Carrum to Frankston on a NW or Carrum to Aspendale on a S - SW, not that long but work for me.

The ultimate downwinder in the bay

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Victoria/Across-the-Bay-to-Conquer-Cancer-this-weekend/

We did training run from aspendale to Port Melbourne. Took round 1-.5 hours.

how far is the hampton to st kilda run? havnt done a down winder yet but keen on doin a massive long run

I'm looking to do my first down winder weekend of the 9/10th of Feb (What better way to celebrate CNY?).

Anyone around for a Downwinder. Have car will travel!

Frontliner said...

where tho? whats good? never done one. a good 2 hourish run

Howdy fl,

dunno. I was thinking Inverloch... but I guess it depends on the wind and the like...

From the surf beach into the inlet is a good downwinder but you want a bit of experience before trying that one. I'd probably recommend a downwinder or two in the bay first.

Unless you are a total beginner I would recommend doing an upwinder followed by the downwinder return.

It's safer because you can always get back to your start point.

It's more fun because you get to hit the good spots on the way up and the way back.

You develop the skill of riding fast upwind.

The only time downwinders make sense is in the surf where you can hit a wave hard then drop into the next peak downwind.

You can do Hampton or Brighton to Ricketts and back in an hour. You can do Mentone to Aspendale (or anywhere else along that stretch) in about 40 minutes (longer if you push as far as Carrum or Frankston).

In a northerly Brighton to St Kilda is easy and takes an hour.

You can do it on a TT. A surfboard with flat rocker is better. A freeride raceboard like the Sector is best (and huge fun in the bay waves on the reefs and sand bars along the way.)

^^^ your experience differs from mine.

ice said...
...
The other good thing about downwinders is if you are learning new skills. For me I was struggling with toe side, but a two hour downwinder helped tremendously. Just stayed on toe side, losing heaps of ground, until I worked out the correct positioning and muscle memory kicked in.

That's a good tip for beginners.

From Port Melbourne you can go upwind to St Kilda, then downwind return. Best to stay well clear of the Spirit. It leaves around 8pm.

Hi SaltySinus,

Given where you are at, I'd recommend you do a downwinder where there are not a lot of obstacles - possibly starting at Edithvale and heading back up towards Mentone. Lots of sandy beaches that way.
If you don't want to travel that far, Hampton to Brighton is an alternative - but there are a couple of rocks to watch out for. Advantage of Hampton and Brighton is a few folks around to help you launch and land, and wide beaches.

Doing a downwinder to Port Melbourne is fine - but there are quite a lot of obstacles to get around that could get tricky if you can't go upwind. There are two long piers, 1 big boat and one big yachting club to avoid.

tarzan said...
Hi SaltySinus,

.... possibly starting at Edithvale and heading back up towards Mentone. Lots of sandy beaches that way....

Hey Tarzan, thanks for the advice... and looking on the map, Edithvale to Mentone looks a lot less.... like I'd get run over by the Spirit and/or get my kite wrapped around various navigation markers.

Yep, I hear you about the rocks at Brighton. Went there on a low tide (and Northerly) once... my open wounds are still healing..!

Thanks for the advice!

Hi Salty,
The best run downwind without too many obstacles is anywhere between Carrum (north of the Patterson River mouth) and Mordialloc (south of the mordialloc creek mouth). There is only one very small pier and the odd marker / pole to dodge the whole way. Do it on a day when the beaches are not crowded on a south / south west wind and you've got a few kms of cross onshore fun to play with.

I'm keen and have the next four days off but the weather is looking

SaltySinus said...

matto said...
Dunno whether I would start on downwinders if you cant kite upwind yet.

Nothing wrong with the "Walk of Shame".........

Hi Matto, appreciate the feedback. I appreciate if I overshoot the end point, I could be in a world of pain. Any other reason you'd deter a non-upwinder from doing a downwinder?

I guess the position I'm in is if I go to infamous St K, I can't start as far back as the Kiddies pool due to this being the preferred play ground of those that can actually kite up wind (see other ranting threads) and I often struggle to find a spot to launch along the main bit of St K due to density of learners body dragging etc. (which is fine, we all have to learn somewhere).... and by the time I've found a spot I'm basically towards where I normally exit the water, thus giving me a 100m or so to play with before I have to come back to shore to walk the shame...

Thus it's a bit of a catch 22.

By being able to head upwind - you are a lot more manoeuvrable on the water, and able to go anywhere you like/need.

Hence if you get caught behind something (ie a point) you would be unable to get around it without going upwind.

Your current item round St Kilda - there is a whole bay out there - and then a massive walk all the way back up the beach (dont get down as far as the PM SLC, this is an area which is banned from kiting). Not sure where the 100m comes from??