Gnaraloo Sailing Conditions.

he Gnaraloo season starts in the end of September, and goes through November and December. It can start to get flukey in January, however there can also be some good conditions through into February.

The area is really better for the experienced sailor, since the coral bottoms and wave size make it an area for the experienced sailor. It is reported that there are areas in the bay for the novice wave-riders as well, where there is slightly greater depth and less prominent coral.

You sail in booties in Gnaraloo. Coral cuts can be nasty and slow to heal.

The following description is taken from Per Ronnbak's old Gnaraloo page.

It's a little bit tricky to climb down the rocks to the launch-site. But if you do so you are going to bee rewarded with epic wavesailing on probably one of the best windsurfing reef breaks in the world.

The wave-ride is so long, 16 bottom turns on one single wave is nothing unusual, the place is just unreal, extremely good wavesailing. It's NOT a place for beginners, you must be into serious down the line wavesailing before you go there, it's dangerous and very expensive to sail in Gnaraloo if you can't wave-ride, the reef and the waves shows absolute no mercy.

If you break your mast you can buy new ones at a retailer in Carnavon, 140 km on dirt roads to go there, but my advise is that you buy masts and other gear at Surf&Co in Geraldton before going to Gnaraloo.

Average size of the waves are 2.5 meters, but there are also days with only one meter and BIG days with well over mast high. The reef can handle all sizes, but when the waves are big they become hollow and turns into barrels, that's why surfers go there during June, July, when the swell is bigger, to surf barrels and pipelines ( Billabong challenge surf-videos are produced in Gnaraloo and surroundings ). If there is mast-high waves gnaraloo offers very fast down the line wavesailing.

If you are a wave-sailor the best season is the end of September, October and November, there is also a high chance that you will have glimpse of whales if you go there early in the season. But you can also go there in December and January but then the swell is smaller and it's also very hot, temperatures above 40 C, are then very common and very small probability so see whales.

Gnaraloo is only 10 km south of the Tropic of Capricorn so expect warm weather in the Australian summer.

The following descriptions are from www.windsurfer.com site. They are included here because links can go bad!

Description 1

This spot is about 1000kms north of Perth, and about 160kms from the nearest town. It is about a 10 hour drive from Perth.

The coast is pretty wild, and there are loads of sea urchins whose spines just love to break off in your feet. This place is only good for wave-sailors, and accomplished ones at that, not beginner wave-sailors. This is not the place you come to learn to wave-sail. Go to Lancelin or Perth for that. By the way, you can get better conditions most of the time in Geraldton or Lancelin, where there are windsurfing shops as well as towns. Find out from locals what the rules are for rights to waves before you go out. The locals have little time for people who drop in. (Basically this applies to all breaks in Western Australia - the further away from Perth (apart from Geraldton) the more the locals hate the tourists. Respect the locals and you will enjoy yourself, otherwise you can expect a lot of aggro and no fun). And BTW it is spealt 'Gnaraloo' and pronounced 'Narloo'.

Description 2

Small coastal station on the western side of Australia. Ten hours drive north from Perth. This is a mecca for sailors during the winter/summer months from July to February. Average wind speed - 25-30 knots. Wave sailing conditions on the reef. Plenty of sea urchin and sharks, but they are well fed. Take plenty of spare equipment as there isn't a shop for 2 hours. You can always rely on the South Westerly sea-breeze everyday.