eppo said..
Yep darth.

I know him too

Been following this and you are right to a point, and I'm surprised the media hasn't really picked this up, but the story should be told for safety sake.

Disclaimer I don't kite........ yet

you started it

For the record I totally agree with Eppos points 100%

eppo said..
I rest my case above and yeh Fck you I can ride to back it up. again come down and say that to my face. this is our local spot come down and look me in eye and say that. See what happens.

Hmmmmm, settle down big fella.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again,

couple of bex and a lie down



couple of becs and a lie down

I don't know f'all about kiting but I know the stretch of water pretty well. Check the map posted earlier, if he launched from Wannanup as is reported he has gone for a big one! Think the wind was southwest so he went a good 2-3 k downwind and stacked it in the middle of large open bit of the estuary system. He had a couple of options if he knew the place, the closest shallow water would have been a good 800m cross current swim or he could drift towards an island about 1.3 km away. The sandbar he stayed on meant he tried heading to the island (boundary island) but due to wind direction ended up near the Murray river inlet. This saved him, less energy but no control yet he would have known that eventually he would hit shallow water. The currents have been very strong with the low tides on the inlet. So, maybe he overestimated his ability but in the end I reckon he made some sound choices as the wind chill was killer that night. Will it spoil your fun Eppo, maybe but not sure the Mandurah Council sees it as huge issue.

someawe said..
Exactly ^^ the council will do absolutely nothing about it, won't even get a mention at any meetings. People have mishaps all the time when out doing activities. Fishermen fall off rocks and need saving - no one closes the fishing spot. Kids hurt themselves at skate parks - no one closes the skate park. Bike riders crash - no one stops them riding again where they had the crash. One guy has a minor mishap, no damage done, and someone rants and rants that their swamp is going to be closed!

True... But...

Kiters & Poleys now need to carry epirb, flares, pfds etc when 400m offshore because of similar incidents in the ocean.

As a 'vessel' in the estuary he only needs carry a bailer (Dont get me wrong, I personally think that its laughable you don't have to carry any safety equipment when boating in the estuary)


Scenarios such as this may just shine a spotlight on this anomaly that you only need a bucket (even though you're more than 400m from the shore) and that will end up as; everyone has to carry ALL the safety gear.

Hello Waveslave....

Can you confirm your age for us and also what is your shoe size?

Pretty natural to get cranky about bad press at your local spot
The guy might be an ok bloke , but I question his attention seeking
His moment of fame can seriously affect decisions ( ie stats) when it comes to closures of beaches
Imagine your local spot being closed or limited to designated areas,
I see every visiting kiter loving the freedom of range at my local
Perth crews regularly come here as there penned in to a 400 mtr stretch of beach
These decisions are made by local councils who generally don't share the lust of our sport and are influenced by events such as this
I've given up lecturing some on safety, sounds bad but some deserve a severe spanking from the wind as a reality check
The sports become very safe today with the kites ability,
Shame I reckon

rod_bunny said..

someawe said..
Exactly ^^ the council will do absolutely nothing about it, won't even get a mention at any meetings. People have mishaps all the time when out doing activities. Fishermen fall off rocks and need saving - no one closes the fishing spot. Kids hurt themselves at skate parks - no one closes the skate park. Bike riders crash - no one stops them riding again where they had the crash. One guy has a minor mishap, no damage done, and someone rants and rants that their swamp is going to be closed!

True... But...

Kiters & Poleys now need to carry epirb, flares, pfds etc when 400m offshore because of similar incidents in the ocean.

As a 'vessel' in the estuary he only needs carry a bailer (Dont get me wrong, I personally think that its laughable you don't have to carry any safety equipment when boating in the estuary)


Scenarios such as this may just shine a spotlight on this anomaly that you only need a bucket (even though you're more than 400m from the shore) and that will end up as; everyone has to carry ALL the safety gear.

only kooks & lawnmowers head out out further than 400m anyways

Plummet said..
From the outside looking in this is an interesting story.

A guy kites in a predominantly shallow estuary/inlet. Some how manages to drift for hours without being spotted, self rescuing to shore or simply disconnecting and swimming/walking in.

The question is why????

Unless someone finds this guy and talks to him we may never know.

A lot of it is mud and sludge barely a foot or two deep but a lot is also 1.5 - 2.0m deep depending on tides and it is around 10km across. If it was late afternoon and blowing a gale there would hardly have been a boat out to spot him. Most of the pensioners are fair weather boaties and don't like getting their feed of crabs when it's windy as it plays havoc with their monthly petrol allowance.

Pure speculation but he could have done a pack-down and tried to swim back to shore but that was probably against or across the wind. It wouldn't take much to tire and be left with no choice to go with the flow and see where you end up.

I am curious to hear from the fella but given the response on here I doubt we will. I don't think it will do any damage to the sport, it didn't even last until morning smoko on the news. Geez, even the two poleys that went missing off Gnaraloo or wherever recently and kicked off a much bigger and more expensive search didn't get this sort of response.

RPNoBS said..
Hello Waveslave can you confirm your age and shoe size?

Simple question...

Hello RPNoBS can you confirm your IQ?

'Simpler' question...

If it happens again, let me know, my dad lives in South Yunderup I'll get him to pick you up and give you a lift home, though he has retired and might want a couple of dollars petrol money when you get there. Friggin tight arse he is

it looks like it happened again yesterday, another kiter drifting in woodies....

www.facebook.com/CVSSR/