I was sure it was only a matter of time and now I fear the poo has hit the fan.
I think our days on the Creery pond maybe numbered...

www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/3191947/windsurfers-hoon-through-peels-protected-waterways/?cs=289

some excellent photos of some of you fellas though

(I am feeling seriously righteous about killing myself out in the chop of the estuary on that day now )

I would advise a measured response

The complainant has claimed Swans were struck by windsurfers, close to defamamtion and lying (Can anyone advise if they struck a swan or know of a swan that was struck?)

My memory is that in about 2012 some discussions were had with DPI officers who claimed that only motorised craft were banned from Creery's

Good luck Guys, I,d go very softly on this one.

Probably best not to ask why the wetland is "dwindling to a despondently small amount" either.

Sorry Fangy, beat you to it.

Certainly no Swans struck. And the telephoto effect makes them look much closer to Strop than they were.
I've replied thus to the editor.

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Letter to the Editor.

I've just seen your online article of Joanne McVey's about "hoon windsurfers in Creery wetlands".
I do appreciate her concerns, but I'd like to reassure her, that all the windsurfers there that day are aware of the delicate nature of the reserve, and were certainly extremely careful about not hitting swans or any other animal.
I have to point out, the photos are taken with a telephoto lens that gives a very false perspective, the windsurfers are not as close to the birds as they appear.
Before we sailed there we contacted the department of transport for their advice on sailing in there. They weren't concerned about any environmental impact, saying it was only power boats that were a problem.

We are aware of frightening the birds away, so that the bird watchers miss out.
But we only sail in there in strong westerly storms, not ideal conditions for bird watching we thought.
Suitable conditions for sailing there only happen a handful of times a year in Winter, so it isn't going to be a regular occurrence.

Hope this goes some way to allaying her concerns,

Regards,
Michael Layzell

We don't get the mail, so if my reply appears, or any other reply, I'd be interested to hear.

Gee I'd hate to live next to her!!

You would have to be happy about this tho,

“[They] were belting along at ridiculous speeds"

Thanks for noticing

One of the pics shows a swan downwind of me it was about 50m away it just show you how the depth of field with a big zoom lens makes it look so close they moved upwind from us after the first run and stayed there !

Makes my blood boil that these people can comment openly assuming that we have total disregard for the environment, we too enjoy what nature has to offer. I can also honestly say that there was no indication that any wildlife would have been harmed or "run down" from our actions that day, nor did i haul my board near any fencing.

The photos shown on the Mandurah mail website do not show the actual perspective on how it was thanks to the clever zooming.

With a little research on Facebook i have found a few images/posts which claim that we are stupid and uncaring.... well i know that I'm not uncaring anyway but my fellow windsurfing buddies certainly are not stupid or uncaring.

I hope this does not spoil the 1 or 2 times per year that we use this location. I take my hat off to the caring people of the Lagoon but we are not the disgusting abomination that we are portrayed to be. Got to love the media!

Lunny

you were all "belting along at ridiculous speeds" though! She got that right!

Pity I wasn't there that day. You could have claimed to have a vet in attendance!

Ha! Loved this comment it confirmed what I have suspected for years

“Those windsurfers are an abomination and I am totally disgusted.”

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stroppo said..
One of the pics shows a swan downwind of me it was about 50m away it just show you how the depth of field with a big zoom lens makes it look so close they moved upwind from us after the first run and stayed there !

Totally agree how big zooms totally distort things, and they probably look way way closer than they were

however I have to say to an outside observer those pics look pretty bad and I'm not sure "they look closer than they were" will cut it.

prepare for a bumpy ride fellas

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lunny74 said..

Makes my blood boil that these people can comment openly assuming that we have total disregard for the environment, we too enjoy what nature has to offer. I can also honestly say that there was no indication that any wildlife would have been harmed or "run down" from our actions that day, nor did i haul my board near any fencing.

The photos shown on the Mandurah mail website do not show the actual perspective on how it was thanks to the clever zooming.

With a little research on Facebook i have found a few images/posts which claim that we are stupid and uncaring.... well i know that I'm not uncaring anyway but my fellow windsurfing buddies certainly are not stupid or uncaring.

'snip'

I take my hat off to the caring people of the Lagoon but we are not the disgusting abomination that we are portrayed to be. Got to love the media!

Lunny

There is the guts of a good letter to the editor right there.

No softly, softly when you have the high ground guys. Give it to 'em good!

Oh, and you can use Facebook too!

You might want to not respond to much as the newspaper may give it legs and then have them print it which will then reach a lot more people than just online.

This is the originating face book page

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1607402049538231&set=o.1413586345599201&type=1

Here is Oaf's tracking for the day in question, which was posted on GPSTC, clearly showing that no fences have been traversed and also clearly showing that only 20% of the Pond is used as we are seeking calm waters from the western bank. Fin's track is very similar.





I went over to the lagoon-side bird hide (via the fenced area and on foot, as I was not sailing) and through my binoculars I could clearly see there were some birds were quite happily, and very wisely, bobbing around in the north eastern corner watching the action. At no stage did I see any birds that were hit, damaged or injured.

When I first arrived in Mandurah a year ago and was watching the A-graders in Creery Lagoon ( too windy for me that day), and again when I was on foot, I was confronted by a lady, possibly the same lady in the current article, who asked me if I was "with those idiots who are trying to run over the birds in Creery Lagoon. It is a bird sanctuary and they are not allowed in there. Someone should call the police." After receiving a moderately severe earbashing I explained that, as she could plainly see, I was not in there sailing as I was, in fact, talking to her, but that I would pass on her concerns to the sailors, which I did. On that day our Captain, Decrepit, told me the same as he has just posted above, that Wildlife officers had been contacted and all was above board.
Being new to the area, and not wanting any more GBH of the ear'ole as my head was still ringing from the last assault, I found and spoke to the local Wildlife Officers when I next saw their truck as to whether we, as windsurfers, are actually permitted to sail in Creery Lagoon and the answer that I was given was "Yes. Only powered vessels are not allowed in the Lagoon. Sailing vessels, canoes, SUP's are not a problem." I specifically asked about the speed with which windsurfers achieve and again was told it was not an issue.

Our problem is that this will be an emotive issue. Although we are part of an organised sporting team competing in a worldwide event, although we ( almost all of us) are responsible adults and will have public liability insurance via our household insurance policies, the general public will almost certainly have more sympathy for birds than for "idiot" windsurfers.
We are, however, taxpayers and voters who have a right to our opinion and we have certainly done nothing wrong or illegal as we have asked the relevant authorities for their permission to use the lagoon and have been given the all-clear.

Ahhh now my boiling blood has cooled to a simmer

Windxtasy -- As a vet would you not agree that in the pics you see some of those wind attracted, Vertical Winged, Speedy Birds?

Cant find much info on these introduced species of vertical winged bird but clearly they were all male due to the brightly coloured wing

Maybe the wetland lovers just seem a little shocked at seeing these newly introduced species of Speedy Birds, but as bird lovers they must understand that these poor birds were just sheltering from the rough stormy waters of their normal habitat.

In time they shall learn to like the Speedy Bird

Bloody hoons, taking potentially $9000 of high end fragile composite technology & adding a total disregard to your safety... what chance do the birds have

You get these pests everywhere, the media seems fit to give them a voice, might be worth reminding their employer that as sailors can be identified by sail numbers, that they arent breaking any laws the reporter, editor & publication is leaving themself liable to successful legal action. If you were as scrupulous as the treasurer you could soon have lots of nice new gear for their headline

From the facebook page

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Craig Lester Joanne got plate nos but apparently they havent done anything illegal . Will be chasing it up with DPaW today
· June 22 at 6:09pm

The bit about hitting birds sounds pretty defamatory to me. I know there were qualifiers put in ("possibly run down", and "she thought some of the swans in particular were struck" ) but the intent was cause outrage by deliberately misrepresenting the situation which by their own admission they knew not to be illegal. That indicates malice, as is her assertion that the sailors were an "abomination".

Perhaps, at this moment in time, just taking it easy might be best. We do indeed hold the high legal ground and since there mightn't be a strong westerly for a while perhaps everything will die down and the flames will dwindle to a flicker unless more fuel is added. At the moment no specific allegations of specific crimes have been made against us....nasty slurs and innuendo sure but nothing that we can definitively act on or that they can possibly substantiate. All our cars are apparently currently registered ( well done lads) so no problem there and clearly no bird parts have been found in downhaul pulleys so all good there too.

I can't help thinking that if Dept of Parks and Wildlife are backed into a corner by this situation their easiest call will be to ban all activities in the Creery Lagoon bar bird-watching, even as a temporary situation, while matters are investigated.... and that might never get changed back. If we make noisy representation that we only use the lagoon in certain wind strengths and directions and that this usage only amounts to 7-10 days a year DPaW might consider that our occasional use is of lesser community worth than birdwatchers who will, of course, state that they all watch birds every waking moment of every day and at midnight as well and because they're hidden in bushes of course we can't even find them to count heads. In short I don't see how we can really get more than we've already got but it's conceivable we might lose access in some way.

I wonder if, at the moment, "masterly inactivity" might be a good strategy until we can see how things start to pan out. Decrepit has written an excellent Captain's reply to the newspaper and it will be interesting to see if there is a reply.
I'm not suggesting we capitulate by any means but just that we keep our blood pressure down and our powder dry pro tem.

Hooning?...Really...

I saw a surfer hooning on a wave the other day.

Hooning...lol

Who left the muffler off their exhaust pipe?

Nice coverage guys. Nice to see windsurfing back in the Mandurah Mail again. They wouldn't print photos just for fun or sports content any more.

Strop - they have not had us removed from a beach in Mandurah for 20 years - since the last time you caused trouble. Remember H/Head and blue bay. How inconsiderate of you.

Those poor birds have no where else to go since the eco vandalism of turning the wetlands into Canals for Mr Lester et al to enjoy.

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Paul said..
Nice coverage guys. Nice to see windsurfing back in the Mandurah Mail again. They wouldn't print photos just for fun or sports content any more.

>>>>

Yes, a few years ago now, I tried to interest them in a story towards the end of a month, when Mandurah Mob, was in a tussle for the top of the world for that month.
They didn't even reply.

www.flickr.com/photos/murrayh77/8169355937

Mikey Clancy




Birds do not seem to be bothered much about windsurfers per se, but speed does seem to be a factor.
From what I have seen, birds tend to prefer to stay upwind of windsurfers if they are moving at speed, and kites if they are in the air.

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elmo said..
You might want to not respond to much as the newspaper may give it legs and then have them print it which will then reach a lot more people than just online.

This is the originating face book page

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1607402049538231&set=o.1413586345599201&type=1

The responses on the Newspaper web page were really good.

Unless they continue to defame, it is probably best left alone as you say.

Now, I've had time to cool down from being called an abomination, I've had time to think from their perspective, and can see where they're coming from.

Several years ago the environmentalists had a long hard fight trying to save the Creery wetlands, they thought they had succeeded, but a few years after their success, some developers influence saw a substantial chunk turn into canals! The little bit left was finally protected by the RAMSAR agreement, it's there for the migrating birds that come over from Asia each spring, they've lost an awful lot of habitat over the last decades.
So I guess seeing us in there, the last sanctuary, to them was like a mob of bikies doing wheelies around the altar of your most sacred cathedral.
No wonder we got abused.
So feeling rather guilty, I rang the council environmental officer seeking rational, dispassionate scientific advice as to our actual impact on the site.

She's forwarding on my request to a couple of environmental scientists who have interests in the area.
But from her perspective the big thing is the Samphire grass, that's the bird habitat, and should be left undisturbed. Her main question was, "were we riding through it, because if we where, she'd put us in the same classification as jet skis". Walking through it is also a no no, but I think we're ok staying on the edge of the channel, towing the rig.
I'll report more when I hear back from the experts.
If we are causing damage, we probably shouldn't be in there, so if we can make sure we aren't having any negative impact, we have every reason to keep sailing there. No matter how stroppy the bird watchers get.

A positive to this Mike, they dont have shotguns like at LG!!!!
All the best to you blokes for a successful outcome.
Cheers,
Larko.

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HF said..
The thing about these people is they always shoot themselves in the foot, I did a bit of digging and found a photo of her on her Facebook page jumping up and down on these "sensitive" nesting area's then laughing about scaring the birds away. Hope the link works:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4722280138616&set=a.3120939146092.2127815.1342958507&type=3&theater

Thanks for that Col, I've just posted the link in the comments

The 'wind turbine' effect of your Abominable Speed Sailing, may cause illness in Creery bird population.

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HF said..
The thing about these people is they always shoot themselves in the foot, I did a bit of digging and found a photo of her on her Facebook page jumping up and down on these "sensitive" nesting area's then laughing about scaring the birds away. Hope the link works:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4722280138616&set=a.3120939146092.2127815.1342958507&type=3&theater

Now THAT is GOLD. Thanks HF, I have tears in my eyes
dont ya love it when someone throwns a stick and it turns out to be a boomerang?

Just for those who cant access a FB, just have a giggle at this ;( this is the lady who posted the photos and tirade)
(thanks again HF - having been on the receiving end of a verbal lashing yesterday this has soooo made my day)
- and dont tell me a telephoto lens was used and she is actually jumping on the boardwalk and is no where near the samphire!