News story I came across.......Cheers, The Landy
12:02 06May10 AAP-Yachties prepare for rare Lake Eyre regatta
By Tim Dornin
ADELAIDE, May 6 AAP - At the moment there is no water to sail on, but that hasn't stopped the
Lake Eyre Yacht Club planning its next regatta almost a quarter of a century after the last one.
The club will conduct its next event in July on Lake Killamperunna, where
Cooper Creek crosses the
Birdsville Track in South Australia's far northeast.
At the moment the lake is just a dry bed, but yacht club commodore Bob Backway said the scheduling was "all about timing".
"It takes months for water to reach Lake Eyre from its catchment in northern Queensland and
Cooper Creek is no exception," he said.
The Cooper is having its best flood since 1990 when it last reached Lake Eyre. "But we have to be patient. "If we arranged a regatta on a lake currently full it could be dry in two months time."
The rain that fell across Queensland in January and February and that will eventually fill Lake Killamperunna, is still making its way through about 1,000km of channels and lakes on its way to Lake Eyre.
Mr Backway said it appeared to halt briefly on the Mungerannie Station during April but has since started flowing again.
It is filling
Lake Hope about 50km from the regatta site. Water is expected to reach Lake Killamperunna by late May giving the yacht club around six weeks to set up the site.
Yachties from all over the country are planning to take advantage of the rare opportunity.
The last regatta on Lake Eyre was in 1976 when a group of Hartley 16s took to the water.
The western half of Lake Eyre North is flooded but when water from
Cooper Creek reaches the area in June it will flood the eastern half.
However, Mr Backway said the depth of the water would make it impossible to sail on Lake Eyre itself.