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g'day speed sailors
anyone from WA heading to lake george and has room for a couple of sails on trip home?
sailquik has a couple of KA koncepts for me which are currently in his car on way to lake george.
sailquik will probably be able to tee something up but was asking if I was aware of anyone from WA going so thought I'd ask on here, I'm keen to get my hands on a couple of new fast sails 
cheers
dion spurgeon
thanks jimbob
sailquik mentioned sammy
was hoping to try and get them sooner, I'm impatient to get on the water
looking like a good week. Heading over tomorrow for a jetty dog and an afternoon session. Unfortunately work getting in the way for the rest of the week.
might see you tomorrow JB
sorry KJ I have a funeral tmro arvo and definitely can't get there....
will be there every arvo from wed after work.. Should be on the water by 4 easily.
Lake George Update Report:
Lake George is a great place to sail. This week we have had up to 30 knots every afternoon since Tuesday, and it looks like the same for the next 3 days.
But!
The conditions are nowhere near as good here this year as two and three years ago when the water was clear and the weed was long and up to the surface right across.
This year the water is muddy brown and the weed is very short. The main part of the middle lake is really choppy. None of the full width glass from two years ago.
The only flat water speed runs I have found so far are right next to the shore. It is a fine line to get in the shallows without dragging your fin in the mud or being out too far in the chop.
There are still low to mid 40's peaks to be had on Port tack but we are relying on getting a gust just at the right moment. The wind had been very south while here so the Starboard tack run at Cockies has been too broad to work. Also, even there the weed is short so you have to be in quite shallow water for it to be flat.
I think there might be some good Starboard runs to be had when/if the wind goes more to the SE - ESE, but it is a narrow area to run safely.
You would have to have lots of bottle to launch straight down the middle of the lake for a 40+ NM!
It is still good for a great 1hr if the wind is not too strong, but I doubt if anyone will get close to Brads 30kt+ record this year.
It's great fun here but don't be expecting to find the epic conditions of two and three years ago.
Thanks for the update Sailquick, I think its exactly the info a lot of people were keen to know.
I am already booked on boat and really... the lake condition doesnt put me off at all.. still cant wait to get there and its not all about the sailing...
Do the weed conditions change rapidly with sun or bad weather or is what we have what we are likely to keep throughout the remainder of summer?
Cheers and thanks again.
I am beginning to form the opinion that the water quality and weed growth are closely related. What I don't know is what water quality specification the weed likes.
But, no. I don't think it is likely to change rapidly or significantly this season. Jimbob will have more insight into that.
How salty is the water? I'm pretty sure Jimbob mentioned that they didn't open the gates to let seawater in this year it was filled with freshwater maybe this has contributed to the current state of the lake.
Mmm thanks for the update Andrew. It does put a mild dampener on for me. Put it this way, one of my main sailing objectives for going this year is a 40knot NM, PB Alpha and PB 1hr. A distance attempt is also on the cards but from what Craig's said it's going to be harder due to the chop perhaps...didn't stop Matt!
Won't stop me coming over for a blast and a social but that's a real shame.
I reckon you're right perhaps Jimbob can shed some light on it form past experience.
The lake seems really salty at the moment. Getting a high speed injection up the nose stings more than mistaking avocado for wasabi at a sushi bar.
The salinity feels higher than the ocean at the moment (someone might have some numbers on this off the monitor site?). The year we had really good weed growth was the year we had really high rainfall, where as we’ve had really low spring rainfall this year. The salinity levels may be part of the story.
I've been told it's got medicinal properties if you drink the water! apparently it kills a lot of bugs including worms lol
I am guessing that letting the seawater in does decrease salinity. But I think it would be a complex system that also includes influxes of freshwater during wet periods. There will be a cycle balance that was achieved in the past between floods raising the water level and then opening the entrance to the sea, after which the lakes became and estuarine environment for a time. As the entrance silted up, the lake becomes different again. Somewhere in that cycle is probably the ideal environment for the weed growth in the Middle Lake.
It is frustrating that the monitoring station in the Middle Lake is out of action and has not been reporting salinity, turbidity, wind strength or water level since late last year. So now there is a big hole in the historical record just when it matters to us!
Links from here: https://www.waterconnect.sa.gov.au/Systems/RTWD/SitePages/Home.aspx
An example:
And Salinity Levels:
Do you recon the lakes medicinal properties will help this?
This is what stopped us from hitting lake george last week, but if the doc chops it off tomorrow we'll see you there soon.
What is it? Good taste in boards by the way..
Saw Doc Today, it's nothing to worry about and he will remove it. So Me and Tricky will be at LG sometime after the 11th to sail with you guys at the lake.
Can't wait to get there! Save some wind for us please.
PS, sorry for the picture it shows poor judgement on my behalf- especially around dinner time!
Short grabs of video showing the speed run at 5 mile in a southerly taken by Craig's (Roar) partner. Head out and upwind, gybe, make as much ground again upwind and then bear off toward the shore and further off-the-wind into the flat speed run area.
What an awesome trip we had.
I used a TRX 5.9 and a 92 JP slalom for 10 out of 11 days. had 1 day of last sunday which was the lightest day to do some sight seeing.
Hope the guys going down in next few weeks get the same
BTW Jimbob - hope you found the Crownies i left outside your place.
