it was not so bad answers thanks guys

If the windsurfer was unable to see a 1.35m long, red object floating in the water, then he is a danger to all other water users and should be liable.

Paul1 said...

If the windsurfer was unable to see a 1.35m long, red object floating in the water, then he is a danger to all other water users and should be liable.

There are a lot of factors which affect this include reflection off the water by the sun, chop, how the board is lying in the water etc. You also find a person who is riding is more likely to be looking at the kiter to see what they are doing than the water in front of them. I think its a little early to be calling the windsurfer a danger to other water users at this stage.

The cut is approximately 10 cm in length running diagonally across the board. Because of the length and severity of the cut, the board is not able to be repaired.

There are some ingenious craftsmen in perth that can do magic with boards.
try Damo or Kaos69 i am sure they would be able to do a repair.

Unfortunate accident you had, don't expect anything from the person concerned sometimes its just the way it goes.

So you left your board floating unattended, and caused a windsurfer to have an acccident in which he broke a harness line (presumably a nasty catapault) and could have been injured and/or suffered expensive equipment damage.
What's your excuse again?

I had a collision with an unattended kiteboard a few weeks ago...like yours, it was bright red in colour, but believe me it was not all that visible - I'm always looking out for plastic bags, big jellyfish etc, but this thing had a fancy painted design which served to break up it's outline and was mostly submerged anyway; in the 0.03 seconds I had before hitting it I could've sworn it was a shopping bag, until I heard the loud crack of my fin against it.

There were no kiters in sight so I went ashore with the kiteboard balanced on the nose of my windsurf board...as soon as I stepped onto the sand, a guy came up and took it, said "thanks man" and disappeared. I hadn't even had a chance to check my board and fin for damage.

LUCKILY I did have time to examine the kiteboard - it had had a nice big chunk taken out of it! And it turned out that my equipment was undamaged!

"Thanks, man!"

if he didn"t see it bad luck it happen

I think you just have to chalk it up to bad luck and get the repair done mate. Unlucky is probably the best way to describe your situation. Better that windsurfer fin went into your board than into your leg...

gazza said...

knot board said...

It would be pretty safe to say the windsurfer didn't intentionally run over your board. Windsurfing fins are very expensive and he is unlikey to risk damaging his board on purpose. Maybe he was coming over to check on your wellfare

Ive often been sailing in the ocean and have seen a kite board floating around.
i often look for the kiter to see if he/she is OK or near.

on occasions i have turn around to go and try and pick the board up and just cant see it due to chop or glare, even though you know its there you just cant see it.

I feel for you mate but that's the risk it may not feel fair but that's just the way it is.
Interesting thing though if it was yourfault and you damaged his board sounds like you couldn't afford to fix his board anyway so maybe its not a good idea for you to kite in areas where others are near,Just a thought

Thanks for not automatically bagging the windsurfer i know its hard to believe but we do often look out and offer help for kiters in trouble as i cant imagine its much fun losing and looking for your boards 1/2k out to sea

Oh gazza... what a pleasant change to see a nice windsurfer

hoop said...

If you were to windward of him I would say you were in the wrong. (windward vessel keeps clear) I'm not sure what this 30 metre thing is all about. Sounds like it was made up on the spot.
If you have a ding 100mm long ,bog it up and put some glass on it, sorted. Might not look pretty but you'll get back on the water in no time.

Under Victorian rules a boat must not exceed 5 knots within 50 metres of a person in the water or another boat unless they are in a race or in a designated boating zone. So technically the windsurfer is in the wrong. I expect all States have similar rules.

The easiest thing is to get some waterproof epoxy putty, whack it in good and solid, sand it, go kiting. It's actually quite nice having a beat up board. You can ride it up over the sand and shells and stuff and not care.

You buy epoxy putty from a hardware store. It comes in a plastic cylinder with the catalyst embedded in the middle of the putty. You just knead well it to activate it then push it well into the hole. Maybe use a putty knife to smooth it off a bit. For little dings you can use Araldite to fix them. It works fine and holds forever. You can also wank around on the beach about how you are an expert because you do your own board repairs.


Plan B is to go round to the guy's house, kidnap his kid and torture it. That would make you feel better.

Philis said...

Before I fall he was far away from me (could not even see him)

If you couldn't see him, how do you know where he was?

afterwards I launched my kite (in the meantime time my Board was around 5m away from me and during this time were I was trying to get the Kite out of the water he went behind me over my board!

Of course he went behind you, because you had these bl@@dy long lines in front of you! You were blocking him; perhaps he originally wanted to go downwind of you.


Please try not to take up the whole ocean with your equipment, eh? And next time you come to Australia, may I recommend the wonderful scuba diving? Not to mention hiking in rainforests, wine tours, bbqs-- you'll love it!

I ran over a kiteboard the other day, lucky I was just slogging (going at walking pace). Funnily enough I was watching another lost kiteboard, wondering if it needed rescuing... and then KLONK I hit this one. No chance of damage at that speed.

No windsurfer will intentionally run over anything, as others have said it might damage their fin or board. And kiteboards are hard to see, especially when they're upside down.

Sorry to hear about your accident, but really that's all it is -- an accident. Buy some fibreglass and some proper epoxy (don't use 5 minute araldite it goes soft) and fix it yourself. Easy peasy japanesy

Nothin ,this is Australia mate,tough luck
how can I send you one of these it might make you feel better ?

average Joe said...

^^^

What does the fact that this is Australia has to do with anything?

Would it make any difference if the guy was a local?

If it were a Local there would be no post to start with.

I'm sure you have kited close to others in water, it's the nature of the sport.

No case to answer.

I also think that 30m comment was the result of an over active imagination.

Haven't you ever lost your board? Not been able to see it for a moment? Had a big fluro kite appear from nowhere that was in your blindspot? This 'look for someone to blame/sue' mentality can go back to America
It's just bad luck. Everyone that surfs knows what it's like to cleaned up by someone (usually when you just get a new board). Some people offer to pay for repairs, but more often than not, don't. It's annoying to have to get repairs done. Have your new board looking decidedly old, but at least you weren't injured. Fix your board & GET OVER IT.

au_rick said...

helmet ? check
flack jacket ? check
here we go.....

if you'd been wearing a leash you wouldn't have got your board damaged :)

leashes kill people

there you go.