WIndsurf South Island New Zealand

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> 10 years ago

General Gps & Speed Waves Foiling Gear Reviews Lost & Found WA NSW QLD SA VIC TAS

drift

VIC

737 posts

drift

VIC, 737 posts

27 Jan 2009 5:43pm

Hi,
I just got back from the South Island of NZ..mainly around Queenstown area....couldn't believe the solid breezes, amount of great sailing locations and not one board anywhere to be seen.....
Back in Melbourne, with airfares so cheap ( and being just about the only country where the aussie dollar stacks up ok), I am planning a return visit.
Has anyone out there sailed the south island??...if so any tips/ advice... greatly appreciated

dan berry

2562 posts

dan berry

WA, 2562 posts

27 Jan 2009 4:24pm

you may have just been lucky as far as south island goes. Ive heard dismal reports from a guy I know who was living there. Taranaki is the go. Awesome sailing and consistant.

drift

VIC

737 posts

drift

VIC, 737 posts

27 Jan 2009 6:38pm

Hey Dan,
I did the North Island about 18 months ago and there's no shortage of choice locations.
I was looking more at a bit of adventure in terms of sailing the lower latitudes.
My hunch is that the Southern Alps must funnel the wind down the centre of the island and that there are several big lakes right on course....
Nothing like a few spare minutes of web trawling....www.winzurf.co.nz/windsurf/

evlPanda

NSW

9207 posts

evlPanda

NSW, 9207 posts

27 Jan 2009 7:42pm

drift said...

Hi,
I just got back from the South Island of NZ..mainly around Queenstown area....couldn't believe the solid breezes, amount of great sailing locations and not one board anywhere to be seen.....
Back in Melbourne, with airfares so cheap ( and being just about the only country where the aussie dollar stacks up ok), I am planning a return visit.
Has anyone out there sailed the south island??...if so any tips/ advice... greatly appreciated

I've had same thoughts when there. There are plenty of big, perfectly clear, jaw-droppingly beautiful lakes on the South Island that benefit from 10s of KMs of pool table flat land around them, or they'd funnel the wind down the valley.

You'll probably want a dry suit, the lakes are fed from glaciers. Last I was there NYE 06 it snowed most nights, yet the local kids all went swimming in the lakes each day!!!

There's also an article here:
~~http://www.ozwindsurf.com.au/index.php?curPage=pages.articles.issue_8.the_wind_cranked~~

evlPanda

NSW

9207 posts

evlPanda

NSW, 9207 posts

27 Jan 2009 7:43pm

drift said...

Nothing like a few spare minutes of web trawling....www.winzurf.co.nz/windsurf/

Holy ****! Antarctica?

www.winzurf.co.nz/windsurf/wgtnz/wgtnz39b.htm

dan berry

2562 posts

dan berry

WA, 2562 posts

27 Jan 2009 5:50pm

Sorry, I thought you were talking about wavesailing, my mistake. If your after flatwater with plenty of wind I'm sure there's plenty of places to check out. You're want to take plenty of rubber though

eyeMhardcor

255 posts

eyeMhardcor

255 posts

27 Jan 2009 6:29pm

and throw in a pair of velco gloves, nother better than pickin up a local after a big days sailing

nbr

QLD

298 posts

nbr

QLD, 298 posts

28 Jan 2009 10:07am

Give Al at Groundswell in Christchurch a call he knows the south Island Lakes very well he also hires out good gear.03 38545086 or get on the NZ windsurfing forum Deepfried.com.NZ.Lake Clearwater has a very good reputation with the Christchurch sailors.

davidmurray79

53 posts

davidmurray79

WA, 53 posts

28 Jan 2009 9:52am

I'm from Lake Tekapo South Island living in Perth. I was over last Christmas Wanaka/ Queenstown and it was howling every day. The lakes around Wanaka/ Queenstown are not cold and you’d be fine in a 3mm. Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki are the cold ones and you’d need to be a kiwi to withstand those temperatures! I used to waterski in my 7mm diving suit. Those two lake change two degrees from winter to summer and sit around 8 degrees. Lake Hawea is a magical spot (8km from Wanaka) for windsurfing and gets some very strong winds. The west side of the lake just past the township is a great spot but being a lake you can pretty much go where you like. One thing I did notice was difference in buoyancy between salt water and fresh, need a bit extra wind! New Zealand is definitely a great spot and worth considering.

Dunedinite

184 posts

Dunedinite

WA, 184 posts

28 Jan 2009 1:31pm

I'm from Dunedin, on the coast. The wind funnels down Otago harbour over summer producing good winds and if the tide is running out some awesome chop. On the seaward coasts you can get cross-off wave riding on the beach breaks but it's super tough on gear. Port tack mainly but when a big southerly blast hits it can go the other way in 5 minutes.
There a million beaches so you can sail almost any conditions of you go looking.
As mentioned the lakes can get good. The world speed record was set at Glenorgy (around from Queenstown) once back in the 90's. 40knots blowing over flat water.
The lakes get windy due to the thermal action of the surronding land heating up and causing a funnelling effect.

drift

VIC

737 posts

drift

VIC, 737 posts

28 Jan 2009 5:24pm

Thanks so much for the info....first chance, I am there!
cheers,
Mick

pedro e

VIC

257 posts

pedro e

VIC, 257 posts

28 Jan 2009 10:54pm

I am from Dunedin also, now living in Melbourne.

I used to sail in Dunedin Harbour which can be lots of fun. I grew up sailing P class dinghys there and crewing in my Dad's Javelin 14 footer. We used to sail our P classes on Lake Wanaka in the summer and I can attest to the howling winds that can funnel down the valleys. I also did a summer up at Mt Maunganui, near Tauranga and had some great windsurfing there. Lake Taupo can also be fun.

When I lived in Christchurch we used to sail mainly on the estuary - it was the early 80s and before short boards and wave jumping - although we did try one time at Christchurch's Brighton beach on our big ole regatta boards with a UJ which just poked into a hole in the board (no locking) and my mate lost his whole rig!!

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