Sounds like you guys have a great deal of trouble in WA? Australia has one of the longest coastlines per capita of any where on the earth.I live in a major city (Melbourne) I have broken every rule in the book, i bought a kite of the internet and learnt to kite via the tried and trusted...trial and error system,it worked just fine because i observed just one golden rule.I kited away from everyone else. I stacked all over the place for a few days. but no one ever knew about it. sometimes i think you girls just need something to bitch about.Grow up, fill your petrol tanks and go for a drive you might find some epic spots that you can fill us all in about on this here forum.Pack of whiney ladies.As uncle chop says "whinge F#@&*$en whinge".
Too much????
What about a simple kiter identification system? This is the way to go about reducing risk of kiting. It wouldn't be a full on 'licenced and registered' kiter system, but a more freely obtained and quicker processed deal.
For instance, off the top of my head
1. A kitesurfer shows up at a busy 'problem' beach
2. Kiter obtains a numbered patches from the local kite or sail shop after showing identification which is recorded.
3. Kiter attatches patches to both sides of kite.
4. If kiter conducts himself dangerously, witnesses can dob him in to the kitesurfing association, shop, or where ever. I'm guessing the shop wont quite want to deal with the complaints though.
5. The problem kitesurfer can receive a fine?
It is a free system with no waiting time for a licence or anything, which means both locals and tourists can use together.
It would deter kiters from doing things too stupid, knowing they could get caught and also provide the beach-goers with a place to discharge all their complaints and anger.
yo swinginginthewind
agreed, I do the same - tell em off, explain and shame, etc etc.
and then the next day there is another helmet and vest wearing newby in 12 knots winds with a kite falling out the sky into the swimmers!
I know from experience in surfing that if I go to a spot where I know there is a 'local factor' I am going to get less waves, or take the smaller inside or fatter outside ones - FACT.
So, if these newby's are tearing down the strip doing stupid things, how many runs do you think it will take for them to realise that there are 4 'kiteguards' positioned just before floreat flags or brighton flags and no f*kin way am I going to go close in there and risk getting my kite deflated by them AGAIN!
time to be a little more assurtive than the lifeguards.. me thinks. get them while they still learning, get em learning right!
All this ideas have the best of purposes but I don't think it gonna work.
Some people are pricks and no matter what you say will help there, but for most people it's just lack of knowledge.
I've been here for about a year now and saw the little folder pointing out designated kite areas and restricted zones for the first time yesterday. When I came here the first time kiters seemed to be at every beach so I just walked down and rigged, once I was asked to move further along the beach by a life guard but in general it's easy to get the impression that it's ok to kite everywhere.
Especially since the beaches are overloaded with signs and warnings(cottesloe beach have a warning for water and waves...). If it's not a crossed over kiter it's easy to assume that it's free to kite.
So I would say the first step is to put up proper signs where it's forbidden to kite(or forbidden to launch). Every time I roll in to a parking it states that I have to pay up $250 if I camp on it, would it really be that hard to do the same thing to regulate kiting? It takes minimum effort, kills the argument "I didn't know" and it gives everyone around the impression that it already are regulated and therefore no reason to ask for a ban?
Then ask every school to hand each student the little folder with the kiting guidelines after the first lesson. We're all on the same side here.
Just the 5 cent's from one of the "euro's"...
And I agree that anyone that visit another country should respect the native population and behave decent...
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..pretty much like Australians in Kuta ![]()