Was it the guy on the foil

laugh- you know you want to

ye that happened to me on sunday , the wind died and i couldnt relauch, got swept out but then got pushed back into by the waves, bloody scary

I also heard a small child was cleaned up by a kite. It's startin' to get a little bit busy there on weekends. So many kites and so many families...not a good mixture. The families tend to swim where the kiters rig and launch and not in the flagged area that is only 150 metres away.

Maybe Dave and Mike might be able to convince the council to designate a wind sports rigging area on the beach for both kiters and sailboarders.....?

Although Mike & I conduct lessons at Happy Valley we do not encourage or promote that location for unsupervised beginners. In fact, our brochure that students receive after their first lesson states plainly that HV and Golden Beach are potentially dangerous areas to practise unsupervised.

Common sense seems to be forgotten as the passion for kitesurfing grows. Maybe local kiters at these locations should be saying something to those less experienced who seem to always get into trouble with the kite-eating-buoy and the treacherous current.

The more that participation in this sport grows the more attention will be drawn to it. It's up to all of us to practise good manners both in and out of the water.

The council will never designate a public beach area as rigging area because of the liability issues that will be raised. These areas belong to the public and everybody has a right to access them. (bummer!)

Be patient everyone and keep smiling!

I agree. I'd rather kite in the waves any day. It's a shame these easterlies don't give us a choice.

To the idiots who have something against foils.
i have two leading edge kites (naish/best).
i find my peter lynn a better kite for me to fly, but atleast i have tried both so i know what i'm talking about.
mb try one before you slag it off.

ps: i love watching you guys pump up your kites suckers!!

wow never heard that one.
very original

lets get our own jet ski for bully ,i say $100 per reg ridder should go along way for one few raffles so on and shabam new ski,

quote:

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Originally posted by S Carver

It was reassuring to have the guys on the Jetskis turn up, with that tide sucking out so fast.
Are they around mid week on Caloundra Bar?

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Dude, if you feel that you need the lifesavers or others out there as a security blanket, you should probably go and kite somewhere else. The bar is a pretty dangerous spot, and even on the weekend the lifesavers are often off on other rescues or hanging elsewhere. If you don't feel confident in your abilities to self rescue out there with the huge tide then head somewhere safer rather than relying on someone to pick you up if things go wrong.

The more rescues the lifesavers are forced to do, the more we are putting our sport in the limelight for regulation or restriction.

quote:

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Originally posted by mtcan

that just bull/s even the best watermen in the world need rescueing from time to time ( so do all mere mertal)

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True. However, the difference between the best watermen and some schmuck is that the good waterman heads out there with a plan for self rescue and the knowledge that rescue by someone else is not necessarily going to happen. They are self reliant and understand the sometimes serious risks that they take. The schmuck heads out hoping that someone will pick them up when they can't relaunch their kite because they are not sure which line to pull to get it back up. The reality with the bar is that even a strong kiter can get into serious trouble there. If the kiter is only a weak to average kiter, then they are stacking the odds against themselves. The other factor to remember is that on a number of occasions, people have required rescue by other kiters out in the waves, and in the course of attempting the rescue, the rescuing party has gotten into trouble. So, not only are the novices heading out into the bar putting themselves at risk, but they may also be putting other kiters at risk. There are simply much better spots to put in the time to get your skills up than kiting at the bar.

If the jetski makes a big difference to whether you kite at the bar or not, then you should probably head elsewhere cause there is no guarantee that it will be around to help you when you need it most.

from what i understand is the kite school rec school kiters stay at the northern end of bully which is a good place to kite (safe safe)

All IKO centres conduct lessons where the wind is cleanest and the water conditions ensure maximum safety for the students. In Caloundra the local lifeguards and the City Council prefer to have lessons at Happy Valley. It is not students who are needing regular rescues.

Where the students who have had their lessons choose to kite once they have stopped paying for lessons is their own choice. All of our students are advised that HAPPY VALLEY AND GOLDEN BEACH are potentially dangerous places to practise unsupervised. Gusty winds, marker buoys, and fast currents all make for the odd kitemare or two. They chose this sport because they stood there watching all of us having a great time at Happy Valley.

Do we restrict their access to locations based on inexperience? If so, who makes this decision? I feel that those who whinge the most have already done their learning, had their own adventures at Happy Valley and now want the place to themselves.

Crowds are inevitable while kite manufacturers, kite retailers and kite instructors try to earn a living from this sport. Comments from some contributors above are borne from commercial interests and inflammatory by nature.

How about some positive comments? I've seen some excellent skills on display recently from people who, 6 months ago, sat on the grass watching us play. Now they are independent and smiling.

That's my two bobs worth.

Hi Dave,

Firstly, I agree that everyone has to learn somehow and agree with Lukes comment that rescues will be required on occasion for both experienced kitesurfers and learners alike. However, the sheer number of rescues done (mostly for novices) over the weekend highlights that someone is inevitably going to get seriously hurt if the pattern continues. It is not about protecting the place from crowds (the area is huge and if people controlled their kites and new the rules of passing then the area can comfortably support heaps of traffic), however it is about protecting peoples safety and protecting access to the area. Almost everyone I knew in seasons past, spent their learning time over at Kawana, Warana or Currimundi if there was no swell and over at Golden Beach, Redcliffe or Brighton otherwise. Noone considered the bar a suitable place for learning for the obvious reasons that have brought so many people to trouble of late.

I don't see this as being a matter of restricting access or whinging by those who have already done their learning. I just think it would be great if some more education was given about the dangers of kiting in the bar, and if those who were not yet compentent kiters used some self preservation and selected a better spot to consolidate their skills before attacking places like the bar. It doesn't take blind Freddy to see that if last weekends performance becomes a regularity that access could be compromised.

live 2 mnin from bulls and are you going to tell me to go somwhere else it;s not going to happen bad plan i no the better plan is to id newbes and show them the safest part to kite, it is public place after all