Really!? No one is that stupid.
Can you get any more info of his profile off Fb?

Well I dont recognise him and I kite at altona loads ?
What a muppet

koma said...

I don't recognise him. One look at his profile tells most of the story though.
Feel free to message him on Fb and let him know that he's not welcome at Altona, Melbourne or anywhere in contemporary society if he's going to be as socially backwards as has been demonstrated in that referenced post.

Could be getting a message from someone soon anyway. The dog owners took the threats seriously and handed over his details to the police.

I have just sent him a FB message asking him to take down his post and apologise to the dog owners.

Obviously a complete douche
( some fit lookin birds in his profile pic though )

He mentions "Altona back beach" -- is this where Steve @ Altona KSS runs lessons? Maybe thats why he's a bit of an enigma...?

Anyway, on the naming and shaming bit, sorry to change the topic from this dog botherer to something else, but counted at least three 12m's out there tonight (1/3/2012)! I was way overpowered on my 9m Fuel, and I weigh nearly 90 kgs wet, what the hell are people thinking? The wind was sitting just below 29 knots, with gusts almost reaching 35 knots! Why aren't people getting the message?

Thanks for the alert Saffer. As far as I know, Steve does not do lessons out there for the very same reason he does not want to add fuel to fire. KSS only offer training out at Snots (as I call it) down opposite Apex park. No dogs and owners cross over the creek outlet and no one gets bothered. Unfortunately the dog park down on the East side of Altona has been 'hijacked' for a better term by dogs and their owners. The signs clearly allow dogs off leash but in the park, not past the water mark on the beach. I think better signs to remind people of this is needed.

Peterc150 said...

I have just sent him a FB message asking him to take down his post and apologise to the dog owners.

Did you get a response ?
Does this guy even kite ?

Volantin said...

KSS only offer training out at Snots (as I call it) down opposite Apex park.

An I quote the KBV post
"- commercial lessons by schools and instructors are not permitted at Altona"

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Victoria/Altona-BeachLetter-to-KBVMelbourne-Kiteboarders/

Maybe KBV mean Altona as just the spot down from the pier where all the schools teach from time to time. Or mabe they really mean NO commercial instruction

Thanks Derek, Totally clarified.

hpurple said...

Have there been any updates to the petition being organised by the Dog owners community?

I have been unable to find anything on the Hobsons Bay Council site in reference to Kiting at the dog beach, everything i read talks about main beach down to Apex park. CAN we Kite at the Dog Beach?

Or am I looking in the wrong spot?

The short story is that you are not allowed to kite at dog beach.

http://www.kbv.org.au/kbvmain/kbv-headlineview.php?hlid=126.htm

In term of the prevailing local law, breaches attract a penalty of 2 penalty units ($244.28). If the matter goes to court the council can seek a penalty of up to 10 penalty units ($1221.40).

Here is the extract:

As you may know, there have been a number of incidents recently at Altona beach including:
- Incidents between kiteboarders and other recreational users
- Teaching activities occurring at Altona without permission from Hobsons Bay Council
- A threat from a kiter to users of the Altona dog beach.
Hobsons Bay Council have asked KBV to remind the kiting community of the permissible kiting zones and our responsibilities at Altona.

Recreational Kiters:
Hobsons Bay Council wishes to remind kiteboarders that there is a designated zone for kiting at Altona, known as the Altona Foreshore activity zone. Within this zone, rigging/derigging of kiteboarding equipment is permitted. Kiters do not need to subscribe to the 5knot ruling within the Altona Foreshore activity zone.

Outside of the Altona Foreshore activity zone, kiteboarders can continue to kite but must reduce speed to 5 knots within 50m of a pier, jetty, person, other vessels or objects such as buoys or pilings in the water, and within 200m of the shore.

The Altona Foreshore Activity Zone is 100 metres east of Romawi Street to Apex Park. There is a sign on the beach 100 mts east of Romawi street indicating the start of the Activity Zone. If any wind sport activities either on land or in the water are undertaken outside these zones then the individual can be told to relocate to the appropriate area or can be given an infringement notice.

In term of the prevailing local law, breaches attract a penalty of 2 penalty units ($244.28). If the matter goes to court the council can seek a penalty of up to 10 penalty units ($1221.40).

Schools/Instructors:
No commercial kiteboarding lessons are permitted to be conducted at Altona. Please do not conduct any lessons at this location.

Additionally the council has asked that we continue ensure that all instructors and members are aware of and comply with the kiting zones stipulated above.

The councils states "We kindly ask you all to take notice of the above and to adhere to these rules. This is important in order to maintain our relationship with the wider community and to keep our beaches open and safe."

Correspondence from the Hobsons Bay Council as well as a map of the Altona water/land zones can be found here. There is also a link to KBV documents on the site.

KBV would like to remind the kiteboarding community that our discussions and communications on public forums (e.g. Seabreeze, Facebook etc) are being monitored.

Negative actions and commentary recently by a small few towards other kiters and/or the general public have not helped the sport of kiteboarding and it's relationships with the wider community. It's important that we all individually help to forge a positive relationship with the wider community.

Please be wary of what is said and done at our local beaches and on the internet discussions boards. We need your help to maintain the good relationships we have worked hard to build over the past years.

Correspondence from the Hobsons Bay Council as well as a map of the Altona water/land zones can be found here. There is also a link to KBV documents on the site.

Your KBV Committee

interesting forum i found when you search for dog beach...

doggo.com.au/burns-reserve-altona-dog-beach/

So the short story is that kiteboarding is being actively policed in the area because another group complained about the impact it was having on their recreation, which they are undertaking OUTSIDE their designated zone, unpoliced.

AHA - now I get it........makes perfect sense........

http://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Community/Animals/Dog_off-leash_locations

www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/files/0b1d871e-759d-44eb-be29-9fde01045462/Dog_off_leash_areas.pdf

Kazan said...

hpurple said...

So the short story is that kiteboarding is being actively policed in the area because another group complained about the impact it was having on their recreation, which they are undertaking OUTSIDE their designated zone, unpoliced.

AHA - now I get it........makes perfect sense........

http://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/Community/Animals/Dog_off-leash_locations

www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/files/0b1d871e-759d-44eb-be29-9fde01045462/Dog_off_leash_areas.pdf

Exactly. Even Tony Briffa has joined their cause prematurely without reading his own council's guidelines and legislation. In short the dog beach (beyond the water line) is outside council juristicton. It's a Parks Vic area and it's a normal 5kot zone just like Port Melbourne and most other zones in the bay. And there is plenty of room for both! The dog owners are being too precious.

The area was not banned as a result of this incident. It was banned from the inception of the kiteboarding area. I.e. when they originally created the kiting area they banned kiting everywhere else. The only difference now is its being enforced as a result of this incident.

Kazan said...

Saffer said...

The area was not banned as a result of this incident. It was banned from the inception of the kiteboarding area. I.e. when they originally created the kiting area they banned kiting everywhere else. The only difference now is its being enforced as a result of this incident.

Saf. You missed the point. The fact is HBCC cannot and does not have juristiction in banning kite boarding in the waters off dog beach. They can ban you rigging up and down on the beach, but past the water line it's a 5knot zone just like any other. Furthermore, you can definetly kite as fast you want 200mtrs from the water mark i.e. past the 5knot zone.
The dog owners should not even be in the water! And HBCC have no right allowing them to either, but who from Parks Vic is going to police it?
I am both disappointed in so much misinformation in these forums and yet we hear nothing from KBV and or the council.
In short, the council cannot ban you from kiting. They can only ban you rigging and packing on the beach above the water mark.
The real issue here is the so called 'disturbance' to the owner's dogs and their general poor attitudes to kite boarders. This is the result of bad eggs giving us overall a bad name, and we (kbv, riders, etc) should be seen trying to dispell lies and myths to set the record straight.
Where is KBV?! Could we not simply put a case to the council to get these dog people off our backs?! They really are crying wolf and no one seems to be educating them on their responsibilities. We have rights too!

Maybe you're missing the point.

Firstly, the whole incident and subsequent fall outs were as a result of the actions of kiters, not dog owners. No dog owner smacked a kiter. No dog owners went on the kiting website and threatened the kiters, no dog owners made derogatory comments to the kiters (and trust me, you didn't see the childish derogatory comments posted to the lady in question who came here to discuss the issue and which were subsequently deleted by Laurie). Even if the dog owners were in the water, riding between a person and their dog would almost definitely be exceeding the 5 knot rule which means the kiters were still at fault, whether the dog owners were there or not. You're probably also missing part of the story which is that it was as a result of multiple incidents, not a single incident with someone crying wold. (if you saw the original Facebook site, there were multiple offenders including the idiots above which didn't help the cause)

Secondly, the council can do what they want including banning kiting (or the rigging up) completely in the current areas we are allowed to use so the attitude to the council is not helpful at all. If we can't rig, it makes it hard to get out. Not all councils have allocated kiting areas and we would do well to remember that. They didn't have to create a kiting area, so launching somewhere else and going to the dog beach is only likely to create more animosity with the council. If you really think you're going to have fun kiting at dog beach at 5 knots, good luck and enjoy it.

Thirdly, the council have to look after the interests of all parties, including dog owners, kiters and normal beach users. This is the reason for zoning kiting to a specific area. There are only limited beaches where dog owners are actually allowed on the beach. Have a look at the beaches and you'll see they are banned in a number of cases, just like we are so having a beach where they don't need to worry about disturbing other people is probably a good thing (just like we don't want people complaining about their dogs at kite beach)

Fourthly, the KBV was involved. From what I understand, the KBV wasn't actually aware that the other areas were banned when the original kiting area was created a couple of years back and the KBV has had a hard time due to the constant flouting of the rules by the kiters, schools teaching without permits, many riders breaking the 5 knot 200m rule, riding close to the pier which they aren't allowed to etc. That said, if you have an issue with what the KBV is doing with their time (free of charge), feel free to join the committee and try change it.