has any one windsurfed to rotto ,where is best place to launch,how long did it take?

Yeah it's illegal.. but I'd guess it would take no more than an hour, launching from South Freo would be the go. I'm keen!

i'm very keen!

Also going to sail my Tornado (Catamaran) across at some stage... Just need the epirb for that one... Would be a barrel of fun!

So who knows how to do a website? Might have to organise a yearly perth to rotto event!

:)

ok
looks as though we need to start planning a rotto event for charity then,and get a
saftey plan organised/work out best time to do it.glad to see their are people willing to give it a go.

diagawb said...

ok
looks as though we need to start planning a rotto event for charity then,and get a
saftey plan organised/work out best time to do it.glad to see their are people willing to give it a go.

im in.

The Malibu Rottnest & Return was run a couple of times, first in 1989, and again in 1990. I remember Lach Simpson winning the first one, but the second one was bit controversial.

The race was open to any windsurfer and it started at Leighton Beach. We sailed out to a mark and then had to work upwind to another mark off Port Beach, and then only the first 30 sailors were allowed to make the crossing to Rotto. There was a fairly light seabreeze, and by the time the first ten or so sailors had got around the mark off Thompsons Bay, and back to the finish at Leighton, the breeze stopped and then went east, leaving more than half of the fleet trying to make their way back into the offshore breeze. There were flares going off everywhere and people coming in up and down the coast, making it a logistical nightmare. Everybody who needed to be was eventually rescued however.

Anyway, the race was cancelled and then re-run a week later.

At the second attempt it was way windier. I was on a 4.4 race sail (though I was only a skinny kid) and I guess it was 25 knots +. The race went pretty smoothly, and I can recall Anders Bringdal taking a big win, making the 17km crossing from Rotto to Leighton in 19 minutes, averaging close to 30 knots. Even now, with the latest gear that would be an incredible effort even for the likes of Slowy or Jesper.

My main memory of the journey back was that there were large chunks of time when I couldn't see land. To this day that is the only time I have ever sailed out of sight of land, and it is one weird feeling. The big Norfolk Island pines at Cottesloe look very welcoming when they come back into view.

The hazards of doing it? Well, you need a windy day because on a lighter day, the seabreeze can (rarely) stop. On a windy day though, it will be a fair bit windier out near Rotto than it is near the coast, and as rough as hell. That means less boats out there to rescue you if you break something, and it also makes you very hard to find.

I can't argue that it's a great thing to do, and to have done, but be in no doubt that you are taking your life into your own hands if you do it alone or without a support boat.

Quentin Little was the organizer back then but haven't heard much of him in a while .PS I did make the final 30 cut and it is a gruelling trip try sailing on one tackf or say 40 mins it took me 1 hr and 20 mins the year Anders won it in about 40 mins I got to 100 metres from shore b4 the wind went easterly and swam the last bit to get my malibu rum from the wicked malibu chicks