Hey guys,

This is obviously a crappy situation but lets not get all "ban this ban that","regulate this" etc.

Kiting is just one of my "don't want to grow up hobbies" I also fly RC helis/aeros, fly full size air craft, ride dirt bikes, shoot pigs etc and every single different group of crew have the same problems that are happening here.

These types of problems with the public and co-users of the areas we utilise are not unique to kiting and knee-jerk reactions have made a lot of stuff not worth doing as the local councils etc get involved and over regulate to the point where those of us doing the right thing can't go outside without the fear of being pulled up for not adhering to some bull$hit rule put in place to cover the idiots.

Long story short, lets try to keep these things "in house" and deal with them by trying to share as much info and local knowledge as possible so people know what the can an can't do when using a popular spot.

As a local of elliott heads in qld (and still fairly new to the sport) there is no way I'm going to let some kook turn up and abuse other beach users and possibly get my local spot shut down. I can garentee the locals will escort anyone that abuses the heads out of town in a big hurry!

Rant over cheers.

I have to say if incidents like this carry on then it's inevitable that Kiting will be banned and restricted to certain areas. I think it's great that you guys recognise this and are actually trying to do something about it before it's too late. I do think you need to be a bit more pro-active about self-policing and trying to improve your reputation. If a kiter is out of line or perhaps kiting where he shouldn't be then something should be said or done, a quiet word in his ear or something. I'm a windsurfer and I accept that Kiters have as much a right to be out on the water as windsurfers, surfers, swimmers etc and it would be great if we could all share the wind and waves in harmony. But the reality is, the kite with it's 20m+ lines is just not compatible with other water-sports. Out at Seal Island on Sunday there were only 3 kiters, but they were all over the place and it was a nightmare trying to get around them and out of their way. I've sailed that place with 30 w/surfers and not had a problem. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I think Kiters need to be more aware of what potential negative impact their presence has on others, rather than having a sod you jack attitude. Saying that, I sailed at Scabs y'day for the first time in a while and was good to see the Kiters and w/surfers had their own respective areas and it seemed to work pretty well. So I guess thats the way forward. I'm not sure about places like SI, 2 or 3 kiters is all that place can handle, so how do we work it? I don't think it's fair that Kiters can't go to places like SI, but, more than 4 kiters and it will be a nightmare.

We need to be vigilant about kiters who feel they own the beach. There can be arguments for and against both kiter and fisherman but in the eyes of the local council and SLSC the kiters are the problem.

Let's not get kicked off Brighton Beach - self regulation is the only way to retain our spot. Idiots should be shown the door at Brighton and any beach where they threaten our sport.

Bah Jono should have karate chopped his arse into the ground. Self regulation is great but at the end of the day the fisho was obviously short changed with they were giving out common sense.

getfunky said...

blokey said...

Bah Jono should have karate chopped his arse into the ground. Self regulation is great but at the end of the day the fisho was obviously short changed with they were giving out common sense.

Mate - is comprehension not your thing?

It seems very likely that the fisho was unfamiliar with the spot but PAY ATTENTION to the details of this thread.. The bloke may well have set up when there was fek all kiters around.

1stly he did have the sense to stay away from the flagged area and also to go pretty much as far north as he could.

2ndly pay attention to #1

The kiter was 100% wrong.

right on funky

blokey said...

My skill of comprehension fine it is please thankyou. I'm not saying if Jono or the fisherman were in the right or wrong, just that the fisherman is obviously an idiot and an oxygen theif for throwing out a line where people are kiting.

Sigh...

Duuuuuude!! It may not have been obvious there were kiters there!! Doh!! Double-Doh!!

The kiter in this incident came from a downwinder so WAS NOT THERE WHEN THE FISHO SET UP!!

When I arrived (at approx the same time) there was no-one on the beach but the fisho (no kiters, no swimmers - just the freakin fisho!!). Your comments are not relevant to the incident blokey, so please don't encourage other readers of this thread to act the goose or get territorial when they have no rights (moral/legal or otherwise) to do so.

BTW - please read Jono's contribution to this thread.

f*ck i hate fish ****.

blokey said...

My skill of comprehension fine it is please thankyou. I'm not saying if Jono or the fisherman were in the right or wrong, just that the fisherman is obviously an idiot and an oxygen theif for throwing out a line where people are kiting.

I don't think you're getting the point. The reputation of Kiters is poor at the moment, they are being banned from beaches all over Australia, in this instance even if Jonno was in the right, he should have shown a bit of restraint. He's only worsened the situation. He and others should be more aware of the negative impact Kiters are having on others and going out of their way to ingratiate themselves with Joe Public. What if 40 kiters are out and you get some bonehead kayaking through the lot of them? He's at fault, but u don't abuse him you go over and politely tell him he might be better off moving elsewhere. Doesn't seem fair, but as far as the publics perception of Kiting goes, you're down there with Jet-Skis, so you need to work extra hard and you to be more compliant and more respectful than other water sports are. And if you don't you'll be banned. Its pretty simple.

I think there are some posts here which are proof that kiting should be banned. It also does a good job of displaying some of the people that will be responsible for kiting getting banned if it happens.

Zed said...
What if 40 kiters are out and you get some bonehead kayaking through the lot of them? He's at fault, but u don't abuse him you go over and politely tell him he might be better off moving elsewhere. Doesn't seem fair, but as far as the publics perception of Kiting goes, you're down there with Jet-Skis, so you need to work extra hard and you to be more compliant and more respectful than other water sports are. And if you don't you'll be banned. Its pretty simple.

You are not bloody serious, if some knobhead kayaker goes paddling through a group of 40 kiters then yes he should be abused, Im not saying kiters are always in the right, but lets face it, they're our beaches too and we're not always in the wrong. If you stuff up at work or in public someone is always there to let you know you've done wrong and if it comes with a bit of chilli you cop it and don't do the same thing again next time. I'm all for resposible kiting but like life there are 2 sides to every story and it goes both ways, just because we kite doesnt mean we have to put up with knobheads.

blokey said...

Zed said...
What if 40 kiters are out and you get some bonehead kayaking through the lot of them? He's at fault, but u don't abuse him you go over and politely tell him he might be better off moving elsewhere. Doesn't seem fair, but as far as the publics perception of Kiting goes, you're down there with Jet-Skis, so you need to work extra hard and you to be more compliant and more respectful than other water sports are. And if you don't you'll be banned. Its pretty simple.

You are not bloody serious, if some knobhead kayaker goes paddling through a group of 40 kiters then yes he should be abused, Im not saying kiters are always in the right, but lets face it, they're our beaches too and we're not always in the wrong. If you stuff up at work or in public someone is always there to let you know you've done wrong and if it comes with a bit of chilli you cop it and don't do the same thing again next time. I'm all for resposible kiting but like life there are 2 sides to every story and it goes both ways, just because we kite doesnt mean we have to put up with knobheads.

No, I was using that as an exaggerated example to emphasise the point that Kiters have to be more responsible, more courteous and more respectful than other people out there on the water. Kiters have a bad reputation whether you like it or not and if you want to be able to continue to Kite with relatively few restrictions then incidents like this need to be few and far between. Which basically means (to an extent) yes, you need to put up with knobheads. It's not fair, but if Kiting continues to grow in popularity, situations like this are going to be more and more common and you'll end up with severe restrictions and draconian laws.

vishy said...

Same thing used to happen (probably still happens) at pinnaroo.

As the sun would start to come down and there were still at least 6 or more kiters using a 20m strip of beach to launch and land, a number of fisherman would come down and set up right in the middle of the kiters. Downwind was protected by the wind (have seen them in 25knots!) and upwind would be a fine option as well, not sure why they do it? Speaking to them never really helped much as they wouldjust walk 10 metres up the beach and still procede to setup.

I have been hooked twice and friends have also been hooked a number of times, when we were clearly in the right, trying to stick to the smallest area of beach possible,

Don't think there is a solution, just try and avoid them,

Thanks

Matt

The fishos at Pinnaroo have been there just about forever, well as far as I can remember, they used to drive on to the beach, set up and cast out at that exact spot.
They always start to trickle in very late afternoon, more towards the evening I have the utmost respect for these guys, its probably what they consider as their bit of freedom.
I feel sorry for these guys, they have lost totaly at Pinnaroo, the place has become a circus and unusable for any other activity as soon as the wind starts blowing and there is a bit of daylight left, due to kite surfing.

Here's a good one .Today I'm riding waves and am coming down the line .There is a big mob of kids on rescue boards doing the clubbie thing .just before I am about to pass about 15 of them run into the surf and I've got 2 options ,go through them (and risk pissing the clubbies off ) or come to shore and walk back up the beach (becasue there is now a line of em going all the way out and beyond the break) Initially i couldn't believe ,kind of like jack russels that sit on the side of the road then when a car is about to go past races out in front of it .maybe they didn't see me .Anyway we are the minority and best not to cheese so I came in and walked

(now where's my skippy badge)