Hi guys,
Was out on Ganthuame Point this afternoon when a D.P.I officer came up to me and aggressively proceded to tell me all of the things l was doing wrong. The first of which was that l had failed to give way to a dingy that was comming into the beach and then to make matters worse l had fallen off right in front of him. My reply was that even though l was on a left hand tack, and thus would normally have yielded, that in this case l had right of way because l was a vessel under sail being aproched by a vessael under power and that l had not fallen off but had stopped when it became obvious the he was not going to and that he (the dingy) was in the wrong.
He then proceeded to accost another kiter for not wearing a pfd. Correct me if i'm wrong but l was fairly sure we had some kind exemption on this. We were also told that we should not be water starting where all the swimmers, dogs and all the assorted other beach users were, all while both private and commercial boats were lunching and landing in the exact same spot! He also pointed out the we were breaking the 8 knot rule but had done nothing about the local sailing club cats that were doing a far higher speed than we were doing in the light winds. l'm 60 kilos and had a 14m up with a 139x46 board and still bearly had enough power to jump which should give some idea of the conditions. He then went on to say that we were in port authority waters and that the local harbour master had just succeded in getting jet ski's banned ( of wich he has a personal hatred l'm told) and that we were next on his list. l was told by another kiter on the beach that no council has ever been able to ban kiteing on any Australian beach but have no idea if this is true. Anyway thats my winge for the day and was wondering if anyone else had had a run in with these D.P.I knobs?
local council banned it at wello point qld
you gotta go easy on the bloke financial times are tough prob just lost his job at maccas gotta get his authoritiiiii back
The DPI person was prob. a kiter and was just messen with y'all........as like WTF are you doing with these huge kites in no wind.....go figure.
The jokes on the DPI officer....... he has to live as a miserable human being for his entire life.....worst case scenario just move to the next beach and continue the stoke safe in the knowledge that he will remain miserable
I agree with Harry there's so much beach between Ganthuame Point & Cable beach the whole of Broom could be there & there would still be heaps of room.
Steve Holdfast shores council have banned kiting on any of their beaches in Adelaide, so are you saying that you can kite the water but not use the beach and they cannot take any action???.
Yeah, thats what I've always understood. The local council can ban launching and landing a kite, but they do not have jurisdiction over the water.
HOWEVER, they may well have strong connections with the local Maritime Authority, and so kiting in an area where the beach is banned to kiting may well get kiting banned by the maritime people, and getting a double ban means it all over red rover for that spot.
I am not recommending that people disobey Council rules, in built up areas. Outside of those areas, use discretion and be responsible, if your actions might jeopardise a whole coastline or state, go somewhere else.
If you thinks a local issue, with a local ranger who is being a bully, maybe? However, my approach has always been organise a local group, affiliate with AKSA, and get to know my local residents and councillors very well. Get ratepayers involved who are pro kiting.
Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve
