I heard there was a bad accident at Bondi a few weeks ago and it is going to appear on bondi rescue. Does anyone know who it was>
dragged and hit the promenade hard, lost the kite which ended up in the skate bowl.
The whole thing caught on tape by the Bondi rescue crew.....
I believe kiting is banned on Bondi full stop(fair enough) and never considered kiting the beach until maybe 1-2 months ago when a decent southerly blew all beachgoers away and left a handful of windsurfers and a single kiter hitting the southern end - looked to be a "C" shape slingshot.
Other than that, there was a "festival of the winds" held on bondi beach a few months back which might be what you are talking about but nothing special, there were just a bunch of nancy one-liners floating around.
You might be able to get away with kiting bondi when the life guards go off duty and strong southerlies keep the beach empty.
If anyone ever kites bondi let us know - I wouldn't mind giving it a go if the life guards are ok and the conditions are right.
It wasn't the festival of the winds. The lifeguards were on duty and my girlfriend who was teaching surfing at the time witnessed the whole thing, as did a TV Crew. The life guards told the kiter not to go out but he assured them he was up to it.
A customer told me about it a couple of weeks ago, so i reckon it happened all right. He said that it appeared that the rider left the scene unaided, as in no ambo.
Not good for kiting in Sydney, especially if it does appear on Bondi rescue.
Kiting is banned at Bondi, by Waverly Council, so regardless of whether the lifeguards are gone, or even if one who is unaware of the ban gives the nod, to kite there is breaking the law and risking access at all Sydney beaches for kitesurfing, please don't kite there.
Sounds like the kiter got caught out by the terrible turbulence that can occur on that beach, especially towards the southern end which is where the skate bowl is.
Go round to Wanda for a surf session on the southside.
Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve
We don't want the tosser at Wanda - Isn't there something more appropriate like a duck pond or reservoir pref. a long way away?
Yeah Wanda sounds like a great idea!! I might make Wanda my new place to learn, I'm not very good and always end up crashing my kite and getting in the way but by the sounds of it the locals are real friendly.
Hey RM when I come down there for my first session do you think you could help me untangle my kite lines from the last time I crashed? 
Yep, Wanda it is,full contact i will meet you there, i will even fly from WA to sample the friendly locals
Pass the word round... if we can't kite bondi or if you get banned from ur local reservoir or duck pond there's always sunny wanda. See u there Sebol! 
The incident did happen, the beachies at Maroubra told me about it and that Randwick council were going to place a total ban on kiteboarding in the area and La Perouse was mentioned. I suppose it is inevitable that we will lose access to all our patrolled beaches and even some unpatrolled, given the acceleration of our sport and the incidents that go with it. A sensible attitude of knowing your limitations has been lost in the advertising of the ease of the new generation of kite (not that I'm starting a kite type discussion.)
Isn't there a simpler solution...name and shame the guilty party's responsible for these bans (i.e. the bondi guilty party) and make sure people know exactly who has made these things happen. I'm sure the backlash from the community on those people would be sufficient enough to ensure that it won't happen again in the near future.
Kitepower Australia said...
The foolish and $$$driven promotion of kiting as the "next, exciting, EXTREME sport for anyone" started around the time of the first 4 line kites.
Personally I would prefer to see zero promotion of the sport, that includes promotion of comps in the media. We can still have comps, but keep the publicity of them to an absolute minimum.
Every kiter is promoting the sport anyway, why do more?
Reality is such, that with so many brands and a rampaging capatalist mindset driving them, the current trend to over promote cannot be stopped.
Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve
I agree Steve I had a whine on here about the St Kilda Festival
see www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35109
Isn't a kiteboarding licence an IKO level 3 certificate?
having a licence system does not deter people from kiting without one. Or even deter people with a licence to act irresponsibly.
IMO kiteboarding in australia can't handle becoming a mainstream water sport like surfing. Just not enough room.That being said the more popular the sport becomes the cheaper gear becomes. PLease correct me if im wrong.
not so much fun if the gear is cheaper but we have nowhere to ride or have to drive an hour.
Bans at city beaches will mean more driving, more fuel costs and any money you saved on your gear will quickly be eaten up.
Licences / passbooks could be the way to go a bit like those you need when buying racing fuel.
No kite shop should sell a kite to anyone unless they have had lessons therefore instructors should provide licence cards or certificates to these people which they are then required to show at the time of purchase.
Policing the second hand market would be more difficult.
But our local kite associations ( line cutters in pocket ) could do random checks at beaches checking for registration tags etc..... and also police people riding in areas where kites are banned.
also
I still cant believe that people are out riding without registration and insurance.
If anyone is reading this and is not a member of their local association and therefore most likely not insured. DO IT ASAP because if you lose your kite and it lands on a road causing an accident, if you injure someone on the beach etc... you could be sued. With no insurance you will find yourself paying someone else money for a good part of your life.
Quite often I see people down at Brighton or St K who are in that phase of just have had lessons and are into it with their new gear for the first time unsupervised and are doing things like walking up the beach with the kite too low over sunbathers heads, or dragging around a few metres off the beach with the kite perilously in range of sunbathers. In a friendly and constructive way we need to all keep an eye on what is going on and ensure this doesnt happen because if one of those kites goes into a sunbather or swimmer, or lines get into them, someone will get hurt and as bad as that is, we are also going to see much worse bans and you can understand why. Often the guys dont know any better - its hard enough remembering everything from the lessons. So keep it friendly, but keep an eye out and take responsibility for keeping our sport safe for everyone.
Harry, I can not believe what I am reading.
And we try and discourage jumping in the dunes......you've got a kitemare over there.
In my limited experience, meaning I mainly kite around Sydney, it is not usually the Aussies who are the problem. So how would a license system apply to our visitors????
Every kiter, whenever they are kiting is promoting the sport, we don't need anymore promotion that that.
If people want to get into the sport, let them find their way to getting involved.
Involved means getting the correct advice from anyone they speak to, thats a big ask considering the behaviour I regularly see!
Lots of good responsible riders out there for sure, but there seems to be equal numbers of poorly trained begginers, show ponies, attitude freaks, $$$ driven beach based "instructors", etc, etc.
Not all beach based instructors and schools are a problem, but the guy I saw yesterday is, teaching body dragging and getting on a board just upwind of a large pile of rocks, not even a helmet on the student!
Also observed another person getting what seemed like a boat based lesson, with a boat driver who had no idea of the danger of getting between the rider and the kite when the kite is on the water and ready for relaunch!!!
Cutting peoples lines might be illegal, probably only a last resort, but its something that could easily be done and would teach someone a lesson for sure.
Licensing, yeah probably a great idea, that has not met the right time yet! Seems inevitable, especially in crowded areas in large cities. Who will license the licensors??
Maybe its time for the Australian Kiteboarding Organisation?
Wow Harry Potter, its amazing no-one has been killed or serioulsy hurt in those kites on the road incidents along Beaconsfield Pde. How long can that sort of thing continue to happen before the authorities say enough is enough???
Its quite obvious that taking the lessons offshore in our area has had a very positive impact on the good behaviour and safety at our local spot.
When schools set up and teach along a beach, it attracts all the people that were taught back to that area, and a lot of others like that guy that thought he would learn by evesdropping!! This then leads to congestion and really unsafe conditions.
There is no reason why a good operator in Melb could not go offshore and teach from boats, and only to people who have previous trainer/sport kite flying experience.
This stops the "I just want a thrill" lessons. Its also stops people regarding a particular beach, just upwind of a 4 lane road as a good location to come back to and learn on their own!!
Are we part of the problem, or part of the solution?
Personally we have taken a big hit in turnover for the school, that was initially a hard decision to make, now I'm convinced its the only sensible and sustainable option for most schools that are operating in built up populated areas.
Now we do about 75% less lessons, however 95% of those people convert and buy gear from us or some other shop, and they are overall much safer begginers in our experience.
Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve
Ive seen that too Saffer and its bad. The instructors need to set an example as does everyone else. The beginners will watch every move they make, and they shouldnt try to act cool like that. Same goes for them doing jumps on the beach, so often you see the inexperienced guys then get their new kite and show it off by doing those beach jumps. Like you say Steve be part of the solution and we will all be better off in the long run.
