DOT now consider Kites vessels, same as sail boats.
So go as you please, do as you please.... as long as you obey the general rules of the water including right of way, use the right safety gear for the distance you going off shore. And be sensible, if going somewhere you dont feel 100% safe, dont go alone.
Enjoy your downwinder :)

www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/kite-and-windsurfing.asp

On this - what's the kiting like in the bay south of Hillaries?

I live SOR, so usually end up at Woodies, but now work in North Beach, be keen to find somewhere close to work I could chuck a kite up during the week in the afternoon.

Looks like a decent stretch of beach, right angle to catch the sea breeze, no reef/rocks that I have seen? Does Sorrento SLSC allow kiting there?

hey shano

short answer is that you can, but it is not that popular as it is choppy as all hell
it has 3 groynes and a marina downwind if things go pear shaped and you can't re-launch (thinking beginners) and also it can be a popular swimming beach if the wind is 15-20kn in summer (rather than a sand blasting 25kn+ to keep people away).

you can kite the whole stretch of coast between trigg and hillaries if inclined - the wind angle is fine, some guys do downwinders along it too. but the trade off is that some of the pocket beaches have limited space to rig up or self launch/land, especially if people or dogs around, so many guys don't bother. also plenty of reefs and cliffs that have shredded kites in the past - heaps of posted photos and examples on seabreeze as evidence.

best bet is to go pinnaroo if you want flat(ter) water or outer reefs, mullaz for some slop and flat inside or back to trigg/scabs and dodge the waves of downwinder guys as they come through. or as you know keep heading south on your way home anywhere to leighton there are beaches and shories to smash/snap fins off.

for mine - i've only ever launched off sorrento to do longer down winders along outer reef lines up the coast - and would't even bother to kite it unless desperate to get away from the missus and the coffee shop crowd across the road if wind is honking and i am trapped with no car, but all my gear

Cheers mazdon, exactly the sort of info I was after.

Also received a PM from another member with the following link - http://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/Explore/Beaches/Activities/Kitesurfing/SorrentoExclusionZones.aspx
I've seen the WAKSA location guide, but it only mentions Mullaloo, doesn't address Sorrento.

I got to the point by the end of last summer where I was stopping off at Leightons on the way home from work - just the issue is I kill half an hour of daylight driving down there. Until the days get longer, if I don't get out of work before 4:30, that half an hour can make the difference between it being worth chucking the kite up.

Have seen a Core kite up in one of the little bays here in North Beach, but they're all pretty rocky/reefy. Pinnaroo/Mullaloo means I'm heading further away from home. Just figured Sorrento is a beach I can see from work, looked pretty open etc. Might have to stop at Scarbs/City Beach and have a proper look next time the wind's up.

I used to live in North Beach
so I've thrown a kite up just south of the jetty a couple of times
too dangerous at this time of year
reef and rock everywhere
and only that one spot to launch and land
which also rules out anytime there's anyone on the beach (coz it's so small)
but if it's nuking you can kite upwind and hang out behind the surfers

better off at south Trigg or Brighton