This is to all the kiters who are intent on having our sport banned.

WTF is wrong with you people? This is the second time in three days that the Water Police have been called to Mullaloo/Pinnaroo area looking for missing persons.

Today a kite was captured by the clubbies 3km off the Mullaloo Surf Club, an Airush Lift 11.5. the owner has not been found. I suspect he swam in, grabbed his bag and went home, meanwhile Whitfords Sea Rescue and the Water Police who have come from Fremantle are combing kilometres of open water looking for the numpty who hasn't bothered to tell anyone he is alright.

Do you guys not want to kite in the north? I'm getting pretty jacked of this sh1t! Mullaloo is in enough trouble already. Two nights ago a guy was reported missing and swam into Pinnaroo at 10pm from being way out. Although he self rescued he had no business being out beyond the rocks which are 1.6km from the beach. You are not allowed more than 400m out in open waters without a PFD Type 1. This can be enforced, do you want it to be? Jeesus!

This can all be avoided by letting the Police know you are alright. Please call them on 94428600 to call off any searches that may have been launched. I look down the beach and see boats chewing fuel and men on boats away from their families due to an inconsiderate kiter.

I am prepared to run free self rescue clinics if that will help. I will also challenge and cut the lines on any kiters I see at Pinnaroo who refuse to act safely. I'm over it, this has to stop. To all of you who do the right thing, I'm grateful, but also rally behind those who are trying to make a difference and also approach those you see doing the wrong thing.

The only way this can be sorted without legislation, is if we all do something about it. Apathy and Ignorance are the finish of us all.

I demand AKSA look into and do something about a registration system where all kiters are registerd and attach a tag or flag to thier kites with their name, phone number and AKSA membership no. on it. The only way to get one of the tags is compulsory AKSA membership and certification by approved schools that the rider is capable of self rescue and understands emergency procedures as well as the C.L.E.A.R. guidelines and right of way. The tag can then be used by authorities to check on the rider if their kite turns up.

Imagine if we put as much energy and man hours into regulating ourselves as we put into Kitestock, Mambo and other events. SHAME!

WE NEED A LICENSE AND COMPULSORY REGISTRATION if we are to survive our own idiocy. We really deserve to be banned on every public beach if we carry on the way we are.

This is ridiculous, I'm over it.

Put your emergency contact and your own number on your kite so that when it goes flying away someone can call and find out if your on land...

I have the solution......his name is GRUMPY SAM! and yes, he is for hire.

Woe betide the idiot who kites through the flags, tries to launch over crowds in 9 knots when obviously a stooge, or performs some other stupid act like releases his kite into the power lines and then bolts.

Sam will get you, he will cut your lines, he will pop your bladder and he will eat your children.

He is getting older and grumpier by the day and stupid Euros doing stupid things pushes his angry button.

Darren, I will rent you my Grumpy Sam for a nominal amount. He will sort out your dickheads for beer and spaghetti and a commission for me!

Regulation like hang-gliding, paragliding and skydiving is only one serious incident away. If you launch an obvious dickhead or keep silence when seeing a dickhead causing mayhem then you won't be able to complain when it happens.

boys im the lifeguard that picked this kite up, we dont mind doing it , but when im doing it 1 or twice a day it starts to get annoying as hell. but that tag idea is a sick idea makes my job and my mates job's so much easier if we can grab it call the number and find out who it is where they are that sort of stuff

I spoke to a mate of mine in the Water Police tonight and have asked him to compile a list of calls to kiters aid to give some idea to WAKSA as to the seriousness of this issue. I hope to have something in about a week as a report from the police. He said it will take some work.

I have a student of ours in the Whitfords Sea Rescue and will ask her to give me the stats for kiter related rescues from thier service as soon as she gets back from 3 weeks holiday.

My mate the copper said we aren't under the law as vessels and so can't be fined or regulated by the police, but he suggests unless we get our sh1t together, they will approach the department and have the wording changes to allow windsurfers and kiters to be classified as vessels. The Police would then over regulate the new laws and start fining and confiscating gear.

He doesn't want this and neither do I, so he is in favour of us managing ourselves as much as possible and has offerd to help as much as possible in his limited time available. He's a good guy and understands the problem.

What would it take AKSA to give us 3 or 4 of those little coloured tags for us to put on our kites and attach it to the self rescue handle or centre 5th line attach point, so the finder of a lost or abandoned kite can ascertain whether the rider is well or needs help. It would have saved half a dozen men the trip out in their respective rescue craft this afternoon/evening and all this anger and frustration on the forum.

And thanks to the dude (who shall remain nameless) who PM'd me telling me to calm down and pull my head in. Bite me!

Good winds,

Hey Kitehard.....there ware a few threads on this topic some time ago, and they received a bit (to say the least) of negative response from many...remember?....and there were some ideas coming up at that time...some of them similar to what you are proposing now.....
......you are in the position where very few of us....I mean you educate beginners from day one ......it's far more effective then trying to regulate them later...or worse: get them regulated by outsiders.
I came up with some ideas at that time, like comprehensive training course on kite boarding...so I won't repeat them now.....but yes....things have to change if we want to retain our freedom to use our favorite beaches...

every summer the same s#!t...

If you see a KOOK... help him pack up his/her gear before he/she even looks like going near water...

I feel so sorry for Darren, Graham @ Choice and a lot of other schools and kite business', they work hard at what they do in educating newbys. Then some ebay buying, taught by my "foolly [sic]" mate comes along kooks it and then they have the water police interupting their dinner-family time...

time to open eyes folks...

you may be foolly sic, you may be able to do a megaloop, you may be the most hardcore guy at the beach... BUT does that make you a good kite teacher... NO! leave it to the pros... and if you see a KOOK (again i am repeating myself i know) help him/her pack up their s#!t before they go near the water...

if you are all the above mentioned you should also be able to spot a KOOK... if you do spot a KOOK... as pre mentioned... help him/her pack up their s#!t before they go near the water...

if said KOOK resists your offer of KIND HELP in packing up... practice your line cutting skills...

looking forward to the same post next yr...

everyone here bantering on about cutting lines.. sh!t yes there is a problem, we need to solve it, see people farkn up then point out what they are doing help them out, they dont accept tell them to get farkd.

but sh!t if anyone ever tries taking a knife to my lines i hope you have good dental insurance because removing that brick from your mouth won't be pleasant. and i assume every other kiter will share the same view if you try cutting lines kook or not.

help out, give advice, dont sit there laughing at them being idiots. i hate it when im teaching and i see people giving private lessons to their friends and stuff on kites that are way to big for the conditions or on gear thats not even fit to ride.

eg. guy that comes down with some 7m naish from 2001 or the bloke last week teaching his mate how to fly a kite on a 12m DNA in 22 - 24 knots when that windstrength on a DNA even a experienced rider will find themselves well lit up. Worst thing is the people teaching often just learnt how to get up on a board themselves and has minimal experience!

so those are the people to look out for aswell, see people teaching in unsuitable conditions for gear they are using tell them to stop. grow a pair instead of just looking on.

Sorry nickloop my post wasn't directed against pomms :). The mearly a majority of kite tourists u meet around the globe along with germans and ruskies.

Germany is a good example (BTW) for the solution of our problem. Check how they have solved the KOOK issue.

Even thought the problem occured in WA and I am in NSW we have the same issue here. Sorry kitehard but if you start thinking of changing legislation to treat kite as vessels this has some other sirious implication for our sport. Kitesurfer is not a vessel and cannot be treated as a watercraft...and the idea of police controling kite traffic around the area is...a bit out of place (no offence). Have some faith in people! Not the kooks of course the ones that can "control" local spots.

Let AKSA support local shops and communities around them in order to educate people on self rescue etc. Free sessions is a great idea mate and I am all up for it. Free dvd with every kite purchase or any other than police controlling the traffic idea :) Banners, signs....all food for thought.

I can't believe that a kite community as small as in OZ cannot solve the KOOK problem by itself and without "the force" interference. We dont have to worry about tourists (well not as much as Egypt or Brasil hehe) as Oz is not kite toursits place...all we have to worry about is to educate newbies and youtube learners.

You can blame it on kooks, but my experiences over the last couple of weeks suggestion that its more of the advanced riders to blame. Riders with massive attitudes pulling tricks near shore, people etc.

daPole said...

Agree Saffer...but that is stupidity and no police or legislations can stop idiots from being who thay are. It is riders responsibility to ensure safety of the spectators who usually have no idea what is the kite line and what it can do to your arm when tangled around it....

This is where I agree that some form of registration would be good. Make registration compulsory for particular beaches. If someone kites like an idiot, have a 3 strikes rule. 3rd strike, you take away their registration and they lose their ability to kite at regular kitespots and they have to go to places where there are no other kiters or people.

The problem is that some riders don't have any regard for others, so if a spot gets banned, they'll just move to the next spot and behave like an idiot there. Remove their ability to kite at a spot and you keep it safe and open for the rest of the people.

Its the same as taking a repeat drink driver offender off the road. If he isn't smart enough not to do it, then make the decision for him and keep everyone else safe.

Kitehard said...

WE NEED A LICENSE AND COMPULSORY REGISTRATION if we are to survive our own idiocy.

This is all about money.
It's always about the money.
Kitehard has always had ambitions of being the Chief License Examiner-Guy.
lol.
STFU about stupid licenses.

stop offending each other :) we will not solve any issues by a "ping pong" like that.

Kitehard said...
I will also challenge and cut the lines on any kiters I see at Pinnaroo who refuse to act safely. I'm over it, this has to stop.

Seriously dude, are you on some kind of medication ?
Threatening folks and destroying private property, are you losing your mind ? ^^^
Chillax.

What is everyone's definition of a kook here?? Even if someone has had a couple of lessons they are going to struggle to stay up on a board and their kite control isn't going to be all that flash. Are we to not let these people on the water?? How on earth is someone meant to learn the sport then??

Saffer said...

You can blame it on kooks, but my experiences over the last couple of weeks suggestion that its more of the advanced riders to blame. Riders with massive attitudes pulling tricks near shore, people etc.

Got to agree. Like the goose that jumped the groyne at Brighton a couple of weeks ago, I believe he was a young English backpacker, his mate was on the groyne taking photos of him. Sure he was a good kiter but...
Then there was the idiot Euro that I had to apologise for on Tuesday. Thought it would be fun to kite among the Windsurf Formula fleet in Botany Bay.

Unfortunately none of these clowns read this forum so they do need to be confronted when they do something stupid. I must admit I'm not overly comfortable confronting someone unless they're an obvious beginner in potential danger, for example, the guy that I spoke to trying to kite at Kurnell in a gusty westerly a month ago. He was happy to get some advice about the conditions.