End of an era speedsailing at "Sandy Point" in Victoria AUS. IMHO. It was a great speed-sailing spot known from the 1980's to about 2000's, becoming known worldwide. It's about three hours travel south east of Melbourne. Many records were made on Shallow Inlet. The speed strip along the SW estuary shore in a major wind was made by having a fairly flat sandy spit of a about three hundred meters between Waratah Bay and the inlet. Little mounds of up to a meter above high tide mark. My experience starts early 1990's- wow, what fun! The best speed I made there was only about 33 knots a few years ago now. Others- 40 or nearly 50, or better? Ah well, dream on. I have no facts about decisions to allow an apparent non -indigenous weed to start to spread along the Spit causing a wind blocking dune wall to grow and grow. Anyway, it's buggered up a great spot in winds blowing south west to south south west of twenty plus knots. No more laminar flow of high wind howling across the spit onto the inlet. No-one sailing along the waters' edge with speed fins or even slalom fins No more boards going chick-it-ta-chick-chick-it-ta-chick-chick-it-ta-chick over small wavelets. No more sand stinging bare flesh as you tried to hang on, eyes squinting. No more walks of shame from the far end back to the starting point when it was just too much effort to tack back, especially in an ebbing tide- cos that current was strong. However- there is still good sailing these days on easterlies if you can put up with chop, jetski-iers, fisher-peeps hogging the shore where you want to launch, speedboats, and bommies along the eastern bank and finding that flat water- yum! And then there is a small goon at the boat ramp, short but inviting in a low-mid tide and easterly HiWind.
