www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/nort...19/Boaties-up-anchor

The bay is popular for kite and windsurfers in south-westerly and westerly winds.

Kitesurfers wanted moorings out and brought the issue to the attention of the harbourmaster back in 2007. Mr Waterson, who has been kite surfing for six years, says sometimes his mast would get caught on the boats and it is a lot safer now that the moorings have gone
this is good news, the old boats were a pain

Not sure what mast the reporter is talking about. He must be confusing kitesurfing with windsurfing. Probably meant kite lines getting caught in boat masts.

Thanks Chuck. You did us all a big favour!

on the same subject in www.surfertoday.com: "more than a hundred kitesurfers..." yeah right.

Could you imagine over a hundred kitesurfers at shoal bay? Its hard enough to ride on the busy days when there are 20 kiters out there! I wonder where that number came from

Hi guys, I'm sorry but I'm not so sure its a smart move. It could turn out to be a double-edged sword. Once the harbourmaster starts kicking people/boats outa spots -are we next? Cheltenham springs to mind. Takapuna? Orewa? There are enough inconsiderate kiters out there to piss off swimmers and people on on the beach and next we get banned... just a thought. Considerate kiting is the key.

Hi guys, I'm sorry but I'm not so sure its a smart move. It could turn out to be a double-edged sword. Once the harbourmaster starts kicking people/boats outa spots -are we next? Cheltenham springs to mind. Takapuna? Orewa? There are enough inconsiderate kiters out there to piss off swimmers and people on on the beach and next we get banned... just a thought. Considerate kiting is the key.

We have a great kite community here and new people are joining us every day. I think the most important thing is self policing at beaches.
Having the courage to go up to somebody if they are potentially being dangerous will help to keep the community safe and hopefully educate those who may not realise they are causing a hazard.
I had a recent experience where a kiter asked me to launch them and I declined because they were obviously a newbie, had no safety leash, had just bought old untried gear from trademe and were obviously about to kill themselves!
I did however give them some advice on safety gear, aspects of safe launching and the dangers of what they were doing. They came back the following week having taken a lesson, bought a safety leash and now understood how to launch and land a kite.
I also try not to kite at busy beaches in the summer - even if that's the best beach for the wind direction - you never know when a gust might take you further than you planned.
I am hoping that with some common sense and self policing we can keep the accident rate down and have a healthy relationship with the other beach users