Is anyone really concerned about Parks Victoria 's new regulations?
Have a look at these two links.(bottom of page)
Lots of talk on the Kite forum about this, but very little on the windsurf forum. I will be harder for them but at least they get designated kite zones.
The first one is the map of P.P Bay and all the restricted areas that will be phased in, starting next year. It will stop us catching waves within 200m of shore at most places and 500m off shore at Rye, Rosebud area.
There are some designated kite areas that will be ok to go flat out to the shore line.
Basically windsurfers will need to go 5 knts within 200m of the shore and then ok to go as fast as you want.
Kiters are expexted to body drag through the 200m, so we are better off than them.
hampton , between 2 groyne walls is a free for all kite zone. Up to 200m north of Hampton Life Saving Club is a NO GO zone.http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/resources/mresources/haveyoursay/zones/FinalRecommendationMaps_LowRes.pdf
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=65076&SearchTerms=parks,victoria
The only reason why no one cares is because no one knows about thease laws that are been put in place. Park Victoria think's every one kites and no one windsurfs, so we are the last ones to hear about the news.. windsurfing will go the same way mtbing went, they will stuff up our sport, but all we can do is enjoy the beaches while we still can, before they start handing out fines to us..
Sounds like the water police are going to be very busy..
Park vic if they had there own way they would love to ban windsurfing, kitesurfing and mtbing out right.
Can I just ask...what has our peak body been doing in relation to these proposals?
I know Kiteboarding Vic had input into the proposal...did Windsurfing Vic do the same?????
If so, what are the outcomes...if not, why th f%ck not????
I am really mad too Drift about this tonight, i have told me brother and a few other mates, i am so ticked off..
(INSERT MY TWO CENTS)
Hey Matt,
Totally get where you are coming form but this is so much bigger than self regulation...
I didn't mean WV involvement as a flippant remark...I would assume that our Association, which according to their website "is our public voice – lobbying as needed eg. to protect our access to favourite spots around the State", would have a direct input into any suggestions/recommendations/regulations which negatively impact our involvement with the sport. Is this not what we pay our dues for????
Our numbers might be small but I firmly believe they are growing again. I agree entirely that it has been left to a few individuals to put in the hard yards but these are recommendations that become enforceable regulations, which effectively it makes it almost impossible to enjoy some of our local spots. I know also, that some of this stuff has existed in Boating Regs for ages, but up until now the water authorities have turned a blind eye to the way we approach and leave the beach. I wonder if this will be the case when the new regulations are put through, or if they will be enforced wholeheartedly ??
Can you imagine trying to get out past the sandbars @ gnotuk only doing 5 knots??
What about Rye? ....any of those beaches that we take for granted now which don't appear on the recommendations will effectively become off limits.....
(END MY TWO CENTS)
Whats with Rye being a Trial Kiting Zone?
It has predominantly been a well known local windsurfing mecca since the early eighties when I started windsurfing. So why should it be designated as a kite zone right in the middle of a well known popular windsurfing spot that has always been utilised from the Rye pier to East Rosebud/Tootgarook.
The kites allready seem to populate and self regulate from Rosebud Pier to East Rosebud/Tootgarook I can't see why this shouldn't continue? they seem happy there just like the windsurfers that have always sailed the Rye area.
The reason why we sail the place is obvious especially for beginners, the best days are usually in winter with the wind from a northerly direction. The weather is cold and there are no swimmers beach goers as such about, hence no problems I know of in almost 30 years of sailing there.
Summer / tourist season the wind is southerley and you have to sail a fair way out ~200m to get any steady wind, the car park / beach is a s*** fight at times and there are better places to sail.
Self regulate is the way to go bearing in mind the obvious rules if sailing/kiting at/from a beach with swimmers/beach goers.
5 knots ? do they think we all have onboard gauges and dials
This is like telling surfers not to stand up on their boards when they get on a wave
Mick, you and I attended a well know event in November last year where an award was given based on the amount of work that was done on this very matter. Has all this work been done for no outcome? Has anything changed since that body of work was done or are we seeing some of the compromises coming out at the moment?
I spoke to Laurie after this thread. We just need to be careful. Nothing is changing. Just don't be a cock next to the beach and don't come in through the dendy swimming zone on boxing day (we got threatened with arrest by the surf lifesavers. Very funny. Ultimately the police have better things to do)
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=61210
Just chill out. Don't say anything stupid on here because it can be cited against us.
Am I missing something here?
I have always been under the impression that 5MPh- 8KPH was a standard speed restriction within 200 meters of the shore in PPB except for a couple of waterski zones. I have seen powerboats and jetskiis booked for doing exactly that.
Apart from the added kite zones and the 5kph speed nothing appears to have changed dramatically from what already exists? or am I wrong???
It really comes down to a matter of how vigorously they Police it.
Currently we all sail in a no boating zone at Ricketts yet up until now I have not heard of the water police being involved. We all sail further than 200 meters out without PDF,s yet rarely get hassled.
Are they going to get heavier on us????
I guess the point I was trying make was......
if there are designated kiteboarding areas close to shore which are free from speed restrictions, why aren't there any for windsurfing??? Of course we've all got to observe the limits when other people are using the beach etc, but I can't understand why we didn't push a little harder to get our own designated areas. Surely there are some known places (ie Rye, as Spotty mentions) where we'd have equally as strong an argument as the kiters for the establishment of a windsurf zone??
I don't believe we have been omitted because of lack of numbers....its a tired excuse that doesn't gel with me, and it allows apathy to become an acceptable response....I just want to know what has been the windsurfing community's representation in these recommendations....
Has anyone, ever been fined or arrested for windsurfing anywhere in the bay? I want to hear 1st hand experiences here.
This may just be much ado about nothing.
I know of a few guys who have been fined for not wearing PFDs that's about it.
I think KBV have been emailing all there members regularly to get them along to public meetings with P.V and therefore they have had a much bigger input towards the new regulations.
New signage will be erected all around the beaches and on the water to inform everyone. This will take place from 2011 to 2014 I think it said on th P.V website.
Kiting zones can also be used by windsurfers and other watercraft, (if that's what you want to do)
So let me get this right. If I was to sail at Rye, (as I have since I was 11), and the wind is blowing 6 knots, I may as well swim all my gear out past the 5 knot exclusion zone, rig up, and enjoy my sail? Am I alternativly supposed to tie a bucket and rope to my rear footstrap to be able to restrict my speed to 5 knots? Dream on Parks Vic.
And the kiters have to under the new laws body drag back to shore from 200m at rosebud ha,ha,ha this is no joke guys
Let common sense be your key to being safe enough on the water that we have no reason to bring our fantastic sport into disrepute.
And they say Australia is a rules based culture...
Just IGNORE the rules. Rely on the fact that the police have better things to do.
The only time this won't work will be if you sail into a swimmer... so don't sail into a swimmer.
Is that simple enough to follow?
Related to what Ginger Pom said, does it even matter during the winter? Noone else really gets into the water in those conditions and I can't imagine the cops hitting the beaches in wintery storm conditions.
Self regulation will go a long way here.
I think the overarching unspoken rule is to NOT be a nuisance to other beach users. We should go out of our way to achieve this. If there are no complaints, my gut feel is that there will be no problems and we will carry on with business as usual.
Some things to avoid for the sake of all windsurfing/kitesurfing/sailing brethren:
+ blasting within 50 m of any swimmer (unless they are drowning, in which case we should do the heroic thing and then milk the adoration).
+ sailing off crowded beaches
+ ostentatious displays of carving/gybing skills near people standing in shallows
+ sailing near dog walkers/swimmers
+ arguments on the beach with idiots who seek retribution or neurotic types who love red tape
+ sailing through little nippers or using their buoys for slalom practice
+ agitating uptight fishermen who aren't getting anything on their rods
Any other suggestions?
For the most part this will be a non-issue as no one is going to get upset by windsurfers ripping around the shore break when the weather is bleak.
