If you live in Perth you would ride a twinny?????wouldnt you????
There isnt any waves to ride so why would you ride a surfboard?????
Unless you are trying to be heaps cool........"yeah,,I ride a SB strappless,legropeless,helmetless,cabrinha less, waveless...........yo,kick it vanilla ice ice baby,,,,mo fo,,,mo fo,,,hip,gangsta wannabe's......." W T F
no crowds up on the sunny coast. i always have to do downwinders on my own. at least the mrs gives me a lift.
What do they do in Europe. 10 years ago when I started kiting on some learner vids there were a hundred kites out then. How do they deal with probably even bigger crowds now?
"When our "travelling friends" from Europe arrive out here, you can only imagine how excited they become when they see so much wide open space on our beaches & waters and realise 'saturation point' is a long way off in Perth (if only they'd show some fkn respect but that's another story ...)"
I'm not sure if it has been discussed before but has it been considered to have a sign or flyer for people visiting busy beaches with guidelines ,perhaps done in conjunction with AKSA so that as you walk over to say something a kook that has just been annoying you can say " did you not read this booklet on your way to the beach" and slap him/her across the face with it
I reckon we are reaching an inflection point not saturation point.
The inflection point is where those not willing to share their local with blow-ins, euros and others, crack the Sh1ts and taking up knitting or adjust their either their attitude or their locale. Hopefully they are happy enough with knitting or their new kiting spot to spot whingeing about it on the interweb.
A tool/noob on a Kite is not much better than some idiot on a Jet-Ski. Jet-skis only got severely restricted because of various incidents/accidents involving innocent beach goers. It's only a matter of time before some dick injures someone and then it's sainara kite surfing. And with the huge amount of people getting into the sport, it only increases the inevitability. I think for popular spots, you must be registered and have a license. That will preclude noobs/tourists and part/time kiters from kiting there.
Any licensing can hardly be enforced.
It will make some greedy people happy as they can delusion themselves into their importance and collect our $50 a year to be steadily increased on an annual basis for good measure.
People will still kite without licence, accident will still occasionaly happen (as with any other activities) and Dikheads will still use it to attempt to ban us outright.
I don't know the solution but licencing is destined to fail.
There you have it folks, my prediction was not a prediction in Melbourne. Jet ski's have designated areas, thunder cats have designated areas...and so will kites in perth metro very quickly. Licensing is not practical but policing areas is somewhat easier. This is the way it will go - unless you think we are any different to melbourne - if you do please stop posting suggestions you are wasting peoples precious seconds.
So perth crew, it is coming, so what do we do about it? can we be proactive and set in place a similar system so we can determine how much beach we grab before some non kiters influential dude does it for us?
I think kitings biggest problem is its considered an extreme sport. I had this issue with spearfishign and freediving and mates that do moto x can relate. Cause its a so called " extreme sport" it will always attract a few w@nkers that ruin it for everyone
in saying that im glad i started kiting ive met alot of great mates
there was dozens upon dozens of kites at scarbs when i first visited there in '04, couldn't possibly be anymore now
but imagine when it does turn into the likes of surfing
swells up on the east coast, winds killing most places round where i live, but down the end of my street there is a little river mouth that only breaks after a big rain and a big easterly swell, surfed it solo or with a couple 'o dudes for years.
today its on, there are well over thirty guys out and a dozen parents lining the shore vantage points armed with video cameras...
will kiting turn into this...?
by the way its about three foot, if you got it with a few mates it'd make a memorable sesh...
with thirty guys out, it looked like a nightmare
For all those making comments about how vast the Ocean is etc. Please remember that it has always been a golden rule never to go out more than you are able to swim in. For many this will only be 1-200m.
I work for a Retailer and i am seeing a large number of newbies coming in wanting their (purchased 2nd hand) kite gear fixed. Often its the case that the newbie didn't know what they were buying and the seller screwed them with dodgy bladders dodgy lines etc.
All in all im not a fan of newbies purchasing 2nd hand kites to begin with. Bad bladders, un trimmed lines and false representation of "skill levels" all out to screw them. To be honest after my first 2 weeks kiting the kite barely ever touched the water because i was being so cautious. Newbies are like little old lady drivers to kites.
I'm glad people are finally realisng the problems we're facing with crowds!!
It's only a matter of time till the 'half taught students' and 'Visitors in vans' will have some of the local spots shut down.
If you get a school move in with a business plan to pump out 100's of new kiters and Big Mouth Fkwits advertising your spot.... it will soon be crowded, dangerous and on the brink of being shut down.
To the kiting community do-gooders - Shear numbers is an issue and you can't educate everyone. It's a big area sport and it's ridiculous to think that you can keep jamming people into these spots and keep all the blow ins and weirdo's in line. (and fk me, kiting has it's fair share of weirdo's) Why try and grow the sport in Oz more & more? You've got investments in it? does it make you feel big?
I just want to ride with my mates, keep our spots open, have a good time, have space to try new tricks and not have cocks drop their kites on me. plus! I'd rather not drive 3, 4, 5 hours each way to try and find an uncrowded beach or unrestricted one if I can help it. Thanks to those that were going to reply with that BS.
We'll be crapping on about crowds & the shutting down of Ozzie spots for years to come. Shut down big mouths I reckon!! Even pull up the naive one's. "Hey mate I ride there and have a great time with my friends! Do you mind not trying to stuff it up for us". thankyou.
It sux alot of damage has been done.
Reading the posts here, I can't ignore it, I've hit the nostalgic old bloke stage.
Surfing was great years ago, now it's commodified to death, and subsequently overcrowded. My mate once said that the likes of Billabong, Quicksilver etc are like the McDonalds of surfing. I think he's right.
Kiting still has that shared newness where, mostly, everyone helps everyone. It's hard to believe, surfing was like that at one time. Now, it's every man for himself, all fighting to get his little bit of entitlement.
When sufing at home got a little crowded, travel was a viable option. A bit of effort and uncrowded, fun waves could be found.
Now that's hardly possible, anywhere with a wave has teeming crowds, no matter how difficult the trip.
I think it's sadly inevitable that kiting will evolve along a similar path.
As soon as something is named 'cool', everyone wants a piece of it, subsequently it's largely ruined.
I say enjoy the good times now.
Ashton : "Half taught Newbies"... Valid point that kiters are definitely getting on the water solo before they should but at almost $100h for a lesson i can't blame them. When i first started i was in High school and had a 3h lesson which pretty much broke the budget. one could suggest the idea that an instructor would have to Certify a student to purchase gear like the old IKO cards and how they do it in paragliding etc. But getting all instructors and stores to agreee on the terms would be a nightmare and does not regulate euros and Ebay kiters.
I just recently had my knee reconstructed so im going to be off the water for a while but will be conducting "coaching" (not early beginner) sessions through my local to help combat this problem. Though its a hell of alot to ask of the local associations to offer these sorts of measures.
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We'll be crapping on about crowds & the shutting down of Ozzie spots for years to come. Shut down big mouths I reckon!! Even pull up the naive one's. "Hey mate I ride there and have a great time with my friends! Do you mind not trying to stuff it up for us". thankyou.
It sux alot of damage has been done.
Amen brother...
sorry mate, you miss the point
the world has changed no doubt
surfing and kiting too
doesnt mean you have to like it, nor is it all positive as you point out
some have had it good and being nostalgic is no crime
nice to remember the good times, its what life is about
plenty of us in the same boat, lamenting the current situation but as cousins points out such is life
cant worry about things you cant influence
ultimately like it or lump it
golf is the new kiting
"golf is the new kiting"
anyone got any clubs for sale? post 2008 preferably.
SUP Golf...thats where its at
Oh the Milky Way has gone a little sour
The leaves dried and the flower fell away
I've been sitting, I've been waiting for a sign
Inhuman beings taking up all of my time
Want to leave but I've got to stay
And I'm wondering more everyday
Montreal to Hong Kong
Where have all the good people gone?
Traffic jam but I'm on the shoulder
Took ten cops to pull me over
Bangkok to Babylon
Where have all the good people gone?
I haven't met a friend in a long long while
They don't shake my hand but they check my style
The modern world is a cold cold world
And all I meet are cold cold girls
Wanna leave but I got to stay
And I'm wondering more every day
Montreal to Hong Kong
Where have all the good people gone?
Traffic jam but I'm on the shoulder
Took ten cops to pull me over
Bangkok to Babylon
Where have all the good people gone?
And it's always the same
We all just turn away
We are stealing from ourselves
We are feeding off ourselves
But we were born in the flames
We need a cool breeze and a summer rain
We are stealing from ourselves
We are feeding off ourselves
Oh the Milky Way has gone a little sour
The leaves dried and the flower fell away
Where Have All the Good People Gone? Lyrics
Artist(Band):Sam Roberts
Answer = they are going kiting
2 more wicked vans heading your way from south oz.
Told them they must visit west oz before leaving, "ENJOY"
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Certainly I don't see a lot of positive in some of those things .
I'm unsure, however, of the relationship to overcrowded surf and commodified 'lifestyle' pursuits?
No sarcasm intended, seriously, can you explain how you relate these things to my post
I wanted to draw attention to the notion that things were always better in the old days and I wanted to link this with the sky is falling mindset and the ability of it all to conspire and shape one's perspective on matters in general.
My perspective influences how I relate those things to your words. Some people relate McDonalds to Billabong and probably even 9-11.
Dont worry that you are lonely in your view that things were better in the old days because over time many a wise man espouses that view, I think we are genetically predisposed to this way of thinking.
