Load and plop at Melville!

I'm not in a humerous mood.

If you are in such great form that you can do the load and pop handle pass squiggly thing.....which is very hard to do, please practice your great skills outside the yellow markers at Melville. It is always the same thing...load and pop and then squiggly followed by dropped kite and plop....then we all have to watch in wonderment......and wait for the relaunch.............boring.

I do believe Nick is trying to say: "Stay outside the buoys at Melville"

[}:)]

I secound that to. Its vey scary watchin some-one crashing right near the shore.

As far as I understand the rules are that you session outside the buoys, whatever you're doing, and only come inside them for launching and landing. If you're misinterpreting that then I think there's something wrong.

I don't think crashing the kite on a botched flicky-spin-thing counts as landing either hey?

I may as well jump on the band wagon as I find myself kiting into the beach to walk up the beach all the time in the gusty and or light SSW winds. So long as you walk up the beach with your kite out over the water there shouldn't be a problem?

The markers are a fair way out I estimate 2+ maybe 3 kite line lengths depending on your position and the tide... Some people were down on the beach in almost a full Westerly breeze the other day ,at around the area of the bouys learning in a full onshore gusty westerly wind? If a kite is going to land on a car or in a tree or someone get dragged up a beach it's gonna be a learner in onshore winds? Why bother when it's not suitable?

Last of all is there any chance of getting the markers moved in closer to the shore? What is the background as to why they are 50 meters off the beach vice any closer? Why not 30 given you are asking people to not be within that distance and nobody has 30+ meter lines?

Nick #2

Hmmm - a few weeks of not been logged in and

it appears some Melville Kiters have gotten more stupid !!!

Which one of you idiots thinks the Road Or Houses across the road - is the best place to land the kite if you Stuffed up on " Squigglies " lol & had to pull the safety ???

And

If your flash enough to pull the moves - then why the Fark dont you know how to edge your board 50 piddly meters upwind past the markers !!!!

Or is it that your using an undersized Kite for the conditions... more stupidity again !!!

Harden up & show some appreciation for the Marker Buoys - their the comprimise with local council that wanted to ban your stupid arse alltogether !!!

There are No good reasons for anything - after you lose another beach, is there ???

Have a nice day now, wont you

I think you're gonna have to write Melville off after this summer unless some real enforcement is brought to bear. The rich bastards wont want ppl stuffing up their gardens with kiter blood & bone.

I suggest make it a WAKSA location ONLY. Any kiter who doesnt show membership card on demand gets an on the spot council fine. That way, interstate/international kiters wont give locals a bad reputation and WAKSA can effectively ban ppl from the site if the dont play by the rules.

Its the only way it will ever work. Non of this namby pamby pussy footing around with please do this and please do that. As if tourists are going to take any notice of signs that say "please". Forget it. Tourists have nothing to lose. But the Locals do.

Get fines and enforcement happening now or you'll lose it for sure.

NB: Frankly I dunno why anyone would go to Melville anyhow. It really sucks. But hey, if you gotta go, you gotta go....

Went down to Melvs for the first time since the new bouys been put out... I couldn't belive how far out they are! What's the point? Isn't the whole point with the bouys that you land and launch inside of them? Then why not put them at 30 meters from the beach, that way you can go out, launch, get on your board and ride out and if you wanna throw tricks you don't have to ride out to the middle of the river to be allowed to do so.. If you stuff a trick up at the bouys there's still 30 meters to the beach which is mooore than sufficient.. where they are now (not sure of exact distance but looks waaaaay out) is overkill, IMHO..

All spots should be for everyone, freestylers/wakestylers/freerides, not just people who think an awesome kite session involves cruising from one side of the river to the other. And for the record I don't belive the people throwing "squigglies()" are the ones crashing their kites in trees/houses/over cars. It's the kooks and noobs.. Get rid of them and problem solved, even though it's not that easy to get rid of them:)

Good insights shmoo man!

While I was still responsible for the Melville Kiters group I've had 3 meetings with officials and residents regarding access and protocol at Melville.

In the last meeting it was decided that DPI would put up buoys and Council would make up some signs. DPI did it's part, but Council has not done theirs. Why Council is not putting up the signs is beyond me. It is either "too hard," or there is a new Council member who wants to revisit the whole thing from scratch, his right as being newly elected.

I am not impressed with Council agreeing to making the signs and not giving them a go before revisit. Having signs at Melville would make it very clear about the do's and dont's. Without signs telling people what the protocol is, kiters new to the spot haven't got a clue on what is right or wrong. Kiters who do know the rules can not be expected to police every action without signs to point to.

The local vocals have the upper hand when it comes to getting the attention of Council and that is just the way it is. It is important for someone new to step up (preferably a WAKSA member) and help our President (who started the original Melville Kiters Groups some years back) coordinate with officials responsible for water and land issues. In the last meeting we agreed on limiting the kiting season to by making winter a no kite time. In winter all we get is westerlies and they are onshore and gusty.

Melville is dear to my heart and many of my best friends. We live in Melville and can get a quick blast without having to travel to either Woodies or Leighton. Furthermore, Melville is the best place for handling many learners as long as they stick to the local rules. However, without making those rules explicit with signs we are open to random and stupid behaviour.

I'm afraid to think of the overspill effects to other popular Metro spots if Melville gets closed. On a good day, which we have yet to have this year Melville can handle 60 plus kiters no problem. Just imagine with the growth of the sport if you put an extra 20 learners at Woodies, Leighton, Cott. etc.

I am positive about our officials doing the right thing in this instance. They are reasonable people with concerns, but they also need to listen to their constituents even though they may be a minority of the population, it is those that scream the loudest that get heard.

And finally, with property values in premium spots dropping some people with find blame for this beyond what is reasonable and rational thinking....just a thought.

I have full confidence in WAKSA being able to handle this as they have in the past. However, it is up to the stakeholders of this spot to step up now and become pro active. I am not going to carry the ball any longer because even though keeping kiting open at Melville affects me also, I feel I have done enough. I am going to be selfish this year and just kite, but I will do the right thing.

I'll get my kite in every day regardless of what happens at Melville. Personally I think all of WA should be a WAKSA zone only. At least we know that if someone is a WAKSA member they have gotten some written rules about safety and location protocal.............now for a nice day of golf.....sure hope the wind kicks in for you all today....it has been a miserable season start.

Nick

From what you are saying Nick, an issue I see possible is that Melville council either forget the whole deal when re-visiting the situation, or that they are willing to put up signs everywhere saying "kitesurfing banned" the day after they decide to ban ( if it happens ).


Correct me if I am wrong but The bouys aren't their for personal protection or to take responsibility for how deep the water is at all or else DPI would place them another 200 metres out in the middle of the river? They are there to keep people a set distance from the ROAD and TREES and HOUSES to stop possible complaints and possible injuries to people ( I am yet to hear of any ) around the roads/trees/houses only. If the bouys are relocated 30 metres from the high tide beach mark they are still at least 30 metres from the trees, 35 from the road and 40 - 50 from the houses? The kites end up flying over the road more oftern th not because people walk up the beach with their kites over the road... or they land in too close to the beach again with their kites over the road.....when it's low tide, people will kite further out still anyhow? See you down their today...

This is my last post before hitting the water today.

Dave Spruce - PM me if you want the low down on the situation at Melville and want to be proactive in keeping the spot open. Kooks, International Pro's, everyone can influence the situation either negatively or positively....

Either sit on the fence or give us a hand.

Out.