Radio Tower

The lagoon is only deep enough to windsurf at high tide, so as the waters flood the place to be is the humble Yacht Club, a tiny footbridge on powder white sands near the windward tip of West Island. 2nd Wind Perth have long operated windsurfing tours here and a loyal band of slalom and freeride devotees return every year to blast across the turquoise lagoon. The water’s shallow enough to stay super-flat, with barely a hint of chop despite constant 15-20 knot winds. On all but the biggest springs, the lagoon remains kiteable all tide – and just a coconut’s throw up the sand, Kite Beach sees riders launch from before dawn to after dusk. Zephyr Kite Tours set up for the winter here, with waist to knee-deep water and warm winds attracting all levels of kiter from absolute beginner to advanced freestyler. The 2km downwinder, finishing by the Radio Tower at the end of the airstrip, is a fun way back home. The water’s butter here, but so shallow it can only be ridden towards high tide. It’s a different world on the leeward west coast where glassy, barrelling left-handers constantly pound the steep reef. The recognised breaks centre around the surf-camp at Shacks, north of town. Coconut groves ensure very light wind inside, so it’s usually a swim out through the pounding surf to the windline – unless it’s blowing more southerly, as it can a few days a month. Even then, this the most hardcore of wavesailing spots with heavy waves, shallow reefs, surfers in the line-up, an offshore current, and no rescue cover whatsoever. If you make it out, the best conditions are just round the point to the south. A few more tacks upwind The Ledge comes alive on a big southerly swell – although, as the name suggests, getting it wrong will leave you on a slabby limestone reef. But for accomplished pro-level sailors, this wave offers the ride of a lifetime with some amazing bowling sections linking all the way to Shacks via a break visiting surfers have dubbed Pipeline.