MapAustraliaShallow InletAustralia

Shallow Inlet

Victoria · South Gippsland (Yanakie Isthmus, near Wilsons Promontory) · Sandy Point

also known as Sandy Point/Shallow Inlet, Sandy Point Inlet

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

flat waterbeginner-friendlymedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Oct–Mar

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

flat

18.4 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy December January February March

Schools

none named here

From the airport

165 min

Melbourne Airport (MEL)

When it fills in

Summer easterly/NE gradient days can increase during the day with a sea-breeze effect. Summer SW thermals picking up in early afternoon are also reported, though E/NE sea-breeze enhancement is better documented.

Shallow Inlet has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Sandy Point Beachno page yet
Shallow Inlet Caravan Park/Yanakie sideno page yet
Inverloch/Andersons Inlet
Waratah Bayno page yet
Venus Bayno page yet
Corner Inletno page yet

The spot

Location

Shallow Inlet is the flat-water inlet beside Sandy Point, 2.5-3 hours southeast of Melbourne on the road to Wilsons Promontory, and the tide runs the session. At low water much of the inlet dries to banks and channels; at high water the sailing area opens right up and you get the speed-strip flat water the place is known for.

Wind directions

Direction picks your side. The Sandy Point side takes anything from N round through E to S and SW, with SW through E the best of it; the northeast Shallow Inlet/Caravan Park side is the launch for N, NW or W.

Season and conditions

Main season is the October-March sea-breeze period, 15-25 knots on a normal day; winter is cold frontal southerlies with water around 13 C.

Advanced only

Lots of space and shallow water make it a good place to progress, but the inlet mouth, the tide change and the 30-40 knot systems turn it advanced-only fast, so stay away from the entrance.

Shorebirds

The beach is unpatrolled and there is no school scene, and the inlet is an internationally important shorebird site: keep off the flats where the birds are, signed or not.

The wind

Direction

onshoreoffshorewind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

Sandy Point beachDepends which side you launch. The main Sandy Point beach faces east into the inlet, so E is straight onshore, SE through S to SW comes in cross-on, N runs cross-shore, and W to NW blows offshore off the land — which is why the Shallow Inlet Caravan Park launch on the far side exists, since it turns those same W, NW and N winds into workable cross-on with flat channels behind the banks.Waratah BayOn the ocean beach at Waratah Bay it inverts again: NW and SE are the cross-shore wave directions there.

Dominant direction

Sandy Point side: N through E, S and SW work; SW through E is considered best, with NW workable farther upstream. Northeast/Shallow Inlet village side: N to W works.

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

For 75-85 kg on flat water: 12 m for the 15-18 knot days that make up most of the season, 9 m from about 20 to 25, and 7 m or smaller once a front pushes it past 30.Position matters as much as size — a 12 m sits at full power well up the inlet and wants depowering as you drop toward the mouth, where the breeze funnels.Indicative; no local size table has been published.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

About 7 knots as a general 2021-2026 mean from the Pound Creek station 36 km away, not a kiteable-wind average for the inlet itself.

Typical strength

15-25 knots on many rideable days; 30-40+ knot days occur in stronger systems.

Very flat water in the inlet and on the speed strip when tide and direction line up. Close to the dunes the wind is gustier than it was in earlier decades; ride a little off the shore for cleaner breeze.

The main season is the October-March sea-breeze period. Winter brings strong southerly and frontal systems, but the water is cold and the days are harsher.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month85
Feb, riders' month82
Mar, riders' month74
Apr63
May58
Jun68
Jul65
Aug65
Sep77
Oct, riders' month84
Nov, riders' month80
Dec, riders' month85

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov, Dec.

15 ktJan19°
15 ktFeb19°
14 ktMar19°
13 ktApr18°
13 ktMay16°
15 ktJun15°
14 ktJul13°
14 ktAug13°
16 ktSep14°
16 ktOct15°
15 ktNov16°
16 ktDec17°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	85%	15 kt	E	19 °C	18.6 °C
Feb	82%	15.1 kt	SW	18.6 °C	19.3 °C
Mar	74%	14.4 kt	WSW	18 °C	19.1 °C
Apr	63%	12.8 kt	W	15.5 °C	17.6 °C
May	58%	13.1 kt	WNW	13.1 °C	16.1 °C
Jun	68%	14.5 kt	NW	11.3 °C	14.7 °C
Jul	65%	13.9 kt	NW	10.7 °C	13.4 °C
Aug	65%	14.1 kt	WNW	11.7 °C	13.1 °C
Sep	77%	15.5 kt	WNW	12.5 °C	13.6 °C
Oct	84%	16.3 kt	W	13.5 °C	14.6 °C
Nov	80%	15.3 kt	WSW	15.4 °C	16.1 °C
Dec	85%	15.5 kt	E	17.1 °C	17.4 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

flat

Standing depth

Shallow tidal inlet with extensive sand and mud flats, sandbanks and channels; exact rider-depth zones vary with tide.

Tides

Strongly tide-dependent: much of the inlet dries at low water, so check the tide before the sand access and the launch. The mouth is for experienced sailors only, and only on an outgoing tide.

Temperature

18.4 °C summer · 13.1 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 13–19 °C

Wetsuit

Cold-water Victorian spot: full suit most of the year; summer still averages about 18–19 °C and winter about 13 °C, so many riders will want a 4/3 or warmer in winter and at least a spring/full suit in summer depending on wind chill.

Currents

Tidal current can be strong near the entrance during peak tide changes; much of the inlet dries at low water and the entrance depth varies.

Conditions

Inlet basics

A shallow, curving tidal embayment with one ocean entrance to Waratah Bay, enclosed by sandy spits, bars and mobile dunes. The flat inlet is the famous part for kiting/windsurfing and speed sailing; the adjacent ocean beach is a separate wave/rip environment.

Tidal variation

At high tide more sand is covered and the sailing area opens up; at low tide channels and sandbanks define the usable water. The wet sailing area is strongly tide-dependent: official figures put open water at about 503 hectares at low tide and about 1660 hectares at high tide, with roughly 1168 hectares of saltmarsh/saltflat beyond that, so a single often-quoted 18 km2 total is only a rough figure rather than the practical rideable area on a given tide.

Environment

The inlet is also an internationally important shorebird site, so riders should avoid disturbing birds and any signed or roped areas.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Flat water and lots of space put it on the Melbourne-area lists as a spot for any level, Shallow Inlet Caravan Park included. In practice the tidal flow, the mouth and the 30-40+ knot days turn it advanced-only fast. Beginners: stay away from the inlet mouth and ride supervised, in an onshore or cross-on direction.

The scene

What riders come here for

speed sailingflat waterfreerideprogressionwindsurfingwing foilingdownwinders to the ocean side when conditions and skills allow

Quiet rural holiday-town feel most of the year, but it is well visited when windy and Sandy Point's resident population/tourism peaks in summer. Local windsurf/kite culture is speed-sailing and flat-water focused rather than a serviced school/resort scene.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

No kite rescue. The beach is unpatrolled, and the inlet is a small tidal waterway used by small recreational and fishing boats, not a rescue fleet. Plan your own self-rescue: the inlet dries, the channels shift and the entrance current is strong.

Launch

Main access on the Sandy Point side is from Sandy Point Road to the inlet beach, with sand access and a car park nearby; rig and launch after a walk of about 500 m along the beach rather than beside the cars.Vehicle accessSome riders drive onto the beach to launch; whether that is allowed is unresolved, since the walking site next door is signed no vehicles.Caravan Park sideThe northeast Shallow Inlet/Caravan Park side is the launch for N, NW or W, and it has a free car park right at the launch behind the caravan park, with a drop toilet as the only facility.

Hazards riders report 9 reported

Wind

cold water and wind chill outside summer

Bottom

sandbars just below the surface, especially at speed
weed farther upstream

Waves and currents

strong tidal current near the entrance during peak tide changes
ocean-side Waratah Bay has surf, rips, littoral currents and higher hazard rating if doing downwinders or launching outside the inlet

Protected areas and rules

important shorebird habitat and possible nesting/disturbance sensitivity

Other

much of the inlet dries at low water
variable/shifting entrance depth and channel configuration
unpatrolled beach/remote feel

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no Shallow Inlet-specific kite permit, kite zone or seasonal kite ban is on record.

The Shallow Inlet Walk site is signed no vehicles, no dogs, no drones without a permit, no camping, no fires, no generators, no bicycles, no firearms and no horses; Sandy Point (Waratah Bay) beach rules prohibit camping and ban cats and dogs.

The inlet is an internationally important shorebird site, so obey any temporary nesting closure or sign; a current kite-specific closure is unconfirmed.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Read the tide table before you drive out: much of the inlet dries at low water, and a car parked on the sand away from the dunes can be caught by the rising tide.
On the Sandy Point side, park at the Sandy Point Road car park and walk about 500 m along the beach to rig; do not launch beside the cars.
Take the forecast as a guide only; the dunes gust the breeze near the shore, so walk the kite a little off the beach for cleaner wind.
Stay off the entrance unless you know it: outgoing tide only, and a broken line there means a long swim.
Bring booties; the flats are shell and weed, and the walk out at low tide is long.
Treat the shorebird flats as no-go even when nothing is signed on the day.

Getting there

Airport

Melbourne Airport (MEL)

Route

Drive from Melbourne or Melbourne Airport via the South Gippsland Highway/Fish Creek/Meeniyan toward Sandy Point; public transport is possible only part of the way and is slower, so a car is the practical option for kite gear.

Transfer

165 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Sandy Point has holiday houses/Airbnb-style rentals and a small holiday/caravan park; Yanakie and the Wilsons Prom gateway have caravan parks, cabins, B&Bs and self-contained accommodation, with more shopping/services in Fish Creek and Foster.

No-wind days

Wilsons Promontory National Park walks and beaches, Big Drift dunes, Sandy Point/Waratah Bay surf beach, fishing/boating, Fish Creek galleries/cafes, Foster supplies, tennis courts in Sandy Point.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kitesurf Shallow Inlet?

The warm-season sea breezes from October to March are the main season, with winter offering strong but colder frontal wind.

Is Shallow Inlet suitable for beginners?

It is listed as an all-level flat-water spot with lots of space, but beginners should stay away from the tidal inlet mouth and be cautious in the strongest 30-40 knot systems.

What is the wind like at Shallow Inlet?

Many days run 15-25 knots, with stronger 30-40+ knot systems on occasion; the Sandy Point side favors N through E, S and SW winds, while the northeast side works better for N, NW and W.

What hazards should kitesurfers know about at Shallow Inlet?

Much of the inlet dries at low water, tidal current can be strong near the entrance, and the beach is unpatrolled, so self-rescue planning matters.

Are there access rules at Shallow Inlet?

No kite-specific permit or ban was found, but the area is an internationally important shorebird site, so riders should respect any nesting or disturbance signage.

Last updated: August 2026