Windsurfing near Willows
- Cattle Point (1 km)
- Cook St. (5 km)
- Esquimalt lagoon (12 km)
- Island View Beach (16 km)
- Cline Spit (33 km)
Known as "Pussy Willows" for its relatively sane conditions on insane days. Best on SE, with Discovery lighthouse reading at least 25 knots to get 15 or better on the beach. OK for newbies on longboards/ bigboards in lighter E through S, NE too if sailor/board is capable of upwinding. Chief amenities are nice parking beside the launch, grass rigging and a launch on sand. There are quite extensive sandy shallows on a low tide. A shower/change room is available. Its locked in winter but the Oak Bay Parks people say if you phone them they will open it up for a windsurfing group. Kite launching is only possible on a low tide (rare in winter, and the beach is crowded with sunbathers and kids with buckets on most summer days). Beware a big wind hole just left (east) of the launch; trees in the park rob wind near the beach and there can be significant shore break here too on a big day. A couple of groins and pipes can be hazards at low tide and there is a drying reef to the right of the launch a few hundred metres away, but otherwise this is one of the easiest/safest sailing spots in the Victoria area.
