Yep spectacular. Altona must stay kite friendly

Smithy said...
When did it happen, today or a couple of weeks back..

Late this afternoon

Rob S said...


Everyone ok. But another step closer to closing this beach I fear. What can be done!

Part of me wants to say "all part of the sport" but that's not going to be saying much if and when my favorite spot gets the banhammer.

Sort of off topic but not really, but I was recently speaking to the owner of a Hang Gliding school near Ballarat, who happens to have an Order of Australia for Sport and does a lot of the planning and safety stuff for the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia. He said he was approached a few years back by Vic Parks to help bring kiting into the same safety and licensing umbrella as other wind sports. He took one look at the number of incident and accident reports and ran the other way.

Don't know what the moral is, other than to say that a guy who routinely chucks himself off cliffs and tows himself up to 2000 feet in a bunch of canvas and aluminum struts thinks OUR sport has too many safety concerns.

Hey i got attacked by a sting ray today. 10 hrs in hospital with free drugs. No real damage to me but im sure the stingray has a sore head.I got to tell you it realy f----- Hurt.

matto said...
North= new cabrinha
Or
North= man made structures (boats, light poles)
Cabrinha= nature (trees)

Speaking of trees, if they had launched in the council designated kiting area instead of up nearer the pier then the kite would just be up a tree and not come to much attention at all.

juggler said...

Rob S said...

Another kite leash released when launching on beach. Didnt see why it was released. Lines and bar wrapped around top of light pole. 24 knot wind. 8m Rebel. Lightweight rider.

The kite looped continuously and yanked the hell out off the light pole. I thought it was going to tear down the big steel pole then it disconnected and flew into 'the house opposite with the lines and bar wrapped around the power lines. They tensioned up and pulled all the electrical wires together. Hells bells sparks flying everywhere. even on poles in the next side street up.

Police, Fire Brigade and Power company turned up.

Everyone ok. But another step closer to closing this beach I fear. What can be done!

Broken line maybe? Could happen to anyone.

Could happen to anyone in rosebud

hope the person has insurance.correct me if im wrong,but do the power company hand you the bill for removing your kite???

yea of course it was a north....

definitely the new cabrinha. even seen a few in the trees lately, or around boats, cars etc.

This rider looked very nervous before the kite was even launched. Given the strong winds and the clear nerves the person was showing it would have been better not to launch the kite at all. I can see how this person got a shock once her kite went into the air as you don't really feel the force of the wind until your kite is reaching twelve. For someone who hasn't had a lot of experienced this would have been very daunting.

This rider was clearly not ready for conditions like this it was evident in the way she held the bar(horizontally rather than inline with the kite) and overall body language.

Let's hope we can all take care and avoid incidents like this happening, which bring negative publicity to the sport and raise questions about the sustainability of kite boarding at popular locations.

Yeah 2 guys nearly ended up in the power lines yesterday. Both of them riding 12's as expected. This issue won't go away until we Di something or the council does

Agree with Matto, yesterday was fantastic.

I can go one better though. I came in around 5pm when I reckon gusts were close to 30 knots. I had used all my depower on my 8m. A nice looking gentleman was just heading out on a 13m .... (brand now more associated with trees than Cabrinhas). Amazing!

Saffer said...
It's one of the key reasons I keep stating that Altona is not ideal for beginners, much to the dismay of one or two people on the forum. There is no room for error and the location of the powerlines pose an immediate risk to bans at Altona if beginners continue to kite there.

To be kiting at Altona, you really should be comfortable going upwind and launching and landing should be a complete non-issue. We will not avoid these incidents happening until the schools and the shops stop recommending it as a beginner spot. How long do you think the council is going to take a $10K hit before they react.

Same as Brighton, everyone will be out on 8-10m kites & beginners will rock up with 12m kites, one in particular this week & we had a discussion & he didn't go out. Will be having a word to the "teacher" as I know who it is, not that I can see that working! Only in it for the $$$

Rob S said...

Another kite leash released when launching on beach. Didnt see why it was released. Lines and bar wrapped around top of light pole. 24 knot wind. 8m Rebel. Lightweight rider.

The kite looped continuously and yanked the hell out off the light pole. I thought it was going to tear down the big steel pole then it disconnected and flew into 'the house opposite with the lines and bar wrapped around the power lines. They tensioned up and pulled all the electrical wires together. Hells bells sparks flying everywhere. even on poles in the next side street up.

Police, Fire Brigade and Power company turned up.

Everyone ok. But another step closer to closing this beach I fear. What can be done!

I was wondering what the commotion was all about as I was arriving to take photos (this thread)
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Victoria/Altona-1-Mar-2013-Photos/ . Saw all the services in attendance; had no clue it was kitesurfing related.

djdojo said...

rsh said...
This rider looked very nervous before the kite was even launched. Given the strong winds and the clear nerves the person was showing it would have been better not to launch the kite at all. I can see how this person got a shock once her kite went into the air as you don't really feel the force of the wind until your kite is reaching twelve. For someone who hasn't had a lot of experienced this would have been very daunting.

This rider was clearly not ready for conditions like this it was evident in the way she held the bar(horizontally rather than inline with the kite) and overall body language.

Let's hope we can all take care and avoid incidents like this happening, which bring negative publicity to the sport and raise questions about the sustainability of kite boarding at popular locations.

So, you saw all these signs of impending doom and you stood back and watched??!!

Please, all of us, if we see someone looking like they've no idea, let's say something before sh!t goes down. Asking if they know what they're doing, suggesting they might launch further upwind away from hazards, simple constructive advice like this. Only once have I had a person disregard my offerings of advice, and on that occasion he changed his mind as soon as I called back-up.

Most of the time people are glad to receive tips that could save their life, and increase their sense of fun and being welcome.

Pro-active is the way to go. Speak up in advance.

^ Agree!

I saw a beginner casually training himself on a windy day on the sand at altona 30m from road and power lines. I walked him into the water and got him waist deep, where he could practice without trees/roads/electrocutions.

Blew my mind that he would practice flying a full size kite on a windy day on the beach.

But, beginners have no idea! especially if they only go out once a month or so. Look out for the safety of your massive noob buddies.

Another MENTAL occurence was some dickhead given lessons at HAMPTON beach (about 20m of sand) RIGHT in front of A BRICK wall!!!!! NO HELMET on student, FULL size 12m kite, 18knots!!!!! ONE MISTAKE ..SPLAT!!!! I told the INstructor and student to stop the lessons, the "instructor" Probably some loser trying to sell an old kite to a noob, told me to FARK off!!! I told him he is risking the life of a beginner, what a disgrace!

I think the beginner got freaked out and bailed the lessons...rightly so!

salt said...
I think the beginner got freaked out and bailed the lessons...rightly so!

Good on ya Salt! I would have done the same, but more... told the instructor .... no you F$$$$K OFF! And reported him to IKA & VKSA. They really need to be named and shamed, especially on this forum so others can well avoid. Seriously.

On a side reply to Saffer.... I used to argue with you about beginners being ok at Altona, but now I see the light living in Townsville. The only 'official' spot we have here is Pallarenda beach and it too has powerlines on the Northern section. The signs are clear and maps are distinct stating NO KITING near the power lines, even for experts. It is like twice the distance that it is in Altona to the launching area and the signs still yell it to all - NO GO ZONE! Yet Altona has a higher risk of this and the signage is crap to say the least. I hope council put up very clear and precision signs right smack on the beach edge and on the grass area saying 100% where everyone should go and NOT SUITABLE FOR BEGINNERS would be good too.