I was out the other day and their seemed to be a lot of body daggers learning to fly their kites. There was also a man swimming with his young daughter. One of the body daggers crashed his kite on the top of them pretty dam hard.... now I was thinking crap these guys need to watch where they are flying their kites. However, the next thing I hear is another relatively more experienced kiter yell at the swimmers "Go swim somewhere else!"
Now sure the kiter didn't do it on purpose and the swimmer was swimming around kites.... however it isn't exactly a kite exclusive location and with all the body draggers going up and down and everywhere there isn't much option.
From what I understand we have to give way to pretty much everyone else because others don't necessarily, understand the mechanics of kites and the potential dangers of being in the area.
Needless to say I was rather shocked. I just think this kind of stuff gives kiting a bad name and this probably doesn't have to happen too many times before local council puts restrictions in place for kiters, ruining what few locations we have left.
What are your thoughts... am I wrong or was the guy yelling at the swimmers just being a douche bag? I would imagine that a serious injury occured and it went to court the swimmer would win 100% of the time regardless of circumstances
If I was swimming in a swimming area with my GF and someone smashed their kite on top of us.. I would punch on accordingly if the kiter was being a knob and not at least apologising or showing remorse.
Accidents happen, sure.. But kiting in or around a designated swimming area or even in a non designated area show lack of common sense and responsibility.
Easy to fix problem here. Don't show pony/mow the lawn in close especially when you can see people swimming. It just creates annimosity with other beach users which our sport doesn't need.
Head out the back end enjoy clear water without risk of having dramas.
Beginners being taught to body drag is possibly the stupidest thing i have ever seen. The idea of letting them body drag downwind on their own by moving the kite rapidly from one side of the window to another is just plain stupid. This is no way to teach someone how to kite and it does not even teach them how to body drag upwind to retrieve a board.
If a student smacks someone as a result of stupid procedure the teacher should take the blame and accept the consequences.
Better to cull this stupid exercise.
Just look what is happening at Scarborough Beach in WA.
To much swimmer/kite interactions, and the swimmer will always win.
Now they're trying to ban all watercraft from the area.
It will only take one letter or phone call from someone with influence and then your KBA will have a fight on their hands with the city council.
Kitesurfers are classified as sailing craft, even when body dragging. Giving way (and not colliding with) swimmers is covered by regulations. If this keeps up kiting could well be banned at the location. Your local kiters should be made (firmly) aware of this. kitesurfing-handbook.peterskiteboarding.com/safety/clearance-rules
Swimmers and most other water users do not realise that we are there often, even in winter and consider ourselves to be locals in our favourite spots. But this does not give us the right to own the waterway or the beach. Even in spots designated for kitesurfing, we still have a responsibility to others who do not observe or understand the dangers around them. Let's use common sense here. ALWAYS GIVE WAY TO SWIMMERS & OTHER BEACH USERS REGARDLESS OF LOCATION. It is that simple!!!!
I think that it is our responsibility to tell the tools that act recklessly to control themselves and help the newbie's before they hurts themselves or other people.
And if poeple are swimming outside the flags for whatever reason no matter how stupid............. remember “ALWAYS GIVE WAY TO SWIMMERS”
never lost your board to a wave when its onshore??
i use my awesome downwind body dragging technique all the time. 
gotta learn it some time
I was very tempted to jump some surfers the other day. Would have been awesome. but common sence and old age kicked it and i controlled my desire to boost over them.
summer is a pain in the arse. for 6 months of the year we have the beach to ourselves as no swimmers venture into the cold bleak conditions..... summer comes and all of a sudden theres simmers in the water infesting the best surf spots on the beach.
How rude!.
On a side night human slalom is quite fun. though i never do this on the water quite regularily i'm slaloming beach walkers while landboarding. Yourve goto watch the rat dogs tho. they can dart from all directions and make a real mess on the beach when you run them down!
Its obvious that kiters or anyone for that matter on a board needs to be concious of swimmers, and other water users but if you go for a swim out in the line up at a popular surf spot or kite spot your asking for touble. I think other beach users need to be aware that if there is a kite about to keep a safe distance. For example if there is twenty kites out and ten more being set up on the beach well you need to realise that going for a swim right next to them or in the middle of them when there is a perfectly free beach to the left and right for as far as the eye can see is a stupid idea. People see the kites in the air, want to come and see what its about specially people with young kids need to understand itsd okay to watch but from a safe distance not in the middle of everyone setting up because **** happens, equipment fails, people fail, we have all seen it. I'm not saying kiters, or surfers own the beach, I'm just saying people need to know that things can go wrong when you are standing near these things in the air, because they just don't realise. My experience so far anyway 
^^^ +1
So if I'm kiting and and Stampy paddles out on my break, I have the right to wreck his car...LOL
I'll have to invent the nunchuck kite bar
actuslly i dothe waves share just because i like to boost doesn't mean i don't land then blaze a peeling wave back to the each.ate the waves and i do ride the waves.
bigger stupid phone is stuffing up post. blooody auto corrections
^^i'm with you on that one, but i still kite over and say g'day, let the mug know i'm kiting and that i'll let him have whatever he's paddling for. if a few paddle out though i will move somewhere else- a downed kite in the lineup is not something i want to be responsible for
as for paddling- i agree with you there too. i prefer to get one or two turns per wave on an average beach break by myself than try to outpaddle the packs of groms at the points.
