Ok a kite ended up in the big pine tree again. I am putting this post up for the record so that no one, like the neighbours filming and taking photos make a big deal out of it.
There was marginal wind today and the kiter in question is one of the most experienced kite flyers around....he just took his eye off for a bit and he got bad lucked.....it can happen to any one of us.
The most pathetic thing was that I was out in the water when it happened and apparently the person who's kite it was had no one help him! Can you believe it, there must have been 10-15 people hanging around and not one offered a hand.............shame, shame, shame!
Anyhow, once I came in I was able to help and the kite was taken down no problemo.....I even wanted to speak to the people who were taking the piccies, but they had gone to hide in their house. They know it was not a danger to anyone etc....but may use the photo evidence against kiting at Melville, which would be totally wrong IMO. I know that the our councilors are reasonable people and will not pay attention to this I hope; and that is why I'm getting this on the record while fresh in my mind.
I found it much more obnoxious to have one of the other neighbours using a chain saw on a beautiful Sunday afternoon......Now if this happened in my home country, the guy using the chain saw on a Sunday would have gotten a fine....and the guy flying the kite would have been ignored as he was doing what you are supposed to do on a Sunday...and that is relax.
Nick
PS Remember that if you are teaching or just new to the sport and not upwind comfortably try and use the huge space downwind of the large ghost gum tree. And www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=waksa&e=com
Whats with Cabrinha's and that tree.
The last one stuck in the that tree was a CAB and I think the same model!
Its a shame for "MONKEY griffin" kites that even a Cab kite can climb up the tree but their monkey kites can't.
I'd heard this SB IDS kites had good hangtime, but thats just ridiculous.......
Sorry but I dont care how much experience you have, if you are flying your kite near trees, which you shouldnt, then you should definately not be taking you eye off your kite even for a second.
I probably would not have bothered helping the guy because
1. I would have thought he was an idiot and got what was coming.
2. He has put my local spot at risk...by providing evidence to the people who want to ban kiting.
I thought one of the loose rules at Melville was to NOT fly your kite over the road when walking back upwind?
Seems to me a school boy error was made here by "one of the most experienced kite flyers around" Seriously though anyone who kites Melville in marginal 10-15knts knows you just dont do it!
The fact that the kite ended up in the tree shows that the rider was not exercising caution and being careless. Both of which are conducive to getting the spot shut down.
Thommo - whats happening about the rumoured "Back to Melville Day" for the founding fathers of the Melville Crew.
Sounds like the newbys around today need to be shown how to socialise - proper-like 
ps I reckon we could be dubbed 'the buoys brigade'. 
Maybe call it a buoys night out
FYI -
DPI are definitely looking at restrictions for kiting at Melville.
The local MP, Woollard have asked them to look at it.
Its pretty obvious but its blatent that this guy is just a total retard!!!
And is proably better suited to windsurfing!!! No kite to put in the trees then
Sometimes chit happens unfortunately
as a kid i was always losing my homade kites in the trees & powerlines
and now that im older
i cant even get a mention for a tree gobleing up my surfkite
guess i dont kite in a rich enough spot 
lol
Went for a walk with the dog yesterday along melville beach rd anticipating seeing the zoo in action but was pleasantly surprised.
The majority of people were doing the right thing, outside the buoys or at the least using them to gibe around.
However the guy who lost his kite in the tree was there again kiting right up to the shore line as were a number of other "experienced" kiters in that 'experienced' zone
For a group of kiters who love their spot and don't want to loose it this blatant disregard seems funny to me.
Yeah - rules apply to all, as will a ban should it eventuate.
Use some uncommon common sense people...
Enough said.
Kite on.
If this is a kook, then he needs to be talked to and told to research a spot on the WAKSA website before going out there so he learns his mistake and knows how not to do it in future. If he did repeat it then kick him in the a** until his nose bleeds.
If however the kiter was experienced then this is just unacceptable as the guy obviously has no problem putting himself, others or the local spot at risk (especially seeing as this is the SECOND time he's done it).
Idiots like this will sink us all.
D
We all know that a kite luffing out on a light wind day and catching in the tree is no big deal in itself - nor is it any real danger to anyone but it looks good in pics and it is definite evidence of the rules being broken.
Melville has always seemed to have more than its fair share of less than commonly sensed people but if the guy whose kite ended up in the tree (and was seen to be photographed by the local anti-kite brigade) is back breaking the rules (which will also be photographed immediately) then its time someone started letting down tyres everytime he/she goes out. Seriously. If the guy has been spoken to and the guidelines explained then (no violence obviously) but some positive action is needed.
I know its hard when the signs arent up explaining the 50M zone etc etc but thats the councils perogative & decision while they are currently re-debating the total kite ban option. If the sign was up you would see that you have already lost 5 months of the year. Already council & DPI have resolved there will be NO KITING at Melville from the end of March till the beginning of Sept. That will be the least of the restriction/s and it will be commencing in just 6 weeks time!
If locals cannot get all kiters to abide by the buoys & guidelines it will become a total ban. There will be no kiting at Melville at all.
How more definite does this message have to be for the current locals to act. You need to get that brochure (that WAKSA will pay for) printed and you need to hand it around and talk to EVERY kiter who turns up at the beach.
No-one else is going to save your beach for you.
It may even be too late already.
I agree with Reli and with Puppet up to a point.
If Melville is lost then the flood of newbies will hit all the other beaches and then it is just a matter of time before they get bans as well.
I pay my WAKSA membership so that the resources are put to keep access at all our spots. Now Melville is critical for many reasons and thus I feel that WAKSA should put together the flyer that is mentioned and I am happy to rally people for distribution. I am even willing to put down the rules as I have done many times, both on the WAKSA site and on this forum. The updates that I requested some months back were not put on the WAKSA site. This is a shame as it is one of the reasons I pay my membership.
WAKSA volunteers do plenty I know and the local user groups should do a lot more. However, if it is always left to the same few local people to manage their spot then I am sorry to say we will lose it. To all the "free riders" (a free rider is someone who profits from everyone else's hard work without doing anything themselves) at Melville I say get your act together before the spot gets a total ban.
Personally I feel I have done enough and am at the point where I don't give a crap if the place gets a ban. I'll always find the time to kite somewhere and have a good time. For me Melville is special though and it would be a real shame for all kiters in Perth if we lose it.
So my message to WAKSA is this, do what you feel is important to kiters in WA and if losing Melville is not all that critical then so be it. If will be a sad day for kiting in Perth when and if Melville is gone.
Finally, and this is to all the shops in and around Perth......what are you all doing to keep our access open? In my opinion the commercial side of the sport gets the biggest "free ride."
People always blame the kooks but every time I see someone doing something stupid its normally an "experienced" or "advanced" rider. How many bans have honestly been caused by beginners?
At StK, there are constantly riders riding behind the Pylon's near the slipway, which is a no kiting zone, every single time it happens, its a so called "advanced" rider. Every time it happens or one of them gets spoken to, they claim not to know the rules. 90% of the time its also locals. That means either the guys have got a memory with more holes than the zimbabwean constitution, or they are intentionally disregarding other people's safety and the rules they are required to abide by.
Puppet, in reference to your comments about the March to Sep ban - do you know how that will be advertised? ie if you didn't read seabreeze (ie Tuero's), how would you know? Do they plan to post some signage?
Despite the dude's apparent disregard for the dodgy wind, I would've helped him - the less time a kite spends up a tree, the less time locals have to take piccies to add to their bulging files. He may have deserved it, but bad press helps no one.
Thanks for that nebbian, now I am beginning to see why the one local resident said they "loved the wind surfers." Are y'all providing them with photos and bad mouthing kiters? I certainly would not think so....surely I am wrong.
Otherwise, all cool and I think my comment about "free riders" holds a bit given the photo evidence on the Wind Surfing link.
Have a good sleep bud.
And to all the councilors or people living on MBP, there are some things that I'm sure you all think about.
Some thoughts of mine...(the late easterlies make me stay up and think about kiting).
1. A child was run over by a car on the road a few years back...very sad. Have they banned cars on the road?
2. When the car was invented and first delivery made to some town in the mid-west of the US...they collided. There were many people that wanted to ban cars; perhaps they were visionaries, but history proved them wrong so far.
3. What is a preferred activity for you...hooning in cars or kiting?
4. The river in front of your doorstep is finally being used and enjoyed by hundreds of people whenever there is wind. Is this wrong? The river is not your private playground, we all pay taxes and choose to live in this country because of the fact that most natural resources can be enjoyed by us all. We do not want to become like others where private ownership is worshiped to the extent that it turns the whole country in to a wasteland of empty mansions and urban ghettos; or do we? We are young a free and doing cool stuff like kite surfing......things of the future and not the past.
5. The plan agreed on a year ago between kiters and officials was doomed to fail because one half of the reps. did their bit by putting up the buoys, while the other did not (putting up the signs); is this fair to kiters and the other department? Don't think so.
I'm running out of steam, but just had to get it out.
Good night
A question what would, how was it worded again ""one of the most experienced kite flyers around"" be stuffing around Kiting at Melville in the first place
And Flux I agree with the sentiment - why would you
But there are lots of experienced kiters using Melville. Especially afterwork weekdays.
If you are time poor & work or live local it can be a great option - sometimes the only option.
Major reason it needs to stay open.
edit > and there are some flat water bandits who choose to stay away of the madness of the Woodies jungle
