Are the people here honestly surprised that these bans are occuring?

There are some absolute a$$holes on the water...show ponies with god complexes who believe they are the only people allowed to use the water and everyone else is just there to be in their way. Everytime some moron does a jump on a packed beach people sit and say "there was the guy on the beach the other day who was doing really stupid stuff, but shame, lets not publically name and shame him, after all, he just a poor advanced rider, he doesn't know any better"

The solution is simple...bring the guilties parties to the forefront, let people know who they are and what they are doing and let the kiting public have the opportunity to react to them. If some moron sends their kite over the road into powerlines, lets get their name up in flashing lights, get AKSA to send the bastard a nasty letter or cancel his membership (and insurance). Its amazing what people are prepared to do until they have to take responsibility for it.

kiterdan said...

According to Flux, I should make a public apology for my comments directed at him in an earlier post.
The only thing I am sorry for is not making it clear that it's your attitude 'who cares, what are they going to do about it?' that is unbelievably moronic. It often difficult to draw an accurate conclusion about someone's personality by what they say on a forum but no matter how you look at it, someone who reckons they're going to win over the media etc with that mindset is deluded. IT'S MY OPINION that they're not helping the cause and at the very least is being obnxoius.
If you're passionate about the sport then you'd do more than aggrevating the status quo by taking your suggested course of action.

Out of here for good...it's been fun but unfortunately it's time to leave...it just gets me too pissed off with the kind of people now taking up the sport.

I may be 23 years of age Flux, but even at my young age I know not to be confrontational and suggest a violent resolution with people I don't know.

See you on the water

For god sake Dan , obviously I do care otherwise I wouldn't post here?, it is great to see that you move private email communication onto the public forum?
Also I see no problem in confrontation it has it's place, but in no way was I ever mentioning violence?
As far as this is concerned I just asked you to apologise as you did directly by email on the thread but never mind it can be hard to admit your mistakes.
This is a touchy subject for all and it seems to be getting a little out of hand.
I admit I just vented my disapproval and some things I said were just kiter to kiter, but I definatley do not have a "no care" attitude.
I don't want to enter into a verbal slinging match but rather a commen vested interest in this subject and how we can look at avenues to see safe beaches for ALL, are we governed so strongly in this age that we cannot freely speak either out of passion or otherwise.

By taking my true suggested course of action, which I posted in the other thread in my letters to WAKSA I believe it to have merit and I'm sorry for ever getting involved as it is annoying as it is not a proper discussion but a public forum, I should have kept that in mind before posting some replies here.

And yes see you on the water

the worst offenders wouldn't read this forum.
in cape town last year some euro faggit relaunched his kite 4m to the side of a toddler and if it hadn't been bending over would have been decapitated. my kite was in the air and i was shouting at him in afrikaans when i was it about to happen but obviously a german isnt going to understand that and he went ahead with launching. i would have dropped my kite on fifth and inserted my rail into his cranium if it wasnt for the kids playing down wind. a local walking past upwind with all his gear to set up who wasnt watching until i started shouting then ran over and pulled all his releases and asserted some beat downs.
if everyone was that protective of their spot we wouldn't be having so many problems although violence isnt the answer.

elmo said...

Yet another nice article in todays Sunday times Pg 34.

You are the masters of your own destiny

Anyone have this articles web address available?
Cheers

poor relative said...

LOL
I think he is taking the piss

No he's not!
I got the early edition last night and the story Elmo referrs to was very different.

This is about Melville and the moaning residents

Not Taking the piss,

Would you like me to scan for you and post?

Yea Elmo, if you could post the article that would be great.

Yep its in there. And I have no problems with it really. What has happened there is not acceptable, and they havn't even suggested a total ban.
They are asking for designated areas for kitesurfers away from potential danger. Good. It is what we actually need.
The residents are right when saying its only a matter of time before someone dies.

Now that I have read it Elmo...here is what I wrote earlier....thought so much.

There are 2 very vocal people who live on the Parade and I bet they are behind it. All very old news I'm afraid. I have actually met one of these people and told them to please let me know personally of any problems. They have my name and number. Looks like these sad folks are going behind the back to screem and yell......a very unhappy lot, but "the vocal minority." Best thing probably is to ignore them.

Are we dealing with the same reporter again? Yep, looks like it...hi fella. And dear reporter, if you are reading all this to your amusement, it is not funny and you have no idea the stir you are causing. Yes, us kite surfers are a passionate bunch who love what we do. Your stirring is a poor reflection on you. Go out and get all the facts and speak to all the people, like Melville City Council, DEC and the local residents who do kite surf. PM me and I can give you some useful information and you will see that you are reporting the views of a couple of very vocal and unhappy people......I do hope you are not of the same bent.


And no, I will not buy your paper because it is too close to the National Enquirer.

If its only two people who are grumpy then they need to be sorted out (no not by beating the crap outta them, by nice talking). Maybe they should learn to kite.Even if they are older than can still have a crack (a few people in the 70s kite at my local (the ocean) and they rock)
I guess i assumed from the paper it was not only one ore two people comlaining, but a whole street. I can see how the media can make people think certain stuff, without first hand knowledge anything can be gained from it.
But i think there is truth behind the matter of time thing. It might not be at that location, but its bound to happen eventually.

www.seabreeze.com.au/gallery/gallery.asp?imageid=10534

And that Rupert Murdoch.........I could go on and on....some would say he is more vile than a maggot.

Meglomaniacal parasite.

He'll hire anyone as long as they bring a buck.

harrysurfer said...

www.seabreeze.com.au/gallery/gallery.asp?imageid=10534

lol.
If you are less than 50 metres from a pack of swimmers in beachy junksurf....
you are probably too close, unless you're a hot pro-kiter.
But these guys in the pic look like kooks.
What do you estimate the distance to be ?
Runaway boards cartwheeling thru thick crowds of swimmers is akin to the randumb clubbing of seal-pups .
It's open season on kite****, I think.

harrysurfer said...

www.seabreeze.com.au/gallery/gallery.asp?imageid=10534

So what's wrong with this photo ?
Paradoxically,
the kite is probably not the primary source of danger here for the swimmers.
The surfboard that the kiter is riding is the hazard.
A loose board cracking heads in the swim-zone soup is totally distasteful.
The only reason surfers have gotten away with sharing confined space with packs of swimmers on metro beaches for past decades is.....
that early 70's surfing invention,
that connection to the wave riding vehicle,
the simple leggie.
But leggies and kites don't mix.
Just like body-draggers and swimmers don't mix.

harrysurfer said...

www.seabreeze.com.au/gallery/gallery.asp?imageid=10534

When the bans start happening on the popular metro public beaches...
you can blame the INDUSTRY.
Yes, you can blame the likes of Slingshot and Ben Wilson.
The INDUSTRY hyped-up the image of strapless surfboards as the 'proper' vehicle for wavekiting.
The INDUSTRY's greedy scheme to coax surfers to kiting will be the downfall of this evil empire.
Scores of runaway surfboards and kooks body-dragging in the crowded swim-zone won't win too many friends with the general beach-going public.

Flux and Kiterdan bring up some good ideas, spot on.

There are over 300 WAKSA members and only 5 people who are active on the Committee. We can not rely on a few volunteers to do all the things necessary to keep our beaches open to kiting. Paying someone to do this is also not an option. Posting signs all over Perth is not an option either (at least on the River). Funny thing is that the same people who slag us to the press and Council are against signs....they do expect us to self regulate....so what to do? I'll leave the Melville stuff for now, just a reminder that a child was indeed killer (run over by a car) on Melville Beach Parade a few years ago.....so there has been a death, but the Council has not banned cars from the roads.

Back to topic, I agree that to kite in WA one should be a WAKSA member. As a member, not only are you "insured," but hopefully you have also read about local rules, gotten lessons, and "do the right thing."

If all WAKSA members wear their tags and approach rogues simply introducing themselves as local WAKSA members responsible for safe kiting, then we as a large group can influence what happens at our beaches much most effectively.

So, join WAKSA, pay your dues and "do the right thing," and take a minute to set people straight.........not so hard. At the very least, if you have a camera handy........take photos of bad behaviour. I am much more interested in seeing photos of jerks than the same moves by the same few riders.

Finally, and this seems to go to deaf ears..........the friggen INDUSRTY should become more pro-active and not expect a "free ride" on the backs of WAKSA volunteers and members.