Do ya self a favour boyz and Licence up,,,its getting fkn out of control,,,like jacobes ladder at the 87 speeds,,,,in 97 i watched me good mate hover over water with amazement on his parashute kite,,back then not many could have forseen this explosion in numbers that want to be asssociated,,,,,,,,,,,lets face it anyone and everyone who takes a day drive along the coast, sees a self advertising kite and like a kid flying a kite wants to have a bash,,,,,,,,,everyfknone wants to have a go Dorris the 87 year old neighbour knows all about it and her skid marker grandson who only ever visits the beach for a piss up on his mates bday or whatever,can be out on the water in a couple of days without any questions asked,,,,,,,,,,,,,Now is the time to put a regulation in order for any new incomer who wants to fly a ocean kite,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Face it 1 t0 one mill in 10 years,,,,,,,,NOO order,,,,Who runs this show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Population of 23m and land size of 7.6m km2. That's 3 people per square kilometre, with 25,760km of coast line.
No idea how many rules, but it seems there are quite a lot for a land with so much space.
Just my 2 (Euro) cents. 
Brighton has had issues previously with people kiting on the beach when its a northerly and the beaches are packed. I haven't kited there much recently though.
St Kilda has also had issues historically with people kiting near the yacht club when they're not supposed to but some common sense has prevailed (or the yacht club isn't complaining about it anymore). Also seen a kite wrapped around a yacht before.
I think the amount of schools there that rely on St Kilda for their livelihood has resulted in them taking some control but you still see idiotic behaviour on occasion and line wraps between kiters are not totally uncommon.
I think due to the congestion in St Kilda and the unsuitability for easterly kiting, a lot of people have been driven to Altona, some of whom aren't ready to be kiting there which is why we've seen a lot more accidents there recently.
I am totally new to this sport (having had two lessons) but can offer some information based on my experience as an experienced hang glider pilot and former committee member of the QLD Hang Gliding Association.
Hang Gliding is a fully regulated sport. It is illegal to fly a hang glider without a licence issued by a qualified and registered instructor who ensures that both theory and practical exams are undertaken and passed. Novice pilots are restricted to sites that are suitable to their experience and skill level – e.g. a newbie is not allowed to launch from the cliff at Lennox Head but can take off from the area adjacent to the car park. All pilots must display their HGFA (Hang Gliding Federation of Australia) rego number on their helmets as well as a sticker indicating that their membership is up-to-date – just like a motor vehicle rego sticker.
Most senior pilots are also safety officers and they take on the role of keeping an eye on the less experienced pilots as well as advising those who are visiting for the first time on matters such as site rules and designated landing areas. Pilots on holidays from overseas must obtain a temporary licence from the HGFA before they can legally fly.
I know most would say that hang gliding is different because rogue pilots can thermal up to cloud base in the middle of an airport landing circuit and potentially cause much more havoc than even the worst kite boarding transgressor. This may be so but councils and local authorities don't think this way – they are justifiably more concerned about bystander injury and being sued for damages.
I predict a future with kite boarding/surfing being as highly regulated as hang gliding but, having already been there, don't regard it as a negative. Should not all those new to the sport be trained by qualified instructors? Should not all kiters be covered by up-to-date third party insurance? I fail to see how anyone can argue against at least these two fundamental issues.
Welcome Pete!
G'day
I havent read through all the the posts yet.
hard to do at work so if its been brought up already sorry.
by the sounds of it kite board Australia if there is one needs to be the head group.
Im a hunter and firearms owner/user.
and no not a redneck but we have sae issues.
there needs to be one voice and for fire arms it SSAA.
join up to the big organisation who runs and helps the sport/hobby and not lots of little one.
the more little ones/groups you have they all have there own thing going and go around in circles. so one big head org is the way to go.
the thing with regos on kites
heres an idea to chuck in.
just have a jersey or rashy with a nuber on the back sort of like Rec rego on a dirt bike.
no need for big numbers and regos for kites and tranfers etc
you have you main Org number and they have all your details.
and yeah just have a rashy or somthing to wear.
not sure who could dish out the disepline but yeah my 2 cents
cheers cam
No.
But it is the longest running issue.
And dont go knocking WA as the only area its a problem. The reason we may see it as more of a problem here is because of the pro-active approach WAKSA has run with for many years now.
In WA we still have a huge majority of our metro beaches open to kiting. A situation we dont want to see changed. There is no doubt that its the offenders that loose us ground. Far better to discuss ways to avoid problems than have to deal with them aftewards. It is getting harder and harder to not loose ground when incidents cause movements towards beach closures.
If any of these licensing/rules/control etc measures can reduce the no. of incidents then Im all for whatever it takes.
I dont want to have to drive to Lancelin to be allowed to kite.
It is a strange desire that someone would want to become the kitepolice, but it's nothing new.
Power, money, do-gooding, corruption, huge conflicts of interests when it comes to commercial entities, ego - all factors that quickly make things go bad and diminish the simple enjoyment of going kiting for all but the kitepolice.
I'll stick to friendly advice to others in need of help/ direction rather than moaning on the internet about others actions - still have never had anyone tell me to go get fked, always happy for friendly advice...
I don't just rock in there with attitude, I bother to say a friendly hello, ask there name and where they are from and find a bit more about them to suss things out, they end up happy for the help/advice/direction if you take time to be friendly and explain. It really is better if the longer term more experienced respected kiters do this if there is a choice. I made many friends like this even.
, J
