Caloundra Jet ski Vs Windsurfer Incident?

Only heard yesterday that a windsurfer was hit by a jet ski last weekend at Golden Beach.

Apparently brand new gear and was totally trashed by the jet ski. Jet ski was part of the Jet ski tours or School?

Not sure about injuries etc.

Anyone know more about this?

I Knew it was only a matter of time, had my first sail in a very long time the other day at Gb spent most of it negotiating the jet skiers. Five at a time with no idea what to do or where to go a recipe for disaster.

the Goldcoast is getting that way too

Plenty of room for the JS to hoon around on in the passage, without doing it in the only area you will find windsurfers and further down kite surfers

I was watching when it happened on Sunday afternoon. The windsurfer was moving very slowly across the channel when he was struck. From the shore it looked like the JetSki was not looking where he was going because he was moving along slowly as well. Never thought they would hit, but there was a big 'crack' noise when it happened. My first thoughts were that these collisions only happen on the Gold Coast. In this case, it was the third JetSki in a line of six, lead by an instructor, that did the damage. It's not the sharks you have to fear!!! I did notice that the learners had passengers riding with them. Perhaps the rider was too busy being friendly to the one sitting behind him that caused his attention to stray from where he was going. I was told that he made some minor course adjustments before driving right over the top of the sailor. He also increased his throttle, possibly due to panic.

it should be said that the guy in charge of the JetSki group was most apologetic and helpful. Prevention is better than cure though. The irony is that they were traversing the area relatively slowly, helped along by the fast ebbing tide though. I still think that the small group of kiters who sail across where we sail pose a greater risk. Especially the cowboy types. They have other spots along the passage where the kites congregate but seem to prefer sailing where we are. You need eyes in the back of your head when they start doing their tricks.

Another 2 near misses today. 1 froze in front of me not knowing what to do when he seen me coming ant the other just didn't look and turned right into my path.

I think the kite's got pestered today from a few from what I could see from GB.

Inexperienced persons on Jet ski's are the problem from what I see at GB.

Cowboy types in any sport are a problem. Can't see why kiters should be banned in favor of windsurfers. I do both. We should all proceed responsibly. The trouble is that many people using the area have no idea about the rules. And jet skis in the hands of novices pose a danger to all of us, as do jet ski hoons. The owner of Caloundra jet ski called for sail craft to be subject to the 6 knot rule, which applies only to motorised craft for obvious reasons. This would effectively ban windsurfing and kiting. Seems he never heard of the "Power gives way to sail" rule. Yes there are two exceptions, look it up.

"Cowboy types in any sport are a problem" .............. perfectly said Scaredykite.

We should all apply common sense in our interactions with other water users, the last thing we would want is to provide the authorities with a reason for applying some sort of speed rule to us as well.

Oh dear, that was not very flattering for windsurfing. Keeping an incident like this out of the press would probably have been a good idea. Hopefully it goes nowhere and doesn't end up where a speed limit is placed on all craft in some areas, we could lose some really good places to sail (faster than 6kn of course). One thing that is a certainty with any government, is to regulate groups of people that can't/won't regulate themselves. If conflicts between windsurfers and houseboat owners on the Gold Coast or between windsurfers and jetski tours at Golden Beach start to feature in the press more often, the authorities WILL step in.

Was out in my boat fishing this morning 2km from down from the Caloundra powerboat club towards Bribie when (guess who) a line of them goes past at full throttle. Oh and guess what - number 3 in line decides to do a 360 spin with his female partner on the back and almost has gets hit by the next Jet ski!


The leader did not even see this and all kept going.If only you could hear what a near by boat was yelling at them! Maybe a go pro camera on each jet ski before they set out just to cover them selves or make someone have accountability.

But was windsurfing today at GB, the only windsurfer sharing the same area with a young kite surfer from 1 pm. The line of jet ski's goes past and gives the widest clearance to us both!

Maybe just 6 knots applies to Jet skis at all times if this is the path he wants to follow?


Don't get me wrong I like the Jet Ski tours and they run a great business for the tourists but make it clearer to your clients the consequences of their "cowboy acts"

Was at the military Jetty area this morning and it is signed for powered craft "6 knots" unless 100m from shore - I may have to check it again to verify this.

Might have to look at the other areas more closely to see where we all stand again - but may be Scaredykite can giver her thoughts on this

When power meets sail - Power gives way to sail unless the sailing vessel is overtaking.Sailing vessels should avoid sailing in a narrow channel. They have to give way to power-driven vessels restricted in their ability to manouvre in the channel.

Define Narrow Channel?

Is GB considered a Narrow Channel?

If it is a "Narrow Channel" - should we avoid sailing there altogether (kites, windsurfers, Cats, sailboats etc) Good Luck!!!!!!

From what I recall I cross the channel and sail the shallow areas mostly so there is some avoidance there of the channel.

Too many "What ifs" when it comes to this.

Hi Mark, yep I understand that this accident was not caused by speed and possibly caused by inattention. However to muddy the waters, the newspaper article has now tilted the story away from the actual accident that occurred and towards the issue of whether windsurfers are allowed to exceed a designated speed limit on a waterway. By the way, I don't really like jet skis and can't stand the irresponsible use of them and would have spat the dummy if I was quietly fishing like AusMoz and got buzzed by a bunch of them. But likewise, the irresponsible use of windsurfers will attract unwanted attention too.

I lifted the below from a government website.

PWC rules on the water
If you're travelling at more than 10 knots you must keep a distance of 30m from other moving boats, unless you're involved in an approved aquatic event or where doing so would endanger you or another person. Consider the density of waterway traffic in the area to determine a safe speed. You must stay 60m away from, or reduce your speed to 6 knots if within 60m of: people in the water anchored or moored boats, structures, boat ramps, jetties or pontoons the shore the boundary of a bathing reserve. Exceptions apply to the 60m from shore rule if: the waterway is less than 120m wide, and: you operate the PWC as close as practical to a straight line to transit the area you stay as close as possible to the centre of the waterway or a marked channel the PWC is being used in waterskiing or towing. In coastal waters, freestyling or wave jumping is restricted to: beyond 200m of the shore if homes are within 100m of the shoreline, and are in the vicinity of the waters where the PWC is operating. Coastal waters do not include dams and inland waters.

GOOD!!!! To own and operate a jet ski, you must have both a boat licence, and a Personal Watercraft License.
To hire one, you may never have ever stuck one toe in salt water.
Bloody ridiculous! I followed the incident at the Broadwater involving a lady named Linda (if my memory serve's me correctly).
If you can find the thread on Seabreeze, someone posted the Coroner's finding's and recommendation's on a previous incident resulting in the death of a tourist at the same place, and same hire operator. The Coroner's recommendation's were ignored, and after the incident with Linda, there were some restriction's and/or requirement's added to jet ski hire operator's. It is "bugger all", and it's a joke.
I think most experienced jet ski rider's who own some common sense will tell you that they are dangerous in the hand's of the inexperienced.
The main reason for this, is that with no throttle, there is no thrust, and with no thrust there is no steering.
The obvious happen's when the inexperienced panic.
As for "that article" www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/water-wars-jet-ski-crash-into-windsurfer-sparks-ca/3129782/
It is of my opinion that the jet ski operator up there is aware of all this, and is covering his backside.
As for the person who wrote this article, I think that ignorance and laziness shine's throughout, and this person show's far from responsible reporting.

This is what we are dealing with.
It's very rare that a windsurfer will act ignorantly, or disrespectfully.
BUT!!! We have to be careful how we react to these incident's, and that include's what we write on these forum's.
The person that wrote "That article" has merely picked phrase's from several people's post's, and addressed these as being that of one witness.
GCWWA on the Broadwater have clearly been dropping the ball for a long time now, and as tonyd said, on the other post "Playing chicken on GC",
Keep it real guy's. They are watching. We are a minority. preserve our sport.

"Something Nasty", is what so many people say, (from well informed authority's, and Government Department's), of who have been constantly warned.
Not just here, but oversea's too.
Everybody say's "We'll just wait till the next one happen's.