Heading home this arvo over the Canning bridge, saw a kiter with a orange/pinky kite (couldnt have a close look, too much traffic) up in front of the Raffles hotel.
Very bad place to kite i think (nice flat water though 
) so I figured he/she'd got caught in no mans land in the middle of the swan when the wind dropped this arvo.
I was near home and car access is difficult there so I jumped on my pushy and pedalled down, figuring the person would need a hand to land their kite.
Got to the river only to see the kite heading away towards the freeway narrows bridge.... doing loops downwind parallel with the freeway to keep board speed up. very very bad place to kite i think.
Sorry I couldn't help whoever you were, you were way too far away by that stage for me to be of any use and it appeared you had no wind or water left to play with.
Just wanted to check you'd made it back ok, and find out how.....
Hi, that was me!
Sorry for causing concern - I got my girlfriend to help me launch from just outside the raffles and then went from there down to the bit of beach down near Mill Point Road where my girl helped me land it.
Great fun, but I know its probably not a good idea so close to the freeway.
I did it again the next day from Melville Waters area, but I'll keep out of there from now on.
Thinking of trying another downwind from Freo way to the normal Kite spot at Melville Waters.
Thanks for trying to help out, would have looked a bit odd i guess!
) so I figured he/she'd got caught in no mans land in the middle of the swan when the wind dropped this arvo.
IF THE MANS CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO DO IT,I SAY GO FOR IT !
SO STOP BEING SOFT COCK CITY SLICKERS, AND BAGGING THE HELL OUT OF SOMEONE WHO TRYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT!.OK
a kite could get lost from anywhere and still end up in the same spot.
Cops that went past didn't seem too concerned.
We had back up etc, waiting for us and plans for if stuff went wrong. Did Monday on my own, and the next day with a mate, both times had a ground crew.
Gonna try a new spot anyway soon just giving it a go, obviously don't want to cause concern. Nice to know though that there are so many people willing to rush to try and help out thinking that we were in trouble.
"a kite could get lost from anywhere and still end up in the same spot..."
WRONG.
And you honestly think that this line of thought justifies kiting next to a freeway???
Regardless of how many people you've got backing you up, & being there 'just in case' this is just lunacy...
Kiting 101...stay away from people; buildings; power lines & poles, cars (parked or otherwise) blah blah blah...and you go kiting along side/near a freeway??? FFS...
Sure, I'm going to get burnt for being a party pooper, but everyone on this forum talks about kiters doing the right thing to protect spots & our sport. Sure, nothing happened to you this time, but that was this time.
FYI, a few years back a young Teuro's kite ended up in the traffic on the Narrows Bridge during peak hour simply because he thought he was good enough to kite up to the spot you did.
We talk about 'self regulation' in this sport. How do we regulate this crap...
I think its about etiquette and respect for for the sport. If the sport is shown to be a problem or risk to other river users and the surrounds it may end up being cornered in to specific areas like jetskiing has. They should be up for a challenge but not at the risk of others. I guess these guys are fairly new and didn't think it through first!
That's what the fella a few years back was thinking. Looks like a good place to kite and we all saw the pics of his Takoon sitting in the bus lane on the narrows in peak hour.
If you think it could be the wrong place to kite it probably is.
If you want to challenge yourself with your new found kite skill of actually going up wind, then head out to the ocean and do your thing out there. The river can get crowded with all sorts of boats not to mention the urban infrastructure.
What you all did was lame to say the least. Go out in the ocean for this sort of adventure. River metro kiting adventure is asking for trouble and you look like a nit wit to the locals. If you are afraid of the ocean then stick to the spots the locals are using. Believe me, it has all been tried and done and that is why there is certain spots on the river where we all congregate.
Too many people out there with new found skills who think that they can now go anywhere.................use your kn heads, esp. if you are a tourist.........use the location guide at www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=waksa&e=com
And for gods sake if you are going to kite Peli or any other river spot then ask the locals how to most safely launch and land............the things I am seeing these days are simply frightening. Credit goes to all the locals doing what they can this year and so far no major screw ups.....touch wood.
Perth is kiting mecca, and all locals must remain vigilant and intervene when we see stuff going down that is shocking and really stupid. I know it gets tiring, but until we have some sort of regulation it is up to us.
HE HE HAHA ! THAT GOT YAZ GOIN. LOVE TO STAY AND CHAT BUT IM OF TO SHOOT SOME KANGAROOS AND ROAD SIGNS OUT ON THE HIGHWAY WITH ME REDNECK MATES ! YEEHOO!
Bollocks to all the negative comments! If you are a competent kiter go where you like providing it is not prohibited. That section of water is almost useless to other water craft. If you have to kite in the cesspit it is a great spot. You should organise races up and down there, it will give those on the varicose vein something to look at. If it causes a twenty car pile up it will give people something to talk about.
Any kiter who cannot release thier kite the moment he gets into trouble should not be kiting any where near people or obstacles be they 10 meters or 200 meters. For ****s sake you have thousands standing on the banks when that bloody stupid air race is on. One **** up there and potentially hundreds killed. Do you write to the paper about that?
Yes there is a danger that someone will get hurt, probably very soon. It is not contingent on kiting along the freeway.
And think of the publicity. The mind boggles we could advertise! PM me!
I love this forum. Perhaps it is the kid in me but some people are so predictable, more so than throwing stones onto the hen house roof at night to get a cackle.
"what a loser, common sence dikk head"
Only a cretin whose brain is battling for oxygen that has been displaced by testosterone and inflated opinions can come up with that. If you were a fish your species would have been extinct shortly after man learned to thread a hook.
I was taking the piss, ( best copy and paste that when you do a search for it's meaning as your communications skills are obviously sorely lacking).
Hook, line and sinker!
Anybody who sails anything knows that the locals know the best spots and if you are willing to kite the Swan effluent system the place to go is Applecross, Pelican point or point Walter.
But you are laboring under and illusion if you think one accident in an unusual spot is going to get the sport banned in the event of an accident. Sure, if people break the rules on the beach it may well have an impact, and rightly so. Locals are then justified in telling you what to do.
But this mass hysteria that boils over when anything unusual happens becomes very tiresome and one has to forgive a bloke for having a bit of fun.
