New to Melbourne - where to sail

Hello, Japestar,

Late winter/early spring are ideal for the gear you have. In September/October, we get violent wind fronts coming through and personally, I like to take my annual leave at this time, to take advantage of them.

Would suggest that you might consider buying a 5.8m wave sail to take advantage of lighter winds and realistically, a 100 L board (FSW?) would be good too.

Will watch the response by others re places to sail and may offer some spots if they are sparse with advice, I'll be back (in a very deep, Austrian voice)

Further to GP's map and using a Melways map book (available from Newsagents etc)

Some of our most popular beaches are:

Elwood, Melways map 67 B4. Works mostly in a S to SW. Parking fees payable. Also close to the RPS store.

Dendy Street, Melways 76 C1, park near Norwood Avenue. Works mostly in a S to SW.

Green Point, Melways 76 C3. THE spot to sail in a northerly. A very bad shore break in a southerly. Parking fees payable. Close to the SHQ store.

Hampton, Melways 76 E6. Park on Beach Road near the sculpture of the Reclining Lady/Hampton Life Saving Club. Works mostly in a S to SW.

Rickett's Point North and Rickett's Point South. Melways 77 C8.

On Beach Road, there is a Teahouse and either side of it are entrances to car parks (fees payable). The north carpark gives access to one of the best wave sailing spots in Melbourne BUT it only works in a 20 knot + southerly. The waves break against a reef and it can be tricky getting over the reef at low tide. There is a break in the middle of the reef indicated by markers, otherwise, watch the sailors already there and, if they are sailing over the reef, there should be enough water to prevent fin strikes. There is another reef close to shore, which only shows close to low tide (Gilliligan's Island). If you are coming back into shore and sail through the gap in the outer reef, you have to make sure to stay clear of Gilligan's, otherwise you'll have a fin-strike. The area between the shore and the outer reef is very flat, ideal for tricks and hero gybes.

To the south of the Teahouse is another carpark and it leads onto a dirt track, down to a final parking area at the Beaumaris Life Saving Club. This beach works on W to E and is THE premier spot to sail in an Easterly. In summer, in low wind conditions, there will be lots of families swimming there and if you want to sail, it would be best to ask the Life Savers where (they'll probably tell you to keep outside the flagged area (flags on the beach). Also, if you are near swimmers, you MUST be very careful to keep away from them. In a big easterly, the families will be blown off the beach and it would be best to watch what other sailors are doing when they go out to sail. There is a big reef to one side of the sailing area and it's best to keep away from it at low tides, although the experts often wave sail over it.

Mentone, Melways 86 K8, near Naples Road. Fees payable if you park in the carpark. Works in a southerly. Aggressive Life Savers do not tolerate windsurfers near the swimming areas.

Parkdale, Melways 87 B10, park on Beach Road near the Parkdale Yacht Club/Monaco St. Works on W through to S. A large group regularly sail here.

Bon Beach, Melways 93 C4. Enter from Williams Grove and turn right into the carpark. Carpark fees payable. Works N to S.

Hope this expands on GP's maps.