kiteflo said..
...teenagers doing kiteloops over playing toddlers on the beach..

Scary stuff eh? Makes me shudder. I avoid cotton tree for that reason... plus I hate lugging my gear 6 kilometres from the car park..

I borrowed this guide from a friend's kite school website and took the liberty of translating it for the benefit of my students. I think it's a pretty good summary of the main right of way rules.

In the situation you describe it seems rule#3 applies the best, and possibly rule #1 as well if the kiter on the beach was entering the water. Rule #2 might apply to you as well as you must have sufficient downwind space to maneuver downwind, or in case you crash...

The guy who was kiting closely behind you is clearly in the wrong and had to give you right of way and keep a safer distance to allow enough time for both of you to maneuver around. Also, common sense says that if you are kiting behind someone who is getting close to the beach, chances are the person if front of you will HAVE to turn around, therefore that person must expect to have to turn around before you do.

In terms of preventing this situation I have 6 suggestions:

1-Turn your head around, shout and raise your arm and turn your hand around in circles to signal your intention to turn.

2- If suggestion #1 doesn't lead to any results, LOWER your kite over the beach (if possible) as you get to the beach. This will allow the person behind you to change direction safely without hitting your kite. Bringing your kite to 12 is actually blocking most people from passing you, which almost all beginners do when they get nervous with too many people around. I do understand in your situation lowering the kite over the beach might not have been possible...

3- Always try to have a safe zone downwind

4- If you had enough space downwind you could've downwlooped your kite in a long downwind transition to avoid hitting his kite. Of course this requires more advanced skills, but worked many times for me to avoid tangles.

5- Take some time to educate any person who doesn't seem to understand/respect the right of way rules after your session

6- No matter which spot you go to it always seems kiters are hanging in the same areas while there is plenty more space upwind, downwind and further away from the shore with no one around. As you said, choosing a less busy area to kite is the best way to prevent this in the first place.



Christian

Good advice. When I'm getting boxed in I check to see if a downloop is possible. If it is down loop underneath the guy and bugger off. If not crank upwind, kite low. The kite At some point yourl grind to a halt on the beach. Keep the kite at the edge. There you want until the cockpuncher has turned around.

I hope you took the time to find out what the cockpuncher was thinking by boxed you in - then crashed into your kite.
As plummet mentioned a downloop - then keeping your kite low can get you out of trouble.

Rule of way dont mean ** because there there are always kiters who ignore them anyway.

1. The beginner who stays near the shore making it too busy to stay around that area.

2. The ok kiter but is an idiot and stays close to shore the whole time doing god knows what

3. The pro kiter who shoots jumps and kite loops meters away from you without looking

I just give everyone a wide berth as possible.

sir ROWDY said..

Gfly said..

I just give everyone a wide berth as possible.

Smart kiting, same can be said for driving a car, or crossing a road.

Or you wife/girlfriend, every so often, like a calendar moon

hornedsquirrel said..
Also, On your bar the green/blue line is usually on the right whilst the dark/red line is on your left. Green is right of way.

What about when I'm riding toeside?

... some how we need to tell all the twin tip riders who visit Bali about rule 4!

kiteflo said..
I headed downwind behind the sandbars where I got rewarded with the most amazing flat water riding ever. not another kite in sight. Some people probably just need an audience...

Pls dont mention this spot its my favourite

But seriously whats mentioned above is probably best, either downloop or take it real slow - maybe ride under the launching kite.
If you see someone behind you mowing you down make eye contact with them and give them a nod, this always changes their attitude and makes them more aware of you.

Kite from 12-3 you are in the right, kite 9-12 you are in the wrong.
But you are all forgetting the first rule in sailing, avoid all collisions.

Well that simplifies every thing Flyingcab LOL - kiting in the afternoon from 12 - 3 and Im good - sweet !! but if I kite in the morning - Doh ?? you must have a very strict time keeper !!

Juicerider - we still need rules that everyone should 1) learn and 2) practice.

To avoid a collision you need to know which way to adjust your path - actually both parties need to know so they go different directions !!

By way of explanation - an Irish joke: the Irish Govt has decided that they should join the rest of Europe and convert to driving on the right hand side of the road - but to transition slowly trucks will start this week and cars next week :-)

kiteflo said..

So what do I do in a situation like this? If 2 kiters on the same tack approach the beach how do I turn around if I can't go downwind on a carving turn?

The guy behind you was in the wrong - he should have known you were close to needing to turn,

However, in retrospect... was it possible you could have ridden all the way up to the shore and just stopped and kept your kite at 12? Surely he wouldnt have ridden past you that far....

kiteflo said..

After the tangle I had enough and decided that this spot is far too busy for me (teenagers doing kiteloops over playing toddlers on the beach) - I'm surprised we're still allowed to kite here. I headed downwind behind the sandbars where I got rewarded with the most amazing flat water riding not another kite in sight. Some people probably just need an audience...

Yup, thats my theory. Try and ride away from everyone. If you have a close-call with another kiter, try kiting in another spot or 100m downwind. It generally solves all problems.

also, I've found just being patient can avoid so many accidents. Kiter getting close? Just ride downwind and stop. Or slow down. You can just sit in the water with your kite at 12 if you absolutely have to - there is no hurry, its not a race.... But sometimes it's hard to keep that mindset...

Sounds like you walked out and kited an area where three schools teach, rather than walk 100m either direction and have trouble free kiting.

Wait till you kite Noosa or Cotton tree between christmas and new years, hundreds of tourist kiters trying to battle the currents