Forums > Living in Kunming > Wind on lakes

Hi Armand.

Dianchi would be off limits due to pollution. I went out at erhai (Dali) but I found no good launching spots and the opinions on the pollution there seem divided. On the south part of Fuxian I literally got chased down by the police and told to get off the water. On the north east shore I found some nice launch spots and I know the northern shore is great since the wind tends to come from the south in spring.

I found though, that the wind is very unstable. Gusts seem to be driven by thermals on the hills and these are hard to predict. I found myself out in the middle of the lake twice when the wind completely dropped and it's a major pain to get back.

There's a wind guru spot for yangzonghai but I don't think it's being updated. I never went down there.

Mike sails cats on fuxian so he'll know better on the wind characteristics. I only went out a few times with limited success. I guess patience and persistence will reward with a nice session. The landscape is unbeatable.

Forums > Travel Yunnan > International trips from KM

Hi,

With the long weekend for dragon boat festival coming up I've been looking for trips out of the country to escape the worst of the 300 million people on the move during those days.

There's a lot of touting about KMGs connectivity with the outside world, but generally it seems it's a monopoly owned by China Eastern. Only expensive tickets that can only be booked through their website, and mostly operating overnight.

Does anyone have advice on a good deal or a destination well connected to KMG where you can shut off on a beach or jungle for 3 days?

Forums > Living in Kunming > Wind on lakes

Hey Nick,

Don't have QQ. Try adding Mike; he added me to a group on sailing Fuxian; can find each other through that.

This Friday afternoon I'll be on the North shore. When we're in touch on Wechat can coordinate if you're coming down too.

Forums > Living in Kunming > Wind on lakes

let's start a wechat group for those interested in watersports in Yunnan. Might be a good way to get people out and about when conditions are good.

Add me on Wechat: sambolito

Never started a group but will try figuring it out.

I've got transport and can share gear with people who can handle it safely. Only one board so it'd be alternating. Need to get started somewhere though.

I'll still be camping on the SW shore I reckon but if others are keen to be out there I'll drive to the Northside during the day (might do so anyway based on Mike's advice)

Forums > Living in Kunming > Wind on lakes

The windguru spot for Fuxian is custom. Difficult to judge its accuracy. There's a spot for Erhai owned by windguru, but I'm pretty sure that's based on GFS so not very accurate out here. I know the owner of the spot in Qionghai; the wind there is pretty predictable based on specific weather patterns; My guess the situation there is similar to here but it's a good 400 km North. Based on my experience that provides good conditions. It's always a hit and miss.

The GFS data seems promising but completely omits the effects of nearby mountains; safe to say it'll be gusty. The lake is big however and further away from the shore I reckon it'll be fairly stable. Look at conditions in places like Garda in Italy. Mountain-lakes can be perfect playgrounds if you get them right.

Alexez, do you mean to say you've been out windsurfing on Fuxian and 3.7 was big? That sounds like 30kts+ winds...

I'm going there 1 & 2 May. Just gonna test my luck. Anyone else welcome to tag along; I'll be camping on the SouthWestern shore near Xiaomagou, but may be driving up and down the shore to find launching spots and maybe some funnels. I'm taking my 7 and 11M kite.