Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..

My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.

I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch

RPM said..
Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..

My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.

I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch

Self landing and Launching doesn't prove you a self sufficient kiter. Ive kited foo near on 12 years and the last 6 its been my job, if I see a fellow kiter on the beach Im always asking for a launch. Sure I can do it myself but would rather not take that risk if someone is there to help….

Im guessing your the kind of dude that shows up here, refuses a launch even when offered then gets pissed when we all laugh as your kite ends up in the bush.

Lets not turn the friendly sport of kiting into the hostility of the surf lineup, help each other out as much as you can, you never know when you might be the one who needs it the most

I wouldn't want to see everyone taking this approach.

But if once in a while someone offered a lesson in how to self launch or self land (and the wind is at the lighter end of the scale, no public on the beach, nice sand, wide beach, plenty of room for if I operate the safety .....) then I would probably say: thanks very much!

I have self launched and self landed out of necessity, but I always ask for a launch or a land if there is one available. It's safer.

Disappointing opinion.
I'm glad that most kiters dont share it.

Been kiting 4 years, and I can self launch no problem. But I probably only do about half the time. My line of thinking is like this:

Are there people, especially non kiters, hanging out on the beach downwind?

If so, I'm definitely looking for a kiter to help out to ensure a safe launch. And to help out if things go south. I don't care if they are 40m away...I'll ask for a launch. Especially if there are little kids downwind.

If no people downwind, but there's another kiter closeby, I'll wait until a break in his routine - done pumping, done laying out lines, etc - and ask for a launch.

If none of the above is true, then I'll launch myself. Never had an issue with it...but definitely safer with another set of hands involved.

Bottom line - always minimise risk to the non kiting beach goers!

I prefer to self.launch but sometimes can risk damage to kite due to sticks and crap on the beach

Have to agree with majority. Why create unnecessary risks to self and others buy self launching for the sake of asking someone for 2 mins of there time. I bet Rpm would be happy for someone to grab his kite on a failed launch getting dragged down beach.

After ripping and wearing out kites on rough sand, sharp rocks, possible sticks its just not worth it unless no one is around.

From the first time I asked a fellow kiter to launch or land me till now everybody has given me a smile and helped and I have always give the same help back to whoever asks and for as many times as required. It's a two way unsaid agreement that I enjoy about this sport and I'm not about to break that friendly cycle. There's enough arrogants in this world without creating more. Be happy it's easier.

Sometimes I offer to launch before I get asked. It takes f all off your kiting time.
Spread the luurrve brother.

RPM said..
Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..

My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.

I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch

what a tosser !

Haydn24 said..
Once there was a man

named RPM

which stood for Redthumb Producing Man.

He didn't like launching kites

'cause he was thinking about dykes

on bikes.

Then he went to the internet

where he felt safe

but even there

noone could care.

He laughed and laughed and laughed

but went to bed sad

because he was mad

that noone launched his kite that day

and he put his cabrinha in a tree

There was a bloke called Hayden 24
who thought with his rhyme and verse, all would adore
Turned out he was a nothing but a bore

RPM said..
Why do noobs have a knack of asking you to launch them when you are smack bang in the middle of setting your gear up? Sure the wind is pumping and I want to get out on the water just as much as you but how about learning self land/launch?? It's not that difficult.. Why can't they pick someone else who isn't busy and is just sitting around.?? Sure they are 30 meters away but WTF people..

My New Years resolution is not to launch anyone at my local spot and ask them if they would like to learn self launch for 5 mins instead. This way I'm doing my part and not encouraging them to be babies who need to rely on everyone else to launch their kite.

I would like to see everyone adopt this also as it seems like people are frightened to be a self sufficient kiter or are too lazy to learn self land/launch

As a noob I am working on progressing my capability, so far things have moved from body drag to water start and now turns and edging are the go. Currently I lack the confidence to self launch but look forward to the day I will be able to.

RPM if I am reading you clearly what you want is for us noobies to make sure we don't waste your valuable time....no dramas my side, experience so far is there are plenty positive quality people in the sport willing to put back what they took out as beginners. One a side note is it safe to assume you could self launch when you started, always better to practice what you preach.

for me personally I look forward to the day I can put back more than I take from this great sport and awesome community we have.

Safety aside -
2 minutes is nothing, and a friendly smile & a 'no worries' or 'how was your session?' may just make someone else's day.
And that person may just be the good friend you haven't met yet.

Merry Christmas rpm let's hope you don't witness a fellow kiter getting seriously hurt whilst trying to land there kite
and lets hope your nxt sheit is a hedgehog

What's the big deal helping someone? Create some karma for your self. Yesterday someone in St Kilda got my board and sunnies after a better than usual face plant and dropping and inverting the kite and drifting downwind quite a bit. (Thank you very much - if you are reading this, as I was struggling to get back) The day before I got someone's board in Brighton..... karma.

Let's keep it friendly and remember when you were a beginner and did not feel secure about kiting. Asking someone to launch you is not unreasonable and letting them wait a few minutes while you fix your lines is reasonable too. That does not mean it is not a great service to teach people self launching and landing. We all need to know that stuff eventually and I wish it was shown to me in the early days of learning. For what it is worth I learned self landing properly from The Actionsport WA video. It is the way to go as you won't always have room to have your kite go all over the place as you flag it.()

A bigger issue with beginners and more experienced people, is standing around on a busy beach talking to people with the kite up. This makes a congested beach that much more congested. If you are not kiting please get your kite down so others can easily get on the water. Also when someone is body dragging to their board please keep out of their way so they can freely body drag without losing ground due to you kiting close the them. Similarly a beginner who is clearly struggling keep out of their easy so they can practice their stuff without worrying about your kite. Conversely for beginners, do schools still teach the give way rules in terms of kite position? You see too many beginners totally unaware of their obligations. Again you do them a favour if you point these things out to them in a supportive way. Last year in St kilda I got entangled as a beginner under tuition dived his kite straight into mine before I got the chance to get out of the way. The instructor told me it was his 4th entanglement that day! St Kilda congestion and non optimal tuition I am afraid.

Whilst having self launch/landing skills is something for all to develop, helping other kiters launch/land:

1) creates a safer beach for all beach users;
2) potential to make a new kite friend;
3) develop more of a sense of community at the spot.

It's not just newbies who could accept an offer to launch (or land) - heard and then saw a proficient kiter put his kite into a sign at City Beach last week - if he'd taken an offer to launch a minute or two earlier, there wouldn't have been so much congestion with 3 or 4 kites going up in close proximity at almost the same time, [see point one above] & his kite might not have been trashed [see point 3 above], and then the resulting argument about who's fault it all was [see point 2 above].

It's about the vibe, peeps....