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Hi Jordan,
Was at a conference in Harrisburg the last 3 days. Figures,…a S wind and I can’t bet there.
I would say it depends on your skill level and what you’re looking for. Canandaigua will be flatter water, a good ways out (50-100 yds) it’s not deep so helpful if you’re working on moves and likely to fall a lot. Seneca will be more of a terrain park, how big depends on how hard it blows and for how long. Nice wave faces on the inside and some on the outside.
Most of the RWS gang likes to launch at the town dock, on the NW corner of the lake. Advantage is that there are that the wind tends to funnel along the W side of the lake, especially if their is any E in the wind, so there’s power (though some wave action) at the launch site. Also, most of the gang launches there. Disadvantage is that, particularly on a SSE, is that you’re DEEP downwind, as deep as you can get, and you have to beat out against the waves and in that area the wind lifts a little off the water (because it lifts over land), and the power can be a bit flukey deep on the inside. No shortage of tales of windsurfers getting “stuck” inside in breaking waves and not enough power to beat their way out. Kiters fare better, as the kites are high enough that the wind lift doesn’t affect them.
Alternative is on the NE shore, in the State Park, over by the marina. Some of us (me included) like it over there for amenities and space reasons. A much better site on rarer times when the wind goes SSW, but most of the time with a due S or SSE, it’s necessary to schlog a decent way out to the wind line (100-300 yards). The more E in the wind, the longer the schlog.
There are other sites further S, but if you’re coming from Rochester there’s no reason to go there until you’re just wanting to check the spot off of your bucket list.
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I realize I’m a little late to the party here, but from Rochester, I see Kershaw at the N end of Cdga as the most practical option for South winds (can have a fair bit of W in it before it gets gusty). As Geoff says, nice and shallow quite a ways out to practice beach starts, and it’s fairly trivial to make E/W tacks all the way to the shoreline and fiddle with your gear while standing in fairly shallow water if need be. Waves are tame compared to Ontario, and smaller than Seneca too.
It’s also possible to go there on a strong W day; while quite gusty, the calmer water towards the west side of the lake lends itself to some high speed blasting, if you’re into that sort of thing!
This time of year is no problem, but in the summer months, there’s a LOT of boat traffic that you have to get through, which can be a nuisance.
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