After seeing St Kilda

Well after going to the state champs at St Kilda yesterday to have a look i have to say that i tend to agree with everyone about it being "the place" to learn and continue learning to the point where your skills are up to the stage where you can handle a more advanced place to kite.

Enormous amounts of sandy area to launch and land and the water goes deeper very fast, no sand bars to trip you up and send you flat into the sand. No tress, no roads, no power lines

My wife was really impressed with the place and grabbed all the brochures about kiting she could find.

Realistically there are a few drawbacks to the place but they don't really involve the safety side of it.

First one is the parking. You would not want to be there for a few hours, you would need a bank loan to pay for the parking meters.
Whilst sitting in the cafe next to THEZU ( someone was something when they thought up that name) you soon realise that's expensive too, but the food was great quality.
Plus you can see that it would be like the safeway carpark on shopping day it would get so busy.

But other than those small gripes, you can see how it is a great place to be learning.

I agree. My point of view:

- parking is practically for free (4 hours on the other side) + I have never got a ticket. Im working in Middle Park and Inspectors are quite friendly so far.

- Safest beach I've seen

- The cafe or bar is absolutely horrible. I work in hospitality and to be honest. If I have the place on the beach, with such a constant AND very specific group of customers, that place would rock. What I can see is the old stinky average cafe from 1950... - no MUSIC, horrible service, horrible offer. BEACHBAR? NO!

- St Kilda is my local beach and unfortunatelly, some of the instructors are bit wankas to be honest. Exactly as you said.

- I've seen 3 people wrapped around the poles :( thats said.

Good winds to everyone!

There is free parking both sides if you get a foreshore parking permit. Do a search for it to see if you qualify. It's only $20/year

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The tide varies a great deal in the bay and can run quite high, add to that a choppy day and you would barely be able to make out the markers if they were much shorter.

I can understand what your saying but there are navigational markers that can float that can still be seen no matter how high the tide is and also much saffer then the regular timber pole.




I know which one id rather have a tangle with!

Nope, standard tide variation is no more than a metre in the bay. You would need a 3m swell to reduce their visibility - if it's that big, no body will be out.

Those yellow poles were only put in a couple of years ago, as part of Parks Victoria setting out segregated water use zones.

For all the times I have been out at St Kilda I have never seen anyone wrapped on the Poles, although my mate did get wrapped up there a few weeks ago. He's a relative newby - pretty sure he won't make the same mistake twice.

With the parking, there is a section that is free unlimited on Cowderoy St outside the milk bar, and outside the old Beaconsfield Pub on Beaconsfield Parade. I know because I live right there and that's where I park my Kombi.

I agree the West Beach pavillion is a huge disappointment. The restaurant/cafe is balls and doesn't seem to integrate well with the community. I can appreciate the retro Art Deco aspect but I wouldn't feel comfortable hanging there in my wetsuit on a break. Considering the place was supposedly developed by a couple of guys who are keen kitesurfers, you would have thought this would have been a priority. It would be awesome if they had it set up like a beach bar with a DJ, speakers etc and maybe KBV members get a discount. Over the summer there are lots of us there and they have successfully alienated us.

However: The Milk bar on Cowderoy St is run by a cool Greek couple and you can get everything you need there save for a beer. They will even make a salad roll for you if you want, and sell South Melbourne dimmies. I've been known to stroll over there in my wettie and grab a Big M.

St Kilda is one of the best spots I have been to, that doesn't require a mission to get to, with heaps of space once you get past the lesson groups.

I would have thought it smart if the cafe had been integrated with the shop next door, if if only in theme, but yeah it was a dim place to be honest, no real atmosphere. I was expecting it to be all "up" in a way considering the view of the kiting.