well it seemed like a good day to go out - and well it was! kinda.

Im only a fresh newby to kiting and have had a few lessons and am confident with my body dragging, upwind and board retrieving. I have had a fair amount of sailing boats and sail board experience so i have given kiting a go. this is essentially my first season.

Yesterday though at about 4pm was mayhem out there. I was on the beach rigging my kite up and kites were coming down and going up constantly. Good to see and i got my kite up and was ready to head out.

I get into the water to practice getting up on a board and of course as fate has it, the waves and wind be a bitch to me and i dont get up. I start to try and head back into the shore (was about 10mtrs out) and got collected by another guy.

Our kites got wrapped up around each other and he was slammed onto the beach. I pulled my safety and was all good from there but he didnt and got dragged about 15 meters down collecting 2 or 3 more kites.

Just want to say that i am learning and i am having hard enough time trying to get out on the water and enjoy this, i dont yet have enough skills to be constantly avoiding ppl especially when its not really my fault and just get collected due to ppl being crazy.

Is this normal for kiting? All the guys on the beach were helpful and helped us both and the other kiters but the guy who hit me, i ran up to see if he was ok, he didnt even bother to acknowledge me nor apologise??? thought it was a bit odd thats all.


not a rant but just confused about it...

anyway lesson learnt is got to practise getting feet in staps faster to get off the shore quicker to hopefully not hold anyone else up but also not get in the way of other ppl who arent paying attn.

Hey Dave, Brighton was exceptionally crazy yesterday and I had a pretty avergage session too. I was setting up when a learner was getting his non kiting mate to help him launch and having trouble. Immediately I ran over to assist. One of the kites involved dropped over his lines and we straight away grabbed the kites and everything was ok.
After speaking to a couple of the learner kiters throughout the arvo it became apparent that most had only 1 lesson and proceeded to "Give it a go" on their own. I don't think I spoke to you though but as Kiteryder said I would go down a couple of groynes where it is less busy.

One guy was out overpowered on a 12m he just bought from an instructor trying to learn with a surfboard which he was told by the instructor that it is better to learn on because it has better boyuancy. mmmm. Later saw this bloke rip is kite on a metal fence post.

All learners please ensure you get at least 2-3 lessons from a reputable qualified instructor. You will save money buy not trashing your gear. If you can't afford the right gear and lessons then don't take up kiting, it is not a cheap sport. When you do go out on your own, launch and head out straight away. The most dangerous spot is on the beach!

This has to be troll in followup too : www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Beginners-at-Safety-Bay/

"I get into the water to practice getting up on a board and of course as fate has it, the waves and wind be a bitch to me and i dont get up. I start to try and head back into the shore (was about 10mtrs out) and got collected by another guy. "

Really, did they be a bitch to everyone or just you?
Do you think the other guy sees it that way? You probably took him out injured him, damaged his kite and are now blaming him.

If any of this actually happened?

CAn someone who WAS at botany bay verify this story?

unlike "Davereid" I've been kiting for many years.

I decided to hit botany "dont usually kite there" for a quick sunday arvo flat water sesh on my way home from the northern beaches.

I rigged up down wind and found there to be no problems with room, launching, landing or wind. Just me a few other guys and girls there.

As you do, i did a few runs upwind and man it was nuts.
kites all over the beach, people too, learners crashing in the water, wake wankas trying to impress everyone else out there...

Why does everyone crowd around that one spot??
and more to the point why is there such a huge number of people that missed the "basic right of way rules" when reading the learner manual???

In the 2 runs i did upwind ,3 (reasonably advanced kiters) did stupid jumps in front of me to a point that i had to erratically change direction.
another 2 turned around without looking over their shoulder.

I consider Botany to be a reasonably safe area to kite, but if two people got tangled up in reasonable wind, it wouldn't take much to end up on the road.

What does it take for people to grow a brain and learn some basics??

If you are for real then can you please explain why you chose THE MOST CROWDED SPOT in sydney to learn?

Joe Cron said...

Botany Bay, historically recorded as the birthplace of this great nation.

What would James Cook, Joseph Banks and company aboard the Endeavour make of these shenanigans

From high in the crows nest, the lookout may have been heard to say, "pirates off the starboard bow captain!"

@ Schmik - Dave is a real person, and talented photographer. We have not had many ideal days for any kiting lately, of course it was busy yesterday. You should know that there are not many spots, downwind is a school, beyond that the beach is too narrow until you get to Dolls and there was a runout tide there at the time. NSW state sailing championships were on the bay, it was a mega busy day. Dave did nothing wrong other than to take a bit of time to get going. Its the crazy people that kite right to the beach before they turn that are the biggest problem in Botany Bay, especially the ones that follow 5M behind the kiter in front.

@ Dave, use the board to body drag out beyond the the line of the rock groins, where there is less of that mad behaviour. If you don't know how come and see me and I'll show you. Pretty much it body dragging with the board in your forward hand, steering the kite with the other.

Ok... I'll take your word for it. Is he really really ugly? and live under a bridge? Just jokes.

I understand that there are not that many spots but finding THE most crowded spot in sydney and body dragging / crashing through it is just a stupid idea. Complete newbs do it all the time. Walk up the beach, enter the water next to the groyne and slowly 'downwind it' through the crowd... rinse and repeat.

It's just a dangerous and annoying. This one guy caused a tangle of many kites. He probably annoyed everyone that was busy avoiding him.

I stayed downwind and away from other kiters until i could stay upwind and be confident at obeying the right of way rules. I wish others would show 'the crowd' the same courtesy.

FFIW, i agree with Steve. Launch and land there but get the hell out of dodge asap. Move out into the bay. Move up or down wind. Why everyone just mows the lawn in a huge pack is beyond me.

KIT33R said...

I strongly suggest, if you haven't already done so, read the Code of Conduct prepared bu NSW Kiteboarding Association. And more importantly follow the directions in it.

http://www.nswkba.com.au/coc

Keep it safe people. Join your association and keep our beaches open.

Oops.. I meant rock groynes.

This is exactly why I left the city years ago.

^^^^ Couldnt have said it better myself