The water is brown close to shore but gets cleaner the more you head out. The colour is from the silt and sand mixed in the water by the waves across the sand flats. The tide height runs on average about 1.8 metres but their is very little current. The area is a large bay with tidal sand flats that get exposed at mid to low tide. At high tide the water is choppy because of the wave backwash of the sea wall. At mid tide the water flattens out with small waves about 0.5m running across the sand flats. As the water gets about ankle deep across the flats this is the best time to kite as the water gets super smooth. Low tide will mean a walk of about 300 metres to get to the water. There are broken shells everywhere in the sand as well, so booties will help out a lot.
The beach is man made about 90 metres long by 45 metres wide. The top of the beach has a grass area to rig up on with picnic huts, drinking water and free electric BBQ's. Their are no toilets and the closest are 700 metre walk away. The beach itself is soft sand and is good to use. The beach is small and often crowded, because of the wind direction if a launch goes wrong you will most likely hit the rock groins at each end of the beach or if your lucky you will hit the trees along the beach. The tress have save a few kiter from the power lines across the road. When launching or landing please ask for assistance as it is accepted as common practise to ensure safety and to make sure kites are not damage because of the crowded beach.
Water temp in summer is warm from 22-25°C and in winter the temp goes down to about 17°C. Thin wetsuits are needed in winter but in summer the only protection you may need is a rash vest for the sun.
Best winds are from SE through to NE. Any wind with a lot of S, N or W in it and the wind gets gusty as the beach faces the East. The best part of season runs from September through to March with winter not worth the effort as the wind shifts to west and offshore. September to November: start of our season as NE winds dominate with good reliable winds in November and you would expect to get 3-4 days over 15 knots in the afternoon. Water temp stats to heat up as well. December to March: best time of year during these months. The SE winds come through and take over from the NE winds. Expect 3 days a week over 15 knots and 1 day in the 20- 25 days. When a new SE weather system get started it may blow for 5 days straigh above 20 knots. April to August: this time of year is not the best as the winds shifts to the west and blow offshore. During the later part of this season you maybe lucky to get 1 day every two weeks that get over 15 knots. The beach faces east and sits in a bay which has land affecting the wind from due south & north. So the best winds are anything from the east. NE throught to SE winds are the most prefered and most constant.
Just wear a leash. Wind up you lines straight away. Help launch and land kites. Don't jump on the beach. Don't jump close to the beach. If you a learner once on the water go above or below the rock groins and this means by a feww hundred metres, but don't learn in front of the beach as you will block everyones access to the beach. Be warned that tension is rising with people who stuff around on the beach jumping or doing dangerous launches is not tolerated. A leash must be used at this spot as their are so my people using the bike track next to the beach and we are launching a few metres away it would be foolish not to.
06-03-21 Ben: Brighton Beach is a great spot for learning to kite. After driving 800 km north of sydney and finding no wind, it was a relief to get to this spot and get about 10 kt of winds to play with. The water dept is perfect for learning. At low tide, the sand bars are a lot to contend with and are hard to spot. There are broken shells everywhere in the sand as well, so booties will help out a lot.
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