A1 Kiteboarding School - For the Kiteboarder

NORTH HAVEN (enter via Australia II Drive)
Best Conditions: North - Westerlies provide excellent flat-water conditions and ocean swell outside (Inside on the odd freak day!). Kite from in front of the North Haven Surf Lifesaving Club. Southerly sea breezes through to SE winds also provide good/ ok conditions, kite from the next Eastern car park. You will see a lot of kitesurfers chasing the flat water on the Northerly days as well but there is plenty of room for everyone on the water and in the car park. Worst Points: Occasional heavy seaweed and poor rig up areas on high tide.
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LARGS BAY SAILING CLUB
The best beach for summer sea breezes along with North Haven. Generally 5 knots or more, stronger wind than other metro beaches during the summer Good flat water in NE to Northerly (clean airflow down the beach provides un-interrupted wind). excellent in some South-Westerlies. Generally flatter water than on some other southern beaches as it takes a long time to get deep here. The curved shape of these beaches allows for safe landings after exhausting runs (or equipment breakages). You are almost guaranteed of being blown back onto the beach, but be prepared for a walk back up-wind. The shallow bottom allows easy water-starting and there are no problems with beach room or parking.
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SEMAPHORE (north side of jetty)
Good onshore wave conditions in SW to West winds. Can also be good flat water in Northerlies. Council have provided a tap for washing down, bring your own hose and connections. Worst Points: Strong northerly current!
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SEMAPHORE (south side of jetty)
Being closer to the dry North seems to enhance these convectional breezes. Car park between Hart Street and Jervois Street has tap for wash down and good access to beach. Also OK on Winter Southerlies.
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THE POINT - A.K.A ''KITE BEACH'' (at the end of Bower Road, Semaphore)
Good for any Southerlies that are threatening to go SE. Also OK in a North/Westerly. You can still kite here but at the moment the council is in the middle of rebuilding a sandabar.
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HENLEY BEACH (sailed in front of the local Henley Pub)
Known to locals as Front Yards. This beach has been regularly kited for years by, but tends to be more onshore compared to other locations. It can also be sailed in SE land breezes (which occur late in the day) TIPS: Beware of the vicious shore break on windy days, and large freak swell patterns which frequent this location.
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SOMERTON
This is where a regular group of kiters are keen to sail in any conditions. Most sail between the Somerton Yacht Club and Whyte Street. TIPS: Only kite on low to medium tides, as access on windy days with high tides tends to be tricky (jumping from large rock formations). Don’t ask how people get in on these days. Insane!
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SEACLIFF
Located between Kingston Park and the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club and in the lee of Marino Point, Seacliff is a reef/sand combination providing excellent kite conditions. Mainly a Winter break (perfect in gale force South/Westers), the water conditions remain very smooth in Summer sea breezes, although the sea breezes are lighter compared to the northern beaches. Good in summer for the first-kiteboarders ''Chest Deep'' for 200m to seaward. TIPS: Beware of the rocky shoreline in front of the local caravan park as it’s quite hard to walk on and is board munching. Also, the offshore land breezes fill in here quicker than everywhere else, and combines with early evening gully winds. Beginners beware!!! When the breeze swings offshore here then it is time to pack it in for the day or head to the northern beaches.
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SELLICKS BEACH
Known to locals as ''The Funnel'', is this gully wind location. When the temperature is forecast for a really hot day, this place cranks some nuclear winds late in the afternoon. Kited when the SW sea breeze has not arrived on Metropolitan beaches, but light SE winds are prevailing. Water surface conditions range from smooth to very choppy, as winds tend to be very offshore. When Sellicks is ''On'', it makes the Canary Islands look tame. Winds will range from 20-50 knots. Out of the question for inexperienced kiteboarders. TIPS: Only kite after 4pm in the afternoon, as this tends to be prime land breeze time. Ultimate conditions for it to work are light South-East to East winds in Adelaide and warm to hot land temperatures. Beware of bullet gusts.
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ALDINGA (Snapper Point & Dead Cow Bombie)
Head down past the Mid and Maslins to Aldinga beach. Snapper Point has a big reef that you can kite when the tide is high enough or go 2 car parks north to kite the bombie on any tide. This place works best when Seacliff is cranking in a SW or Southerly. It is an aquatic reserve so there are ALL sorts of fish swimming around here. Not a good place to go on your own. Stick to kiting where the local hardcore masters are out and look after your board! This place can get TOO big to kite on a massive stormy! Best wind direction S-SW.
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KENT RESERVE (Victor Harbour)
kite between The Bluff and Granite Island. Big jumps to be had! If not up for the chalange of waves head Towards Goolwa, into the next bay on other side of Granite Island, only about 2km, awesome flat water to be had inclose with small waves further out.
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MIDDLETON POINT (Near Victor Harbour)
Not ridden that much these days as it is more of a surfing spot but it can be good if Day St is too big or too onshore.
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MIDDLETON DAY ST
If the forecast is for strong NW or W winds and all the local beaches and the Mid are onshore then this is the place to go.. This break can have some very big clean waves to ride but there is often a bit of a famous windless ''dead patch'' on the inside which is really depressing with a 4 foot wave coming to clean you up when you are going nowhere but sinking. Once out the back you can get a very long ride in with a heap of top to bottom turns over the sandy bottom. If it looks too big and scary just watch the gurus sacrifice themselves. It is very entertaining!!
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GOOLWA (Beach)
This place is the same as Day St (above) but the swell is just bigger and messier but sometimes it can work well.
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ROBE
The 3-hour drive south to Robe is well worth the effort in summer as it is a prime summer wave kiting spot. The bay is curved so you can kite anywhere along the coast to get side shore conditions. The swell is big, clean and predictable and works best in SE - SW winds. Third Ramp is about 10km north of the town and this is the main kiteboarding or surfing spot. You can drive up the dirt road off the main highway in any car, or if you have a 4WD you could drive along the beach from the main town beach (1st Ramp).
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BEACHPORT (Rivoli Bay Beach)
This beach works if Robe is too onshore in a westerly breeze. The water is very clean and crisp with a sandy bottom and some good swells. It is about 1 hour drive south of Robe and also has a big salt water lake in the back of Beachport if you just want to blast on some flat water.
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GOOLWA
Located South of Adelaide (near Victor Harbour. The Aquatic Club is the most popular spot where there are also shops and toilets in a big car park. Right up near the barrage is also good if there are a lot of boats near the aquatic club. This place is not optimal for kiting. Power lines, gusty winds and lots of pleasure craft…. not recommended.
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MILANG
Located on Lake Alexandrina between Goolwa and Strathalbyn, this freshwater lake is huge (45km across!) It is generally slightly windier than Goolwa with less congested water. It is a long swim back so don’t snap your universal if you have to sail here on your own. (not recommended)
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BOGGY LAKE
Found by some local Murray Bridge windsurfers in the early 90's this place is now really popular. It is a bit hard to find on your own but if you head through the hills or from Strathalbyn to Langhorne Creek. 17km from Langhorne creek heading toward Wellington there is a patch of water on your right. This is it! Through the gate or just follow all the cars in the area with the roof racks loaded with windsurfers. It is just a paddock next to a lake with no facilities at all, but it does have flat water and the strongest most consistent wind in nearly any wind direction.
A farmer owns the land but he will let windsurfers in there on a few rules.
1. No Dogs
2. No burnouts or speeding
3. No Litter
4. Lock the gate every time
5. No hassling the sheep or cows!
6. Fires OK depending on Fire Season Restrictions.
Camping up there is common and there is plenty of grass to rig up on. For the super flat water, kite upwind to the speed strip next to the reeds on the south shore. It does not get any better. There is usually a big crowd there on the weekends. If you cannot stay upwind yet on a kite then Boggy is not very good because there is no beach to come in downwind. Being able to touch the bottom for about 200m means you can always walk back and also allows easy water-starting.
(GOTO boggylake.com)
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MENINGIE
Located on Lake Albert 200km SE of Adelaide this is a popular stop on the way down to the southeast coasts of Robe. You can kite near the Yacht Club or near the Caravan Park. Get the right conditions and you’ll be windsurfing fast on relatively flat water.
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LAKE GEORGE
This hot flat water spot near Beachport is worth the 4 hour drive from Adelaide. It is the flattest water that has to be seen to be believed. Windsurfers on a police radar gun on this lake have clocked speeds of 70 km/h! You can drive out to ''The Spit'' if you want to get right to the best speed track or just blast off the ''5-mile Drift''. Just ask the locals in Beachport.
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Now that you know more about Adelaide conditions, remember these simple rules for SAFE windsurfing:
1. Always tell someone where you are going windsurfing and when you will be home or sail with a buddy.
2. Rig your gear right - the first time. Avoid rig failure - you are what you rig!!!
3. Drink lots of water before windsurfing to avoid dehydration. Water resistant 15+ sunscreen is also a must.
4. Avoid collisions at all costs.
5. Know your limits (ability and fitness)
6. Beware of offshore winds
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