Hi
Went for a sail late afternoon to dusk yesterday and it was hit a mis but there was the jet-skis out playing around which was fine, but I don't understand why they don't pass at the back of us especially just before dusk when there wasn't many of us out as the wind dropped off.
When they pass in front I am alittle unsure of the distance I may cover to there distance and then I back off the speed and off the plane alittle frustrating.
Good to be out anyway to cool off after that hot day.
Kind Regards
Walt
i had ajet ski within 20ft of me were the driver was busy talking to passenger so i had to yell out for them to turn .In all fairness the passenger was a hot blond & i could understand the distraction . but surely it must be nicer to chat them up on the beach instead of trying over a screaming motor & not looking were ur going .
I was out at Kyeemah on Saturday. Alot less jet skis than over January. However one managed to scare the &^% out of me. I was cruising along with my helmet on, which means that I can't hear things as clearly as the wind blowing through the helmet is pretty loud. Anyway, I was heading towards the beach (NW) and suddenly I hear something loud, and a jet ski screams across the front of me heading upwind about 15-20m from me. He must have been in my blind spot from the luff pocket as I had no warning until the noise came and about a second later he screamed past. It really surprised me as I was just cruising relaxed, and I almost fell off just from the shock. I have never had one get that close to me without me seeing it coming.
I am sure that he had seen me and was not going to hit me, but I am also quite sure he achieved what he was trying to do which was buzz me and give me a scare. I doubt I was in any real danger, but I am sure he was well within the legal range he is meant to be away from me.
I had previously thought I could mostly look after myself to stay out of their way, but now I am questioning that... I just hope they keep alert and don't hit any of us.
-- Adrian
A little upper. I was out there yesterday and while there were a lot of jet skis and they got pretty close and where generally anoing I also witnessed,yes with my own very two eyes, how a jet ski rescued a waindsurfer and towed him in. I thought that was nice of him
On a lighter note, did anyone see the huge guy in the really small tender at kyeemagh? Hi
Larious - how he stayed in that thing I do not know.
As for the jet skis totally ignoring distance laws, couldn't we get someone to come and enforce the law one day? Not sure how realistic that is but would surely send the msg out if we could.
I though they were quite well behaved yeaterday where I was (Kyeemagh-south ramp) - I Did see the water Police pull a couple over.
They do come out of Cooks river mouth flat chat and enter at pretty much the same speed. A lot of traffic getting funnel in and out of those breakwalls.
Been awhile since I was over at Kyeemagh since I used to sail there every weekend and was shocked at the speed these knobs come out of the Cooks River.
Spastic wrist and no responsibility whatsoever. Karma raised its head with the police boat towing one back in with lights flashing. And I complained about racing dinghy's chugging along at 3 knots causing big chop. You blokes must have eyes in the back of your head. Heard lots of stories about boats line trawling etc so yesterday must of been quite like Dave said. But thumbs up to the windsurfer rescuer and also to Mike for instigating.
I thought the jet skiers were not that bad yesterday at Kyeemagh. Perhaps the police action toned them down a bit. If the authorities don't enforce the law it seems inevitable a jetski will collide with a windsurfer resulting in serious injury or death. So hopefully the MSB and water police continue their work there.
The weird thing is a jet ski could go anywhere on the bay. It would be a great vessel to explore the waterways. However they seem to persist in blasting up and down the beach.
On Saturday, around 1:30-2:00 pm near Kyeemagh, I saw the "marine" boat (I assume that's the police one) dragging behind it a red jetski attached by rope.
Though it might have been a rescue operation, it really looked like somebody got into enough trouble to be offered a little ride back to the shore.... At from what I saw later in the afternoon, the same boat had a "chat" with a couple of other jets.
I assume the few irresponsible ones (Most of those i saw later were acting safely enough, or were too far away from me to represent any hazard) found a good reason to cool down a little, so we could focus on the benefits of sharing the spot with motorised [though responsible] crafts.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Queensland/Windsurfer-hit-by-jetski-Monday-3pm-Gold-Coast/
Sobering information.
At least there are no jet ski hire operators. If there were the jet ski situation would be much worse. Perhaps the laws are different in NSW and its not possible to hire a jet ski unless you have a motor boat licence. If its not the case then it should be the case you need a licence.
We have to try ensure we are aware of what is around us as there is no guarantee the jet skier will be aware. We also have to try avoid collisions even when we are in the right.
One of my windsurfing vids shows me on a collision course with a jet skier. He gave way and I acknowledged that with a wave.
Here's a link to the Seabreeze Windsurfing QLD topic on similar subject:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Queensland/Windsurfer-hit-by-jetski-Monday-3pm-Gold-Coast/
Looks like its the same everywhere!!!
Hi all,
As a jetskier (please don't flame me for it!) I have to say I agree with almost everything that most of you have said here, with the exception of the blanket bans.
Georges River and Botany Bay have become a playground for idiots, morons and hoons. I have personally witnessed some of them cutting in and around swimmers in the Bay and have even been told stories of them threatening MSB/Waterways officers when questioned about their behaviour.
I have been threatened, abused and told off when attempting to educate some of these low-lifes and I ended up giving up jet skis for about 5 years because it was just too dangerous in Sydney. Come yesterday however and I got her back on the water again, this time with my 2 kids. I always worry about our safety when on the water around some of these idiots so I could only imagine how much tougher it is for windsurfers who don't have an engine to get out of the way!
I can only ask that you please not taint us all with the same brush. Some of us are more than willing to do the right thing. Unfortunately there are certain groups of mostly angry young/middle aged men. The sort of guys that can't be told what to do, and tend to exhibit the same sort of behaviour on the water as they do on the road. The sort of idiots that tend to hang out at the same spots in Botany Bay during winter, showing off their fully sik (sic) lowered WRX's and what not...
There is a Personal Watercraft industry association which I'm sure would be more than willing to work with you on working out a solution that suits everyone... I can assure you that there's many jet skiers who are just as angry as you guys appear to be about some of those idiots out there too.
Hi Symo,
Thanks for your comments. I am pretty sure all the windsurfers here assume that it is the bad apples that are the problem and not the majority. There are bad apples in our windsurfing community also, but hopefully they do not pose as much risk to the general public.... not because of better attitude... just because they are slower and lighter. We have no problems with jetskis as such... just the ones that risk our lives.
I actually find your comment re WRXs a bit amusing in this context. I drive a lowered and noisy WRX (as a second car) that I mainly use for motorsports, but occasionally I go windsurfing in it, but it never goes over the speed limit and never spins a tyre or revs past about 4000 on a public road. Interesting you assume these guys drive a WRX the same way we might think they ride jet skis.
Cheers,
Adrian
