its just a matter of time that someone will get hurt then no kites its simple have some respect

yep, compulsory licencing is a great idea. Will stop some kooks from even attempting the sport, will promote some sought of structured learning program that must be adhered to and will help to ensure the cheezels who cause damage to property and other people the 'worst sought of damage', can be held responsible for their actions. Oh and did I say stop some kooks from even starting. I dont care what it costs me for a licence you cant put a price on safety. As an added bonus it might slow down or even stop the Euro invasion and how good would that be.......There are careless and dangerous people in every sport that need to be told!!!!!!!

superlizard said...

i wander if the responsible parties are liable for all the costs of fixing up any issues caused by power lines... getting the electrical company or fire brigade there... i think they should be fully responsible and charged with all costs... Then people will think harder what they do when on the beach.

Second suggestion - install a set of thin wires running through all the threes parallel to the main street, one above the other spaced around half a meter apart... obviously starting above human head height. Any kites going towards the street power lines will end up getting caught in these, and they should be thin so that they are not noticeable.

KnutH - i had the same thing happen - a kiter - totally clueless how to launch or even hold the kite.

There is no other way, but introducing compulsory licensing system... that would filter out at least some... or at least it will force everyone to learn to kite before they actually kite...

simmo25 said...

yep, compulsory licencing is a great idea.

it is a great idea but how exactly is it going to be enforced at every single major beach ?

Where will the money come from to employ people to hand out fines. How will these people actually be given the power to issue fines for non licenced riders ?

Great concept but bloody hard almost impossible to implement

hi dojo... how's things...?

just to present couple additional points, although i'm not saying one way is better over the other as I haven't researched this topic enough to have ultimate wisdom over it... but the thing is, the driver's license does not stop morons from doing dangerous things and killing others, but it does reduce number of morons doing it. For example, if the license wasn't required, how many more morons would be roaming the streets.

And i quiet like the concept of having something that regulates huge numbers and overcrowding, especially since it's obvious that some participants are more keen, and safety conscious than others. And then the problem of some tourists (nothing against tourists in general) who don't respect how their actions will affect locals... etc etc...

It's true that it would be a difficult task implementing something like a kite licensing system, and it may never happen, but hypothetically, it could be fairly simple. For example, you don't get train ticket inspectors checking tickets every day on every train and every station. But every now and then they show up - check tickets - and then fine a bunch of fare evaders. Eventually cheaters get scared, and most will probably do the right thing to avoid risks. Similar concept could be applied to kiting. You just need someone to show up at the beach every now and then, and check licenses. Obviously there is a lot more to it behind the scenes... all the logistics... funding... etc...(although speaking of funding, it's not like the government never wasted our hard earned money on unnecessary things)... But then, as i said previously, i haven't really researched this in full nor compared all the pros/cons to say it's ultimately the way to go. Self regulating is good too if it could be accepted by all and implemented...

Very touchy topic this one.....same problem at nearly every beach.
Licences do not work ...its individual attitude that makes people do the right thing. There is always a minority who will screw things up.... often unwittingly. People are far more self centered these days, which doesn't help. On the other hand they majority of people will follow the rules. I like uncles bens suggestion of a sign. It should be standard accross all kite beaches ... iit should be included in kite lessons. I think he has the first line right also....
Welcome to [Insert beach name here]
Respect it or "phuck off."
A map show landing and launch areas/ keep clear areas and some of the local rulz.
At least then you can politely refer blow ins to this., and people may become accustomed to looking for the sign before the start rigging their gear(eternal optimist I know).
Surfers seem to have this troublesome minority under control as can often be evidenced by the claret floating in the water around said minority offender.
I have been guilty of speaking less than politely to people doing the wrong thing on the beach I kite at. That usually makes me the bad guy...but Phuck it, I also like to kite just minutes from home and want to keep it that way.
I don't know the answer to this problem but with ever increaseing numbers of kiters I hope we come up with a solution soon.

its definately a nation wide problem, i may kite in small circles but i don't think our problem is as bad over here. however, imo i don't think licencing would work at all. it'd be a revenue raising circus just like dog registration. think about it, can u seriously say that if we had said system all these problems 'douchbags' would go away? -course not, they'd just get licences an still be douchebags.
for my 2 cents kite safety all comes down to education, some, if not most people are unaware of the hazards involved. i recently lost my kiteboard, and thanks to a nice fella and the help of waksa and seabreeze lost and found i got it back, but what the nice old guy wanted in return for his good deed was for me to give his daughter a lesson in kitesurfing. now i'd consider myself a competent kitesurfer and probably could give joe average a vague lesson but the point is that people, (the public and potential noobs) are simply uneducated in the technicality of our sport. i can vouch for this remembering back to when i was a noob and thinking of some of the stupid things i did. needless to say my board resuer got a liquor store voucher for his efforts.
-as with a lot of topics in life, education in the matter goes a long way not rules, regulations and restrictions.

I wonder what a license would really prove, or how it would improve the situation country wide? I have ridden in countries where every kiter must have ‘a license’, and it was a total muppet show on the water. IMO it’s just bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy, which is nobody’s friend and no overall benefit to the sport. I’m pretty sure a bunch of laws aint going to help either, as there will probably never be a law that says “you can’t self launch when there is someone 5M downwind of your kite’. (Although there probably should be! )
I believe the goal here is for kiters to ride, launch, and land using common sense (and if not then do it far away from the shore), in order to prevent complaints from the public, and therefore keeping our beaches open for kiting? As neither of the two options above are going to make that happen, IMO it comes down to the ‘locals’ to getting together, taking on more responsibility, and guiding those lost souls and noobs who need some direction? In effect, building a kite culture that will preserve our sport.
(I realize there are a lot of people out there already doing their best on this subject, but the more locals can get together an support each other on this subject, the more chance we’ve got.)

And of course, the golden rule for educating the misguided....... Be nice.

Oh.... but if they just don’t listen after a couple of nice chats, feel free to ‘not be nice’ and cut their lines........ [}:)]