How did the lines get wrapped up?

Reading this has been a great lesson for me.

Whilst I always knew there'd be a chance one day i'd need to ditch my kite, it wasn't really apparent that I should call the authorities to notify them. But reading all the above posts it makes perfect sense.

Thanks for being the donkey richard so one day I wont have to be. Hope you get your kite back too!

HamptonLocals said..

i went home, took off to work and was totally unaware of the search etc

Epic!
Glad you're okay.

RiskyBusiness said..
Dude. no offence... Don't bother with VHF.

Just call Triple 0 and they will put you through to the right people. It's a free call, they can all you back and get your location.

Marine Radio needs a licence and uses uncommon language. Don't make it hard for yourself in a emergency.
RADIO reception is trash, often used by other people I. E. Ports and Recreational vessels often on the wrong channel, they talk over you the list go's on.

Agree with all of what you said except you don't need a license to own & operate a marine radio. They are mandatory in NSW (probably all other states) on all vessels operating in open waters & epirbs for going 2nm+ offshore. Mind you if my boat started sinking I would be reaching for the iphone and dialing triple 0 before fiddling with the radio. Going offtopic...

We should all be carrying liferafts as well to house our VHF's.

Wouldn't hurt to have a satelite phone as well incase the VHF fails.

Seriously a bit of common sense is all thats needed.

Victor Charlie Charlie this is mike Sierra foxtrot...

I have lost my board and released my kite because it all got a bit too hard and couldn't be bothered self managing my own issues in the water.... Learn to pack down, self rescue and have some common sense and you won't be needing to involve sea rescue or water police.

I wonder how these old metro kooks would go in the remote spots like horrocks or Gnarloo... You can cry all you want on the radio there and nobody's coming to get you... Poor Peterc150 would have a meltdown and need a new kiteboarding handbook chapter to be written.

You Sir, passed kiting 101 and squared yourself away nicely.

Wasn't that hard was it?????

All kiters should make themselves familiar with their gear, safety systems and how to manage themselves effectively in the water. This means taking responsibility for your actions and stop wasting emergency services time and money!

If you can't do the above, go back to the shop where you did your lessons and look them right in the eye and ask for a refund.

Brisbud said..


Wrapping up your lines is a bad call, stay connected to your safety and let them trail to avoid
and launching and looping and mega tangles.

Safe kiting

Wrapping lines is not a "Bad Call". There are many reasons for doing so but they can depend on where you are kiting...

coming back in through the shore break or any surf with your lines dragging behind is asking for trouble you can easily get dumped by a wave and find yourself amongst your lines .. Not a good situation when the next wave drags the kite and you have a few wraps around your legs arms or neck

lines and bars can easily get snagged on the bottom

any boat who may come to your aid will most probably not realise your lines are trailing ending up fouling in the prop

its not hard to wrap you lines up during a self rescue if you do it correctly

I would have thought that rather than calling 000 you should google your local police station or coast guard and ring them directly.
000 is for emergencies not church picnic flare gun firings.

Peterc150 said..


Also, note that an activated PLB/EPIRB sets off a major SAR response as "grave and imminent danger" is assumed - this is a bigger deal than calling 000. The satellite alert is passed from AMSA (Canberra) to local SAR authorities. They will check with who the device is registered to (emergency contact/owner) and proceed to a full search and rescue response immediately if they confirm its needed or they can't contact them.

Not quite true, all EPIRB activations are received at RCC/AMSA in Canberra, they assess the validity of the activation, it's location if available and collate that with the registration info (assuming it's registered).

That is combined assessed and in conjunction with state Police a proportional response is then activated.

for example, an EPIRB activated within an urban area far from the ocean might only result in phone calls to the last registered owner, if determined to be a false, malicious or a stolen activation no assets are deployed.

if an activation is received and the location is out on the water 20 miles off shore, RCC might at the same time deploy air/water assets whilst calling the registered owner and next of kin, if the get confirmation the husband is out deep sea fishing and its 25 knots on a 2m swell the search assets are already on the way, if they get a second ping and triangulate a better location and they have activated the EPIRB accidentally while cleaning the boat at the ramp then no harm done, SAR assets can return to base no dramas.

If an EPIRB pings out bush and its registered to a prospector, air assets might not even be viable in the immediate time frame. A phone call to the local police station might get a vehicle out, alternatively the local coppers might know the station owner the prospector is on and they will go out and get them.

there are too many variables and what-ifs when it comes to search and rescue, none are the same, not even close. If you have an EPIRB register it with AMSA, if you have one and are in the poo, activate it if in doubt. If you abandon your kite or boat and swim in, call someone, Water Police direct is your best option, second option is Police via Triple Zero (But assume you will be talking to someone who doesn't know the difference between a kite and a windsurfing rig, so be nice while they pass the info to someone at Water Police who do know the difference )

flyingcab said..


if in doubt, ditch ya kite

and then go back to the start of this thread and read carefully again