I normally sail Carlise street, but decided to have a blat in the pond last weekend.

I noticed a lot of learner kiteboarders struggling their way in the windsurfing section in the Pond over the weekend. Is this normal now? I thought learner's had to go outside the pond?

There were a small number of reasonable skilled kiters in the same done. I counted 10 sailing below me at one point.

I found an ikmag article from last year promoting the pond and it said learner's were fine

So, have the rules changed?

I don't think the rules have changed, I just don't think the kiters either know the rules or care. When we used to sail the pond we always had kook kiters sailing down below us and despite us telling them they were in the wrong area they kept doing it.

As we deserted the Pond, they took the whole space for them.

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NZChoppa said..
I normally sail Carlise street, but decided to have a blat in the pond last weekend.

I noticed a lot of learner kiteboarders struggling their way in the windsurfing section in the Pond over the weekend. Is this normal now? I thought learner's had to go outside the pond?

There were a small number of reasonable skilled kiters in the same done. I counted 10 sailing below me at one point.

I found an ikmag article from last year promoting the pond and it said learner's were fine

So, have the rules changed?

Despite the signs, the "rules" so to speak have always been no more than guidelines. They never did put segregation bouys down the centre, and there has never been any sort of policing the situation.

Even when we were frequently in the pond, there have always been learner kiters jumping their way downwind. I can imagine now that there's next to no windsurfers in the pond that things have only got worse with no one to stare them down.

And so it will remain until it fills in, i'm guessing.

Its because the signs are crap and old. Its time to get new signs put up at the 5 or so entrances to the pond and make sure they are large enough and easy enough to read. No one even looks at the old scabby rusty thing thats there now .

No one reads the signs. They go into the pond because it seems safer because the water is so flat and protected.

Most kiters, even outside the pond, don't look behind them if they are turning. They are too worried about what the kite is doing. The strange thing is that they seem to progress from just being able to turn, straight to trying to jump, and they still don't look. The worst are the ones that are doing bigger jumps and losing a lot of ground down wind and they don't care.

I think by stopping windsurfing in the pond it has made it worse, but I guess you can only put up with the stress of ignorant kiters for so long, but its a shame as inside the pond is awesome sailing in the right conditions and outside the pond is just lumpy. Gybing over the sand bar near the boat ramp is awesome when the height is right.

Over Christmas/New Year it felt like it was only me, my mate, and one other guy that were windsurfing in the pond. Right now, it looks like no one is windsurfing in the pond at all. What a shame.

95% of my sessions are at the Pond. To me it is still the best and safest place in Perth to practice freestyle.

Yes there are a lot of kiters, and they are everywhere, but generally everyone tends look around before doing maneuvers, and in my experience, there is a general mutual respect. I also tend to have "my" area around the jetty where kiters don't come nearby. I could tell one or two minor incidents occurring over the course of the entire summer season (that is over 30+ sessions at the Pond this summer), but then again, dickheads are everywhere and can come in the form of kiters, windsurfers or boaties.

I can see that the Pond has become incredibly unpopular amongst windsurfers, most days it is only me among a thousand kiters but hey, I still love this spot and will continue going until nature fills it up with sand.

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Sin said..
95% of my sessions are at the Pond. To me it is still the best and safest place in Perth to practice freestyle.

Yes there are a lot of kiters, and they are everywhere, but generally everyone tends look around before doing maneuvers, and in my experience, there is a general mutual respect. I also tend to have "my" area around the jetty where kiters don't come nearby. I could tell one or two minor incidents occurring over the course of the entire summer season (that is over 30+ sessions at the Pond this summer), but then again, dickheads are everywhere and can come in the form of kiters, windsurfers or boaties.

I can see that the Pond has become incredibly unpopular amongst windsurfers, most days it is only me among a thousand kiters but hey, I still love this spot and will continue going until nature fills it up with sand.

Maybe hanging around the boat ramp is the key! Beginner kiters seem to do really short tacks and go to the middle of the pond and then turn back. It beats me why as the sandbar is much nicer on a kiteboard and you can even stand there. If they looked before jumping or turning it would be okay, but a lot don't. I disagree that most look around before doing things. Perhaps this is because you are just near the jetty and freestyle doesn't normally mean you are doing long runs. I guess you aren't catching up with kiters, but when my mate and I sail there we tend to be doing runs and they are invariably behind kiters. So much so that you begin to recognise the 'I'm about to take a dump /poo stance as they think about jumping' and try and keep clear of them and veer upwind.

My brand new board ended up with a scar on the bottom in early Jan as I ran over a kiteboard that a beginner had abandoned in the middle of the pond when he struggled with his kite. I couldn't see the board at all as it was dark red or brown. Which was sort of ironic as I kite as well and you can't see my red board very well either when its upside down... so I don't tend to leave it floating by itself.

Have you hit kite lines floating in the water at speed? instant catapult and in my case the lines get stuck between the weed fin leading edge and the board. Fun! Not really the standard of water user you want in an enclosed section of water which is pretty close to shore with lots of other beach users around.

Would like to take my boy sailing out there as he's just coming to grips with using the harness ,footstraps and planning in stronger winds the chop every where else really hinders progress .Last thing i need is some moron kiter taking him out.Selfish sport really.

What about Coodanup? Acres of waist deep flat water. Especially good if you can manage booties.

A few years back, Safety Bay (the pond) was our favourite speed sailing spot, for the clear constant winds and the shallow sandbar at a good angle for speed runs.
Then kiters became more common and the channel through the sand bank was made, which spoiled the approach to the speed run.
Since then there have been many near misses with kiters and most of us have decided it is just too dangerous to sail there, even when conditions indicate Safety Bay would be the best spot for speed.
Much the same situation for Woodman's point, which was also a favourite speed spot until the kiters took over.
We are having to drive further south for speed spots with less kiters just to be safe.

Safety in the Pond! I had to worry about Safety just near the pond earlier today.

There were two French kiters, just mucking around with their kites on the grass in between the pond and the road.

Somehow, with just the two of them, no one else around, with huge pine trees to either side and a busy road metres downwind, they got their lines tangled together in the air and one kite got stuck for a little while in a tree and the others lines were wrapped in it. What? How do you do that when its your mate's kite and you aren't actually kiting?

Now I understand why you see so many problems in the pond itself when you see this on the grass!

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remery said..
What about Coodanup? Acres of waist deep flat water. Especially good if you can manage booties.

Where do you park & launch in Coodanup? Might give it a go as it's not too far from my place.
Is it any good with the random Easterly winds?

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Sin said..

remery said..
What about Coodanup? Acres of waist deep flat water. Especially good if you can manage booties.

Where do you park & launch in Coodanup? Might give it a go as it's not too far from my place.
Is it any good with the random Easterly winds?

Where you park depends on the tide. Further west on high tides, east on low tides. At the moment we are launching from John St (east).
Coondaup is good in SE, but Liptons - Estuary place Wannanup is usually better on easterlies. There are kiters there but they generally stay to one end and don't seem to be as reckless as the ones at Safety Bay.

Ditto for kiters jumping without looking , anywhere, at all ! almost cleaned up one at 32knots once near the speed run - even he admitted he was wrong and almost got run over by another with an out of control kite. The ironic thing is that many of them seem to be a dangerous to their fellow kiters as they are to themselves when they jump with no looking over their shoulder.

Amazing how you have to look when you drive your car (usually) but when travelling at speed on a kite and deciding to jump 30 feet down wind, with 20 other kiters within 50 metres of you - no problem, go for it ! She''ll be right, everyone can guess what I'm going to do