So I was kiting at Altona Thursday evening, ended up coming in too close onto a sandbar and took a big tumble face first and ended up scraping some of the skin off the top of my right foot. Nothing too serious few cuts (not deep). Anyways kept kiting for about 45 mins or so before the pain of my foot rubbing agains the foot straps became too much. Went home showered and cleaned the foot up a little no probs ... or so I thought. Come friday i was fine however by Saturday lunchtime my foot was swollen and red and I was unable to walke or put any pressure on the leg and it felt like it was pulsating.
Ended up at the Docs who then sent me up to the hospital to get a few jabs and various antibiotics. I can only think that kiting up near the wall in the stagnant water up there has given me some kinds of nasty infection on my cut. Probably wasnt the wisest thing to keep kiting in that area with open wounds but at the time never really thought about it. Its shown some improvement since yesterday so hopefully can be back on the water later in the week. So if you somehow cut yourself while kiting around altona id probably reccoment you come in and get the thing cleaned up !
Ha ha ha ....... sorry mate had to have a laugh at that
I've had a few of those cuts in altona ...they seem ok then a day or two later... bamm ! Inflamation and swelling even from the smallest grazes .
Next time you are kiting in that section( worst part is in the middle and towards the western end ), stop and grab a handfull of the sand/mud and have a whiff !!
And here I am thinking the water is bad at st kilda. So much better on days when you can kite at the southern end of the bay. Nice and clean.
the altona has the most polluted water in the bay... it's very dangerous kiting there, and you are exposing your self to a great risk each time.
When i used to kite there, i would get at least some small cuts due to the shallow water and large amount of very small tiny razor sharp shells. Most times you are not even aware of the cuts, and then you get home and suddenly notice infections and pain which could lead to some serious issues like boberclark had.
I would strongly recommend to go to other beaches. The water quality in the bay improves as you travel east. You are really risking your life kiting in altona.
Heck! I thought sea urchins at Pt Henry was bad! (altho haven't noticed many lately)
Duly noted for Altona!
Will make sure I throw in a bottle of peroxide!
Well there is a sewer outflow there, so i guess it wont always be perfect. The Altona plant treats about 5-6 percent of water that goes to Werribee. The outflow pipe was near the poles out from the creek i think.
But the water quality there has improved a huge amount over the last 15 years
I will agree with superlizard the water at Altona is highly carcinogenic.
The water in the bays eatern beaches is far better.
When approaching a sand bar put your board right up on the edge and bear off a little. It will slide easily through the sand bar.
This is true just like Fabio.
Now look I smell the same as the beach and look just like the stuff that grows on the bottom.
i accidentally swallowed a little bit of water at altona a few weeks back. instant nausea, felt light-headed and had to come in. nasty headache and sore throat later that night. bad, bad stuff in the water there.
Altona beach smells awful. It's loaded with black sediment washed out of the creek. You can bet it's full of heavy metal contaminants. It's the most polluted beach I've ever been to. It's a wonder the authorities don't ban all water users and close it down. The sharp shells damage kites. The seaweed gets in your lines. The tides are always too shallow when the sea breeze eventually blows. There is not enough beach area to launch and land. The local dogs sh!t on the sand and race into the water to chase kiters and then bite you on the ankles. It's an absolute shocker. Kite somewhere else. Anywhere else. Please.
