Wow that's pretty rough if he actually got fined.
I probably would have told them my name was Robby Naish and they could send the fine to my house in Hawaii and I will fix it up straight away for them..

Ahh as far as I am aware the law changed for windsurf/kitesurfing (and I was sure it is a Nation wide law?) is that within 400m of the beach if you're wearing at least a 2mm wettie/rashie then no PFD is needed. If you go out side of that then yes you need a Type 1 PFD.

We did have an issue with a race in Melb were we go out 9km and the cops waited for the start of that, then came in and threatened to fine people!

wearing a lifejacket in the surf would be a *** idea if you ask me! getting pinned under your sail when you need to be free to swim out etc....

EDIT: NSW regulations

Whoever came up with these laws is probably the same nob that wrote the Qantas "we don't take windsurf gear because your mast is 370cm long" rule. They obviously think Windsurfing equals the 1984 type sport.

In reality most dangerous situations in Windsurfing today arise from being pinned under your gear, being held down by a wave or getting knocked in the head by your mast or board.

The only thing that helps you in those situations is being able to swim free or in the case of being knocked in the melon a helmet. Maybe if they introduced helmet laws I would have said "ok, I can understand where you are coming from".

Maybe now that Windsurfing is no longer an Olympic sailing sport we can move on and have it removed from the list of regulated sports.

I have not heard of any enforcement in NSW. For Sydney, Botany Bay seems like a likely place for issue of fines in summer as the Police or more likely Maritime are sometimes there to monitor jetskis.

Always worth knowing someone else's details (name/DOB/address) as Council or equivalent do not have power to request identification so rely on the assumption you give correct details or get your car rego and later check with the Police if you were being honest.

Like any fine, contest it if you feel it is unfair or incorrectly issued.

I suppose the theory is to encourage water safety.

stehsegler said...

elmo said...

This is not what you want to read but...

I wave sail with a PDF, have done so since a mosquito killed my fitness.

From personal experience and I spend to much time floundering in the impact zone being a bit of a muppet, the paranoia about them in the surf is unfounded.

That's fine. It's you right to have a choice.

Do you wear a helmet too? Also I hope you have one of those type 1 vests that hold your head up. Wearing a type III vest without head support has proven to be not particularly good at keeping you alive if you pass out.

This is one of the reasons they never introduced this law in Germany for example. It was seen impractical to wear a type I vest for windsurfing. Then again, they don't have bike helmet laws either.

I use the standard Neil Pryde vest style PDF.

I do wear a PDF as choice (but do recommend them) I believe PDF laws are fairly uniform around the land

And yes I use a helmet, having destroyed 2 already, one surfing the other windsurfing which left a dent in the back of my head, I'm a big fan as well.

I got a pfd in my toilet. Can't get rid of the thing no matter how hard I flush

Hi Geoff,

There is a thread already on this:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/General/PFD-legislation-difference-between-states/

NSW info is new, thanks Russell

russh said...

EDIT: NSW regulations

Has anyone noticed the difference between the regs for windsurfers and kite boarders in this table. If a kiter is more than 400m offshore and not alone (with another kiter i suppose) then no requirement to wear pfd. am i reading this correctly