Forums > Kitesurfing   New South Wales

Botany Bay - traffic

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Created by L8Start > 9 months ago, 27 Feb 2022
L8Start
31 posts
27 Feb 2022 8:48AM
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I'm feeling like maybe there could be a better relationship with jet skis on Botany Bay (especially weekends). Anyone have a PWC license? Does the orientation for license even include anything about kites? I haven't had any bad interactions; mostly just waiting until one gets out of the way, when sometimes they're also waiting for someone else to get out of the way - which could probably be avoided if they just were a bit farther from shore where the kites are less dense. Last weekend I knew of two kite tangles - neither had anything to do with jetskis - which maybe says kiteboarders are more of an issue to each other than jetskis are to kiteboarders. Someone with a jetski might have been able to assist if they knew what they were doing - but not knowing would make matters worse. Personally there were a couple of times when I was challenged to follow right-of-way with my kite because the lack of wind wasn't letting me keep my kite on the high side, but the more experienced person going the opposite direction did well avoiding my kite.

Phoney
NSW, 583 posts
27 Feb 2022 6:05PM
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60m is the minimum distance a PWC user must stay away from 'people in the water' - which would cover kiters I would assume.
As for jetskiiers, they're not all bad. I once had one bring me back to shore, which saved me a several hundred meter swim with a half deflated kite and a birdsnest of lines.

L8Start
31 posts
28 Feb 2022 6:47AM
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Phoney said..
60m is the minimum distance a PWC user must stay away from 'people in the water' - which would cover kiters I would assume.
As for jetskiiers, they're not all bad. I once had one bring me back to shore, which saved me a several hundred meter swim with a half deflated kite and a birdsnest of lines.


Yeah - there's a YouTube kiteboarder in the US who uses a jet ski to get to whatever location works best for the wind. I guess one of the kiteboarding schools started out using jet skis rather than boats. On weekdays, it's really not an issue, but on the weekends there are a lot of people trying to use the same space.

TheRodder
WA, 319 posts
2 Apr 2022 6:40PM
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When I lived in California and regularly windsurfed on the SF Bay the kiteschools used jetskis exclusively. And once during a high winds (40 kts+) at La Perouse, my mast separated from the board and I ended up getting a tow behind a jetski towing a inflatable mat.

Samuellae
NSW, 57 posts
23 Jun 2022 9:32PM
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L8Start said..
I'm feeling like maybe there could be a better relationship with jet skis on Botany Bay (especially weekends). Anyone have a PWC license? Does the orientation for license even include anything about kites? I haven't had any bad interactions; mostly just waiting until one gets out of the way, when sometimes they're also waiting for someone else to get out of the way - which could probably be avoided if they just were a bit farther from shore where the kites are less dense. Last weekend I knew of two kite tangles - neither had anything to do with jetskis - which maybe says kiteboarders are more of an issue to each other than jetskis are to kiteboarders. Someone with a jetski might have been able to assist if they knew what they were doing - but not knowing would make matters worse. Personally there were a couple of times when I was challenged to follow right-of-way with my kite because the lack of wind wasn't letting me keep my kite on the high side, but the more experienced person going the opposite direction did well avoiding my kite.


I think water authorities put the hard word into skis after several serious crashes (into each other) last summer so maybe they have stayed more chill over all after that



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Forums > Kitesurfing   New South Wales


"Botany Bay - traffic" started by L8Start