elcome to the Windsurfing in Western Australia Site. This site describes the locations of Australia's best Windsurfing Locations.
The aim of these pages is to provide useful information for people that want to visit and sail the area. I believe that the area provides some of the best windsurfing in Australia.
The descriptions of the resources described are generally from first hand experience. I do not guarantee the currency of all the information, and will update it with changed details as they come to my notice.
The page has been constructed without any commercial alliances or sponsorship. The people/places/shops referenced are those with which I have dealt and had good experiences. Your mileage may vary. I have included some advertising type stuff where it is useful to the intent of the pages. It is fairly obvious.
I have been sailing wave boards for over twenty years, with little slalom and race board experience, and the comments and recommendations are made from that standpoint. I have also been kitesurfing for about four years and believe that this sport is a great adjunct to sailboarding. WA provides some magnificent kiting locations, some of which are described on this site.
Comments, corrections etc are welcome, please email
I would be interested in hearing from you if you find the information useful.
This page is being heavily edited and added to currently (September 2010)
 
estern Australia is undoubtedly the best place for windsurfing in Australia during the Australian Summer. The main sailing season runs from November to March, with the months of December and January providing exceptional conditions.
Over the last 18 years, I have sailed at least 4 days out of 5 over the Xmas period (Late December - Early January), on a small board (sinker) with 5.5 down to 4 meter sails. This being said, it can happen that a lull in the movement of the weather pattern across Australia (mostly due to tropical cyclones to the north), can produce stagnant conditions for a few days.
The main recognised sailing areas are Esperance, Margaret River, Perth, Lancelin, Geraldton and Gnaraloo. This site describes the conditions and resources in these areas (some of the descriptions are under construction).
Western Australia is also a very interesting area for the tourist. It is an extremely large state, with a large coastline, and a hot and arid interior. An excellent reference for a description of the area is the Welcome to Western Australia web site.
Auinfo.com also has useful information about the area, including descriptions of some of the main towns, as well as accommodation details that can be useful.
his diagram shows a typical synoptic situation that produces wind in Western Australia over the summer months.
The climate is quite warm, with temperatures ranging typically from 25 - 39 deg Celsius. The windy days are usually those that lie between 25 - 32 degrees, since the lower temperature is usually due to the early onset of the sea breeze, cooling what otherwise would have been a 'stinking hot' day. This breeze is known as the 'Fremantle Doctor' in Perth, and comes in along the coast from Fremantle in the south (and doubtless lower) to well past Carnarvon in the north.
The following graph (from the excellent resource SeaBreeze) (see below) shows the wind movements on a typical sea breeze day. The wind is easterly - south easterly during the night and morning, and the S-SW sea breeze kicks in (suddenly) at about 12.30am. You have to experience it to believe it. The first indication of the breeze is the smell of the ocean.
This link displays a map of WA. You can click on the appropriate area to get the weather details.
The current wind observations in Perth can be found here.
The current synoptic chart can be viewed here.
Current WA Observations can be found here.
An excellent resource is SeaBreeze. It is amazingly well done and extremeley useful. It is a must for the serious sailboarder and kitesurfer.
The WA coast is divided into Metro (around Perth), North West (Gnaraloo - Geraldton) and South West (Busselton - Esperance). For each region you can browse both Today's and Yesterday's wind graphs. The Today's graph pages also show the 7 day forecast conditions.
The links below take you directly to some very useful pages.
Metro | Yesterday | Today |
North West | Yesterday | Today |
South West | Yesterday | Today |
The Surf Cam website http://www.coastalwatch.com/camera/cameraOverview.aspx provides access to views of Margaret River, Yallingup, Cottesloe, Scarborough and Trigg Beach.
The diagram above shows the proportion of the time that the wind is in excess of 20 km / hr, for various locations for the whole year. This information is taken from historical data averaged over 40 or so years, purchased from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. It is unfortunate that the reference speed is 20 km / hr, I would have preferred 15 or 20 knots, however that is the speed that the figures are published at. 20 km / hr is about 13 knots, which is just too marginal for a wave board really.
Swanbourne shows the conditions near Perth. The Margaret River data is actually that of Cape Naturaliste, which has more relevance to the sailing conditions at Margaret River than the actual wind station, which is quite inland. The Lancelin wind station is also protected by some sand dunes in the area, and the figures are somewhat lighter than the offshore winds. Lancelin should probably be somewhere between Swanbourne and Geraldton.
Carnarvon can be taken as a good indication of the conditions at Gnaraloo and Coral Bay, which unfortunately don't have wind monitoring stations.
As it can be seen, the season is mainly between Mid November and February. It can also be seen that the wind starts earlier in the Gnaraloo area, around October and November, and that Esperance runs later than the Lancelin / Geraldton area.
The 1999-2000 season was the worst in living memory for most of the coast. A tropical cyclone on the North West coast left a low pressure in the area, which pushed all the standard weather patterns under the Australian continent (see chart 1 and chart 2. The season had started well during November and some good consistent winds were experienced. The cyclone came in mid December, and caused in excess of 2 months of very marginal conditions. This has not occurred in the 18 years previous to this. The low pressure is still having an effect in March 2000.
This season was the longest for several years. It started early, but unfortunately had 2 - 3 weeks of hiatus over the new year. The season started at the end of September and lasted till the end of April. In December there was a record of 28 straight sailing days (wave sailing conditions, 4 -5.5 m).
he West Australian coast reaches some 3000km. The area being described in the following pages is that from Esperance (about 750km south of Perth) to Carnarvon (about 1000km north of Perth). Most people fly into Perth. This picture shows Perth city from the air. This picture shows the city of Perth as seen from across the Swan River (taken in Applecross).
The domestic airlines in Australia will carry boards and sails as luggage if the weight is not too great (it is best to keep the weight of each luggage item less than 20 kg). Sometimes you may be charged excess baggage at about AU$20 per extra bag. Needless to say, all gear needs to be well packaged with bubble wrap etc. Also, it can help to offer to help carry the gear onto the trolleys (at some of the smaller airports).
I have no idea about the efficacy of flying boards into Australia on international flights, but urban myth reports that several airlines will not take gear at all, and some people have been caught out, expecting to take their gear, and finding that they couldn't at the last moment. That being said, there is the opportunity of buying and hiring excellent gear as described in the following pages.
If you live on the East coast of Australia, you should drive across the Nullabor at least once. It is quite a trip, and well worth the experience.
My roving reporters Baz & Champers have done that and some information that they found is described here.
Andrew Watkins drove across the Nullabor and has written an excellent description of his trip across. It is well worth reading, with some excellent advice.
If you are coming from other countries, you will very possibly require a Visa. Visas are generally granted for a period of either 3 or 6 months, and are valid for 12 months. There are exceptions. More complete information can be found at the Department of Immigration and Multi-cultural Affairs site. This site also has the link to the electronic visa application form. All is explained there in detail.
This link to Discover West Holidays has a lot of general information on accommodation and attractions throughout Western Australia. It is a useful resource for the traveler.
n this document, there are several contact details listed. A lot carry phone numbers. Sometimes they look like
+61 8 9965 1234
The +61 is the international code for Australia. The 8 is the area code. If dialing from within Australia, 08 is dialed. If from outside Australia, only the 8 is dialed. The last 8 digits are the actual phone number.
Sometimes phone numbers are written
(08) 9965 1234
This form is the internal form for Australia. If dialing internationally the number is transformed to
+61 8 9965 1234
as described previously.
he Australian White Pages (phone directory) and Yellow Pages (commercial phone directory) are available on line. These are excellent resources for identifying and resources in the area. You should remember to set the state to WA, since the directories cover the whole of Australia.
They stock Pryde and North sails (picture) , and have a large quantity in stock (picture) . They have Tiga, Bic, JP and F2 boards, (picture) , as well as a range of kiting gear (picture) , as well as all the usual hardware (picture).
Reg, (picture) a sailboarding identity in WA, owns the shop. Reg is knowledgable an helpful with all your requirements as are all the staff. They have a good collection of windsurfing and kitesurfing gear. Well worth a visit if you need to buy something. I have bought most of my windsurfing gear there over the last few years.
Contact Details are here.
Windforce is on the old Pelican Point site in Nedlands. They stock both windsurfing and kitesurfing gear.
Their web page can be found here . It is quite extensive and has an on line catalog showing their products and prices.
2nd Wind sailboards have a large range of new Mistral an Starboard boards (picture) and second hand boards (picture) They also sell new Tushingham and KA sails, as well as having a large stock of second hand sails (picture). They also provide lessons (at Applecross) and have hire gear. Call in and speak to Jez (picture).
Contact details can be found here.
The SOS Surf Company is a Surf and Sailboard shop in Fremantle. They stock a large number of good brands, and have knowledgeable sailing staff. They have a web page describing their location and resources. Their contact details are here. This links shows pictures of the shop.
Airborne Kitesurfing are a complete kitesurfing shop. They stock all the boards and kites that you could want as well as all the other hardware, such as bars, lines, 4 line kits, etc. They have second hand and demo gear as well.
These pictures (pic1 pic2) show the inside of the shop. Contact details can be found here.
I have never been to the Sails and Windsurfing center, I have just found their web page details. Their page is very detailed, including details of all their services and indicative prices of new and second hand gear. This can be very useful for overseas visitors trying to decide whether to bring gear or buy here. Contact details can be found here.
SurfSail Australia has taken over what was known as Broadway Surf and Sail. They are at 260-262 Railway Parade, West Leederville.
They have new and second hand gear, such as Stuart Bell and Ezzy Sails, Delta boards and masts and booms to suit most people.
They are also the distributor of Thule roof racks, and will hire roof racks out for most makes of cars at reasonable rates. This is very useful for those doing the Windsurfari with hire cars. It should be noted that the addition of roof racks to hire cares may void insurance contracts. It is useful to check on that.
SurfSail Australia contact details are here. They also have a comprehensive and useful web page. On this page you can find out about all their services, from new and used gear sales, gear hire, lessons, etc.
SurfSail do a great hire gear deal. They provide good gear and accept breakages within reason (ie. normal wear and tear or faulty gear breakages are OK). A friend hired from them for the 2003 - 2004 season and found the gear of excellent quality (skinny mast, carbon boom, new board, good sails).
He broke the boom in a place where it should not have broken (ie. gear malfunction) and there were no questions asked. You can't have better than that.
Here is an album of the shop.
Werner's Hot Spot is a gear hire business in Lancelin. If you want to sail in Lancelin, and don't want to bring you own gear, then Werner has all the gear for you. Werner's service is very convenient and reasonably priced. You can exchange boards and sails as the conditions require, and the gear is there and set up for you when you want it.
You just walk down to the beach, decide what you want to sail, it gets set up for you, and away you go.
Contact details and details of his services are available here. Werner can arrange gear and car hire as well as accommodation in Lancelin and car hire.
Werner is helpful and friendly, and are an asset to the Lancelin area.
Lancelin Surf Sports (contact details) is the only sailboard shop in Lancelin. Lancelin Surf Sports stocks some new gear, and some breakable hardware, such as power joints and harness lines, etc. They also have some second hand boards for sale as well as accessories, clothes, shoes, diving gear, fishing gear, surf-boards, etc. This picture shows the T-shirt cupboard in the shop.
Lancelin Surf Sports also sells new custom Delta boards, some of which are pictured here. The Delta Design boards are very popular amongst the wave sailors in W.A. Delta have a home page.
In the back of the shop, there is also a list of second hand sails and gear for the budget minded. Historically the shop does quite a lot of trading with the European sailors who come for the summer. You can pick up some great bargains here.
On the counter you will find the wind meter, for checking out the current conditions.
The Gspot, formerly Blue Planet, formerly Geraldton Surf Co., is worth visiting for kiting and sailboarding gear. It is now the only windsurfing and kitesurfing shop in Geraldton. Their web site is here.
There are several other sailboard shops in Perth and surrounding suburbs. The local 'Yellow Pages' details many sailboard shops, and is worth a try if the suggestions above can't meet your requirements. The Australian Yellow Pages is available on line. Note that you want to specify the state as WA.
Delta design are a long standing board manufacturer in Western Australia. They manufacture sailboards and surfboards, and have a very good reputation up and down the coast.
Martin, the owner, works out of Margaret River, and boards are available in many shops throughout the state. He mainly does custom designs, so it is necessary to contact him about making a board.
Further details are available, and he has a web page.
estern Australia being such a large state, you will probably need a car to do your wind-surfari.
(contact details)is one car hire company that is currently providing cheap, reliable cars. They seem to have a lions share of the car rental market, and can provide a small car for about $28 / day. They do have an extra surcharge for over the busy Christmas period. They do not supply roof racks however, but these can be supplied by Surf Sail Australia.
Ace Car Rentals have a large fleet, and include vans and utes. This is an excellent organisation. You can organise your rental before your trip, and pick the car up at the airport. It is an excellent service. You need to book ahead however.
Their web page is is here.
(contact details) also has cars for hire at slightly greater prices. They have a web page at this link.
can arrange car hire with roof racks for the windsurf surfari. The car can be picked up at the airport and has unlimited kilometres. Details of Werner's business can be found here. Contact Werner directly for car hire details.
(contact details) also have vans to hire. The rates may not be as good as some of the other options, however the cars are sound, and the service good.
Another possibility for the more budget conscious is Backpacker Car Rentals I have tried to get cars from them without success. You need to book ahead.
They only have cars for hire in the Perth Metropolitan area however. So Lancelin and Geraldton would be off limits.
Another option, that will also provide accommodation, is to hire a camper-van. There are 2 and 4 wheel drive camper-vans for hire in and around Perth.
Discover West Holidays have a page that details several camper van and four wheel drive options.
The Australian Tourism Net also have a page that provides such details.
Some other possible companies are: (nb. I have not had dealings with these companies, but provide the links in case people want to chase them up.)
Another possibility for the more budget conscious is Backpacker Rentals http://www.backpackerrentals.com.au. They provide a low cost alternative of older but reliable cars. They are however not that keen to take bookings, but more happy to provide a car (if they have one) on request. Their web page details all.
It should be noted that (currently (Oct 2001)) they quote their address as http://www.backpackerrentals.com. (similarly with their email address, they quote a .com address.) However, despite having registered the domain name, it is not hosted (ie. no domain name server serves the name), and all email to this address will (does) bounce, and the web url cannot be found. Use the .com.au address and all will go well.
Note that it can be hazardous driving in the early morning and at dusk (and probably much of the night). The country roads can have Kangaroos on them. Some of these animals are quite large, and tend to jump out in front of passing vehicles. Hitting a 'roo can really mess your day.
he map below shows the layout of the main WA sailing coast. Some of the locations are click-able, and will take you directly to parts of the page describing the area.
There are many sailing locations in Western Australia, and the following pages describe Margaret River, about 270km south of Perth, Lancelin, about 130km north of Perth, Jurien Bay / Cervantes that are about 200km North of Perth, Geraldton about 400km North of Perth, and Gnaraloo about 1000km north of Perth.
Patrik Hamlyn's text gives a brief description of places up and down the coast. I do not recall where the original came from, however the author is credited in the document. It is well worth reading, as a brief synopsis the spots up and down the coast. Over time I have added some pictures to this excellent document as well.
In my estimation, the main two places for the first time visitor would be Lancelin and Geraldton. Lancelin is a nice place to visit and stay and the sailing is good (well, great). It also has the advantage of being only an hour and a quarter drive from Perth (or the airport).
Geraldton is a larger and more busy city but heralds the 'Mecca' of windsurfing in Australia ' Coronation Beach'.
It should be noted that Coronation beach is a great windsurfing beach, but much less a good kitesurfing beach. The problems are two fold:
One problem is that the beach is quite narrow, and putting your kite down can be tricky, you can come into conflict with trees and fences.
Another problem is that the windsurfers tend to spread out to quite some extent. You may have to go quite a long way down wind to get
an uncrowded spot to kite.
I doubt that I would kite Coronation again. I would kite at Point Moore. Now that's a kiting beach!
Generally, as the season progresses, the wind tends to move south. This is obviously a generalisation, however it is often accepted that in October and November, the best locations are up around Gnaraloo. In December and January, Geraldton and Lancelin provide consistent conditions, and in February Margaret River starts to pick up and become consistent.
This does not mean that any of these areas are un-sailable outside these times, it is just observed that they are more consistent during these times.
This text was from a page by Patrik Hamlyn. Unfortunately I cannot find the URL of the site from which this came or I could have linked directly to it, and my email address for Patrik does not get through. I can not find any reference to the original any more. I include the text here because it is informative. I do not claim ownership, it is Patrik's work. I have added a few photos with appropriate text. I hope Patrik approves, and will continue to allow me to include his excellent precise of the spots described. Here is Patrik's description:
In WA the main sailing season (as in the rest of Australia) is from November through February. Some places get plenty of wind at other times of year, though. The main source of wind during the 'on' season is the sea-breeze, which can easily blow every afternoon for weeks on end. In a good season, the wind will blow five to seven days a week in the middle of the season. In a bad season, expect three to four days in any week. The wind usually starts up nice and light for beginners in the morning, before the sea-breeze comes in any time from eleven to four, anything from 15 to 35 knots.
Places on the southern coast rely more on 'weather', ie frontal passages, and get more wind than the rest of the state during Winter.
Places North of Perth rely more on the sea-breeze effect, and the season can extend through March or later in the far North.
List of sailing spots:
(distance from Perth given first)
Very scenic spot, lots of offshore islands, windsurfing comp in January. Estuary, flat-ish sea sailing and wave sailing. Wind here is nowhere near as dependable as in Perth, but you often get as much as seven straight days of strong winds, varying in direction as successive fronts pass through. Water can be a bit cold, even in Summer. In fact the air temperature can be a bit cold too. Personally, I would avoid this place during the main season because other places get much better wind, but it can be a good Easter holiday spot if you are lucky with fronts. Very good scuba diving here.
Another scenic spot, also very good for Scuba, (Dive the Sanko Harvest), but not a major windsurfing destination.
330km Augusta This can be a very nice spot, if you get the wind. When it blows, it blows hard for days on end, but there can be week-long gaps. Very nice caravan park run by the Shire, (Turner's Caravan Park), right on the edge of the Blackwood River Estuary, 200 meters from the sea. You can launch thirty feet from your tent (fifty feet for caravans), and sail out the mouth with two gybes. Excellent flat water/wave combination spot. Grass rigging, showers at the camp site and at the road-access point just up the road. Not-so-modern windsurfer and catamaran hire right at the campsite, nearest sailboard shop 50km North in Margaret River. Table tennis, trampolines, etc available in easy walking distance.
World-famous wave-sailing destination, gets some of the biggest surf on the coast when conditions are right. Advanced wave-sailing spot, slightly tricky launch, unfriendly carry to the water. More friendly launch/conditions available 1km South of the main break, with a nice tea-room and showers at the waters edge. Closer to Perth, so sea-breezes more dependable, but still not as good as Perth. This town is the centre of a lot of 'alternative lifestyle' types, making wave-boards, arty-crafty wooden and pottery-type things, tofu, cheese, wine etc. It is also in the centre of one of the finest networks of caves in the world.
This picture shows the keyhole and wave area at Margaret River. A fuller description can be found here
The Southern edge of Geographe bay (North-facing shoreline). Also a good Scuba area (the warm West-coast current comes very close to shore here, resulting in some of the most Southerly hard corals in the world), this area is not a prime windsurfing destination, since the prevailing winds are off-shore. I have had a marvelous time in thirty knots at Busselton, though. 'Round the corner at Yallingup, you can sail the South Westerlies, but there will usually be very few other people there, and it's not the easiest spot to sail.
Fairly large town, very large estuary with shallow (knee to waist deep) water, fairly dependable sea-breezes. Lots of sailing spots, sailing club etc.
Nearest 'holiday house' location to Perth, real estate is not cheap here. A number of Sailing spots, very good flat water slalom available. Why would you go here, though, if you can go to Safety Bay or Perth or Lancelin, etc?
Very good, dependable sea-breeze. Lots of grassed launch locations, active sailing club (if you like that sort of thing), lots of flat-water slalom spots but not much in the way of waves. Big negative - a lot of the time, there is tons of weed in the water, _all_ of the locals have weed fins.
This spot works in any wind except an Easterly, and has a variety of different conditions available. (Speed course, waves when wind is strong) Unfortunately it is not very developed, despite being very close to some pretty ugly-looking factory-ish sort of buildings, very little grass rigging, no showers.
The following description are of the beaches along the west coast in Perth, from Fremantle going north along the coast road.
This picture shows the bridge that serves as a handy landmark for Leighton.
This picture shows the beach looking south.
Good for getting the wife used to waves, basically a slalom spot which has a tame wave
Excellent wave sailing, but small car park and slightly dodgy launch. Recommended for more advanced wave-sailing types. (Can be hard on fins at low tide)
This picture shows the shelter at the top of the hill at Dutch Inn. This picture shows the main sailing area looking north, including the walk down to the beach. It is easier to take the rig and board down separately, unless you like carrying them together on your head.
This picture shows the sailing at Dutch Inn looking south on a windy day.
Reasonable wave sometimes, good jumping usually, always a nice strong rip and often a nasty wind-shadow right in the shore-break. Site of the world wave champs last year. Also start of the Sunset Slalom Classic.
Similar, but shower not quite so convenient. Use to sail here all the time, until they bull-dozed the parking lot. It's all fixed now, but I got used to Brighton.
Tends to be difficult to park, tricky launch (rocks), lots of surfers. Some people swear by Triggs, usually people who live near by.
This picture shows the Cafe at Trigg beach. The food served here is great. This picture shows the main sailing break. It is usually full of surfers.
This is a small beach, with a lot of reef to the south and a small launching spot. The parking isn't much, however it does get quite a good wave at times. Study the reef from above before attempting to sail this beach.
This picture shows the area from the road. It is sign posted. This picture shows the sailing area to the north.
Another good spot to get the wife into waves slowly, lots of parking, but no grass for rigging, no showers. Major advantage: you can get to The Island, which is about 2 km out. There is a good wave here - when conditions are right, one of the best wave-sailing spots in Perth. Good rides, excellent high jumping. Make sure your equipment isn't on its last legs before you set out for The Island. If you have to drift/swim in, you'll end up about 5km North up the beach.
This picture shows the the beach at Hillaries, and this picture shows an amazing house just across the main road from Hillaries beach.
City beach generally has a smaller shore shore break than Scarborough, but can be good sailing in S - S/W winds. It is usually sailed to the north of the groin.
This picture shows the beach looking north towards Scarborough, and this picture shows it looking south towards Fremantle.
Just about the only spot where you can sail in Westerly through Northerly winds on the sea. Also fair in South to South-West Basically another slalom/bump&jump spot for the wife. Good spot to go to if you want to try out your short board in a strong North-Westerly. No grass rigging, but shower/toilet block under construction and grass may follow in a year or two.
This picture shows the beach, this picture shows the rigging area and car park, while this picture shows some of the magnificent houses in the area.
Sailing in all wind directions, but access not so easy. There is a ferry to the island but no cars are allowed. There are good roads for bicycles, so you could take a cycle-trolley of some sort for your gear. There is accommodation on the island, but book in advance.
The Swan river in Perth has some of the most scenic sailing available anywhere, excellent for beginners (waste-deep water in large areas, warm, dependable winds which are light in the morning and get stronger in the afternoon). When the sea-breeze gets up over thirty knots, even the hardened wave sailors head for the river for some bump&jump.;
Slalom, chop-hopping in strong winds. Good in South through North-West winds. Not so hot in North-East. Windsurfer hire right in the car park, lessons available too. Windsurfing Perth and 2nd Wind are shops local to the area if you want to buy gear in this area.
Same, but good in North-East through South-West winds (definitely no good in West through North). Windsurfer hire and lessons in the car park.
Good winds, excellent wave and slalom, and a camp-site right next to the beach. Couldn't ask for more (well, maybe grass rigging and showers). This is a major destination for "Euros" as they are known locally. There is very good on-beach hire available. The beach is drive-on (hard-packed, very fine sand) Lots of comps held here, including the Ledge Point to Lancelin downwind marathon, usually in early January, sometimes late December. Slalom conditions right off the beach, just keep going and you hit the wave zone, which is fairly tame (easy to dodge incoming waves), but the waves can be very good. You can get some huge jumps in here. This could be the best spot in WA. If you're not into sailing or fishing, forget it. There is _nothing_ else to do here!
This picture shows the Lancelin beach at Lancelin several years ago. The beach has been eroded somewhat, but the concept is still the same. Further details can be found here
Another favourite Euro destination, Geraldton has lots of excellent sailing spots, plenty of wind with a nice long season. Slalom, waves, windsurfing shop right at the premier wave sailing spot. Geraldton is a biggish town, a bit more to do here than Lancelin, but definitely no cultural centre. One of the best sailing spots in WA.
Further details can be found here.
Getting quite far North here, longer season for sea-breezes. Good sailing in the mouth of the river and in the sea. Lots of spots up the coast, including Gnaraloo (pronounced narloo), several hundred km North, which is fairly popular but pretty much out in the wilds and undeveloped, although apparently Gnaraloo station (that's a cattle station, no trains out here) is operating some sort of guest house - if you can find it!
Far North - lots of wind, tropical warm conditions, literally hundreds of deserted sailing spots. Not too many windsurfing shops that I know of. The Shark Bay Classic 100km windsurfing marathon is held here. This is also one of the premier dive destinations in the world, go to Exmouth March through May for whale sharks, July through November for giant manta rays. Giant Queensland groper can also be found by experienced dive operators (we're talking surrounded by a dozen VW-sized fish). The variety of small colorful reef fish and large pelagics is astounding. Don't miss the Navy Jetty dive in Exmouth.
This picture shows Coral Bay from the resort. Further details can be found here.
This picture shows The famous dolphins that visit Monkey Mia. Further details can be found here.
There are dozens of well-known spots in between all the spots mentioned here, but this should give you an idea of the seasons and winds. The best month for wind in Perth is November. December and January are usually very good as well. As you go North the season starts earlier and lasts longer.
The following pages describe many places to stay in areas described. They are all places of which I have first hand knowledge. A further handy reference is the Western Australia Accommodation and Tours Listing page, that has an easily browsable and searchable index and details of hundreds of places to stay. They also have some great maps that show the locations and places to visit.
he Yellow Pages provides a comprehensive reference for places to stay in Perth. There are a lot of choices. Four possibilities are listed here.
If you fly in, and require a place to stay overnight while arranging you car, roof racks etc, you can stay at the Bel-Eyre Motel. This motel is close to the airport, and has a courtesy bus that will pick you up from the airport. The bus is big enough to take sailing gear. Contact details are here.
If you want a really great place to stay you can try the Quest Harbour Village Apartments. It is a little more expensive than some (most), but is quite superb. The Harbour village is in the middle of the exciting area of Fremantle. This is a vibrant and exciting area of Perth, that hosted the America's cup one year.
The harbour area is fascinating, and at night there are dozens of restaurants and places to go, all in walking distance of the Harbour Village. This place is worth the stay. Contact details are here.
The underground backpackers appears to provide good backpacker accommodation. It is situated in the city of Perth, close to all ammenities. Contact Details are here, and their web page gives further details.
This Bed and Breakfast looks quite superb. I have never stayed there, however their web page shows that the place is quite interesting, and in a great area. The rooms look great, and the place is 108 years old.
If you mention this site (ie. windsurfwa.com), you will get a 10% discount. Contact detailsare here.
If you wanted reasonably priced accommodation for a longer stay, while sailing the local beaches, you could also stay at the Cherokee Village. It is reasonably centrally located for sailing the coastal beaches. Contact Details Village are here.
Sailing safely in waves requires adherence to a certain set of immutable rules. The wave riding rules are aimed at making wave riding safer and more enjoyable for all. They are largely taken from surfing rules, with some additions, applicable only to sailboards.
These rules are universally accepted around the world. If you abide by them, you will have little trouble with other sailors in the waves. If you don't, you will have some very angry sailors confronting you on the beach.
ite surfing is growing quite quickly in Western Australia. A lot of sailboarders are seeing the advantage of these sailing devices and are giving some thought to taking up this new challenge.
That being said, the kite surfers must also realise the dangers of the devices and regulate their use to places where they will not interfere with the sailboards and the general public. There is some friction between the windsurfing/kitesurfing camps already, which is a shame for such excellent and complementary sports.
Western Australia has thousands of kilometers of beach along its' coast. There are some superb areas that have great rigging, great sailing and are free from the more established water users such as sailboarders and surfers. Some of these areas are detailed in the following pages.
A lot of the coast is kitesurfable, and it easy for kitesurfers to move their operations to less crowded areas where they will not endanger or interfere with other beach users. I am labouring this point because I am a kitesurfer (and sailboarder) and do not want to see kitesurfing regulated or to produce bad blood with other water users, especially when there is so much beach for us all to play in.
Kitesurfing has a lot to offer sailboarding. Think of your favourite sailboard shops who were struggling with diminishing turnovers. Now they have a new line of product to sell. This will keep them in business and help with their overheads, which should make for more choice and smaller prices for all our gear, both sailboarding and kitesurfing.
The Swan River provides some excellent locations for kitesurfing, especially for learning. More and more people are doing it up and down the coast also. Around Perth, Pinnaroo Point provides a long (usually) uncrowded beach, with flatish water. It is great for rigging up and kite launching, great for kite sailing, and generally uncrowded, not being a a preferred sailboarding beach.
Cervantes is becoming a kite surfing mecca. There are some great rigging areas, and a nice kiting beach. Although Cervantes does get some sailboard action, it is limited most of the time. The beach is relatively empty also, providing good kite rigging conditions.
Airborne Kitesurfing is a dedicated kitesurfing shop. They stock and sell a large number of kites, boards and accessories. This shop has everything. They have demo and second hand gear as well, and do promotional tours and lessons up and down the coast.
One kite surfing school in Perth is run by Ian Young. He mainly teaches on the Swan river in Perth, and can be seen regularly on his jet ski, accompanying students across the water.
Ian's kiting web page describes the sport in more detail and his links page has pointers to useful resources.
Windforce runs a kitesurfing school (and windsurfing school) at Pelican Point.
SOS is heavily in to Kitesurfing. People from SOS can often be found on the Swan. They have all the gear you need (both for kitesurfing and windsurfing).
The best page I have seen on Kitesurfing is Hung Vu's superb page describes everything about kitesurfing that you could want. It is an extremely complete and detailed page, obviously taking a lot of time and energy to put together.
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