Hey all just got spoken to by some absolute _______ from marine safety down at moana who had a go at me and a mate about not wearing a PFD. Just wondering if anyone had any recommendations on types and the legalities of it all. Is an impact vest legally classified as a PFD??? And how much are they??? Are they comfortable to wear with a waist harness or do u need to have a seat harness?

He also said we had to stay under 4 knots within 50 m of the beach. Duz anyone have a speedo that bolts onto a kite bar ?

Cheers

The PFD's with the rating of 3 (PFD Type3) which all so should have the 5 ticks logo which represent the Australian Standard.

Should read something like this....

PFD TYPE3
Australian
Standard
Licence No 20011
AS2260
Standards Australia


You need this rating on the vest, If they get technical and check for a rating and it is not there. It is classed as not wearing one at all and you can be fined. The reason i mention this is because some internet sold vests and impact vests do not display this rating. So when you are purchasing one, make sure it displays the standards and has the 5 ticks logo.

The 4 knot rule also does apply to kites. Working on that speedo

Cheers Croc

Hey Airush Geoff & peeps. Yes we were being polite as we understand he is only doing his job but he was asking (yelling from his 4X4) me to do unsafe things tho,like asking me to stand up wind next to his 4 wheel drive & in the path of other vehicles driving on the beach,this made me feel very unsafe & @ risk of being injured!! He got pissed off & said i was disobeying his orders (not true) & was also very forceful with me with his voice. I said to him that i need to land my kite so we could talk with out me being @ risk of injury. He implied that i do that "RITE NOW"!! I am only a novice @ this fantastic sport & always learning. So i said i need assistance to do that so when my mate comes back in from the water he will help me land. "LAND YOUR KITE NOW" he said. The dude is convincing me he is on some power trip now. Not @ any time did i act aggressive or swear @ him. He quoted (made up) that i had called him a f'n asshole which is NOT true at all! He actually gave me an official warning for being aggressive & told me to step away from the vehicle as he wound up his window & proceeded to call the police. This dude seemed to have a bad attitude & having a bad day & was taking it out on me!! OMG, I couldn't believe how he was acting!!! These people are supposed to be professionals!! this experience has actually put me off kite boarding a fare bit!!

Cheers. Happy kite boarding!
PS. Were can i get an Australian standard PFD from?

airush geoff said...

Hey Dale,

I hope you were polite- he is just doing his job... not that I like it any more than you do.

The impact vests that you ask about in general do not comply...

The pfd must be rated but i can't remember what the standard is.

You can get a pfd and harness in one or pfd's that fit under your harness.

Hope that helps

Hey Airush Geoff.
Yes i will be reporting his unprofessional behaviour.
CHEERS & get air!! Happy,safe kite boarding!!!!

airush geoff said...

Hey Backflip,

If he was unprofessional I hope you are going to report his behaviour- I have previously witnessed a beach inspector behave poorly, if nobody says anything nothing changes.... I have also seen them be reasonable and fair too...

We are obviously on the radar for these people, take care all.

i wear one its a liquid force just really cause I'm so used to wakeboarding and wakeskating also cause i kiteboard on a fresh water lake the vest is pfd3 and its a wakeboarding one i got heaps of movement in it i put the jacket on first than the waist harness over the top

Myself and a couple of other guys were riding at Goolwa the other weekend and we had the marine saftey drive onto the beach as we were packing up, he asked us if we had been wearing PFD's as well. He parked a decent distance away from our kites and walked over, wasn't rude or aggro. I said I hadn't been wearing one and he walked over to the other guys and chated to them for a while. Everyody was calm, The inspector just told me one was legally required, but no talk of fines.

If i surf there do i have to wear a PFD as well???
Anyone know, I've never seen a surfer, learner or experienced wear one at Goolwa or Middleton.

Be polite, yes. But when one stands in front of you spouting the rules while blowing his second hand smoke into your face I see no reason to be happy

As i mentioned in a previous post kiteboarders can petition for an exemption from the PFD law.
How about it SAKSA ?

Hi Guys,

What you need is a PFD2 or PFD3. The only difference is colour with the PFD2 being a safety colour ie yellow, red etc.

Generally the neoprene vests are more comfortable than the nylon vests and you would know these as wakeboarding vests.

Unfortunately the euro standard vests like the neil pryde vests are only legal in Victoria or for racing sailboats. Each state has different rules.

Glascraft probably has the biggest range of neo vests in South Australia, quite a few hundred, so if your looking for something that fits good with your harness come in and try some on. Guys and Girls vests available.

you guys are catching up to us in barmera. who said we are behind. geof is spot on with the right info on pdf's . as for the arrogant inspector , my advice is for all of who were in attendance when he flipped out at you is to get his name , phone his superiors at marine and harbours and give them the story of his aggressive nature. i had a similar case and took that path and the guy has backed off and is now quite a help in giving us ideas to change the zone. in the end you will end up wearing some aust reg. vest. with the 4knt zone you will need your association to put pressure on the local council to clear a designated area of that regulation. even if its a couple of hundred meters.(submit lots of letters). we are doing the exact same thing at barmera, currently getting ours moved 200m up the beach . ask the marine and harbours how it can be done ,that you have no where to go. it will help if any one knows a council member to get on side . geof might bend over for the member to put his member 'where the sun dont shine'(no geof ,i didnt ) cheers

Once again let's keep this one on topic....

The inspectors can be hard to deal with but Kym is right- if they are rude, report it and go through the right channels.

I am going to ignore the last bit- but next time I am in your shop Kym I might reMEMBER it.....

Go SAKSA statewide exemption on PFD's for kiteboarders

SAKSA is currently working on trying to get an exemption for kiteboarders having to wear PFD’s. Hopefully we will soon have some news we can get back to you with. In the meantime we ask that you respect the current rules and comply with the inspectors in full. A negative incident with an inspector may diminish our chances of being successful with the Department

Regards

SAKSA committee