just hadd a chat with a neighbour this morning who is on the council. there is talk of a kite ban on ynyslas beach.

to be honest as someone who uses the beach on a daily basis i actualy think this may be a good idea! yet again people who should know better are bugging on the beach in marginal winds next to the car park, at high tide. i think these people rely on the use of this beach to make some of their living.

i'm in favour of a ban because at least in the summer i can stroll around walking the dog in peace. so maybe its up to certain groups of people who rely on the beach to sort this out?

i know many people will be opposed to the ban and the wonderful vibe amongst the kite surfers will be lost. but i feel the beach should be returned to the holiday makers in the summer.

maybe we should all start wind surfing(thought you might like that Al).

chris

gutted i just hope they can differenciate between land kiting and kitesurfing. would the ban also include dyfi? or just ynslas?

oh

well it was inevitable i guess.

bad news Chris, as someone who uses the beach most weekends i will be so disapointed. As a( kiteing unit) of( sensible kiters)we could perhaps have a meeting to discuss the issues of beach use for everyone. maybe a designated area could be an option. come on guys lets at least try to sort this out.

who were they chris name and shame and perhaps we can have a friendly chat!!!!!

do you mean the estuary car park or the borth bit by the golf course carpark..

I tend to agree with Chris I'm afriad. Kitesurfing is fine when those doing it are responsible and think of the other beach users. Unfortunately, especially during the summer when the beach is at it's busiest, you get a few stupid people who think they own the place and will ruin it for everyone. As a new mum I have to think twice before taking my baby for a walk on the beach if the kites are out....it's not worht the risk of him being ploughed down by a buggier or a kite landing on him by someone who doesn't know what they are doing.

It would be nice to see some restrictions at least, eg ban it during the summer months or at certain times of the day, even keep it within a certain part of the beach if it could be policed!

Sorry guys, I'm with the locals on this one!

col, it will be easy for you to have a word because they are your employers!

they should have been out tonite. low tide and wind.

anna, i agree going to the beach now makes me cringe knowing that i kite but just trying to walk along the beach is a pain.

will keep you all up dated.

Will at least tiree is o.k, for now.

oh dear, is there a chance of us working together with the council and making specific launch/ land areas for us to use well away from most of the holiday makers.

this could be disastrous!

Could we also not make the council aware of the benefits it brings to the community? We must spend some money whilst we are there, if only on car parking fees.
Are there any other benefits we bring??

This sux big time..why is it that some of us really try our best to practice kiting safely and then a bunch of rude wankers come along and mess things up??

I agree with Neil, can we not agree with the council a designated area for kitesurfing past the WW2 bunker? The council need to be made aware of the difference betw kitesurfing and land kiting..i think someone like Shem/Al or Chris should be a single contact for the council..

Hope this all sorts itself out..

I know it's not fair guys and you lot are the sensible ones. If there was some way that kiters and other beach users would know where to expect the kites then that would be a start. trouble is with the people who come to kite not very often and don't know the 'rules'......If they could ban the kite buggiers it would be a good start. Once the kites are on the water there's no trouble and to be honest I'd rather have the kiters than the jet skiers and horse buggies any day.

Hope a reasonable solution can be reached for everyone's sake.

apparantly there powerkiteshop lot were there but there was also a lot of people in powerkiteshop t'shirts, which were given away with an offer some time ago..

There gutted if its them, and will work with whoever to resolve the issue

there is not one person to blame. i was pointing out what i saw were people from the powerkite shop trying to kite at high tide in a nw wind. not hte greatest advert. the beach was empty but one family did turn up and then decide to walk the other way having to climb over the groynes!!

all the people who kite on the beach are last onthe "pecking order" for beach use. there are many people who spend there anual holiday here and have done so for many years. now its like trying to relax with kids and dogs as if you are on a race track. think about it would you mind if kids were racing around the park on BMX's where your children play or were you where relaxing in the sun??? at the very least read the tide times and turn up in the morning or evening.

Mmmm. Time for a Club anyone?

We all new it was a possiblity.... Chris and Anna have a very valid point, but there are sites a lot worse off. It just needs organising and policing. How's that to be done?

perhaps if the club thing got off the ground we could do some sort of membership card thingy whereby members agree on launching landing areas etc... and that there are signs up saying that only members of this club are allowed to kite with this authority - or is that what a club would mean anyway?

Who would be willing to represent us to the council?

From what I've heard from council members, they aren't opposed to kitesurfers or kite-users of any description, but they do want something done so that they can still safely use the beach when it is busy.
As Chris said at the weekend there were people out buggying and taking up the whole beach at high tide when there was only a few yards of sand available... This obviously isn't acceptable as it means no one else can use the beach to walk their dogs, play with their kids etc.... Under such situations even an area restriction wouldn't work as it would still prevent people walking along the whole length of the beach.... Unless of course the area restriction only permitted kiting along a certain stretch of beach AND only seaward of the tips of the longest groynes.... Basically... No kites within 25 metres of the pebble bank and only within a certain stretch of beach North of the bunker. At least then other people, dogs etc could have a free run all along the top of the beach.

As Chris says, kiters are the new kids on the block and therefore at the bottom of the pecking order... In order to earn the respect of other beach-users and be allowed to continue using it all kiters (with NO EXCEPTIONS) need to be completely over the top with their respect for other beach users.

Buy some tide-timetables... Only go to the beach when the tide is out (and even better not during the middle of the day when the beach is at its busiest), stay to the North of the bunker and don't 'take-over' the beach.

Al.
P.S. Apparently erecting signs of any description is not an option.

If putting up signs is not an option then the "local" kiters must be extra vigalent and cooperative in making people aware of safe or suggested areas to kite.

I totally agree that the public should come first and a beach should not be like a race track. Just look at Pendine. However, with no signage or notification it's going to be very hard to stop people just turning up and boarding / buggying where they like!

Perhaps a seasonal ban would be the answer April through September or something similar? I guess this wouldn't help the local dog walkers etc. though?

I think the time is to act now, BEFORE this becomes a really major problem.

I definetly think its best to put your own restrictions up, before a ban ( possibly year round even), happens.

Why cant signs be put up Al? Even simple signs like, "No kiting" next to the last big groyne, then a sign at the top end of the beach with "Kite area". At least its some thing for people to work around that way, rather than a free for all, where no body quite knows whats happening.

I was on the beach at Aberdyfi this weekend, and a lot of new land kiters and water kiters turned up. Im really pleased to say that every single one of them asked me where and when to kite. All being well, well have our signs up on the beach here by the end of the week.

dont forget not everyone reads this forum, its possibly only 10 of us who regulary use this site for the kite side of things...

Hey Dudes & Shela's,

Thanks Al for all the info..we should all now police Ynyslas BIG time and ensure no wankers are doing anything stupid and lets all setup near da bunker!

we need signs, what can you do if someone tells you to p*ss off, only a couple of week ago some idiot told willf a 3 metre kite+no safety wasn't dangerous in 30notts+ an told him to f**k off, this guy nearly took out 3 family's, what can u do about people like that.

The reason signs can't go up is something to do with the fact that the beach itself and the pebble bank are under different ownership, and the car park is owned by the Golf Club.... Making it difficult to find anywhere to actually put the signs...

Apparently at the council meeting concerns were raised about the fact that on busy weekends there are accessibility issues for other beach users especially with respect to buggiers and other land-based kiters taking over when the tide is relatviely high. No one wanted to ban it outright as many of the locals actually like seeing the kites in the sky during the winter months, but they did want to know how they could ensure that everyone else could safely access the beach at all times.

They were however more concerned about what to do about the 'dogging'!!!

Al.

quote:

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Originally posted by leonardo
Hey Dudes & Shela's,

Thanks Al for all the info..we should all now police Ynyslas BIG time and ensure no wankers are doing anything stupid and lets all setup near da bunker!

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Fully let's start doing it now!!!!!!

quote:

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Originally posted by justal


Apparently at the council meeting concerns were raised

They were however more concerned about what to do about the 'dogging'!!!

Al.

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Hi Guys,
just a thought, could we have some flyers printed with suggested rules for kiteing/a polite notice to inform the public of launching/ landing areas.

Cost could be met by the reguler users who value the beach as a place to kite.

We could ask Phil in the golf course car park/ Wardens in Estury car park to hand them out with parking permits.

I know Phil si not always there but at least it would be a start to get the ball rolling and show we do care about everyones enjoyment.

and yes Pluto a club is a good idea more peeps BIGGER voice (obviously this is just my opinion).

Hi Guys,
just a thought, could we have some flyers printed with suggested rules for kiteing/a polite notice to inform the public of launching/ landing areas.

Cost could be met by the reguler users who value the beach as a place to kite.

We could ask Phil in the golf course car park/ Wardens in Estury car park to hand them out with parking permits.

I know Phil si not always there but at least it would be a start to get the ball rolling and show we do care about everyones enjoyment.

and yes Pluto a club is a good idea more peeps BIGGER voice (obviously this is just my opinion).

Andy has a good point, this was discussed at the weekend. We could easily come up with a poster for our vehicles and flyers to hand out, this would have a polite notice to all kite users with suggested precautions. These could also have info regards this web site that new persons to kiting can get help.

I fear that this summer the beach will be have many people who can walk into your local seaside shop buy 2 metres of Chinese power kite with no idea what danger they can put themselves and other in- this is where a flyer could save the ban or an injury.

We as responsible beach users must act NOW.

Is it time for a club?

Get a few signs sorted and you dont need flyers. Probably cheaper any way. The problem with warning the public about kiting areas, safe areas, etc, is that if some thing happens to joe public in a so called safe area, then liability is on the head of the person who is responsible for the signs!! Be carefull with the wording!!

Although I dont see the need for a club, I think if people want a club, form one, just because every body doesnt want it, doesnt stop the ones that do forming one.

ive been coming to borth for years windsurfing,speedsailing,buggying and about to try to get into kitesurfing , my line of thinking is i dont let my enjoyment be some one elses missery and if that means packing up till the next day so be it.
just wish people would do the same
so i can still use the beach for years to come...

I won't name any names, but I was out with some locals on Saturday evening and they were complaining that they had to get out of the water where they were playing at Ynyslas last weekend as they were being 'terrorised' by a kite-surfer trying to kitesurf in the shallows. They said they first moved down the beach a little but he was walking a few hundreds yards up the beach and ten going on a downwinder for quite a way effectively taking up the whole area of beach and they were concerned for their safety so had to get out of the water.

This is exactly the sort of thing we need to avoid.

Al.

Hey Al-DUde!! Who was this?? Name and shame him dude!! Let the Bok at him..i'll punish him

got to be me then; wasnt playing in the shallows though, but going well out to sea to find the wind and sometimes coming in well down wind when i didnt find it. striaght in and walking right up the beach again, paying particular attention to who or what was in the sea.
accentuates the point that no matter how much in control we know we are, every day beach peeps dont know and can get worried and concerned.
another rule then ;
on light days dont allow our selves to drift too far downwind bringing us into the bathing area.

good to see the boys from tiree are back agian ; maybe we can get a bit of life back into the forums again. what are these things called body boards anyway?

Isn't that part of the beach Red flagged anyway?????????? Red flag I think means no swimming. the people Neil and I was comming in between didn't look very scared to me, in fact most wanted to chat about the kites. I didn't see any near misses or anyone complaining

Later

Dunk

The point is Dunk, you might not have thought they looked scared, but it is what they think that counts... It only takes one or two to complain to the council and thats the end of kiting here... If they were intimidated by you then they wouldn't have complained there and then, but waited until they next saw me and moaned at me about it.

Neil... I thought we had already established we weren't to kite to the South of the bunker... no 'new' rules there! We just need to be completely over the top with giving every other beach users as much room as possible so that they hardly even know we are there. On the day in question there wasn't enough wind, so going on downwinders in the shallows amongst the swimmers isn't going to help anyone... And walking back up the beach with your kite over everyone is just as bad.... Surfing was the better option that day!

Luckily for us, the days when there is enough wind for a decent kitesurf means that most other beach-users are huddled behind the groynes to keep out of the wind so therearen't too many people for us to get in the way of.. It is on those light wind, sunny weekends that we need to be extra careful, and if it is busy just not go out.

Al.

yes you are correct Al ;
dont know about the surfing though, gave that up when i left the warm indian ocean in durban.
red flags i think are there to advise against going in the water, you cant take away peoples right of choice ,unless you live in china or similar, so we have no grounds to plead innocent on this occasion Dunk!
another lesson learnt i hope then.
and another example of " age attention deficit dissorder!"

You are right about the red flags... You can't stop people going in the water they are just advisory... We often used to close the beach when I worked at Croyde and put up the red flags, then the silly buggers that ignored our advice and went in anyway expected us to go in and rescue them!!!.. We did of course as we couldn't leave them to drown, but they certainly got an earful (and on occassion and 'accidently' snapped surfboard) in the process!

Al.