rickwindt said...

haha I must be of a very high entertainment level for you then haha. I know all too well about the skipping along the surface haha. at least I'm getting a bit of an edge in going left foot forward but man right foot forward is a bloody nightmare.. (only been out about 4 times after my 3 lessons though)

all and all I'm very high up there in the entertainment rate but not as high as some people.. sometimes I can;t even believe what people tend to manage.. Yesterday someone parked there kite nicely in a tree.. very entertaining

We've all been there rick, I had 2 hospital visits in my learning phase, as benny says,

BennyB12 said...
Kiting is one sport that truly makes you pay your dues and then some....show me a kiter that hasnt suffered a kitemare

Mate, I'm not making fun of you personally, stick with it, one day you will be cruising along, wondering if you are riding goofy or natural footed, looking at birds and trees and sunsets when you see a 'newb' dump it and it will all come back to you. Bet you laugh inside too.

dusta said...

GalahOnTheBay said...

Perth232 said...

The amount of first timers and newbies launching from the top of the bay was insane. Don't these people know that the beginners area is the lower half of the bay?

Apparently not...

As Dusta mentioned - did you say anything to these people? Suggest why the alternate spot was better for them?

No amount of signage will stop people, besides, who would put up the sign? Any what authority (power) do they have?

This is why i would like to see my waksa membership used for policing . Waksa memberships should be worked into the cost of a say 3 lesson package .

The waksa membership i would be happy seeing a price rise if that allowed policing of popular spots by the water police/ranger whoever issuing warnings for people doing the wrong thing . I would also love to see signage put up at popular spots like they have done at safety bay .


i'm just throwing ideas out in the arena . Still waking up

mate i think that is a great idea and becoming more and more important with the increasing number of learners and people that 'giving it a go' at busy beaches!

Anybody should have to do at least a 2-3 hour crash course with local school.
To drive a car or boat in public place you have to obtain a license, why not with kiting?
We have all seen the risks and dangers of the 'just give it a go' peeps, one bad incident and then the local spot is at risk and it spoils it for everybody.

for now just tell people to go see the local kiteschool and ask them politely to stop mucking around because its dangerous- especially in 25knts.

Looks like you have a few good policies in place at Melville. How many kiters are there on windy weekend?

We've all been there rick, I had 2 hospital visits in my learning phase, as benny says,

BennyB12 said...
Kiting is one sport that truly makes you pay your dues and then some....show me a kiter that hasnt suffered a kitemare

Mate, I'm not making fun of you personally, stick with it, one day you will be cruising along, wondering if you are riding goofy or natural when you see a 'newb' do it and it will all come back to you. Bet you laugh inside too.

Really? I heard the hospital visits are more for when you start doing jumps and things.

You reckon I might improve if I change the foot straps in a different stance? natural I'm quite alright but goofy I am no good. just cant seem to shift my weight properly.. any tips?

Yeah, and one hospital visit was crashing a switch side jump.

My first taste of oxycodone.

I see what all the fuss about 'hillbilly heroin' is about.

rickwindt said...



We've all been there rick, I had 2 hospital visits in my learning phase, as benny says,

Hence a need for the OHS officers:)

Really, on my local point I rarely see AKSA tags, if ever...Or they are shy:)

dave...... said...

^^^^^Ha, yep, 2 broken ribs from a failed kiteloop due to a front line snapping, Always have a visual check of your gear as it only takes another 1 minute. Valium was my friend, and a seat harness for the next 3 months sucked.

And you cant point your shoulders where you want to go with your arms fully extended, since the depower tip, most dudes start on one kite and kite in 15-30 knots here in Perth. Oxycodine soes NOT give you the ****s

Sorry to read this! Would impact vest help in this situation?

How one visually check lines?

dave...... said...

^^^^^^ Marvin, Ive seen up to 100 last season, all relatively new, its like cabarette with 35 kiteschools in a 400m beach.

I like the analogy used on the progression 101, "you wouldnt try to fly a helicopter without proper training, if you did actually get the chopper up in the air, things will go seriously wrong, C-kite stuff form 2005.

laugh now cry later..

well said rick. i have to say i would consider myself an 'intermediate' kiter seasoned since 06 and i also spend a bit of time in here, and i've never caused any1 any headaches (that i am aware of) at melville, but this thread was the first i'd heard of melville being split for beginners?
eduation thru communication on location
-i suppose.

rickwindt said...

I understand that this is an issue. I am a beginner myself and I realise that I do some stuff wrong sometimes involving other kiters. I was out there on sunday as well and I must say it was INSANELY busy. So busy, to the point that I stopped just because I didn't want to hurt anyone.

Now to be honost, nobody tells the newbies anything about these unwritten rules on Melville so there is no need to rant about it unless you actually do something about it. I am more than happy to train my skills a bit further downwind but if nobody actually tells me to go further downwind then obviously as a beginner would chose to go as far upwind as possible so that they actually get a decent run out of it.

So sorry if I might be annoying for some experienced riders but remember, you guys were just as inexperienced as me once so help a fellow kiter out and tell him what the deal is or you actually might end up having that board smash into your face one day... which I can tell you now, the newbie really doesn't want that to happen!

Can someone please, please RATIONALISE the signs at the hot spots in and around Perth (Melville, Peli, Leighton, Dutch and Woodies) in CLEAR English, French, Spanish, Portugese, Dutch and German outlining some simple rules.
The jumble of signs around the river is an indication of all the various deprtments - Swan River Trust, DEC and councils - jostling for authority and control.
Tell the punters why there's a rule, like at Peli Point where if one kid on trike gets a line across the neck it's kiss goodbye to that spot and there will be nowhere for CBD workers to get in a quick shesh after 10 hours at the desk. If I have to tell someone again they should not rig shoreside of the path at Peli, well, I'm going to have a fit and maybe start saying things that I regret later to a bunch of Frenchies (you know who you are).
Oh, stay away from the Point at Peli right now as DEC and the bird watchers are just around the corner. That said, even they haven't even got a sign or a 'soft' barrier up along the foreshore.
And I though there was no kiting south of the Leighton Beach footbridge in summer, but I've noticed quite afew these past few weeks.
All it's going to take is one swimmer to be hit and ....

^^^ For sure the sign at Peli was placed there to be visible for everyone. It's not very convenient spot for a sign, tho, but well visible.

Even if translated, no one would read it except non-kiting and bird watchers:)

Mind you tho, Mosman Park was well known paragliding spot for advanced pilots. Not any more. Done and dusted...