An incident today where a kite ended up on the road,causing a car to stop to miss it after a beginner kiter lost control and his wrist leash slipped off.
after being told numerous times to launch away from the wall and car park early in the afternoon the beginner kiter in question then ended up with his kite in the tree. after finally getting it down he proceeded to watch a more experienced kiter launch from right next to the grass area. he then tried to do the same with the result luckily avoiding any injuries to himself or the passing car which had to avoid his kite.

can the more experienced kiters please be aware that the less experienced will watch and copy what they do so please act responsibly and launch a safe distance from the shore and not do jumps or tricks near the car park as it scares me to watch and i feel it will only be a short time before we have an incident like this again but with a much worse outcome!

please remember kiting is an extreme sport and we should have the relevant 3rd party insurance in case of any accidents.(available by joining waksa)
if anyone needs any advice on safety please feel free to approach us at Pelican Point Windsports just for advice or for a lesson.

thanks and happy safe kiting
lee harvey

green 04/05 rhino?

... and the day before (Wednesday) someone got dragged up the path after launching and put their kite in the trees.

My concern is when someone finally puts their kite, or their lines, or themselves into a pedestrian walking along on the path.

(Hate to say it, and as much as it would annoy me) but maybe Peli needs the buouy system like Melville?

i am very keen to get some guidelines drawn up as are the kite instructors. when an accident does happen i am sure it will be us that ends up dealing with it as first aiders, and we would all much rather that everyone kited safely and responsibly avoiding any accidents. all of our kite lessons are launched from the water and they are told this is the asfest way exactly because of the wall and gusty wind due to the surrounding area.
please feel free to discuss with myself or dave/nat (kite instructors) any areas you feel we could help to make everyone kite in a safer way at peli point.
cheers
lee
school manager
pelican point windsports

kite malisha... clobberin time

Pelican Point actually falls under CALM, not the Council. We are allowed to kite there because CALM let us, and they can ban us if we are not doing the right thing. As I understand it, the Council actually doesn't have jurisdiction over this area.

WAKSA and CALM have had a number of meetings over the last 12-18 months, and CALM have agreed to let us keep kiting in this area providing we respect their need to keep the area safe for both people and wildlife, and keep out of certain areas. For example don't use the beach past the sign, definitely don't use the beach past the fence unless in an emergency, don't launch off the wall as this is a risk for pedestrians as well as the kiter. They want us to be self regulating hence their decision to help us put up equal signage alongside their own signage. If we achieve self regulation and look after the area for them then they won't need to spend their time policing us and handing out infringements. In short, they are keen to foster a cooperative relationship with the kitesurfers.

CALM are building a large shaded information board to be erected on the grass area, next to the path and car park. This will have CALM's map and local site guidelines. WAKSA will have equal space on the same information board with our local guidelines relating to kiting which CALM is supporting. CALM have also agreed to put a rubber cover on the sharp edge of the stone wall at their expense as they agreed this could be a hazard to a kitesurfer out of control. CALM and WAKSA agreed that kiters should only launch well out into the water and not off the wall.

We have had to recognised some exceptions. RAM air kites are typically self launched and need to be setup and launched off the beach. Under no circumstances should this be done past the wire fense. Last season a number of people were setting up and launching from there, but this is a restricted bird sanctuary and is definitely out of bounds. Another exception was for Ian Young's kite school who participated in all the CALM meetings. It was recognised he has a need to land and anchor his flysurfers on the pole between lessons. All three parties were concerned that this is an unsafe practice for other flysurfer riders who will want to do the same thing. WAKSA, CALM and Ian Young (as an instructor) believe flysurfers should only be launched and landed on the beach while standing in the water, not while standing on the beach or the lawn area.

It is recognised that newby's often follow the examples set by experienced kiters. The guidelines therefore highlight the site is for Intermediate and Advanced kiters, not beginners, and spell out what are safe practices for all kiters to follow. There is already a strong friendly culture at Pelican Point and we are hoping that the printed guidelines will further support this culture and encourage the experienced kiters to lead by safe example.

We have no authority to dictate rules to anyone, but we can have guidelines which the locals have drafted to inform visitors about in the interests of safely and protecting our site. It was felt that presented in the right light, most visitors would be more than willing to work with the local guidelines if they only new what they were.

We are really just waiting to for CALM to finish putting up the new information board and rubber padding across the top edge of the stone wall.

Graeme
WAKSA Secretary
[email protected]

Why does everyone want to kite on top of each other, and for f**k's sake, why do beginners want to kite in unsafe and difficult to use spots??!?!?!?!

There is a whole, magnificent coastline available. Try Woodies, Leighton, Safety Bay, Schoalwater, Mandurah estuary, Lancelin, Secret Harbour, and any other number of spots.

If your not confident don't go to crowded, off shore or high risk areas (like busy public beaches, spots close to roads, trees, powerlines).

Need I remind people that we have actually seen deaths and permanent injuies of even experienced kiters particularly in areas close to buildings, powerlines, cliffs and offshore conditions.

Go find a nice quiet spot, that's free from hassles.
- You learn quicker!
- You have less risk of injury or worse!
- You won't injure some one else or some one else's property!
- You won't have to pay for the damage you cause to your gear or someone else's property!
- You won't get kiteing banned!

We need to help out the beginners and if they won't listen... I hate to say this but I'm in favour of cutting a kite line. Not just in the interest of your personal safety buy everyone else's including the beginner's!

Everyone needs to take this responsibility on:
Shops tell beginners what to do, offer lessons, advise on spots
Other kiters offer assistance
Beginners are ultimately responsible for their own actions

Policing and fines are not the answer. This has been shown in many places around the world in different activities - most noteably in environmental performance of industry and in the safety of work places. Hell, the Australian government actively encourages self-regulation because it promotes responsibility, ownership and delivers a better result at less cost to the community.

It is our responsibility as a kiteing community.

PS Sorry about the soap box.

I deleted my earlier post as GLS and Brooksy have got it spot on!

I couldn’t agree more that something needs to be done about the safety at pelican point. There are too many people flying around out of control down there and i feel it is only a matter of time until we get banned if nothing is done.
About 2 weeks ago there was a group learning on a yellow airush pilot on full length lines in 20-30 knots! I was heading back up wind trying to get past the group when they lost control of the kite and it started looping dragging the student (and the very unprofessional instructor that was holding onto the guys harness)off down wind very quickly. As the kite looped it came square down on top of my head brushing the lines right across my neck. I was sooooo lucky not to have been really badly hurt.
When I got back to the beach and spoke to some of the other kiters on the beach I found out that I was only 1 of 3 other kiters that had also been cleaned up by this same group in only a few hours!

when people are teaching friends down at pelican point please can you go as far out and down wind as you can (with out getting to close to the beach past the fence) it is a fact of learning to fly a kite that you will crash it every now and again and you WILL get pulled down wind so please don’t stand just upwind of someone that you might hit when you loose control of your kite.

and to peliacn point windsurfing if you are going to insist on teaching in the most dangerous part of the river because that is the cheapest way for you to run your lessons for crying out loud guys get some short lines before you kill someone!

Further to discussions between WAKSA and CALM, we have just been notified that CALM Management approved our request for the first two markers, those closest to the launch area, to be moved further east. This expands the area in the lauching/landing and takeoff zone considerably.

This is a real win and thanks are extended to the CALM Ranger's, particulary John Snowdon, who have lobbied for this on WAKSA's request. As mentioned previously, the Rangers are very supportive of kiting and encouraging us to self regulate. Unless safety is in issue, please respect the boundaries and help promote awareness of these in a positive way. Everything is clearly marked on the new sign as you enter the grassed area off the carpark.

WAKSA Committee