Latest news today,.. bloody nanny state!

www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/kite-and-wind-surfers-forced-to-wear-life-jackets-20140802-zzr1j.html

woah tiger slow down . Think about it very carefully . Firstly this not coming into full effect straight away . there is an 18 month awareness period . Secondly how often do you go further than 400m offshore ?

Personally i always wear a pfd and helmet as i am on either a raceboard or slalom board but even when i use the tt i see no reason why i wouldn't wear it anyway .

I really don't see how it is that much of a big deal .

i'm not missing the point . I think your argument is without merit .

Epirbs start from around $200 and plb from around $300 , so that must be a pretty cheap board . Epirbs do not have to be changed yearly, infact some can go for up to 6 years . The only time boaties were forced to change them was when they switched frequencies . I know cos i am a boat owner .

You are basically acting like a little spoily kid , You know i used to detest pfd's and helmets until i had to wear a pfd for racing and after i took a light hit to the head from my race board and just after loosing sproddy i got a helmet . now i don't even think or notice i am wearing them .

I use an impact vest all the time.It gives me enough buoyancy to float with out having to swim or wade.I wonder if this is good enough.

ha ha beat me to it ^^^^
I bet impact vests wont cut it - doesn't have the PFD "compliance' mark on them or reflective tape etc :-(
The next question is what is actually out there in the market that will meet the new regulations and that are compatible with waist harnesses?? What have you got Dusta and are there many options?
Oh and I guess there's no need for an impact vest if you have to wear a PFD - what to do with all of the redundant impact vests ( I would be ditching stock now if I owned a shop!) ??

Dusta you look cute in your npx

Im sure if im kiting an offshore reef thats exposed at low tide, technically isnt that like 10m from the shore......


If you cant swim 400m dont kite out that far, if you cant swim to your kite.

Then dont be a lazy ass and get in shape.


Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Thanks Dusta - I find my NPX impact vest doesn't fit very well with my waist harness - Im pretty sure most are the same - I look forward to being shown up wrong!!
I bought my impact vest assuming it would fit with my harness - silly me :-(

I guess bike helmets were s#@T until they became mandatory and then the manufactures pounced on the 'new" opportunity - I hope the same might happen with the harness manufacturers ???

Interestingly in Vic I think the rules are you don't need to wear a pfd if you are wearing a wet suit (buoyancy) and are no further than 200 m off the beach - in board shorts I guess you should be wearing a pfd all the time ?? - no one does! ( Ok we don't get many weeks in Vic that you can kite only in boardies LOL)

Which raises another issue - will the WA police the new laws ?? And where ?? only the busy beaches ??

Im not sure if I'm understanding this correctly.
I thought that Epirbs were activated when they are submerged in water? and do Flares do they still work if they are wet?

ONYX said..
Dusta you look cute in your npx

Onyx you look a million times more adorable than your owner :0

As someone who water skied and wakeboarded before I started kiting I always wear a life jacket. Some weird stuff happens and like the article says if you get knocked out, odds are you'll drown. A life jacket might be just enough to keep you above water and alive.
I always thought it was common sense, but then I might not be as gnarly as you lot. :p

pffft...life jackets in WA? id rather drown than bob around waiting for a noah to tear me a love hole... must be plenty of bait buoys offshore to hang on to anyway

Imagine the downwinders in perth now with that rule in place.The other 50 % of kite surfers in perth will joining the freo to trigg train!.
Imagine snagging a jump and landing ass first with your front of your life jacket lifting with the impact and giving you wiplash.
There is going to have to be specialised kite impact vest/ life jacket.
Some of these boat rescue life jackets could be quite dangerous when used for kiteboarding.

This is is the sort dumb ass knee jerk reaction that makes WA one of the most frustrating places to live.
These rules have to be specialised for kiteboarding and not just taken from boating traditions and applied directly to kiteboarding.

There was clearly not enough forward thinking and research done into making this rule.

The thing I like with this dumb knee jerk reaction has no basis. In the article they state in light recent events locally??? Show me some data and ill except it. I do on the other hand believe not being able to swim under a wave/ marine traffic due to constant buoyancy could be an issue. Plus if it is the type of jacket I think they will try and introduce is crazy expensive. We just brought them for work and they are 1500 a pop. Mainly because they can?t be just triggered by water, you switch them on and they pop on radar,. Latest and greatest new rules but hey what do I know.

dusta said..

Gazuki said..



The thing I like with this dumb knee jerk reaction has no basis. In the article they state in light recent events locally??? Show me some data and ill except it. I do on the other hand believe not being able to swim under a wave/ marine traffic due to constant buoyancy could be an issue. Plus if it is the type of jacket I think they will try and introduce is crazy expensive. We just brought them for work and they are 1500 a pop. Mainly because they can?t be just triggered by water, you switch them on and they pop on radar,. Latest and greatest new rules but hey what do I know.

obviously not much as the image i posted can be had for around $80 . If it wasn't rated it would not have been acceptable for l2l, oceanics, loc etc etc

I agree, not much but a little more than you. As nice as your pretty $80 vest is it doesnt contain a EPERB or Flares as stated in the article,.. This is the what the discussionis is about (try and keep up) If it was just a vest I dont see to much of an issue, its only when you combine them with an eperb then its an issue/ exspensive, the only one I know of as I said is well clear of a grand.

Gazuki said...

The thing I like with this dumb knee jerk reaction has no basis. In the article they state in light recent events locally??? Show me some data and ill except it. I do on the other hand believe not being able to swim under a wave/ marine traffic due to constant buoyancy could be an issue. Plus if it is the type of jacket I think they will try and introduce is crazy expensive. We just brought them for work and they are 1500 a pop. Mainly because they can?t be just triggered by water, you switch them on and they pop on radar,. Latest and greatest new rules but hey what do I know.

Can you post a pic of this jacket?
Would be interesting to see what is going to potentially price many people out of their sport.

Does anyone know of any other way to carry epirbs and flares, suitable for kiting?
Does the DOT even know??

I'm with Dusta on this and don't see the issue.
If you are that far out and something happens with your lines/harness causing the kite to disconnect - how many people can swim the 400m back to shore?
this new rule isn't going to effect the majority of kiters, with only the racers having to buy a new type of vest (life jacket vest rather than an impact vest).


I do agree though there needs to be some design work on the type of life jackets that can be safely used for kiting.
Any jacket with foam flotation will almost break your neck if you fall into the ocean from height.
there are lots of industries that use inflatable PFD's (personal flotation devices) that would be a better design to use for kiting.


I'm sure someone will cross a PFD and impact vest making a perfect life/impact jacket for kiters (I think I need to get to the patent office to stake my idea).

Steve