This post is not intended to be an anti-Euro rant but as a 'heads up' for all Pinnaroo kiters and a reminder to all of us about our safety responsibilities on the beach.

Saturday just gone (28th Jan), my mother in law was walking on the beach at, or adjacent to the boundary between the dog exercise area & the designated kite zone at Pinnaroo around 5.30/5.40pm and saw two guys, learning how to fly a kite - it was clear to her that it was not someone under instruction from Action Sports (this incident occurred south of the school area), and according to her explanation to me, it was clearly "mates teaching mates."

Unfortunately, as she walked around/past/downwind of the two French guys with the kite, the kite got out of their collective control and she got hit by the kite on the top of the shoulders/neck/head and was very unfortunately, knocked out for what she thinks was between 30 seconds and 1 minute. Whilst MIL isn't a kiter herself, she does know to avoid lines & to keep some distance from launching & landing kites - she isn't/wasn't some gumby beach walker - she is "kite aware" so to speak.

The two guys who were using the kite immediately attended to her to make sure she was relatively speaking, ok, and were extremely apologetic for the accident. From what she has told me, other beach goers also assisted her at the time to make sure she was ok.

Whilst that was an obvious immediate response to the incident, they didn't provide any contact details for MIL to follow up with them - you know, like when you have a traffic accident....

She is still somewhat stiff and sore from the incident, with bruising and soft tissue injury - extremely fortunate given what could have happened.

Pinnaroo isn't my local, but I would ask all those who do kite there regularly to keep an eye out for "mates teaching mates" and to apply some level of local, self-policing to try, as best is possible, that no-one else gets injured (more seriously).

If the two guys responsible happen to read this, I'd suggest you seriously reconsider your instruction practices & get some professional assistance.

Cheers
Juddy

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Juddy said..
....I would ask ... to apply some level of local, self-policing to try, as best is possible, that no-one else gets injured (more seriously).

Juddy, I totally concurr with your sentiments and this horrific incident. Thankfully your mother in-law was not hospitalised from it (touch wood), but of course it could have been far worse!

Unfortunately I've tried to "police things" around here locally and back in Melbourne, and I just get sand in my face. Some idiots out there will always think they know everything sadly.

I might add, that some kite shops don't say anything or at least be seen to enforce safety or awareness of the dangers of self-learning this sport. SO really this is a wake up call - I hope!

Mmm I was there earlier that day and saw at least 2 different groups of mates teaching mates. One guy I even asked what he was doing and he cheerfully said teaching !

its not on guys - if you are reading this it's a crowded spot and needs to be managed carefully for it to remain a kite spot. Do the right thing and encourage your mates to learn with a reputable school by a qualified instructor.

You can always lead a horse (or a kiter) to water but you can't make them think.

Glad to hear there were no serious injuries juddy ??
This is a reminder to all passionate kite people, local self policing is a very important part of our sport, only yesterday i watched "a mate teaching a mate" at Mullaz and had to cringe at there antics ?? i approached and asked "the instructor" "politely" to come and have a chat. The outcome was a success, it doesn't take long and most people are happy to listen if approached in the current manner ?? if there just idiots!! Check downwind then hit there chicken loop release ????

Please let us know when you see these french guys learning again,
so some of us can send our mother-in-laws down the beach

Glad she is ok.

I'll be honest, I don't see a problem here. Some learners make a mistake and unfortunately knock someone out. They take care of her at the time and no further medical attention is needed.

Why does there need to be further follow up?

Accidents happen. Its unfortunate but that's life. Move on, chalk it up to experience and enjoy life.

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Plummet said..
I'll be honest, I don't see a problem here. Some learners make a mistake and unfortunately knock someone out. They take care of her at the time and no further medical attention is needed.

Why does there need to be further follow up?

Accidents happen. Its unfortunate but that's life. Move on, chalk it up to experience and enjoy life.

Not sure if you know this particular location Plummet or the local history that has gone into the area, but there you go, you might learn something new.

1) IMO, "mates teaching mates" is never a good idea; I say this in the same manner I would say that getting driving instructions from a mate, simply because he knows how to drive doesn't make him qualified as a driving instructor.

I'll also recognise however that the day to day reality of mates teaching mates - if it's on a remote, desolate beach with no other beach users around, if it goes pear shaped, no one gets hurt. Unfortunately, this wasn't an isolated beach and there were other beach users around on the day.
Obviously, mate # 1 (instructor) didn't have an appropriate safety plan or regime in place to mitigate against injuring a member of the public.
So yeah, no problem here.

2) Not sure if you've ever had a concussion? My understanding of concussion is that some of the symptoms/injuries don't always present at first & that it can be some time later when injuries become obvious. Yes, it was polite that they checked she was "ok" at that time, but the fact that she was knocked out & the two involved pretty much walked off without follow up speaks volumes as to their sense of taking responsibility for their actions.
Fortunately, there wasn't any delayed brain injury overnight & MIL has recovered (other than the bruising & swelling)
So yeah, no problem here (again).

3) Yes, you are right, accidents happen, that's life. As kiters, we have an individual responsibility to make sure we do as little as possible that might result in beach restrictions or reduced access. This behaviour isn't the sort of behaviour that lends itself to keeping this beach open.
So yeah, no problem here (again).

And yes, this is a member of my family, so perhaps I'm dialed in to the situation more than you are. Next time one of the kiting community takes out one of your family, drop me a line & we can chat about it.

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the walks said..
Glad to hear there were no serious injuries juddy ??
This is a reminder to all passionate kite people, local self policing is a very important part of our sport, only yesterday i watched "a mate teaching a mate" at Mullaz and had to cringe at there antics ?? i approached and asked "the instructor" "politely" to come and have a chat. The outcome was a success, it doesn't take long and most people are happy to listen if approached in the current manner ?? if there just idiots!! Check downwind then hit there chicken loop release ????

Tony, thanks for your inquiry - MIL was bruised & battered & sore for a couple of days afterwards, but nothing of major concern - fortunately.

With the previous efforts that have gone in to keeping the Pinnaroo - Mullaz stretch of beach open, one would hope that this is a once off event & that it doesn't happen again....here's hoping,

Juddy

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Plummet said..
I'll be honest, I don't see a problem here. Some learners make a mistake and unfortunately knock someone out. They take care of her at the time and no further medical attention is needed.

Why does there need to be further follow up?

Accidents happen. Its unfortunate but that's life. Move on, chalk it up to experience and enjoy life.

I agree with you plummet. sorry to hear about the accident and hope shes ok but people are totally within thier rights to learn on a designated kite beach. theres a clearly posted sign saying the dog beach ends so people walkin past should take a bit more notice and stay clear if they think they may be in danger. its pretty obvious that its a kite beach.