been a different year.
Woodman point was heralded by the magainze as a possibly the best flat water location in the world (at the time) for breaking windsurfing speed records!
Woodman Point was in the second installment of Blown Away called Powerglide. It featured that speed trials Laurie where Fred Heywood broke a class record. Something like the 8-10 square metre sail size....?
A certain P. Dans was in it too 
The one at Woodies was sponsored by Swan Premium and was in 1987 - the Americas Cup summer - that much I can remember.
I'm pretty sure it was Brad Hiles who took the Australian record, and the event was one by Jean Pierre Siret with a speed in the high 20's. The legendary Fred Haywood was there, and saw a shark!
Any speed trials in Shoalwater Bay were well before my time so can't comment on that.
Swan River Mob team captain 25 will elaborate.
why does this happen always in australia we get thease dumb laws they must get there ideas from the U.K. i bet in the uk you have to pay someone to use a beach and i bet they have bans everywhere.
I've heard they are only going to ban twin fins since they do twice as much damage as a single fin on marine life.
If you want to get rid of your twin fin i'll take it off your hands.
i think all the windsurfers around australia should unite and take back our land from thease crooks and take it back from the kitesurfers as well. lets all march down the street somewhere, thousands of windsurfers in protest to the all the bans.we should all windsurf as well at one of the beaches that has been banned around aust imagine 10,000 windsurfers taken over the beach, how cool would that be.
Bloody hell Jay - you are still alive!
The trials you ran was January 1983 I think! I'll have a look at the engraving on the Suunto handheld compass that I won and still use - 25+ years ago!!!
A few facts re your alarmist thread!
-CALM ceased to exist as of 1 July 2006. It is now the Department of Environment and Conservation [DEC].
-The Shoalwater Islands Marine Park was created by the WA government in 1990 and the managment plan was released in October 2007.
-The plan included a recommendation to limit motorised vessel speed to 8 knots in Shoalwater Bay due to the significant wildlife values and the risks presented to these from vessel strikes - there have been verified incidents with both penguins and sea lions.
-It is important to note that responsibility for managing vessels and vessel speed rests with the Department for Planning and Infrastructure [DPI] not DEC.
-Any vessel speed restriction will be implemented under DPI administered legislation. As I understand it the Navigable Waters Regulations currently apply only to powered vessels but DPI is reviewing this in an effort to better manage wind driven vessels, particularly kites.
-No new restrictions [in Shoalwater Bay] have been put in place by DPI to date. DEC is currently negotiating with them as to the closure of the Shoalwater Bay water ski area as a first step.
Cheers
25
fffffeeewww, I was intending on breaking the law all afternoon in this honking westerly. Now I can be guilt free. Thanks for the clarification 25.
Yes still alive and still sailing....badly!
Thanks for the clarification Pedro, feel even happier about sailing thru Shoalwater for a few hours today, but I guess there is some writng on the wall.
The July 2008 aspiration [for the implementation of a 8 knot powered vessel speed limit in Shoalwater Bay] has clearly not been realised!
overwise we would fall orffff
