DunkO said...

A real concern is having a dog run over your sail, I believe the owner of the dog would have to be responsible and pay for replacement/repair, the reality however may be a different story. I think it would be a good question for council..."who is going to pay for my sail repair if a dog runs over it in a off leash area, and how can I ensure it does get paid for? "

This is my main concern too. I've seen it happen and it resulted in a dispute. This was down at Warilla.

I had a think about it after this discussion and think I'd prefer the place not to be an off the leash area, mainly because of the numbers that will go there once the word gets out.

DunkO said...
Truthfully I would love to have a windsurfing spot I could take my dog, she love to get up on the board and go for a sail.

I can understand the concerns that a lot of sailors quite rightfully have. I would suggest if you see someone not controlling there dog or not picking up after it you confront them about it, or if you didn't want the confrontation take there license plate down ring the council. people should not neglect thier dog responsibilities and think they can get away with it.

A real concern is having a dog run over your sail, I believe the owner of the dog would have to be responsible and pay for replacement/repair, the reality however may be a different story. I think it would be a good question for council..."who is going to pay for my sail repair if a dog runs over it in a off leash area, and how can I ensure it does get paid for? "

The reality is (i would imagine) in Sydney there are vastly more dog owners who would want to use the area with there dog than windsurfers who use the area?

Anyway you've got all winter to debate it.

It would be good of we had more time , but Written Submissions close next Monday 6 may
Just a short email or get on that "have your say " link on their site .... May be enough if we all do it to stop it as one of the guidelines of the policy is that the off leash dogs and there will be 100's of them within a year as it will be an official off leash beach, must co exist with the existing users.

I don't use the area that much any more so I guess it's not a big a concern to me. I do go down there to teach my girlfriend, and it would be cool to take the dog also.

Mind you I have hot sails super freaks so dogs can run over them all they like and they hold up.

Where I sail at Umina Beach NSW it is dogs allowed off the leash (to run free) on selected parts of the beach. Most of the time their owners do the right thing and control the dog, but not all of the time.

Once, I had a large dog (Golden Retriever) run across a very new sail which was laying on the sand while I was connecting rig to board and it left some large scratch marks across the monofilm, much to my dismay. Luckily no serious panel damage.

I said to the owner that the sail had recently cost me lots of money and that her dog almost caused major damage to it. She said "Sorry" and just kept walking. Did not really show any interest. Great....thanks for nothing I thought.

So from then on I am very wary of any dog coming near my sail and discourage them from coming near it or me. I would prefer dogs keep their distance and not cause possible expensive damage to anyone's sail. Good luck in getting an owner to pay for any damage I reckon.

P.S. I am a dog owner who has used that beach as well and I am very aware of my dog behaving well in a public place.

Have any of you been to an "off leash dog beach" before? They turned the northern end of The Spit on the Gc into one and what used to be a beautiful beach is now a beautiful beach with about a zillion dogs running around all over the place. It's kinda overwhelming. You'd never go to the beach there to relax.

It won't be a handful of dogs, it will be hundreds and hundreds.

Also parking.

evlPanda said...
Have any of you been to an "off leash dog beach" before? They turned the northern end of The Spit on the Gc into one and what used to be a beautiful beach is now a beautiful beach with about a zillion dogs running around all over the place. It's kinda overwhelming. You'd never go to the beach there to relax.

It won't be a handful of dogs, it will be hundreds and hundreds.

Also parking.

So you have every other beach in Sydney to go to where people with dogs are not allowed on any of them.
The beach is packed because there is no where else to go with your dog.

I'm going and buying a jet ski, a really loud one.

Note: dog is no longer a puppy and the sh!ts are way bigger

Some dogs don't just enjoy the beach, they like their water sports!



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Rockdale Councillers will vote on whether the off leash area goes ahead, this Wednesday night at Rockdale Council 2 Bryant St Rockdale. Memebers of the public are welcome to attend ..... no charge :-)
Details are on the Councils website Info listed under Council meetings on their website

If you want to keep that part of the beach free of dog poo and the occasional bite ,,,, then come along to the meeting this Wed Oct 2nd at 6.30pm
You can speak for 5 min in the Public forum .... lodge a form from their web site before 4 pm on the day Council no. is 95621666




Proposed Kyeemagh Dog Exercise Location

It is proposed that up to 120 metres of foreshore with time restricted access is trialled for off leash dog exercise activity at the northern end of Cook Park foreshore at Kyeemagh. Off leash dog activity would be permitted during off peak times only. That is prior to 10am and after 4pm.

The area will commence on the foreshore in line with the northern access trail to the carpark and will run north to the seawall. Fencing which will be extended along the western side of the foreshore to deter access into the sand dune area. Highly visible regulatory and education signage will be placed at the carpark, access points to the foreshore, on the sand dune fencing and on the sand within the foreshore area. The activity is non-exclusive and is therefore accessible by other beach users. The site will be regularly monitored by Rangers, Environmental Representatives and other staff members.

Funding is available to establish the site within the 2013/14 operational budgets.

Community feedback is strong in supporting the location as well as strong in opposing it.

The reasons provided for supporting the location include;
rate payers wanting to enjoy a beach with their dog and families in the area they live in and at a location of which they financially contribute to
want to use the area they live in and don't want to travel to other Council areas that have beach access
the location is less utilised then other sections of the beach
'Commonwealth Beach' located near the old aviation tower is dirty, out of way, not suitable for recreating with my dog as well as family members and used by horses as well

The location is opposed by a 501 signature petition and several individual submissions including two from fishermen and one representing sail boarding from University of NSW. The reason for opposition include;
concern that dogs may interfere with fishing activity
concern that dogs may interfere with sailboarding activity
fear of dogs interfering with people and families walking along the beach
concern that it is too close to the swimming zone (approx 200 metres away)
fear of risk that dogs may attack other dogs or people
environmental impacts particularly on protected bird species

Council Officers provided due consideration all submissions and comments particularly the large petition opposing the location and still believe the site is the most suitable when taking all factors into consideration.

However, Council Officers have taken into consideration both view points and have modified their original recommendation which was unrestricted off leash dog exercise activity. To address both supporters and particularly opponents of this location and to enable equity of access, the revised recommendation is to have timed access for off leash dog exercise activity outside of peak usage times trialled for up to 12months. Access times proposed are before 10am and after 4pm.

Other reasons in support of the recommendation include;
the location was supported and recommended for consideration in the Cook Park Plan of Management which underwent community consultation
it is not located near residential properties
the activity is contained at one end of the beach beginning at an access point from the car park to the rock wall which acts as a natural barrier at one end of the proposed dog exercise activity. This will deter dog activity going beyond these points. There is separate access point from the car park closer to the netted swim zone that is available to beach users who want to be separated from possible dog activity
environmental assessment advised that there are no significant environmental impacts due to the proposed, activity provided a few mitigating actions were implemented. These are discussed in further detail later in the report.
the location is less utilised then other sections of the coastline (eg Brighton Le Sands) with minimal activity observed occurring during the hours of 4pm-10am
the location is a good distance away from the nearest swimming zone approx 200metres
the location has good surveillance for regulation and safety

Yeah it will all be cute & loving until & I had this at Narrabeen some dog comes & pisses over your esky when your trying to have a family day at the water. The 4 Blokes thought it was funny .Had a bit of an argument . If my wife & kids weren't there I would have probably gotten another assault charge. They didn't think it was funny when I offered to crap in there salad bowl. But I will next time I wont say a word ill just run up sniff it & piss over there lunch & we will see how funny that is.