Had a fun kite session yesterday out at Kurnell in front of the Cat Club. I did notice people trying to launch their kites towards the carpark and not over the water. In these winds there are big wind shadows in close and I noticed a few failed attempts which could have gone bad. Someone was trying to launch on the big grassy area just up wind of posts and a light pole. I suggested that this was not a good place to launch for obvious reasons and fortunately they moved to the beach.

In westerlies which are always gusty get on the water quickly. Have your board at the water's edge ready to pick up. Several kites fell out of the sky while people struggled up the beach to get their boards after a launch.

So, please remember to assess the conditions before you try a launch and for those assisting don't launch a kite when conditions aren't appropriate. Don't be afraid to speak up if someone less experienced could potentially hurt themselves or others.

Summer at Kurnell is getting more crowded each season. We now have an off-leash dog beach with signs prohibiting kite launching on that beach. It doesn't mean you can't ride in that beach only don't launch there. In front of the Cat Club will have catamarans on the beach in summer. This pushes people further east to only 2 beaches between the groynes. As everyone who kites here knows the beaches are small and narrow. Learners are not welcome on the first beach and we may see people going further east to avoid the crush.

Good luck, be patient, respect each other and spread out. I'll be heading up and down the coast this summer to avoid the crowds.

There certainly is a lot of grit on the beach in the front of the cat club. Pretty sure it will pop one of my kites at some point.

Kurnell is so choppy, but i did do nearly all of early learning there, and got great help and encouragement from local kite tragics