So after the downinder at South Trigg last night a big burly dude squared up to me and announced "me and my crew were dangerous"...

I'd never seen him before, and it was just my mate & I anyways, so i asked him to explain and he stated a kiter clipped his mate whilst buzzing their take off section in the lineup. Why he was trying to surf in 25 knots i'll never know, but i thought i'd just mention it out of courtesy to our fellow watermen & women. Can we please not treat the surfers like ramps (or speed bumps ) ? Its getting busy down there but there is plenty of space if we ride either side of the surfing spot.

But.. they make such good kickers

You don't get it.


They don't damage your fins, so it's ok.

bearbusa said..

jamesperth said..
So after the downinder at South Trigg last night a big burly dude squared up to me and announced "me and my crew were dangerous"...

I'd never seen him before, and it was just my mate & I anyways, so i asked him to explain and he stated a kiter clipped his mate whilst buzzing their take off section in the lineup. Why he was trying to surf in 25 knots i'll never know, but i thought i'd just mention it out of courtesy to our fellow watermen & women. Can we please not treat the surfers like ramps (or speed bumps ) ? Its getting busy down there but there is plenty of space if we ride either side of the surfing spot.

James well said
I have kite surfed for 16 years mostly in WA (back on the goldie now)but have surfed for 45 years , have respect for all the water users and some of you so called kite surfers that think they can surf think have the right to mow the lawn on surf breaks , learn the rules and what surf edicate is or go and play in the flat water areas, if you dont you deserved to get thumped when you get to the beach

Not much evidence of respect in those words.

i was out mile beach a couple of weeks ago and as the name suggests fair size stretch of water. Waves were avg to poor and small, about 10 sandbars equal qlty. Nice breeze though around 18-20knots so about 5 kitesurfers using 2 of those bars. I didnt know any them but we were all having a bit of fun and plenty of courtousy being shown. The bars we were using were considerable walk from the access point.
So gun surfer decides to walk half a mile past several similar unpopulated equally avg breaks and paddle out in the middle of us! No problem by me I could still ride and avoid him. But apparently he wasnt happy and abused everyone and threatened. Bloody idiot.
when i approached him on the beach to discuss his agro, he was a pussy and couldnt look me in the eye week as piss. I to enjoyed surfing but it doesnt make you tough when you dont have a pack backing you up.

I too hate surfers.

Except when I'm surfing, then I hate SUPs and kiters and windsurfers.

bjw said..
I too hate surfers.

Except when I'm surfing, then I hate SUPs and kiters and windsurfers.

But we all hate jetskis! Other than when they are doing tow ins??

All jokes aside, we are at the bottom detritus trophic level when it comes to water usage rights. Lots of baby boomer surfers with lots of influence in councils / other decision making bodies.

Talk to kitesurfing travellers Over here for the summer, Kiting is increasingly getting banned in places around the world,

personally even if there's a dip sh1t paddling out in 25 knots into unsurfable mush, I try my best to not piss them off. Cause they May have influence and have Kiting banned in that spot....cause councils love that sh1t.

Unfortunately Eppo kiting gets banned in areas for more reasons than just upsetting surfers. Even though kiting gear is getting safer this does not transfer effectively to the end user. It still stuns me that we don't have more fatalities from both kiters and spectators (both willing and unwilling). The dumb sh!t that I frequently see being done by so-called kiters astounds me. Unfortunately for many, common sense is not a strong point and some how stuff happens and no-one fortunately gets injured.

Things recently seen (generally inexperienced kiters, but not always):
- hot launches of kites on grassed areas when the wind is powered
- people standing directly down wind of kites being launched
- kiters landing kites downwind and towards roads
- kite loops right next to the shoreline
- people standing on the grassed areas and just boosting up and down......

Recently we had an incident by a teenage kiter jumping up and down by sending his kite up and down on the zenith on the grassed area in front of the launch and landing spot. Why??? No idea?? At one stage they boosted up on the grass so high that they accidentally looped the kite and started getting dragged to the road. The local kiters got in on the action by not only saving him, but reprimanded the kiter for being dangerous. The response from the onlooking parent was to blast the assisting kiters for having a go at his son. Go figure???

That said, this level of common sense seems to be evident from quite a few and its not until there are some serious injuries, fatalities or damage to property that things will get banned. I am still surprised that the Meliville stretch has not been banned.

We try and police (maintain a level of order) to our area to minimise stuff happening as we don't want this to occur, but sometimes stuff occurs before we get the chance.

On a 30 degree Saturday, it's pretty hard to kite away from surfers and swimmers.

No dramas haha nothing said on Seabreeze is ever serious (except that windsurfing is a thing of the past, and all Cabrihnas end their lives in the trees)

Andrash said..
Back to Trigg... some observations:

The best breaks for surfing is usually in the flagged area from where they are actually banned. Anyone knows why the SLSC has to set up the swimming area there? Last year it was much further north.

This pushes most surfers south to where DW warriors land, and where the mayhem is, where most strapless riders chase their boards, and in the process of retrieving them some crash their kites. It is my observation that half of the kiters there should be on TT away from breaks learning to fly their kites...

I think, many of the kiters in the Floreat Trigg DW stretch are frustrated surfers of the past now taking up kiting. This may be one reason why the number of kiters has dramatically increased there, while the average skill level has been decreasing every year (in the past 10 years). I think this is at the core of our problems in Trigg....

The most predictable breaks for surfing is usually just south of the reefy area north of the Club. It is quite dangerous for kiters due to the shallow reef downwind, so kiters are never there... (except myself at times, and then rightfully getting some murderous look from surfers until I get out of there ;-) This would be a much better place for surfers, but I am not sure they all know about it.

It comes from the nature of the two sports that, generally, a kitesurfer spends about a minute on the break and then heads out upwind, while a surfer is practically there all time making it impossible to share the break with a kiter.

Overall, and from a surfer's / swimmer's perspective, we are looking very aggressive even when we are careful. So, I think, it is our duty to look out for them, no matter how bad their choices are, and how ignorant they may be at times. Accidents, injuries caused by kiters are the last thing we want to hear...

Well said skill levels have certainly gone down ,kites are so easy to get going these days vs the old two lines and c kites where you had to learn to fly the kites otherwise you would get smashed, agree with you about learning to fly the kites well before going strapless even if you are a surfer first
Now that im back living in Qld most of the strapless guys here on the goldie have kite skills and certainly co exist with surfers on main breaks , might be to do with normally bigger swells compared to perth

After reading this I see some great advantages where I live. I would call 10 kites in one spot crowded.

You'd be lucky to see a kite on the open coast, and most surfers can't be bothered when it's cross or onshore.

There is no need for agro on the water. If someone drops in on you then laugh and do the same to them. Just have fun. The agro always seems to come from blow ins. That's why people kite. To enjoy the vibe. If someone drops in, just be cool with it.

bjw said..
No dramas haha nothing said on Seabreeze is ever serious (except that windsurfing is a thing of the past, and all Cabrihnas end their lives in the trees)

And cauncy and eppo are in a three way with plummet

Any surfer out in windy onshore will be highly experienced, so take what they say very seriously indeed.