A few of us windsurfing were approached by 2 council inspectors on Monday arvo.
They told us that they were going to start fining windsurfers as well as kiteboarders.
Of coasre I told them that the sign states kitesurfing equipment however they said they could still fine us.
Anyway good news one of the local windsurfer Trever contacted the local member who spoke to the council local laws officer and all is fine with us windsurfers. not sure y the inspectors said otherwise.

But on a safety note its a reminder how careful we must be around picnickers and swimmers in the reserve.
we have a pretty good track record at wello but it only take ones incident to happen.

Too right Vando...The kiter guys have to be especially careful. Their gear is a lot more dangerous to the public when strung out on the beach.
If we all have respect for others and play it safe there should be no worries.

Yep sure will be careful - safety is very important

nice work guys.

again...

seems every year or 2 the council officer in the park decides to include windsurfers in his rules and then someone has to put them straight that windsurfers are allowed.

Thanks Trevor, we all have to be carefull not to cause safety issues especially at this time of year when area is so crowded.
Cheers

So taking out a kite surfer is a no-no?

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raf1200 said..

So taking out a kite surfer is a no-no?

If they get in your way, hell yes, take them out........oh hang on you mean taking a kite out sailing*is not allowed.

*sailing used loosely here

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Richiefish said..

Their gear is a lot more dangerous to the public when strung out on the beach.

Not sure I agree with that statement. I have been hit by both another sailors wayward rig, and a kite while on the beach.

Outcome... the kite being made up of relatively soft material and air was pretty forgiving, gave a bit of a jolt but no major damage. The rig however flew through the air and I copped the boom to the top of the head, outcome of that was to be knocked unconscious followed by a trip to the ER for 10 stitches in the mellon and a few weeks prescribed off the water due to risk of concussion.

My point here, don't be too quick to judge, our stuff can be dangerous and you want to take all precautions possible. I agree that on the water kites take up a lot of room and seem to be difficult to control, especially for a beginner. But flying through the air along the beach, I'd much rather be hit by the kite.

Dont think its so much the kite but the strings that are the danger though I've seen those bladders hit the water pretty hard, I certainly wouldn't want my head in the way. yes the sail can be a danger but if it's attached to a board its very unlikely.
Like i say i don't think in the 25 years Ive sailed at wello that a person has been hit by a flying sail.
In general the local kiters are pretty good its normally the nebies that do silly things.

gotta luv councils - hitting on people daring to recreate in recreation areas??? - Our council kindly built substantial handrails & signs telling you to be careful which nicely tore the third panel out of my 6.7 when an unexpected gust hit as i navigated hrough the obstacle course they created - I mean holy crap - with carparking & council beach obstacle courses it sure is getting harder

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sausage said..

raf1200 said..

So taking out a kite surfer is a no-no?

If they get in your way, hell yes, take them out........oh hang on you mean taking a kite out sailing*is not allowed.

*sailing used loosely here

The current rules posted on the sign in the park is that Kitesurfers cannot rig or fly their kites above the high water mark. I.e. they have to wait untill the tide drops sufficiently so they can pump up their canopies, layout their kite lines and launch, on the beach below the high water mark.

Windsurfers on the other hand can rig on the grass area at any time and carry their rig and board down to the waters edge.

As Vando points out, we could loose this privilege if we abuse it and put the general public at risk during rigging, carrying and or sailing activities.

This is the main sign as you enter the carpark area

the problem deejay is that the general authorities do not understand there is a difference between a windsurfer and a kitesurfer. to some people we are all kitesurfers.

it is a recurring theme that the parks officers at wello every year or 2 or when the new guy gets the job start booking windsurfers. there are also local council rules in regard to canoes, kayaks etc on the council reserves that can be confused.

so the thing is to explain to them that the rules are not intended for windsurfers. I've seen this occur multiple times over the years. usually the officer feels he's been accused on not knowing his job and gets frustrated so a call to the council generally gets things sorted out.

as the guys are pointing out. everyone needs to take care so the rules are not changed.

I agree we need to be safe while rigging be polite to other park uses be careful while carrying your gear to & from the water & keep clear of swimers fishermen etc.
if the council get compants right or wrong they have have to act on it so yes every one play it safe.
I have in the past come close to people along the bank its tempting to go close for the flat water.

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vando said..

Dont think its so much the kite but the strings that are the danger though I've seen those bladders hit the water pretty hard, I certainly wouldn't want my head in the way. yes the sail can be a danger but if it's attached to a board its very unlikely.
Like i say i don't think in the 25 years Ive sailed at wello that a person has been hit by a flying sail.
In general the local kiters are pretty good its normally the nebies that do silly things.

+1

My grans friend was paralized from the neck down when she was hit by a kite that struck her neck, just walking on the sand. I don't hear of windsurfing equipment flying around striking people that way, if it does, i think its less common than kites. A student and I was hit by a kite at wello while i was teaching a while back... luckily wasnt a hard slam and missed our heads. Seems i need to be insured more for that than lesson injury... now every time i teach at wello, (which is almost never now) i'm constantly looking upwards.

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Gestalt said..

the problem deejay is that the general authorities do not understand there is a difference between a windsurfer and a kitesurfer. to some people we are all kitesurfers.

it is a recurring theme that the parks officers at wello every year or 2 or when the new guy gets the job start booking windsurfers. there are also local council rules in regard to canoes, kayaks etc on the council reserves that can be confused.

so the thing is to explain to them that the rules are not intended for windsurfers. I've seen this occur multiple times over the years. usually the officer feels he's been accused on not knowing his job and gets frustrated so a call to the council generally gets things sorted out.

as the guys are pointing out. everyone needs to take care so the rules are not changed.

I was just showing the sign.

I actually posted a few weeks ago about safety issues there watching as a bystander. I seen one Kite surfer nearly take out two young girls in the water when he lost control of his kite before even getting on his board. It his the water less than 2mts from where they were playing. I also saw another kiter have a non experienced bystander launch his kite for him causing the kite surfer to also loose control of his kite and just missing an older lady standing on the beach, would have missed her by about 1mt.

Not to mention my own daughter nearly tripping on lines.

I was asking the question as to why they still kite surf there when there is signs saying otherwise?

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vando said..

Dont think its so much the kite but the strings that are the danger though I've seen those bladders hit the water pretty hard, I certainly wouldn't want my head in the way. yes the sail can be a danger but if it's attached to a board its very unlikely.
Like i say i don't think in the 25 years Ive sailed at wello that a person has been hit by a flying sail.
In general the local kiters are pretty good its normally the nebies that do silly things.

The comment was when strung out on the beach. I took this as laying on the beach not under power with someone using it.

I agree, kites hit the deck very hard when under power with a person at the other end of the lines. But if one was to just lift off the beach it would most likely just roll and collapse, without someone holding the bar there is nothing to keep its shape and hit really hard. Like I said, I have been hit by both and without any pressure on the kite lines it just folded, the sail however hit bloody hard. something I will never forget.

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aus301 said..

vando said..

Dont think its so much the kite but the strings that are the danger though I've seen those bladders hit the water pretty hard, I certainly wouldn't want my head in the way. yes the sail can be a danger but if it's attached to a board its very unlikely.
Like i say i don't think in the 25 years Ive sailed at wello that a person has been hit by a flying sail.
In general the local kiters are pretty good its normally the nebies that do silly things.

The comment was when strung out on the beach. I took this as laying on the beach not under power with someone using it.

The whole reason y they got banned originally was just that strings were layed up on the ground and a young girl got caught up when the kite took off .
I dont know the full story just what Ive heard.

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deejay8204 said..

I was asking the question as to why they still kite surf there when there is signs saying otherwise?

The Council only has jurisdiction down to the high water mark.
They have no control over what happens below the high water mark or on the water.

I windsurfed at Wello for years as a teenager and during my uni years, and have many fond memories of the place. It's a top windsurfing location that works in a variety of wind directions. I've been kiting for the last 10 years and have kite'd at a number of my old windsurfing haunts, both in Australia and overseas. Wello hasn't been one of them! In my opinion it's not a safe place to kite for your average kite surfer, too many people & other things to hit! I know that there are probably experienced people kiting at Wello but I've been there on a few occasions when visiting Brissie to witness the show-ponies pulling off their handle pass moves, etc too close to the beach along with complete kooks putting the general public at risk. So even though I now kite, as an ex-windsurfer I tend to agree that it should be a kite free zone.