tightlines said...
Ok I said I wasn't but couldn't resist.
Everyone anti Epirb for kites is assuming that you are miles out to sea.
Most long Kitesurf adventures are along the coast.
Perth to Lancelin has been done before and no doubt will be done again, I also know of kite trips for hundreds of kilometers along remote stretches of the South coast.
Perhaps they shouldn't be doing it but they did.

So if we are talking senarios how about you have first aid kits, radios, flares, phones, food, water, have let people know your route etc but you have broken your leg and are on a beach somewhere miles from the nearest town with no radio or phone reception.

It is then that I would be glad to have a Epirb and I would use it.

Whatever you do, you assess the potential risks and take any necessary precautions. If you were going to kite along a remote stretch of the South coast, you would subconsciously think - what if I broke my leg - what would I do. There is nothing wrong with doing something inherently dangerous or risky, but you need to be responsible. Kiting down South on a remote beach with radio, flares, phone AND EPIRB, but by yourself is not responsible, it's stupid and you are putting unnecessary pressure on rescue services because of your irresponsibility. I can't imagine many scenarios where you are kiting close to shore on a remote beach with first aid kits, radios, flares, phones, food, water PLUS a mate or two and something goes wrong and an EPIRB would be necessitated.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR NEGATIVE COMMENTS

Chill out dudes! Its all cool.
I Hate telling people what I do and talking things up, but here it go's...

I work for an Emergency Service Melbourne. Before that was an Engineer in the Royal Australian Army. Have been posted in some of the most remote parts of the world with only two other men.

My Brother works as a rescue crewman (swimmer) on a full time rescue helicopter service and always knows of my location when out on the water.
They even fly out and say hello when I am in the area.


I kite with people and alone as very few are interested in long distance racing etc.

@lostinlondon your a good dude, sure i have dealt with you in my time kiting but who are you to say about epirbs being set off when they shouldn't have been? Do you work in the industry or is it urban legend and media beat up?


There would be more false calls and alarms in the city. They are charged and count for call volumes for the services. Better to be out and about than sitting around? Very very very few people "miss out" on emergency care, and when it is due to ambulance ramping where hospitals say they are full and the patient waits with the ambulance and crew on the ramp into the hospital. Nick mcginty (cant spell) thought this was a great idea in wa.

In seven years in the rescue helicopter not once have they been out for a epirb that was a false call.
They spend hours in the air for training a few extra in a real scenario wont hurt.

After Lancelin Ocean Classic i went out in the waves at north passage, a windsurfer slowed down as he didn't like the wave he was on, and snaked me, so my kite lines went slack, fell out of the sky and ended up in death loop. I let the kite go and it drifted past the island out to sea. There were 20 plus windsurfers and none NONE not one offered assistance or checked if i was ok, just blasted past me as i swam in. So i thought it was time to get a epirb/plb

My family are olympic sailors. I have been off shore since a kid. I was due to do sydney to hobart at 17 but after the deaths the rules were changed by cyc to 18min.

Who is to say i can or cannot buy a epirb? I pay my taxes plus gst and expect a service. You can have one when your in a kayak or anything else..



God we pulled a frenchman out in the absolute middle of nowhere over the past few days. And he had NO insurance.

I want to kite out to the cargo ships in Newcastle. My grandfather paddles out there on a surf ski with only leather skin and a lure attached to the ski.

Or maybe a few long downwinders in wa.
After Lano HEADING NORTH the reception gets poor, waterproof iphone cases are hit and miss, been through three phones this summer.

Why not call for help, when Idiots do it all the time after stuffing around, drink driving, throwing things in fires etc??


SO WHATS THE CHARGES IF I DONT NEED MEDICAL RETRIEVAL??

@tighlines - did i meet you at Lano?
Ended up getting a PLB from the USA at $130 vs 460 at witworths still runs off 406 and gps.

Hope we get some wind and off the internet chat x

Take one with you bro, my retired parents take one bush walking as do many people in their group. The authorities actually recommend carrying an epirb bush walking, fishing etc. We take them sailing all the time, in fact it's a rule that every person must have one on their person for most of the east coast yacht races.

Sure we don't want a bunch of knobs setting them off, but they should be carried by 'epirb educated' people to be used in a life threatening situation. Not sure if there's insurance options, but there's been plenty of cases where they haven't charged. It's not something I'd be worried about if the only other option was death.

Maybe wire the epirb into the life insurance company, I'm sure they'd be willing to pay the rescue fee vs death payout

picker said...
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR NEGATIVE COMMENTS

Chill out dudes! Its all cool.
I Hate telling people what I do and talking things up, but here it go's...

I work for an Emergency Service Melbourne. Before that was an Engineer in the Royal Australian Army. Have been posted in some of the most remote parts of the world with only two other men.

My Brother works as a rescue crewman (swimmer) on a full time rescue helicopter service and always knows of my location when out on the water.
They even fly out and say hello when I am in the area.


I kite with people and alone as very few are interested in long distance racing etc.

@lostinlondon your a good dude, sure i have dealt with you in my time kiting but who are you to say about epirbs being set off when they shouldn't have been? Do you work in the industry or is it urban legend and media beat up?


There would be more false calls and alarms in the city. They are charged and count for call volumes for the services. Better to be out and about than sitting around? Very very very few people "miss out" on emergency care, and when it is due to ambulance ramping where hospitals say they are full and the patient waits with the ambulance and crew on the ramp into the hospital. Nick mcginty (cant spell) thought this was a great idea in wa.

In seven years in the rescue helicopter not once have they been out for a epirb that was a false call.
They spend hours in the air for training a few extra in a real scenario wont hurt.

After Lancelin Ocean Classic i went out in the waves at north passage, a windsurfer slowed down as he didn't like the wave he was on, and snaked me, so my kite lines went slack, fell out of the sky and ended up in death loop. I let the kite go and it drifted past the island out to sea. There were 20 plus windsurfers and none NONE not one offered assistance or checked if i was ok, just blasted past me as i swam in. So i thought it was time to get a epirb/plb

My family are olympic sailors. I have been off shore since a kid. I was due to do sydney to hobart at 17 but after the deaths the rules were changed by cyc to 18min.

Who is to say i can or cannot buy a epirb? I pay my taxes plus gst and expect a service. You can have one when your in a kayak or anything else..



God we pulled a frenchman out in the absolute middle of nowhere over the past few days. And he had NO insurance.

I want to kite out to the cargo ships in Newcastle. My grandfather paddles out there on a surf ski with only leather skin and a lure attached to the ski.

Or maybe a few long downwinders in wa.
After Lano HEADING NORTH the reception gets poor, waterproof iphone cases are hit and miss, been through three phones this summer.

Why not call for help, when Idiots do it all the time after stuffing around, drink driving, throwing things in fires etc??


SO WHATS THE CHARGES IF I DONT NEED MEDICAL RETRIEVAL??

@tighlines - did i meet you at Lano?
Ended up getting a PLB from the USA at $130 vs 460 at witworths still runs off 406 and gps.

Hope we get some wind and off the internet chat x

With all that supposed experience I would say you should know better...

If you have a gear failure whilst " kiting out to the cargo ships in Newcastle " someone will have to come and rescue you. Nevermind you could end up adrift in a shipping channel and I am sure the blokes running the emegency services involved will be thrilled to have to drop whatever thay are doing to put a heli up or come several kms out to sea in a launch to rescue you because you ...."want to kite out to the cargo ships in Newcastle "

In the end you can carry an EPIRB or PBL if you like.... it may save you from a dangerous situation......but you are a complete idiot for putting yourself in that situation with only an EPIRB or PBL as a contingency and if I was the one pulling you out of the water you would be left in no uncertain terms what i though of your stupidity all the way back to port.

picker said...

Got a EPIRB for when I am out at sea and things go wrong alone.

Going out to sea alone is the reason you have had many negative replies. You might be Bear Grylls on land, but a night floating at sea will most likely end badly.

I would never go more than 1km offshore unless I was kiting with a good mate to keep an eye on me. Even if there were 20 windsurfers out, they are not going to know to keep an eye on you.

One mate with a kite is worth 100 epirbs, flares and the rest.

picker said...


Will AKSA third party cover it?

Third party only covers damage or injury you cause to a third party. Pretty sure it won't cover the individual.

I carry an PLB (EPIRB) when I am doing something a fair distance off shore. You don't need insurance, but if your trigger one you need to convince emergency services, rescuers & police that you are well prepared and that there was "a threat of grave and imminent danger". You also need to convince them you haven't done something stupid and/or beyond your capabilities.

There are some further details here: bsar.org/manual/personal-locator-beacons-plbs/

A SPOT has the advantage that you can also send non-emergency status updates via SMS and email using programmed buttons: bsar.org/spot

Frivolous and nuisance EPIRB activations are a growing issue for emergency services: bsar.org/manual/personal-locator-beacons-plbs/abuse

Carrying one when more than 2km offshore (ocean) is a requirement in Vic.

By all means carry one, but think very carefully before you activate it.

picker said...
I want to kite out to the cargo ships in Newcastle. My grandfather paddles out there on a surf ski with only leather skin and a lure attached to the ski.

@tighlines - did i meet you at Lano?

Cargo ships of Newcastle, good rounding mark for L2L training
Get a funny look from the deck crew when they see a kite go past

Hope you got your answer in amongst all them kind words

Tighty was also in the L2L and the lano race

Interesting discussion, but the best and possibly cheapest option is a pre-paid smartphone with Telstra, and a waterproof pouch that can be attached to your harness or strapped to your upper arm. The reason why I mention Telstra, is that it will probably work in many remote areas, while many other carriers won't. A pre-paid sim card will also work on 000, even if no credit is available, and may even allow calls on other carriers networks. The GPS is important because rescue aircraft have the capability to locate a phone via it's GPS signal. At sea level a mobile phone will have a range of up to 30kms. Finally, you could actually make a phone call, which has been the case in many sea rescues! These two examples will cost less than $100, if you did not want to risk using your existing smartphone.

www.jbhifi.com.au/collections/mobile-phones/lg-mobile-phones

www.casebuddy.com.au/products/case-buddy-waterproof-smart-phone-bag?utm_source=google-product-search&gclid=COuVjJ64-7QCFUdFpQodKAIA_A

nothing to see way out except the silence of your thoughts and that can be scary

Hug the caost and enjoy the scenery and let your mates or your famialy know what time to start looking for you if you havent touched base.

If you have a raido CH16 you could always have a chat with the S&R for the area before and after you leave, or carry a hand held pretty expensive option

keep the adventure alive.....

see the hookup if avaliable in the SW for march little 20 kilometer run buetiful coast and surf hopefully

Epirb or not is an interesting topic...

Adventurers are going to do what they want.. whether its smart or not..
So why not have one.. just remember your immediate safety out at sea is governed by wind & condom rubber.
If your prepared to sit in unknown water for a few hours on your board singing jaws music then go for it..
Anyone remember the kiter that tried to go across the mediteranean sea? Dont be like him.. although a epirb may have helped his stupid scenario.. another kitesurfing wanker in the publics eye..

Maybe attach 15m of rope to yourself with a 14ft tinny on the end.. you could even have your wife in it so she can give you orders..

Anyone who thinks an EPIRB is an appropriate level of backup to cover yourself while
undertaking over the horizon kite activities is delusion and has no understanding of
the technology.The inherent time delays to accurately plot your position and then
Pass the info to RCC Canberra ,who then look at what's available in the area( they
are looking at cargo ships / Oil industry etc not other blokes out in their tinnies).
The delay in getting the info to a local level will be sufficient for you to die if you are
In the water. Once you wash up somewhere then things change and you could find
shelter and wait. Don't rely on an EPIRB. That's dumb. Likewise people thinking
they are sweet as they have bought a waterproof VHF from Dick Smiths are also
delusional. VHF is line of sight communication only (small amount of skip but not
reliable). That means your antennae must "see" the receiving antennae to communicate
How high is your antennae when treading water? Good luck on calling more than 5 kms
Self rescue is your best option. Chuck some flares in your pocket if doing something
a little different.Your best chance is attracting local help.
Boat or jet ski Support ( with VHF and EPIRB) beyond that.
Plan it right then do it right. You only get one life.

picker said...

Ended up getting a PLB from the USA at $130 vs 460 at witworths still runs off 406 and gps.

I came across this info when I was looking a few months back. I wouldn't recommend buying a cheap unit from overseas. If you do find yourself in a situation where you need one. You probably want it to work! You only get one chance to use it.


Purchasing overseas
If purchasing distress beacons overseas for use in Australia; make sure that they will meet Australian Standards and Class Licence requirements. Information on the Class Licence that authorises the use of distress beacons can be accessed from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

Canadian Class 2 PLBs
Canada has now amended their Standards to allow a Class 2 PLB that is not required to float. This beacon does not meet the Australian Standard and will not be registered in Australia.

United States Coded PLBs
We are aware that the United States requires all PLBs for use in the US to transmit the letter "P" in Morse over the homing frequency of 121.5 MHz. This is not permitted under Australian Standards nor by the ACMA's miscellaneous Devices Class Licence that references these Standards and therefore these distress beacons should not be used in Australia. Any 406 MHz beacon registered with AMSA is required to be coded with an Australian country code. You may have difficulty recoding a 406 MHz beacon produced for the US market. There may be beacons manufactured to other national standards that are not compatible with Australian standards. You should make sure that any beacon you purchase will comply with the Australian requirements.


beacons.amsa.gov.au/beacon-models.html

25 - 30 knots in Perth today, headin for the Offshore wind flatwater spot - have packed my Emergency kit - 2 Coronas.... Check

SaveTheWhales said...
25 - 30 knots in Perth today, headin for the Offshore wind flatwater spot - have packed my Emergency kit - 2 Coronas.... Check

Are you taking your helmet? :) Flares? Just checking:)

salt said...
people are acting as if kiters don't deserve to be rescued from a life threatening situation, Its pathetic.

Tides, currents and rips can all be your enemy even if you are close to shore. So get an EPIRB if you feel you need to, and by all means, if your life is threatened you are entitled to a rescue as much as any Frenchman.

So where do you draw the line - should surfers carry them? Kayakers, windsurfers, divers, swimmers? Imagine if everyone that stepped foot in the ocean had a similar attitude - the rescue services would be inundated with calls from people in non-emergency situations. You can get caught in a rip, activate your EPIRB and 10 minutes later swim your way out - too late the chopper is on it's way.