OK folks,
in the interest of not giving the authorities any further ammo for kite bans,
anyone interested in spreading the word and coming up with a "standard" for labelling your gear ?
I write my name and phone number inside the leading edge near the inflate valve, and on the top of my boards.


I guess this goes for poley's as well, as I recently saw a post form a guy who lost his whole rig at Margies main break just recently ?

Maybe AKSA members, and kite shops, instructors, can spread the word (if you don't already) and if we can agree on a "standard" we can advise the sea rescue etc. of where to look if they find any loose gear ???

Being that 'Kitersurfers' is the headline buzzword; can we assume that the reporter is implicating kitesurfers in the stealing & setting off of EPIRBS & flares

oceanfire said...

Being that 'Kitersurfers' is the headline buzzword; can we assume that the reporter is implicating kitesurfers in the stealing & setting off of EPIRBS & flares

Reads that way... But, lets separate the wood from the trees. This is a serious matter. It is pretty simple to label gear and report lost/stolen property. I now know to do this!

nebbian said...

You've got to admit that a photo of a kiter throwing buckets looks better than a photo of a lowlife bogan with some hot goods

Except that the kiter is riding a (strapped) twintip in the waves...

Seriously though a great idea to label your gear, and if you "lose" it, ring the police and tell them when and where so that they stand half a chance to join the dots.

I lost a kite several years ago. The first thing I did after giving up the chase down the coast was to call the water police to tell them I was safe. They didn't seem all that interested.

I guess, like everybody, they don't like to waste their time. But I know for a fact the guys just love to get out and do a rescue. All that training and gear just sitting there waiting for a chance to go for it.

Yup label your gear, near the inflate valve on the LE as suggested sounds like a sensible spot, and make it big enough that someone that has never seen a kite had half a chance of finding and reading it.

There is no hard and fast rule as to when a marine search is kicked off and I can say from first hand experience they are not started on a whim because a bunch of blokes are bored and want to put training into practice. The guys at water police, air wing, VMR's and the RAC helicopter get plenty of searches and false alarms without kicking off any extras. Making the decision to start a marine search sucks and I'd be happy to never have to do it again.

Water police occassionally get calls from people sitting in cafes and on the beach after they see a kite go down out to sea and not relaunch. Water Police know we self-rescue, boards are easily lost and we almost always only go out in onshore winds, all these work in our favour so they won't necessarily start a search immediately. A limp kite washed up on the beach without someone attached to it (or chasing it up the beach) is unusual and would be taken more seriously and I suspect that is what happened at City Beach a while back.

If in doubt call Water Police, 9442 8600 (WA) - 24 hours. A search will ALWAYS be started if necessary but it is nice to call them off before it gets to that point.

Weird is some bloke with his finger up his nose all over the interweb

GalahOnTheBay said...

nebbian said...

You've got to admit that a photo of a kiter throwing buckets looks better than a photo of a lowlife bogan with some hot goods

Except that the kiter is riding a (strapped) twintip in the waves...

Seriously though a great idea to label your gear, and if you "lose" it, ring the police and tell them when and where so that they stand half a chance to join the dots.

you sure thats a TT galah ?????