Can someone tell me why there are no signs at the pond to let people know the general rules of where kites go and where windsurfers go. I seen one at the access where the shower/ hose is but it was not very clear. Are there any rules?
Kites stay in the southern half (upwind), windsurfers stay on the northern half (downwind) as per the signs.
They're not really enforced rules though, there's no one policing them. This results in a grey area in the middle, and the boundaries don't include the weed bank at the eastern end.
The whole thing is pretty loose. I wouldn't get too hung up about the signs, without the division bouys (they decided people running into them was too much of a liability risk, from what I've heard) they're really just a guideline on what the go is, and as soon as there's a different wind direction the signs mean diddly squat.
Yeah, there are grey areas, and although the majority of kiters stay upwind, and the majority of windsurfers stay downwind, there always are exceptions from both sides.
The above rules also do not take into account that when the kiter involuntarily drops the kite and is unable to put it up again, he/she is slowly dragged downwind blocking the path to windsurfers... sometimes there is two or three at the same time. This is more a consequence of the rules rather than anyone's fault, but I still think it is better to have "most" of the kiters upwind, and "most" of the windsurfers downwind.
All good with that , nearly had a kite on my head by a learner who had no idea about any of the above general rules. Maybe the council should put something up at all the entries before someone gets hurt.
Thunderdome!
