Hey Seabreezers,

Although this video is specific to Altona in Melbourne, which i'm sure many of heard about, the story in the video can be applied more widely to spots around Australia and also if you ever happen to be in Melbourne and want to kiteboard at Altona.

Altona typically receives onshore weather conditions and there is a road directly downwind. This has presented challenges in the area in the past, particularly with launching and landing. It's important that as a community we are aware of these risks and know how to mitigate them. So please watch the video and share with people who you think could benefit from the story.



Hope this can be helpful,

Declan

Nice concept (bit of a shame Ben can't spell 'beginner', that's Aussie schools for ya ).

look forward to seeing similar vids rolled out for a few more hot spots, hopefully in a few euro languages and Portuguese as well......

I love that several of the recent clips have Alt+J in their music lineup! So, my question is this in regard to the safety, if you kite alone there you have to self launch and land. How is that done there if it's not allowed? Is there a common tether post? Or just a general rule? This vid is a great idea for certain spots, especially a tricky one like this place.

^^^Agreed

and also who enforces these rules, council? self regulated? police?
or do u have kite police in vic?

self launching and landing is usually done because nobody is around to help.....so who's gonna see u??

Hey Guys, That is a guideline for Altona specifically, the launching/ landing area is very small and there is both obstruction upwind (the bushes) and downwind (pine trees and power lines). It would be highly unlikely to kite at Altona beach when there are no kiteboarders around to help launch or land, there can be 50-100 kiteboarders on a busy day. The message there is, if someone is around to help you launch and land, why wouldn't you ask?

@ Gilly - There are a mixture of rules and guidelines in the video. It's all about self regulation and taking responsibility to do the right thing. This video is education, it's purpose is to make people think. But the reality is if there is an incident and it is outside the zoning (which is a rule), it wouldn't be hard for the LGA's to work out and potentially make a negative decision against the location.

Select to expand quote

GMkal said..
Hey Guys, That is a guideline for Altona specifically, the launching/ landing area is very small and there is both obstruction upwind (the bushes) and downwind (pine trees and power lines). It would be highly unlikely to kite at Altona beach when there are no kiteboarders around to help launch or land, there can be 50-100 kiteboarders on a busy day. The message there is, if someone is around to help you launch and land, why wouldn't you ask?

@ Gilly - There are a mixture of rules and guidelines in the video. It's all about self regulation and taking responsibility to do the right thing. This video is education, it's purpose is to make people think. But the reality is if there is an incident and it is outside the zoning (which is a rule), it wouldn't be hard for the LGA's to work out and potentially make a negative decision against the location.

not to knit pick too much, I definetly see what you are getting at, but with the current low standard of Kite training, mixed with the mass sales of kiting to anyone, its left alot of us in a position of no longer being able to trust all kiters on a beach to land or launch you. Iv seen some shockers at beaches all around Australia. Take care when requesting another "kiter" to launch or land you

When did those bushes pop up near the water-line!? The council should have removed them. Way dangerous on many levels.

@NorthernKiteAus - They have popped up over the last few years. I fully agree that they are dangerous and is a topic point we are having with the local council at the moment. They are naturally occurring, so for the time being, understanding the risk they present is important to being safe.

@Adam - I guess firstly, the kiteboarding industry and community need to take responsibility and continue sending a clear message that you shouldn't be kiteboarding unless you have had professional lesson from a school where instructors have been adequately trained through a training course. That's a no brainer. I agree you should always take caution regardless of who is launching you. However if everyone just trusts themselves and self launches and lands, this sets an example to new comers to the sport that this is the 'safe practice', when it isn't, particularly in locations like Altona.