My concern is not so much for those who are kiting in the dark but for those who are required to find and rescue them in an emergency.

Everyday at most kiting locations someone requires a rescue of some sort, be it by a boat or another kiter whatever ......it happens ( just read the stories about rescues on here you know the story blokes 400m off shore tangled kite looping getting dragged struggling for breath others risking life and limb to try to rescue them or cut them free.

If it is dark there is a good chance you will not be seen and your buddies may struggle to keep an eye on you from the shore
You are forcing others to come and rescue you under increased levels of danger. Can you really evaluate a critical situation concerning a looping tangled kite in the dark ? What about a rescue boat operator will he see your tangled lines in the dark before he wraps them around his prop ? JUst hope they are not tangled around you as well if he doesnt see them ( spectra cuts through flesh like a razor when under tension ).

In the end , kite at night if you wish and the lagoon on lizard is probably fairly safe MOST OF THE TIME but remember MOST IS NOT ALL and you are not just putting yourselves at risk but others as well.
If you do decide to do it keep the details off this forum otherwise we end up with noobs and kids also doing it.

sighs as he reaches for the flame suit !

'Groper...
weren't you actually night kiting at Mandurah estuary this last summer.....

Wasnt the sun going down, below the horizon you the last to come in, in the dark?
Wasn't it you who rigged and self launched on the dog exercise area in Attadale?
Wasn't it you who walked across the said exercise area kite in the air climbed the fence stomped through the nature strip and kited in the nature reserve?

I like that you lead by example and are such an exemplary kiting citizen that you can take the moral high ground.'

Reli - now THAT is telling him. LOL.
What a plonker, can't wait to see if/what he manages as a come back to THAT.

HI Elemental
I just picked this up and can't figure out which mast I should have that light on
I called it the "MALTESE FALCON" ain't she a beauty





PS we got a bit of night kiting in at our local at squids on the full moon last night.
Another experiance in life I highly recommend.
Those of us that have more experiances in life can usually handle what comes their way better than the people that sit on the side line.

Oh. Bugger.

puppetonastring said...

poor relative said...

I deleted it.

Whilst groper rigging and self launching in a dog exercise area with people walking and dogs going nuts, then walking across the paddock climbing over a fence and stomping through a nature reserve to kite in a banned kiting area annoyed me the deleted post had no love.

I think you've got me confused with someone else.

elemental said...

Qld Coxswain I can garantee you dont need port and starboard light on a sailing vessel under 7meters plus I just Made sure on the rules in my manuals!

Never mind the mild flaming going on in this thread, I'm just happy that I don't need a port & starboard light on the board (would be too much hassle swapping the lights around every time I change tack)

Now just need to look for some white(ish) big arse glow sticks on e-bay! (or should they be beige?)

Who cares if its slightly more dangerous. Most (*most*) people that need resucing are beginners. And they I would recommend to them not going out at night. But an experienced and confident kiter can go nuts.
I've never heard of anyone get killed or injured night kiting. Yet injuries are common during the day, and the odd death.

but still. with the so called "much greater risk", if it was as dangerous as people say it is, there would be a casualty already. By the sounds of it a fair few people have given it a crack.

Unfortunately, this discussion went a bit off track, thanx to "sandgroper".
Watch out for dog pooh next time you launch in doggie area, you dont wanna end up with **** on your Bar or LE.
Dont start to bitch about pushing new, exciting barriers in our extreme sport. I love seeing kiting becoming a sport for the "masses" but we should still keep the freedom to explore new things!!! Thats how we got where we are in this sport.
DONT FORGET THAT!!

In general:
It is safe if you plan and execute night kiting the right way! The combination of , lights, the moon or star lights makes it possible to kite in the evening or at night.
I recommend not more than 4 people on the water. (Take turns) and make sure you set up everything before it gets dark.
Stay fairly close to shore and kite only to your ability. Ride where you can stand so you dont freak out as much when u crash and its easier to re-launch.

As soon as you ride out into the moon and dark water an overwhemlming excitement comes up in you..
Just do it!!!! It is f*cking nice!
Lizard Island was the perfect place with its shallow, warm and flat water- winds a bit strong with 25knts onshore at 10pm (its fun landing after boosting on the dark carpet).

I will put some more pictures up soon!! Watch out

sebbu said...

Without getting involved in a slinging match - I've been night kiting and it was one of the greatest experiences. We didn't use any glowsticks or anything and there was about 6 of us (all experienced and knew each other) on the water. I will say that we were in a deserted area in Brazil so the public liability aspect is diminished:








sweet pictures sebbu!
full moon kiting in brazil! YAY
good on yas

OK who opened the economy sized can of bitcharama?

That goes for those on both sides of the night kite argument too...

Nice pics.. could have done with more Brazilian beauties and less gumbies though!

For my 2c night kiting does seem to up the ante of risk exponentially but if you chose a very suitable spot and - as knickers says - have a trusty crew and some contingency then each to their own. I am tucked up with a nice cocoa after dark so not gonna happen for me real soon.

getfunky said...

The most pressing question I have after trawling through endless posts in this thread from folks who ALL obviously need some good luvvin is...

How the kn hell do you get multiple quotes into a reply???

You write after the first quote, then paste the quoted text with the quote tags again after that. I find an easy way to quote two different people is use two different instances of the thread in two different windows, press 'quote' on the second person in the second window then cut and paste that back into the message box in the first.

getfunky said...

Groundhog day...


Umm... Pat? Pat? Any wascally wampire night-kiting stories?


Onnsk oonsk oonsk oonsk oonsk oonsk... hey where have all my glowsticks gone!?

Or you could just type the quote tags around some snippet of text

Swahili Proverb:

Mwenda mbio hujikwaa dole.
A person in too much of a hurry stubs his toe.

kitecrazzzy said...

i've driven boats to rotto and around rotto at night and that was perfectly legal, what's wrong with night kiting. the law is you only need one 360deg white light if your under so many meters and i'm pretty sure a person is bellow it.

but a kitten could die, and we'd be banned forever. or someone could lose their board.
Or all the babies in prams on the beach at night could be tangles up.

kitecrazzzy said...

i've gone way beyond sunset once or twice and there hasn't been a moon those times (daylight savings = kiteing until 9:30) i haven't been able to see my kite or the waves let alone the reef, on the other hand i have a habit of running late at night and when the moon is full you can see everything, you look around for a massive source of light but it's just the moon. i've driven boats to rotto and around rotto at night and that was perfectly legal, what's wrong with night kiting. the law is you only need one 360deg white light if your under so many meters and i'm pretty sure a person is bellow it.

Quotarama today..


Erm... wouldn't the kite be included in the size of the vessel? Line length included also?

Where can I get a Protec number with a snazzy 360 degree light.. I'm stayin up late and goin kitin!

zips up flame suit again !

2 Things I would like to point out :

1) there is a huge difference between being the last in after sunset and intentionally heading out at night.

2) many of you who are advocating night kiting and advertising it to others as being quite safe and something to try, are obviously very nieve about the inherent dangers of being in the water at night.
Yes some situations are safer than others if you can stand up everywhere you are safer ( does not apply to open beaches due to the presence of rips and gullys ) , the more light there is the safer you are as well as the conditions of the sea etc.... but as we all know with kiting things dont always go to plan.

HAVE ANY OF YOU EVER HAD TO CONDUCT A SEARCH FOR A MAN OVERBOARD AT NIGHT ?

OR PULLED A BODY FROM THE WATER AFTER A FAILED SEARCH ?

keep this in mind : If you are in the water in a .5m -1m sea without a powerful torch at night your chances of being found are almost zero. With a torch they increase slightly. Thats why all PDF1 lifejackets come with a whistle because it is known that with a torch in even a slight sea you can be hard to spot, it is often the persons whislte you hear before you see their light, they could be just 20m from the boat and without a whistle you would never have seen them.

I would suggest if anyone does find themselves in a situation at night Stay with your kite, attempt to wind up your lines or discard your bar and lines DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO JUST FLOAT AROUND YOU ( as mentioned props and lines are a dangerous mix ) Use your torch to illuminate the canopy of your kite if you can hear rescuers but not see them. Hope and pray you are found quickly as your chances of surviving a night immersed in the water are not all that good , hypothermia and exhaustion will set in within the first few hours effecting your ability to think, move and function. If you are in the more southern waters ie: Vic, Tas in winter you have about 40min before hypothermia sets in and about an hour and a half in the summer months. Obviously a wetsuit will extend this time but not by a lot.

The water just sucks all the heat out of your body.

Only very experienced WATER USERS should even be contemplating attempting a night kite !
Just because you fancy your self as an experienced kiter does not mean you are able to judge rips, sweeps, currents and distances during the day let alone at night !

How many of you can confidently swim 500-800m in a sloppy sea ?


NOOBS : Do not even think about night kiting.

Experienced water Users : Do so at your own risk, prepare for everthing and to have to deal with everything on your own, Do not just assume that someone will see you in trouble. Rescuers have sympathy for those who are lost due to an accident, not so much for those who deliberatly put them at risk by going out kiting at night. Crashing and tangling your kite at night is not an "accident".

Causing people to go out to sea in rescue craft at night just because you wanted a bit of an added thrill is selfish and egotistical......... people will argue that its safe and 99 times out of 100 you will probably be fine.

I am sorry to be so negative and a killjoy about it all but you only need one experience to change your perspective. But it really gets my goat when so called experienced kiters are advocating night kiting on this forum.

KITEMARES ARE 100 TIMES WORSE AT NIGHT