its not west kirby thats for sure. but u have to make the most of what u have
25kn day new spot headed out yesterday bit scary as my first run i hit 2 banks very shallow then came across a stack of random white rocks in the middle of the lake ?
took me a while to find flat water spot and work it out but heres a few runs.
lets hope it doesn't drain out any more as there was only minimal water.
should be good for 42+ ;-)
not much water but the good thing is the weed is like a bush good for not getting round ya fin but fall in it and its like a craping ya legs down sandpaper definitely wear a wet suit next time by the end of the arvo my legs were bleeding .. maybe just learn to gybe more often
look forward to more days here so many good places just got to hunt them out and take a few runs out of straps and harness ;-) good sail Choco
NIce work Dude nothing like the rush of shooting over super swallow water in seek of the top speeds and flat water......... you'd love it down this this way!!!
hey LEO testing your friendship bud , i had the lake record of 32+ for a week and i give you an invite and you smash it by 6 freaking knots man that's cruel, LEO i'm assuming the footage was taken after the lunch break between 2.00pm and 5.00pm and point perp recorded 25to30, well it wasn't 30 but a good 25 and how flat is that water, no wonder your sucking all the air you could get
i like the bit where you tried to smile for the camera but it didn't work
sorry i didn't join you but i was in my own world at the top end of the lake going for alpha's and a 1hr, only managed a 22+on the alpha at the western end, all attempts at the southern end were too wide but felt supa smoooooooooth
would have liked to see alpha man MT and chris porter there, chris managed a huge 24+ at sanctuary point great effort chris
were expecting another good n/easter on saturday (unfortunately i have to work
) and there's a bit of rain around so let's hope the lake holds it level for a while
Top video Leo - I think I held my breath through the whole thing... Uncharted waters, only a few inches deep... shiiiiiiiit!
Select to expand quotekeef said...
THINK I WILL GET CASTRATED IF I CAME DOWN TWICE IN A WEEK !!
PROB WORTH IT MIND THINK I'M WORKING TOO [}:)]
THE LAST RUN ON THE VID WAS ONE OF MY LAST RUNS THE BEST LINE I FOUND BIT LATE UNFORTUNATELY WIND DID BACK OFF QUITE A BIT BY THEN THE WATER WAS MUCH BETTER BUT NEEDED THE 6.7 ON ... BUILDING A TROLLEY AS WE SPEAK !!TO SAVE ON THE WALK
THANKS FOR THE INVITE KEEF IT WAS MUCH BETTER THAN THE LAST TIME I DROVE DOWN THATS FOR SURE !!
U CANT SEE HOW SHALLOW IT IS IN B&W SHE DONT LIKE ME SAILING SHALLOW WATER 
Thanks Leo very very nice, scary but nice. You don't have the lake Illawara smile so it must be worrying, it would be good to look at it if the water goes right out and look for hidden obsticles
Leo, it's one thing to sail in water that deep doing 20knots on a wave or freestyle board but it's a totally different ball game doing 35-40 knots on a speed board with a heavier rig. I know you say you walk it first and check for obstacles etc but you never travel the exact same line twice. I guess we are all just worried about you risking your health and even your life trying to achieve something that in the grand scheme of things really doesn't mean that much at all. There are safer places to achieve what you want to achieve. I'm sure your wife prefers you walking rather than being stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. Just be mindful and careful buddy.
rexy i dont think leo is silly, cant you see hes takeing the piss out of you guys
Select to expand quotesick_em_rex said...
Leo, it's one thing to sail in water that deep doing 20knots on a wave or freestyle
totally get ya rex
in all honesty wen i look at Hardies run in WA this is a soft fluffy kitten these lakes
are safe, safer than Canton Narabeen and larkos lake put together. Theres no human intervention in these waters no massive islands of weed, oh apart from the stack of rocks ;-) there flat lakes with weedy bottoms, I ran for 87 km the other day and i hit nothing apart from the banks at the top getting out and there very visible. I understand your concerns and appreciate them but with out travelling 12 hours to sandi point to catch the right wind in the right tide for 6 runs a day... I'll keep searching theres no way you can get wind like this with matching water conditions in sydney its too built up even the airport is sooo fickle in the flat stuff i ran 1 37kn in sydney all summer !! and i had a good year for sailing.
this place 10 runs over 37kn 4 runs over 38 not a great deal under 35 never came off the plane once all day from 10 am till 6 pm it was a constant 25kn-30 I have never been so content in my search for greater places to sail. now i have it sorted I'll def be pushing for more
I'll thank Ian Knight and Keef for letting me in
and i'll give you all the satisfaction of holding that big placard saying in clear black feltip
I TOLD YA SO !
I hope that never happens but mistakes are made every day... there inevitable.
as long as you remember me smiling n trying I'll be happy
peace out .. this is not to be taken as smart ass reply just the facts.
keeping the search alive 45 kn in NSW... this years resolution
Rexy and Larko.......you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink !
And whats all this secret spot rubbish, just call them their real names, Wollumboula Lake, so people that dont want to kill themsevles can avoid them, most of us have been to all of these spots they are no secret. Shoalhaven Heads is another and a bit harder to kill yourself.
where leo is sailing is atleat waist deep, what you think you see as a sandy bottom is a yellow weed under the surface , i went through there with a 21 slingshot at 30knts never picked up any weed , what makes the lake soooooooooooooooo flat is the weed is(beds of green weed) under the surface and takes the chop off , next time the water level is up ill send you a personal invite and maybe knock LEO off his perch you know rick you shouldnt tell people not to sail somewhere if you havent sorted the place out
Leo wrote this ....
lake epic , NSW, AU
WARNING DO NOT SAIL HERE WITH A FIN OVER 22 CM AND BE AWARE OF THE BANKS THERE SUPER SHALLOW !! 3 INCH OF WATER
keef, I have been there at least 15 times over 30 years, last time was I was there was 4 months ago. Why do I need an personal invite? And what is Leo's perch and why do I need to knock him off it?
that's not the bottom you can see,OMG take the blinkers off, now if you tell me you sailed on the lake 4 months ago i would say your pissing in my packet now be honest how many times have you sailed the lake in the last 15 years
Forecast looking good for Sat so I might finally actually drive past gerroa and check it out, looks epic flat, perfect for flicky spinz and associated shenanigans ^_^
What's this about the sand paper weed though, I will be falling off a lot due to attempting things beyond my current skill set, is it a serious issue or are you taking the piss again Leo
The weed is very abassive if your falling off alot I suggest putting a thin wetty on for sure
What do ya mean taking the p again ?
Ever since i've known Leo he's always been brave on the WATER, he appears aggressive in pursuit of achieving his speed goals, he puts alot of effort into the sutblitys of the sport, that includes putting in gr8 effort seeking out flat water, if it was easy we'd all b doing it, credit were credit's due, leo is an inspiration the way he goes about it on the WATER and its always been easy to wish him well in that regard, so good luck as u keep pushing.
It's a good spot, blasting, freestyle, speed or anything else. Is it shallow, in spots it's very shallow but most of the lake is waits to shoulder high, if you don't wish to sail in the shallows don't, there's plenty of deep water. Like Keef said the lake gives the illusion of being super shallow but it's the weed bed under the water, once you plunge in its at least chest deep. Most of the bottom is sand or a soft silt, the rocks are a big pile that can't be missed. I did hit a rock close to the pile but it was stupidity on my part, I gybed in behind the rock pile and my fin smacked a rock that was submerged on the way out. If you stay well away from the rocks and don't sail behind them you should be ok, but like any spot you never really know what's under the surface. It's just like your local spot, just because it was safe today doesn't mean things will be the same tomorrow. Conditions change on a daily basis and we all sail with some degree of risk, but the pure fun of this spot out weighs the risk for me.....That said a few more inches of water would be good. As for the razor weed?, The guys just need to harden up...it's a little scratchy but it's not like it's going to cut your legs off. I guess there's a possibility that some people have some sort of reaction to the weed but I don't have an issue.
As for the fin, Yes short is best....a 38cm+ pointer is not going to work here. I run a 23cm weed/wave fin and can get into most areas of the lake, the bottom is only sand and doesn't trip you up.....even at full speed coming into shore I just grind the fin into the sand and come to a slow stop. It's hard to launch in the shallows if your dragging the fin but any freestylers or wave riders that are use to doing a running start will get going from the shallows, I could manage it with my 23cm fin......it was only the rock that stopped me.
Anyways it was good to see the lake alive with sails over the new year period and I'll be back on the weekend for the nor'easters.
This spot is no secret but it is truly epic.....
This is another video I did to test some colour grading software, it just shows me doin some water starts and general stuffing up but it will give you an idea of the varying lake depth, water starts in some spots and beach starts is others.....it doesn't take long to work out where to or where not to sail.
Phew, missed 
