Latest news today,.. bloody nanny state!
www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/kite-and-wind-surfers-forced-to-wear-life-jackets-20140802-zzr1j.html
woah tiger slow down . Think about it very carefully . Firstly this not coming into full effect straight away . there is an 18 month awareness period . Secondly how often do you go further than 400m offshore ?
Personally i always wear a pfd and helmet as i am on either a raceboard or slalom board but even when i use the tt i see no reason why i wouldn't wear it anyway .
I really don't see how it is that much of a big deal .
I do kite the outer reefs back at home, so I do get out past 400 a fair bit.
Dusta, you are missing the point, what about my tan, I already have a silly white belly and now I?ll be wearing a permanent white singlet, devastating.
All jokes aside Im just not a fan of being told what to do,. if I want to risk my life I should be able to, as long as you are not harming anyone else. It will also be another expense, person epirbs are not cheep and if they do what they have done with the boaties where they have to be changed yearly,. well that?s another board?
i'm not missing the point . I think your argument is without merit .
Epirbs start from around $200 and plb from around $300 , so that must be a pretty cheap board . Epirbs do not have to be changed yearly, infact some can go for up to 6 years . The only time boaties were forced to change them was when they switched frequencies . I know cos i am a boat owner .
You are basically acting like a little spoily kid , You know i used to detest pfd's and helmets until i had to wear a pfd for racing and after i took a light hit to the head from my race board and just after loosing sproddy i got a helmet . now i don't even think or notice i am wearing them .
Yes I agree....what about the tan. I hate tan lines. That is...if I could get a tan.
However there is sometimes merit in the idiocy.
Who among us is prepared to pay the real costs of hauling us back to shore if all hell breaks loose and we end up in serious trouble?
And EPIRBs aren't replaced yearly. Not even inspected yearly.
I use an impact vest all the time.It gives me enough buoyancy to float with out having to swim or wade.I wonder if this is good enough.
I don't think impact vests meet the ADR for the PFD category? All PFD's that meet the design rules have a stamp or sticker on them. It would be good if they did and it might spur manufacturers to make them comply. I've never worn one but the guys that do look like they have super hero muscles with the 6 pack pads and chest muscle pads....
I might get one so the wife doesn't have to watch.......
Never mind I digress
ha ha beat me to it ^^^^
I bet impact vests wont cut it - doesn't have the PFD "compliance' mark on them or reflective tape etc :-(
The next question is what is actually out there in the market that will meet the new regulations and that are compatible with waist harnesses?? What have you got Dusta and are there many options?
Oh and I guess there's no need for an impact vest if you have to wear a PFD - what to do with all of the redundant impact vests ( I would be ditching stock now if I owned a shop!) ??
npx immortal vest .
covers me for things like l2l and any racing events around the country .
TBH i find that it does not impede me in any way and has never gotten in the way of any movement . acts as an impact vest when you are smashing downwind at 25+ knots and bite it .
i do use it with ion b2 shorts though so it doesn't slide up around my neck .
Dusta you look cute in your npx
Im sure if im kiting an offshore reef thats exposed at low tide, technically isnt that like 10m from the shore......
If you cant swim 400m dont kite out that far, if you cant swim to your kite.
Then dont be a lazy ass and get in shape.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Select to expand quotedusta said..
i'm not missing the point . I think your argument is without merit .
No sh#t, im talking about tan lines, seriously, you cant be that dumb! (Its called humour)
Cheers for correcting me about the eperbs, I must have been getting confused with flares, anyhow mr boat owner thank you!
Thanks Dusta - I find my NPX impact vest doesn't fit very well with my waist harness - Im pretty sure most are the same - I look forward to being shown up wrong!!
I bought my impact vest assuming it would fit with my harness - silly me :-(
I guess bike helmets were s#@T until they became mandatory and then the manufactures pounced on the 'new" opportunity - I hope the same might happen with the harness manufacturers ???
Interestingly in Vic I think the rules are you don't need to wear a pfd if you are wearing a wet suit (buoyancy) and are no further than 200 m off the beach - in board shorts I guess you should be wearing a pfd all the time ?? - no one does! ( Ok we don't get many weeks in Vic that you can kite only in boardies LOL)
Which raises another issue - will the WA police the new laws ?? And where ?? only the busy beaches ??
Im not sure if I'm understanding this correctly.
I thought that Epirbs were activated when they are submerged in water? and do Flares do they still work if they are wet?
Just law makers ass covering, this will not likely be enforced.
Imagine how much of a badass you would feel like "J" walking across the road then sneaking 400m offshore for a kite without the epirb/floaties.....
This is gonna be some breaking bad hectic sh@t, better call Seoul !
Select to expand quoteONYX said..
Dusta you look cute in your npx
Onyx you look a million times more adorable than your owner :0
As someone who water skied and wakeboarded before I started kiting I always wear a life jacket. Some weird stuff happens and like the article says if you get knocked out, odds are you'll drown. A life jacket might be just enough to keep you above water and alive.
I always thought it was common sense, but then I might not be as gnarly as you lot. :p
pffft...life jackets in WA? id rather drown than bob around waiting for a noah to tear me a love hole... must be plenty of bait buoys offshore to hang on to anyway
Select to expand quotekiterboy said..
WAKSA endorsed this nanny state ****e??
Were WAKSA members even consulted on this?
it was going to happen with or without waksa support . Why don't you have a go at WWA as wellwhile you are having a massive hissy fit as this affects windsurfers as well .
i would love to know exactly how many tt and directional riders actually go more than 400m offshore anyway .
Alot of crying over something that is not going to affect 95% of the kiting community .
kiterboy it is not so much for if you get knocked out, if you are miles out to sea and a line snaps . kite goes into deathloops and you have to pack down . You might have lost your board in the process. How are you going to get back ???
I'm being serious .
and i have to laugh at the amount of butthurt idiots in this thread . bring on the red thumbs .
Imagine the downwinders in perth now with that rule in place.The other 50 % of kite surfers in perth will joining the freo to trigg train!.
Imagine snagging a jump and landing ass first with your front of your life jacket lifting with the impact and giving you wiplash.
There is going to have to be specialised kite impact vest/ life jacket.
Some of these boat rescue life jackets could be quite dangerous when used for kiteboarding.
This is is the sort dumb ass knee jerk reaction that makes WA one of the most frustrating places to live.
These rules have to be specialised for kiteboarding and not just taken from boating traditions and applied directly to kiteboarding.
There was clearly not enough forward thinking and research done into making this rule.
The thing I like with this dumb knee jerk reaction has no basis. In the article they state in light recent events locally??? Show me some data and ill except it. I do on the other hand believe not being able to swim under a wave/ marine traffic due to constant buoyancy could be an issue. Plus if it is the type of jacket I think they will try and introduce is crazy expensive. We just brought them for work and they are 1500 a pop. Mainly because they can?t be just triggered by water, you switch them on and they pop on radar,. Latest and greatest new rules but hey what do I know.
Select to expand quoteGazuki said..
The thing I like with this dumb knee jerk reaction has no basis. In the article they state in light recent events locally??? Show me some data and ill except it. I do on the other hand believe not being able to swim under a wave/ marine traffic due to constant buoyancy could be an issue. Plus if it is the type of jacket I think they will try and introduce is crazy expensive. We just brought them for work and they are 1500 a pop. Mainly because they can?t be just triggered by water, you switch them on and they pop on radar,. Latest and greatest new rules but hey what do I know.
obviously not much as the image i posted can be had for around $80 . If it wasn't rated it would not have been acceptable for l2l, oceanics, loc etc etc
Select to expand quotedusta said..Gazuki said..
The thing I like with this dumb knee jerk reaction has no basis. In the article they state in light recent events locally??? Show me some data and ill except it. I do on the other hand believe not being able to swim under a wave/ marine traffic due to constant buoyancy could be an issue. Plus if it is the type of jacket I think they will try and introduce is crazy expensive. We just brought them for work and they are 1500 a pop. Mainly because they can?t be just triggered by water, you switch them on and they pop on radar,. Latest and greatest new rules but hey what do I know.
obviously not much as the image i posted can be had for around $80 . If it wasn't rated it would not have been acceptable for l2l, oceanics, loc etc etc
I agree, not much but a little more than you. As nice as your pretty $80 vest is it doesnt contain a EPERB or Flares as stated in the article,.. This is the what the discussionis is about (try and keep up) If it was just a vest I dont see to much of an issue, its only when you combine them with an eperb then its an issue/ exspensive, the only one I know of as I said is well clear of a grand.
I think many here are missing the point. This is not about whether it's a good idea or safer or whatever to wear a life jacket. This is about the government making another petty little rule in the nanny state. Before the rule anyone can choose to wear a life jacket or not, depending on ones own assessment of the safety and risks. After the rule we must all wear one because some nanny legislator decided for us. The alternative is to break the law which many of us do on a regular basis because the rules are so ridiculous.
Select to expand quoteGazuki said...
The thing I like with this dumb knee jerk reaction has no basis. In the article they state in light recent events locally??? Show me some data and ill except it. I do on the other hand believe not being able to swim under a wave/ marine traffic due to constant buoyancy could be an issue. Plus if it is the type of jacket I think they will try and introduce is crazy expensive. We just brought them for work and they are 1500 a pop. Mainly because they can?t be just triggered by water, you switch them on and they pop on radar,. Latest and greatest new rules but hey what do I know.
Can you post a pic of this jacket?
Would be interesting to see what is going to potentially price many people out of their sport.
Does anyone know of any other way to carry epirbs and flares, suitable for kiting?
Does the DOT even know??
Also, WAKSA would have known about this ruling for quite a while.
Why did you choose not to keep your members informed WAKSA?
Your members should have heard about this from you first, not from the Perth tabloid.
Poor form WAKSA.
I'm with Dusta on this and don't see the issue.
If you are that far out and something happens with your lines/harness causing the kite to disconnect - how many people can swim the 400m back to shore?
this new rule isn't going to effect the majority of kiters, with only the racers having to buy a new type of vest (life jacket vest rather than an impact vest).
I do agree though there needs to be some design work on the type of life jackets that can be safely used for kiting.
Any jacket with foam flotation will almost break your neck if you fall into the ocean from height.
there are lots of industries that use inflatable PFD's (personal flotation devices) that would be a better design to use for kiting.
I'm sure someone will cross a PFD and impact vest making a perfect life/impact jacket for kiters (I think I need to get to the patent office to stake my idea).
Steve
