Was down at Woodies for the first time just to see what all the fuss was about and as a guy was coming past he got in a sticky situation with his kite inverting and constantly heading downwind at '12, I promptly gave him a hand with a land so he could sort himself out and relaunch, but it could have gone wrong easily...
So what I wanted to know was the general consensus, if you see someone in a bad situation or looks like they could use help or doing something stupid do you speak up or shut up? I don't want to get in anyone's way or annoy them when I'm out kiting, but I have a habit of doing it on here easily enough...
Personally i welcome anyone that wants to help. It makes the sport safer and can prevent stuff from happening that might be harmful to the rider and the sport itself. The more people that get hurt the more the sport may be restricted.
Good on you for being like that!!
I work on the same principal that I use when driving/camping up the beach. If someone is genuinely in a situation that was caused by inexperience or equipment failure etc I'll stop and help. But if its the same hooning wanker that was doing doughnuts on the sand in front of my camp site half an hour earlier then all he gets from me is a wave as I drive by.
(obviously if death is on the way I lend a hand though)
You are obliged to help anybody who needs it as long as you don't put yourself at risk. It's a rule. (I had a quick look at your profile and from the list of sports you have I'm surprised you have to ask the question.)
You're not obliged to be an unpaid instructor, but you should step in if a quick comment from you can save people from grief.
Help them if they need it - no question
But Kiters have a bad habit of acting like School Teachers afterwards.
Don't spank them if theyve been bad- leave that to their girlfriends.
i find a quick ride past with a thums up (you ok?) signal works, if they are ok they'll thumbs up back, if they are in the shyte and really need help you can bet they'll let you know about it and request help. doesnt take much to keep an eye out really, and you know it'll come back round when you least expect it, but most need it.
There is nothing worse than needing some help and having all these clowns riding around with their heads wedged up their clackers.
I have recovered dozens of boards over the years and several kites. The one time I lost contact with my board and guys would ride right past me carefully looking in the other direction. Grrrrrrr!
Martime law - not sure if it actually appiles, states you must help a vessel in distress. Dont quote me pls
I'm all for helping anyone in trouble but what i hate is when the local kook/agro/know it all kiter decides to hassel everyone, break all the local rules and generaly operate in a dangerous manner only to come unstuck (which these kooks all do eventually) then plead with all his victims for assistance.
Being on the recieving end of help the other day at woodies
Cheers very much to the french bloke who rides a Wainaman
I didnt really need help, not being far of shore,leading edge exploded, but this bloke grabbed my board and dragged me in, just made the whole self rescue thing less of a pain
Suppose it just an ability thing if your able, do it, speak up
Helping others in distress should be a natural instinct i would have thought or is it easier to pretend its not happening
you did the right thing mate. But you are not obliged to do anything, it is when you volunteer to help is when you are commited.Because you have proven that you are qualified to help.
I have exp non help before by one of the sponsers of this forum.because i decided to ride my own kite instead of his on his Airrush travel around Australia. Port fairy prob around 04.Lucky one of the locals stepped in. I was a blow in aswell. Gotta love country dudes. But i did learn from the exp. To help anyone out who is kiting.No matter how small the petty shiz is.
A 'Duty of Care', 'Duty to Rescue', 'Good Samaritan' considerations or laws may or may not apply depending on your overall relationship with those in need and where you are. Your responsibility can vary between states and depending on your role: did you contribute to the situation or are you a friend, teacher, doctor etc. I generally understand that you have no responsibility to help if you are a stranger and did not cause the accident or will further endanger yourself or others, but don't take my word :p
Then again, think of what an authority might impose if someone was hurt and abandoned at your favorite spot, and you never know when you might need help too one day.
back in the old days , the dawn of kiting maybe 6-8 yrs ago
it was more of a community thing
everyone looked out for each other, if a kite went down or some one in trouble there was no question of helping if you could
used to be more regular with kites back then tending to overfly and drop out of the sky but still rescue duties were a requirement, boards and kites towed back no questions
probably more to do now with the numbers and less of a kiter brotherhood.......
still i agree , you are obliged to help if there is a serious situation or a potential for one
What if you're 10km offshore, do you help and risk getting killed also, or do you fang in and get the coastguard
I dunno about where you all kite, but at Pinnas, everyone still helps everyone else. It is common place to see boards and kites being brought back to the beach, and people too.
I can't imagine not helping some one if I am in a position to help. The fact that I have a choice has never occurred to me.
I learned to kite in the old days and a sense of kinship was the primary bond between us all and maybe it seems that is becoming lost in this day of mass appeal in our sport.
I also firmly believe in Karma, and have seen Karma bite wrong doers on the arse, big time. "What goes around ....."
Try helping someone for no other reason than it may make someone elses day!
DM
I have torn open my foot unknown amounts of time running to help people, going out in water to help them whatever it takes. I only could hope somebody would do the same for me.
Hell sometimes I go down to the beach to not even kite just see whats going on and help people :) One day I was the only person left at the beach at the end of the day nobody to catch the last guys kite but me 
There is only one answer .............YES you should help. but.......
if the situation is dangerous you need to weigh up the risk and make your decision,
your decision should not be based on the persons attitude or demeanor or what they may have done in the past but based solely on the risk to your own safety and how far you are willing to go.
Well it's good to know I'm thinking the right thing then, I have tried helping people in other sports and they've turned around and barked at me for touching their boards (Hero point is a shining example). But down at woodies I did see another fellow bringing a board from wayyyyy upwind to another guy bodydragging and since I didn't get a chance to go out in the water that day it did make my day to help him land and wait for him to sort his kite out for a relaunch. ^_^
Always help a person in trouble, if it doesn't come naturally to you then you need help.......
I've never seen somone in stife without a bunch of people rushing in to help. I don't know what things were like in the good old days but I've been super impressed in the last 9 or 10 months i've been kiting, with people's willingness to help each other out. I've not met any real knobs yet. Everyone i've landed/helped me land gets/gives a thanks and handshake. Everyone i've said hi to at the end of a session or out on the water has been pleasent and just shares the stoke.
I reckon even if I run into 5 knobs this summer that can't outweigh the dozens of cool people I've met so far. I think if you aren't being an outright dick kiters are pretty cool to each other by and large. I'd imagine it's a good thing to introduce yourself to as many people down the beach as possible and help somone out if they need it. You'll never know when someone might save you a long swim or more.
I got in trouble at woodies a few days ago, ended up far out and the currents were really strong making it impossible to swim back. I was so lucky someone helped me, and another person got out on his kayak to get my kite. I dont even want to think about what could have happened if nobody gave me a hand. Always look out for each other - how would you feel if you ignored helping someone and then read on the news that person got lost at sea?
You can also keep the phone number to sea rescue / water police on your mobile. The number to water police is 9442 8600.
We might talk shizen on this forum, but we are generally willing to be helpfull when needed.
I love you guys!
<<< I'm talking about those two puppies beside me
a good tip which I learnt from our local 13yr old grom. when rescuing a board if it's too big for you to carry ride their board and carry yours.
I used it the other day when someones kite exploded and it was great.
I agree with Daz i've lost many boards to the sea only to have a fellow kiter search the water for an hr to get it. Pinnaz rocks
