Hi all ,would like to say first up a big thanks to all for making this such a great event , My first L2L was super nerve racking ,exciting and exhilarating,Thanks to all you friendly fellow kiters for the advise,encouragement and support,a special cheers to the rotto crew and the volunteers "John, great chat on the way over and you worked ur butt off,on you mate".It was the first time i have kited with as many kites around me and with my new mono vision post eye surgery but i felt quite confident thanks to you all.
Cheers again "Pirate" Dave #77

tbh 2 kite rule is very limiting and in some situations can be dangerous . Like Ken said the original rule of 4 pieces of equipment is better .

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L2L said..

Jono77 said..
^^^^
I saw this but was there a last minute change due to conditions? Just wondering as it seems this fella had at least 3 kites.

Totally not in the spirit of the race, nor the rules ... Nothing we can do now, but it is noted.

I would have done exactly the same when seeing the race organisers took the decision to go ahead in uncertain frontal conditions. Putting that on the 'spirit of the race" is a lot of BS in my opinion considering the weather conditions the racers had to deal with on Saturday. For safety reason, it made more sense to allow at least one extra kite.

As a few mentioned, the 4 pieces of equipment rule makes a lot more sense. Maybe some ideas to consider for next year policy?

Pretty easy to fit 3 foil kites into one inflatable kite bag. Limited number of baggage items seems a better approach.

Fact is for this race the rule was 2 kites. Anything more would have given you an unfair advantage above those doing the right thing.

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Mask said..
Fact is for this race the rule was 2 kites. Anything more would have given you an unfair advantage above those doing the right thing.

i see nowhere in the [b]RULES[\b] stating two kites only . It is merely a suggestion . At the end of the day once prizemoney is involved it becomes a serious race, this event isn't marketed as a weekend warrior event and therefore people should be allowed to take more than two kites , especially when the forecast was so **** . Just look at how many kites were down at the finish line .

"At the end of the day once prizemoney is involved it becomes a serious race"

Exactly!
All the more reason no-one should have an unfair advantage.

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Mask said..
"At the end of the day once prizemoney is involved it becomes a serious race"

Exactly!
All the more reason no-one should have an unfair advantage.

Sometimes a bit of common sense should prevail over a stupid rule... Especially when safety is involved.

+ as Dusta mentioned, it is a suggestion, not a rule. Most rider would take only 1 board so why limit the choice to 2 kites/2boards and not 4 pieces of equipment?

Can't tell if people are serious or trolling?

There are rules for a reason (ultimately to make it fair) and if you don't follow them you risk being disqualified. If this were an IKA/ ISAF race (or any other formal race) you would be disqualified in the event of taking more gear than you're allowed, or any gear you didn't register for the race. That's just how it is.

I'm not on any side, or really care either way, just stating the facts.

Rowdy is right rules are to make it fair but if you are going to make rules there has to be some way of policing them.
Perhaps if you had to nominate what kites you were taking the night before or the morning of the race, either on an online register or in writing at the ferry terminal.
Then on completion all the place getters could have the kite they used checked against the 2 they nominated, if it was not listed they get disqualified.

I am fairly certain that many of the winners/place getters over the years have had more than2 kites to choose from.

Just saw the race result page....Did they print enough D.N.F. t-shirts ...for the DNFferrs .

Once again Aerial photography WA has done an awesome job of photographing the race from the air.
I have no affiliation with them except I bought a photo of myself competing last year which was superb quality and fast delivery (prices reasonable too). Have just ordered another from this years race.

Fantastic shots and definitely worth a look.


aerialphotographywa.com/

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tightlines said...
Rowdy is right rules are to make it fair but if you are going to make rules there has to be some way of policing them.

Sailing and sail racing (incl Kite racing) under ISAf is self policing... One of the riders would have needed to lodge a protest.. When I did the L2L the instructions included a protest section, someone only had to lodge one..

And that person would be a knob...

Looks like JonnoPark killed it this year....

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patto1987 said..

tightlines said...
Rowdy is right rules are to make it fair but if you are going to make rules there has to be some way of policing them.

Sailing and sail racing (incl Kite racing) under ISAf is self policing... One of the riders would have needed to lodge a protest.. When I did the L2L the instructions included a protest section, someone only had to lodge one..

And that person would be a knob...

True. But someone cheating is also being a knob... same same.

The rules are two kites and winner admitted he had three kites he should be disqualified nothing personal but that's the rules

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iti said..
The rules are two kites and winner admitted he had three kites he should be disqualified nothing personal but that's the rules

The IKA/ISAF rules (which the L2L is run under) require a rider to lodge a protest, as written in the Instructions.. He may very well have been disqualified if someone did lodge a protest.

As much as he may not have followed the rules having an extra kite (assuming he did), no one else followed the rules by lodging a protest to do something about it.. So its all to late, and too bad... Come back next year

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dusta said..

Mask said..
Fact is for this race the rule was 2 kites. Anything more would have given you an unfair advantage above those doing the right thing.

i see nowhere in the RULES[\b] stating two kites only . It is merely a suggestion . At the end of the day once prizemoney is involved it becomes a serious race, this event isn't marketed as a weekend warrior event and therefore people should be allowed to take more than two kites , especially when the forecast was so **** . Just look at how many kites were down at the finish line .

No, not in N o R, but it is pretty clear in the FAQs in the Competitors Manual!

The rationale of two kites is purely logistics. 115 people taking 2 kites = 230 kites. 115 people taking 3 kites + 345 kites, hell, lets go 4 kites each = 460 kites.

The range of breeze that kites work on these days is huge!

If Racers want to see the entry fee go to $500 because of the excess baggage we would be charged ... that is an option, but an unlikely one...

FYI ...

Yes re: post above, it would be good to get the times anyway for "DNF" if they were recorded.

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richswing said..
Great race, great day, thanks.

Even though alot us did not finish, can we have the times anyway?

Pity the wind dropped and everyone blocked the finish line.
It pissed me off but what can you do, it's the name of the game.

This is the post I mean. Also, are you "DNF" if you have to body drag around multiple peoples kite lines to get across the finish line but you still have your kite in the air and your board.. ? Astounded that half the race can be DNF

A crazy race indeed! (my first ever too). Firstly: thanks heaps to the organisers and volunteers especially.

Now for a bit of a rant!

I have to say I thought it was a bit rude that someone completely abandoned their kite and lines directly in front of the finish line: as their kite floated in front of me with the 20-25m of lines behind them (with the bar acting as a sea-achor of sorts; to stop it drifting away downwind faster..) I was forced to stop to avoid getting tangled in them, and then my kite also fell and I was now part of the *most fun* kite 'domino effect' ever. (Well, certainly hilarious for all spectating kiters anyway!).

It was rather annoying having to literally go under this persons abandoned lines while attached to my kite still: they could have had the common decency to at least self rescue (i.e. wind their lines in and drift (just as ungracefully!) downwind to a mellow sandy shore in the SWerly). A DNF this way is surely more dignifying than swimming over the finish line and leaving your mess behind for the others! (IMO anyway).

Swimmers abandoning their lines and kites is a bit selfish in this situation; with another 100+ kites coming their way (unless this was an emergency; but seriously what kind of emergency could it really have been in only ~5-10knots wind?!). It was carnage enough with the downed kiters trying to get back up (within a whisker of the finish line!), but encounting abandoned gear - that was just selfish...


Strong request to organisers for future races: Kiter, kite, lines AND board should all have to cross the finish line to avoid a DNF (or worse: perhaps exclusion from next years race?)

Another request to organisers: perhaps have a 4pm start: to give the Seabreeze a little more chance to kick in.
(most people finish within ~1hr, and sunset is around 7pm so thats surely plenty of time to pick up people that get lost along the way etc).


Thanks again for making this race go ahead. Looking forward to taking part in another one!

Sandy
Why not not a average wind day when the organisers know what the wind is like on the beach at Leighton is like
Make the finish line off shore between two boats in the wind zone so that this doesn't happen again
Everyone finishes and gets a finishing time and most people feel they have a great day and get their money's worth

Just my thoughts

Sandy, every situation is different. It was my first L2L as well. I had to abandon my kite 200m from the finish line because someone crashed his kite into mine and I ended up being tangled in his lines. I had no choice, for safety reasons, than to launch my safety to swim away from his lines. Cos if a gust had pulled his kite out of water I would have been in serious trouble. It was an emergency decision. But believe me, it was a serious PAIN doing that so close to the end especially that I was dealing well with keeping my kite in the air and had a very good positon (surely top 5 TT class). Well, I didn't complain, cos it's part of the game. Then my aim was to swim back on shore, but swimming with harness, flares and PFD is not easy so I naturally swam toward the first thing in sight (finish line boat). Sorry if I could have annoyed anyone, but in that situation you first think of your safety. At this moment I didn't care at all doing a result. I just wanted to get my feet on the ground, drink and recover. I don't think that I was selfish at all.

Have you put 3 LEI kites in a bag and tried to pick it up!? It weighs a lot man, at least 12-15kilos! Foil kites maybe less, but you have to consider the bar and lines as well, which adds probably double the weight.

Why should L2L volunteers and friends have to lift that weight to put in cages etc?

I think 2 kites is fair. Frankly, one kite or too bad should be the norm

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damell said..
Sandy, every situation is different. It was my first L2L as well. I had to abandon my kite 200m from the finish line because someone crashed his kite into mine and I ended up being tangled in his lines. I had no choice, for safety reasons, than to launch my safety to swim away from his lines. Cos if a gust had pulled his kite out of water I would have been in serious trouble. It was an emergency decision. But believe me, it was a serious PAIN doing that so close to the end especially that I was dealing well with keeping my kite in the air and had a very good positon (surely top 5 TT class). Well, I didn't complain, cos it's part of the game. Then my aim was to swim back on shore, but swimming with harness, flares and PFD is not easy so I naturally swam toward the first thing in sight (finish line boat). Sorry if I could have annoyed anyone, but in that situation you first think of your safety. At this moment I didn't care at all doing a result. I just wanted to get my feet on the ground, drink and recover. I don't think that I was selfish at all.

did you self rescue or drag your lines across the finish line ?

No, kite and lines were drifting away. Just me and my board.

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damell said..
No, kite and lines were drifting away. Just me and my board.

so you what punched out on the finish line without trying to packdown ?

Hmm.. I was hoping to get some clarity on what situation would constitute a DNF.. Anyone know? Can't see in the rules. Maybe in the carnage the finish crew couldn't read everyone's numbers? Or does it not count if you have to stop/get off your board for a bit to avoid all the kites and lines?

Yeah the conditions were challenging and it wasn't the usual consistent sou'wester we're all spoilt with over here in the west. It was my first L2L after taking up kiting a few years ago and here's my thoughts:
- Tim, the sponsors and volunteers did an awesome job in making this happen for the kiting community
- every single competitor I spoke to on the day was more than happy to have a chat about previous experiences on race day, their kiting adventures & all things kiting etc
- I didn't see or here a single complaint from Ollie or any past winners complaining about conditions, number of kites transported, the correct procedure for finishing when you hit a no wind zone…
- how's that turquoise water off Rotto?

How bout we all just sit back and appreciate the considerable time and effort others put into organising such an awesome event for the benefit of 115 kiters that are lucky enough to be pulled out of the barrel? I for one would be happy to have another crack in marginal conditions in 2016. So big props from me and everyone I've spoken to regards the event..…now looking fwd mixing it with the Poleys in the LOC.

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RPM said..
Looks like JonnoPark killed it this year....

You stoned again mate? I was not even in Perth on this date. While I admit its a great day, once in a life time is enough for me (and all the other beaches are empty Shhhhh!)

Also why the green thumbs for this??