To all people who kite at Mentone, do not kite in the no boating zone. The lifesavers there all ready hate us and lately there has been an increase in kiters there who don't know the rules. So do not pass the big yellow post in water or there will be no more kite boarding and Mentone. Co-operation would be much appreciated Thanks

Prozac?

Just curious, people windsurf and kitesurf around lifesaving clubs all over the place. I've never heard much noise about it from other places.

I lived opposite a lifesaving club and launched through (and rode away from) the no boating zone every single windy day for 7 years. I was reminded of the no boating regulations by the lifesavers exactly two times. I was never once hassled or threatened. I like to think I acted safely and reasonably and the lifesavers saw that I was not creating a nuisance.

I wonder if the Mentone lifesavers are being a bit precious about their bit of water? Or is it some Mentone kiters being precious about the no boating zone?

After one session at Mentone we came back to the cars and found strongly worded notes on our windscreens. The message implied we were riding in the no boating zone and would get kiting banned there. We went close to the buoys once on launching, then never went close to them for the rest of the session. We did not in any way ride into the no boating zone.

on a few occasions they have called the water police which doesn't help

no I think they have just warned people with a $150 fine

juggler said..

so why should one sport take priority over another?
we cant kite because someone is swimming.
we can't park on beach road before 10am because of cyclists.
how about they cant swim because we are kiting

For a start the location is not one of Parks Vic's designated kitesurf areas, so we are really there at the good grace of everyone else that uses that site. The main time it becomes an issue is around this time of year because the beach is used by a lot of people.

The Mentone Icebergers swim there every day of the year (even in the winter) and have been doing so for a long time. Kudos to them.

Not to mention your apparent lack of understanding of water right of way rules - swimmers have right of way over everyone that close to shore.

I can understand the SLSC getting snarky - they want to minimise the risk to their members and provide as safe an environment as possible. Maybe the guys are training or holding competitions and we are disrupting them.

Parks Vic have spent the money to clearly mark the no-boating zone. It used to be a little yellow buoy and now it's a yellow pile similar to those up in St Kilda/Middle Park.

These are the rules-

On all Victorian waters, a five knot speed limit applies to all operators within:

50 m of a person, for example a swimmer
50 m of another vessel
100 m of a vessel or buoy on which a 'diver below' signal corresponding to the International Code Flag 'A' is displayed ??? a white/blue flag.

On Victorian coastal and enclosed waters*, or bays, a five knot speed limit applies to all vessels:

within 200 m of the water's edge, except in an access lane
within 50 m of any wharf or similar structure including a jetty, slipway, diving platform or boat ramp, except in an access lane
when passing through a recognised anchorage for small vessels.

There is a lot of misinformation regarding the afore mentioned designated water sports zones. To start with these are not the only zones we are supposed to be kiting in, these are designated areas where the 5 knot rules do not apply for wind sports such as wind surfing and kiting unless any other water user is present within the area.

So if a family comes down to any of those locations, settles down and decides to swim right in the centre of the designated area they are perfectly within their rights to do so and all wind surfers, kiters and other water craft must obey the 5 knot rule within the stated proximity of that person.

Windsurfers and kite boarders no not have exclusive rights to these areas. It was hoped that common sense would prevail and other water users would move outside of the areas. We have no rights to tell or request them to move.

This was clearly stated at the work shops held by Parks Victoria a couple of years back of which I attended a couple. Because the areas are not exclusive it was very disappointing that only a handful of areas where designated. At the workshops we were asked to nominate areas of high or regular usage. At the workshops I attended which covered the eastern side of the bay we nominated many, many more beaches at the direction of the facilitators as the nominated zones would affectively be overridden as soon as other people started using the beaches.

PeteC2, the issue is that westerly wind are pretty rare in the area. Most of the time when kite surfing in Parkdale, wind will be coming from the south, in those conditions, I guess the further north you are, the better.

The beach at Parkdale is a bit narrow for kiting. It is a popular windsurfing spot. It's quite good to ride through there on a coast run and have a play with the waves. It would suck to get caught in the shore break and have to deal with the narrow beach and reefs and sand bars and stuff.

I kite fairly frequently at Mordialloc opposite Bay St. The beach is quite wide, there (was) free parking on Beach Rd and it is often relatively deserted. You can rig there then head off in either direction outside the no boating zone. (It's funny to look up the beach and see the crowding at Aspendale when the rest of the coast is deserted.)

The 5 knots near the beach etc is not an issue. That's just under 10 km/hour. Cruising speed for most kiteboards is 20kph. You can slow a kiteboard down until you're almost stationary and still be riding in control.

lostinlondon said: As I understand it, the combination of wetsuit and safety harness acts as a Type 3 PFD, which we are required to wear.

In Vic, here are the latest regs:

transportsafety.vic.gov.au/maritime-safety/recreational-vessel-operators/powerboat/trip-preparation/safety-equipment/lifejackets

If you follow this link on the above page: Personal flotation device ? Buyers Guide (PDF, 2.7 MB, 4 pp.)

on page 2 under PFD 3, the last paragraph says ?PFD 3?s can be built into wetsuits?etc? but kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfing wetsuits are not specified PFD 3?s, so do not meet the regulation. This also applies to the safety harness (seat or waist types).

Many kitesurfers wear impact vests and if the vest is certified to level 50 or above, they meet the Vic regs.

Hope this helps.