Green Cabrinha kiter (and others seen in the area) beware - you are sailing in the "forbidden zone" in front of the St Kilda Sea baths...
There are two areas where we are being noticed by council/ParksVic and RMYS - they are both areas that are out-of-bounds to kiters and one of them is in fact a no-boating zone.....
Area between RMYS ramp and St Kilda Pier
This area and in fact most of the area within 50 meters of the launch ramp and along the pier is a 5-knot zone - this effectively means no kiting, no showing off to the pier walkers and no insurance ciover in the event of an accident. For a fair idea of distance you should remain away from the pier and the launch ramp - twice the length of your kite lines!!!
Area in front of the Sea Baths - from the pier down to the ST Kilda Marina
This area is a bathing zone and has been designated a NO BOATING ZONE for a distance to 200 meters from the beach. This means NO LAUNCHING/LANDING in this area, NO SAILING closer than 200m from shore. This is roughly the length of the St Kilda pier.
On the diagram below (courtesy of Parks Vic - available on their web site) the heavy red lines show the two areas discussed here.
The dotted yellow line is the limit of the 200m zone.
The blue zone is the 5-knot zone.
The orange zone is the kiting zone (seems the 5-kt rule is not being enforced within the kiting zone).
Please circulate this info to any kiters who are not familiar with the area. Parks Vic has the ability to impose fines on offenders, and both the council and RMYS have the power to banish us completely if they lose patience - please consider this before you think about sailing in the area.
KBV, perhaps you can help me out here. This is a serious concern.
Following on from the discussions with the kite schools regarding the access way for non-school kiters to access the body of water between the tip of the pier and west beach, it appears that one of the two accepted non-5-knot zones is now the bodydragging school area.
How is kiteboarding at St Kilda ever going to be sustainable if every kiter that's not in the the shallows of the 'advanced' kiddy pool or in body dragging alley is potentially a candidate for Parks Victoria to fine for exceeding the 5-knot rule?
Kiting and the 5-knot rule really dont mix too well - implies we have body-drag out to any unrestricted sailing area.
PV is aware of this but to date has not yet committed to practical resolution for a number of reasons HOWEVER Altona is a trial area where we are allowed to "transition" (=sail) across a 5-knot zone to the sailing area.
This will no doubt continue to be a hot topic within the ongoing discussions with PV regarding the Boating Zone Review and other matters.
Two cabrinha dudes cruising back and forth last night outside Stokehouse/St Kilda Sea Baths - jump transitions right near beach - landed back on beach????
Are there signs round there that says you cant kite?
They don't need signs in this case, Matt, its a no boating zone for 200m due to its allocation as a swim zone.
Maybe we can implement a warning system:
First offence - Warning
Second offence - Cut lines
Third offence - Crushed kite in the trunk of a hoons car when it gets made into a block of steel 1x1 meter
Fourth offence - Put the offender's gonads in the trunk of the hoons car before it gets crushed 
It is NO BOATING zone up to 200m from shore - Sign or no sign it is their responsibility to be informed - if the dudes cannot understand that then they may just land up dealing with a fine from Parks Vic and/or COPP (although Saffer's solutions seemed more impressionable....)
My question around signs was not for locals - who you are right - should know better.
but more for "visitors" who have come to Melbourne for a trip - see St K West Beach as being very packed - and decide to drive up to beach with no kites on it.
How would they be informed that it is no kiting??
...not me! not me!
now it seems i cant ride at st kilda, with my green cabrinha (thats the other green cabrinha...) without wondering if everyone wonders if I AM the green cab guy this post is talking about.
not me! not me!
....no one will believe me.
leper. at my own beach. poooh.
might be time to personalise my kite markings.
...and on the st kilda scene: it is hard to work out the zones and if they are being used and it works. i would have to say however, that there is a definite increase in people looking perplexed and swivelling their heads about wondering if they are in the crosshatched maroon zone, or in the speckled purple zone.
...which is a huge improvement on blunering through every zone they can!!! seems all we needed was people to think about it and keep their eyes open!
viva St Kilda chaos! makes you a better rider i say. ha ha. 
I think the only way to restore peace and order in St Kilda is to ban all Cabrinha kites from the area regardless of the colour, Altona sounds like a perfect place- especially for the green ones.
I avoid st kilda due to crowds but i am aware of the mass of backpackers etc kiting the area... how do you monitor guys/gals from kiting in unregulated areas.. its still a new sport surely signs would prevent the knumb nuts who dont understand the do and donts of the area from kiting around sea baths..
not picking on backpackers.. i mean people new to area.... or maybe someone should stand watch with a slug-gun... Formula: kite x slug-gun = cheese grater
cheese grater x wind = not good
No craggers its Naish kites that like to get tangled in yacht masts. 
Dont be ashamed of your Cab, people who are Cab bashers are compensating for something eg no parents, undersized male appendage, or foetal alcohol syndrome
Boating zones and kiting - a simple, clear easy-to-understand general explanantion please.....
Check out http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/3zones.cfm for everything you want to know about boating zones in Victoria....
The following two extracts from thiose pages should answer the query..
Our interpretation regarding some past questions:
Any zone that is designated as no-boating is clearly out-of-bounds to kiters - this also means that beaches fringing on no-boating zones MAY NOT be used for launching & landing as this would require transition in the no-boating zone.
5-knots is a body-drag of a regulation - but in some instances (trial in Altona) there is agreement that kiters can cross (but not stay in) the 5-knot zone when transitioning to the general unrestricted kiting area.
In general (there are some exceptions - see the Park Vic web site) and unless otherwise stated by Parks Vic, a 5 knot zone is the 200m zone betweent he shore and the unrestricted open water.
We will continue to work with Parks Vic to try and establish more kiting zones as areas become more popular.
