Marty Coffey said...

I don't know where you get your info from. Kiting was banned at Bondi because some Euro went out in a North Easter and dropped their kite in the Icerburgs.

If he was stopped while launching his kite how did he spray anyone? I know him well and there is no way he would go out after being told not to. It was after the flags went down. No point slagging someones reputation with conjecture, here say and rumour.

G'day Marty

Kiting was banned at Bondi, during the period when Grant was the president of AKSA. I was secretary of AKSA at the time, and was asked by members and the committee to petition for the ban to be lifted.

I visited the Bondi Lifeguards and spoke to one of the assistant head lifeguards at the time. They cited 2 incidents, one involving a punch up on the beach between a kitesurfer and a surfer which resulted in a kite being crashed on the promenade, and the second incident involving Grant kiting in amongst a Nippers meeting.

It was obvious in talking to them that there was no hope in having the ban lifted and also that Waverly Council and the Lifeguards were correct in their assessment that Bondi was not a place were kitesurfing could be practiced safely most of the time. AKSA abandoned efforts to get the ban lifted.
There 100% is a total BAN on the flying of any type of steerable kite at Bondi beach, it is a Council ByLaw, it was enacted to stop people flying stunt kites on the beach several years ago and is the Law that has been used to 100% Ban kitesurfing.

The incident where the tourist was injured near Icebergs happened at least a year after Grant and a couple of his friends actions caused the Council and Lifeguards to enforce the current ban.

Bondi is a really really dumb place to kitesurf, even on a cloudy day there are still heaps of people around on the beach and in the water, plus there are always heaps of surfers. The wind is mostly very gusty and dangerous near the ends of the beach.

I just watched the trailer for the show next week and I'm embarassed and very concerned for kitesurfers access.

I cannot believe Grant is still trying to kite there, he really should be charged by the Police in my opinion. I know he is your friend, maybe you can have a word with him about the damage he has personally wreaked on the reputation of kitesurfing and ask him to never kite again at Bondi.

The fact that he had modified his working Cabrinha safety system, and is unfamiliar with the effectiveness of his modified gear could easily have killed or seriously injured him and other innocent people.

Grant has been seriously injured before by kitesurfing in a dangerous location in gusty Westerly winds, please talk to your mate and get him to see me or someone that can help him to understand how to self land a kite, and to check the safety of any mods he has done to his gear.



Regards

Steve

Great story.....tragically funny.

IMO its good to show whats goes down when it all goes pear shaped. It will show the general public its a serious bit of power generated by these kites when the safety goes wrong and when people kite in dangerous places like bondi. Hopefully a few comments on how the safety should be set up would be positive for kiting. otherwise it will be a negative for kiting. It is reality though.

I told everyone I know to watch the show.

It looks like he already got a smack in the head!

Great thread! Very entertaining....

It's gone from a learner, to a Euro tourist, to an experienced kiter, to the former president of AKSA!

Perhaps Grant could let us know how his safety system went so horribly wrong? It might prevent someone else being dragged into a huge wall and handrail at Australia's busiest beach and subsequent humiliation on national television.........

maybe grant could also let us know how much 'reality' was actually at play... this thread has gone from novice to euro to seasoned veteran, maybe this seasoned veteran with previous history was approached by desperate producer looking for a spark to ignite interest in the 'ego tripping bunch of wonkers saving turos' in slow motion' show....? remember dear people..... it is television...

Yeah very good point Pat.

Wonder what story is the truth.... hmmm.

So much UNI work 2 do.... Nothing like procrastinating....

You could be right Pat
He looks sort of in control at first then it cuts to very different looking footage where he (or is it him) hits the wall.
Guess we will find out Tuesday night.
Maybe

I have only been to Bondi twice in my life, and way before I started kiting, and I still know that its a bad bad place to choose to go. What a d_ick.

I think one of the main things to be taken from this is that even though kites are getting more and more manageable and the safety systems are getting better there is still a chance of something going wrong, so keep to the designated kite beaches. Its not like Australia has a shortage to choose from...

I still think you should use a leash and a flag to 5th/front line system though. Apart from the heartbreak of seeing your baby fly off into the yonder, there is the safety issue of a kite flying into someone or something...

waveslave said...

Lincoln said...

heres the short
10play.com.au/

I hope he's not badly injured.
Get well soon, Bondi-dude.

This trailer for the show is not called a 'short' for nothing.
If you blink, you'll miss the looping death spiral.

In a heart-beat,
In that split-second of panic,
the flat kite looped twice (or was it thrice), he triggered the release.....
and then he got hauled by his kite-leash along the concrete wall.
Whoa.

Let's forget for a moment whether the kook should have kited crowded Bondi Beach.
lol.
I'm more interested in the trainwreck....how and why it happened ??
Unfortunately, flat kites can arc-up into psycho kite-looping frenzies for whatever reason.

Kiteforum.com has a 16 page thread currently running called 'Looping Kite Accidents'.
Some very interesting reading in that thread from the free-thinker Fo.
It's been my opinion for many years now that kite-leashes are DEATH.
The Bondi-dude had his kite-leash clipped to the chicken-loop/ring.
That's why he got his arse kicked.
He triggered his release but the leash didn't flag the kite.....it wasn't set-up to.
It was a suicide leash set-up.......an appropiate name.

If you never kite unhooked,
if you never do stupid, dumb handle-passes,
there is no need for a kite-leash.
Kite-leashes are DEATH.

We all know you are a big fan of Inflatedass or fo or one of his many many fake log ins, he has a couple on here too, or did.
His "free thinking" is based on where he lives, out in the backwaters of some US bogan town on a lake.

No one should kite without a leash and it stinks that you use this thread to promote leashless kiting.

How about you get your own thoughts and then think through why we wear leashes, and then have a look at your leash and ask why it has a very effective quick release on it anyway?

Do you practice using your leash, to self land?
Have you ever had to use the leash quick release?
Did you even know it had one? (if it doesn't then get rid of it)

Maybe just leave your free thinking leashless kiting for talking to yourself in the mirror, I'm fairly certain no-one here is interested in that rubbish philosophy.

@Merman, I did not name Grant, it was actually his mate Marty, I just filled in the spaces.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

I reckon he knew there was a good chance there would be cameras at Bondi. And maybe the film crew hammed it up a bit too. I also think there's a good chance he knew it was banned - he's a kitesurfer from Sydney (apparently) so he must have noticed that no-one kites at Bondi.

I think someone liked the idea of being on TV.

what a friggin brainless f**kwit.
unbelieveable... there is no excuse. none!
looking forward to seeing what he looks like so if I ever see him on my beach I can tell him so personally.

how embarrassing! " its too dangerous out here"
"alright mate" SSSSSSSSMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

as if he didnt know.

Waveslave I reckon its time you got a kite with a good flagging system like most 5 line kites and similar systems to the 4-line Rev.

If your up sh_t creek then flagging the kite usually gets you out of it.

I reckon its much more dangerous to have stray kites tumbling down the beach that WILL take someones head off if they got caught in the lines.

walshd said...

Waveslave I reckon its time you got a kite with a good flagging system like most 5 line kites and similar systems to the 4-line Rev.

If your up sh_t creek then flagging the kite usually gets you out of it.

I reckon its much more dangerous to have stray kites tumbling down the beach that WILL take someones head off if they got caught in the lines.

Hi walshd,
I'm ahead of the pack.
I built-in double flag-loops (left & right) on the bar years ago.....
Before Slingshot 'invented' them. haaha

Kite-leashes kill.

rusty7 said...

wave slave ,this is not about you ....it about some F:::KWIT screwing up our sport............. start another thread if you wanna talk about yourself

Check the 'short', Rusty.
It's about getting your butt kicked by a psycho-looping flat kite....
and then getting hauled by your death-leash.
It happens. (a lot)
We need to prevent mishaps....not design-in the means.

The Bondi-dude needs to mend and get well.
Believe me, he won't be kiting Sydney's most crowded beach ever again.
lol.