Sandy Point
Sandy Point is located about 2.5 hours drive South
East of Melbourne, Australia.
Strong south westerly winds off Bass Straight sweep across the narrow sand spit
that seperates Shallow Inlet from Waratah Bay. The spit itself is less
than several metres high at its peak, yet tapers quickly into the deep channel
that runs through Shallow Inlet. This means the strong laminar Sou' Westers
flow over deep water, allowing you to sail right at the shore edge (literally
only metres from sand), on dead flat conditions, and with howling wind. The result...
world sailing speed record of 46.52 knots
(by
Yellow Pages Endevour - see picture below). Sandy Point has a caravan park (Telopea Caravan Park PH. (03) 5684 1312 - say
G'day to Shirley!)
and some houses and cottages
for short term rent (try contacting Bruce Richarsd at PBE Real Estate, PH (03) 5682 2822; they have heaps
of houses on their books, or have a look at Lindsay and Rob's place - I stayed there
25/2-1/3/98 and it is absolutely superb!!), the Doonagatha Farmhouse 2km from town, or this place I know nothing
about!. Further down the road is also the Waratah Bay caravan
park, but for mine it isnt as "quaint" as the Telopea. The Fish Creek Pub is about 15min away, theres a
general store in Sandy Point itself (which also has some windsurfing basics - fins, mastbases,
booms, harnesses etc), and now the revamped Sandy Point (Internet!) Cafe.
(Say G'day to Neil!) REALLY handy is Neils weather/wind/surf
observations from Neds Lookout.
If theres no wind, theres heaps to do. Jump over the sand dunes to the Life Saving Club
and hit the surf, travel down to Wilsons Prom
(75km to Tidal River - and one of the most beautiful National Parks you
can see) or go fishing in the Inlet, on the ocean beach or at Inverloch (30 min drive).
(For more details, see this
page.
A final word or warning... when parking on the beach, make sure you are at least
partially up the dune. The occasional king tide has been known to trap cars parked on the
sand bank.
For a map of Sandy Point, click here
For wind conditions near Sandy Point, check out the observation listed for
Wilsons Prom click here
For tides at Sandy Point (so you know if you can sail that easterly on the outer sand bank/your
car will get stuck!), add 90 minutes to the
tide times at Port Phillip Heads. Tide tables are available online from the National Tidal Facility
See the web page of Sandy Pics
Piccies: Sandy Point 31/1 - 1/2/98
More Piccies from Sandy Point!
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AB's Home Page......awatkins@met.unimelb.edu.au
