Thread: What Beginner Solo Sailing Boat to Step into Sailing?

Originally Posted by 4bee

Yeah, I had heard that. When the drought was on a few years back apparently the Lake in Ballarat dried up to the extent there was only water in one small section.
Both the above Lakes I believe are quite shallow at the best of times. I guess today one could fit pneumatic tyres to one's VJ Land Yacht.

Yep, everything dried up - Lake Wendouree, Lake Burrumbeet, Green Lake ..... Natimuk Lake had a sandy beach and when I was a kid we used to go there in the evenings. The water was deep enough to jump off the jetty.

Originally Posted by Arapiles

Yep, everything dried up - Lake Wendouree, Lake Burrumbeet, Green Lake ..... Natimuk Lake had a sandy beach and when I was a kid we used to go there in the evenings. The water was deep enough to jump off the jetty.

Had a dip our two in all of those places. Rowing on Lake Wendouree while at school was great EXCEPT when it was below or close to Zero.

Did you try the Olympic diving platform at Creswick? Mia Culpa- I only dove of the top once or twice. My shorts did not follow me fast enough the first time I think I was the only one silly enough to do it. Jumping of had its pain if you mucked it up. My kids tried it from the lower level last year. Jumping- Proud dad just watched on my crutches

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Had a dip our two in all of those places. Rowing on Lake Wendouree while at school was great EXCEPT when it was below or close to Zero.

Did you try the Olympic diving platform at Creswick? Mia Culpa- I only dove of the top once or twice. My shorts did not follow me fast enough the first time I think I was the only one silly enough to do it. Jumping of had its pain if you mucked it up. My kids tried it from the lower level last year. Jumping- Proud dad just watched on my crutches

Worse, I used to do swimming squad in the Eureka pool - coldest water I’ve ever been in and I went for a swim in the Bay yesterday. Don’t know the pool at Creswick but a classmate jumped off the tower at Daylesford and I don’t think that he checked how deep the water was first ....

Edit: The Bay was 14C yesterday.

Originally Posted by Arapiles

Yep, everything dried up - Lake Wendouree, Lake Burrumbeet, Green Lake ..... Natimuk Lake had a sandy beach and when I was a kid we used to go there in the evenings. The water was deep enough to jump off the jetty.

You probably don't have a Crystal Ball but in your opinion do you think they will ever recover & more to the point I suppose, is what has changed in that part of Vic to have caused this.... Dams,extra storage & uses?

I would assume Wendouree still fills ok?

Originally Posted by 4bee

You probably don't have a Crystal Ball but in your opinion do you think they will ever recover & more to the point I suppose, is what has changed in that part of Vic to have caused this.... Dams,extra storage & uses?

I would assume Wendouree still fills ok?

I don’t know why, but the water in the Wimmera has gone, and it’s a good question why. It may be that they simply hold water back in the reservoirs in the Grampians rather than keep the recreational lakes full - they did fill Green Lake a year or two ago because of complaints. The thing is that because of the temperatures and the shallowness of the lakes the evaporation must be very high and they may just think that it’s a waste of water. When they installed the water pipelines the argument was that there’d be more water overall, but the opposite seems to be the case.

Edit: found this:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/climat...mate-Guide.pdf

9% drop in rainfall in 30 years. More extreme heat. Less rain in growing season.


I think that Wendouree was probably filled artificially - it was originally a swamp - but Ballarat did always have good rainfall in any case. It froze over one year that I was at school there.

Originally Posted by Arapiles

I don’t know why, but the water in the Wimmera has gone, and it’s a good question why. It may be that they simply hold water back in the reservoirs in the Grampians rather than keep the recreational lakes full - they did fill Green Lake a year or two ago because of complaints. The thing is that because of the temperatures and the shallowness of the lakes the evaporation must be very high and they may just think that it’s a waste of water. When they installed the water pipelines the argument was that there’d be more water overall, but the opposite seems to be the case.

Edit: found this:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/climat...mate-Guide.pdf

9% drop in rainfall in 30 years. More extreme heat. Less rain in growing season.


I think that Wendouree was probably filled artificially - it was originally a swamp - but Ballarat did always have good rainfall in any case. It froze over one year that I was at school there.

Thank you. From my meagre knowledge of that area it seemed at one time there was a Lake for each resident, well. on a map there was.


I don't know how Mount Gambier & the Blue Lake are going, it being their main Water Supply. From your comments even that should be way down.

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Had a dip our two in all of those places. Rowing on Lake Wendouree while at school was great EXCEPT when it was below or close to Zero.

Did you try the Olympic diving platform at Creswick? Mia Culpa- I only dove of the top once or twice. My shorts did not follow me fast enough the first time I think I was the only one silly enough to do it. Jumping of had its pain if you mucked it up. My kids tried it from the lower level last year. Jumping- Proud dad just watched on my crutches

Proud dad just watched on my crutches

Kids pointed & said to their mates. "That is what happens when you ignore advice & go off from the top of the tower. Bloody 'rents they never listen."

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Hello All,

What type of wetsuit: full, or half length and what type of life jacket is best for sailing - most probably a catamaran? I am in Bundaberg - which can get a tad cool sometimes. A couple of YouTube clips I have watched show people with helmets on. Are these just cyclist helmets?

Learn to Sail Lessons start on Saturday and I would like to know what kit is needed if I am to make a go of it?

I remember some people had little wind speed devices on their catamarans at Wivenhoe Dam when I visited there frequently in the 1980s. What other gadgetry would come in handy?

Kind regards
Lionel

I never bothered with a wet suit, but usually only sailed in warm weather. You can get quite cheap 'steamer suits' I think they call them, they are short sleeve and short leg, thinner wetsuit material, bit like what a surfer or such like might wear. Life jacket, I wore the ones that go on like a jacket and zip up at the front. They are quite good for 'working' in, and add warmth as well. Not sure re helmets never wore one, just learned to duck when tacking!

You don't need any gadgets, unless you fancy them. Good ol basic tell tales on the sail and a wind direction indicator on the top of the mast, and you could sail around the world. My first cat didn't even have the wind direction indicator, you soon get a feel for where the wind is.

I would imagine they would cover all this off in your learn to sail lessons, probably tell you what you need to bring and what they will supply??