KITE GUIDELINES FOR AUCKLANDS EASTERN BEACH AND THE BAYS.

Due to the increasing number of kiters using City and Eastern beaches, the majority of frequent local kiters in the area have established an agreed set of guidelines to ensure continued usage for all.
We kindly request that kiters do their best to follow these guidelines as outlined below and not compromise the productive relationship we have with the ARC when kiting at the following beaches:
Eastern Beach, St Heliers Bay, Kohimarama Beach, Mission Bay and the Tamaki Estuary

PLEASE ALWAYS REMEMBER TO
stay well clear of all other beach goers.
avoid obstructing beach access for others.
never beach jump under any circumstances!
kite with a kite safety leash attached; there is no room for runaway kites.
maintain a minimum of a lines length from swimmers and other beach users!
walk your bar back to your kite when on the beach so others have more room to launch/land safely.
Kitesurfer with RIGHT SHOULDER FOWARD HAS RIGHT OF WAY over other kiters (toeside down doesnt change this rule) use your common sense with regards to this rule.
Kiters leaving the beach have right of way over those coming in.

EASTERN BEACH
Please launch and land from either the left hand end of the beach if looking out to sea or the boat ramp at the far right hand end of the beach.
Keep speed to a controllable minimum until you are safely away from other beach users or beyond the yellow 200 metre markers.
Care must still be exercised as some swimmers still venture outside these markers.

TAMAKI RIVER
Please take extreme care when crossing the shipping channel.
Do not kite near or impede the process of commercial or pleasure craft operating in the channel.
Avoid kiting back and forth across the channel. Cross to your chosen side and stick there if possible.

St. HELIERS BEACH
The left hand end of the beach is currently reserved as a swimming zone only (see council signage on the foreshore)
Please launch and land near the boat ramp/toilets in the middle section of the beach.
Speed must be kept to a controllable minimum until you are safely away from other beach users or beyond the yellow 200 metre markers: due caution is to be exercised at all times.

KOHIMARAMA BEACH
Launching and landing is to be done in the area immediately to the left hand side of the yacht club.
During light conditions, walking off shore from the yacht club will assist in keeping a safe distance from other beach goers.
Keep speed to a controllable minimum until you are safely away from other beach users or beyond the yellow 200 metre markers: due caution is to be exercised at all times.

MISSION BAY
Launching and landing is to be undertaken on the city end of the beach (Stonehouse end).
Please keep speed to a controllable minimum until you are safely away from other beach users or beyond the yellow 200 metre markers, due caution is to be exercised at all times.

By following these guidelines we can all hopefully look forward to continued use of some great locations.
Please ask the locals if you are not sure, we will be more than happy to help! For those wanting more information, or to attend the local kite social evenings, please contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thanks for posting that up Shaan.

We are also in the process of organising a bit of a beach clean up with help from the council.
If you use the Tamaki or St Heliers / Kohi etc beaches for kitting and would like to contribute towards helping to make them more kiter friendly, then please contact us at the email address above.

Cheers for your support
East Auckland Kiters

plenty of no wind days at the mo to clean our beaches up. Heard that there were guys crossing the channel the other day... name em and shame em as that behaviour is gonna get the entire estuary banned.

ill help, it wont take that much to make these spots less hazzardous.

and to the guys this weekend sat/sun at little bucks, playing in close on your best 14 meters , and doin ollies over the bbyc optimist school bouys (set at 25ft from beach,when the kids were about to launch off for there sailing lessons).man there were alot of people using the beach this weekend as well as the windsurf school that tends to reside there.
come on guys use your brains, also to the little dude and his mates doin dry jumps in the corner of the beach in your harness (at full tide!!!), your not giving us a good name when you have no regard for other peoples safety.

Best 14m kites??? Little guy and his mates??? It had better not be who i think it is.

hootchie mama it'll just take one silly thing this summer to get kiting banned from the entire eastern area.

Guys Bramley and Pine Harbour are not as crowded and are by far the best spots out east during hot summer days.

Don't ever kite at little bucks. It is not a very good place to kite.... get transport and get out to Pine Harbour. It's a zillion times better there.

If you are using little bucks as a gateway to the sandspit i strongly suggest you take the drive round to glendowie... either that or head to flat island if it's low tide.

If it's the same guys that use the rideon lawnmower to drive to Eastern Beach then they need to contact some of the older kiters who have cars.... we will give them a lift to PH and flat island free of charge and they can sample some decent uncrowded spots that have tonnes better wind than gusty, no room little bucks. That beach does us a favour... it draws away all the swimmers from the other spots due to that fact that it's sheltered there... hence not suitable for kiting.

If us resident eastsiders don't take action then the authorities will... and unlike the authorities we DON'T want kiting banned. They WILL do it if we piss em off one more time.

This is exactly what we are on about!
Selfish actions of a couple recking it for all.

Do us all a favour and have a yarn with the kids/parents from Eastern beach (Best Kites/ Yellow / transport is a motorised lawnmower) and politely point out to them what we are concerned about.
Even better, print them a copy of the guidelines.

Remember, there are at least 30 of us local kiters right behind you and by the time they hear it that many times it might just sink in.

Keep us posted on your response either here or at the contact email

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I have now been told that it WAS the "Macleans boys" flying their kites at little bucks the other day. The eastsiders all know who these guys are but to be honest i don't really think anyone has actually told them about the dire consequences of their actions. Next time we are at the beach please remind me to have a kind word to them.

They are awesome guys but we can't have them ruinin it for us kiters who have been seshin it up here at places like eastern since the very start of this sport in NZ. They all have cellphones so it won't be too hard to organise trips to Pine Harbour and Bramley with them.. places that aren't in danger of getting banned and Pine harbour in particular isn't crowded at all. Another suggestion for Eastern this summer is that maybe we should avoid the place alltogether unless it's really blowin and hence there won't be anyone there and the polies and us will have it all to ourselves.

Flat Island, Bramley and Riddel Rd will all work in the directions and tides that Eastern is good for...

Bramley = northerlies/NE any tide (000 - 045 bearing)
Flat island = low to mid tide northerlies to NE (000 - 070 bearing)
Riddel Rd = high tide N to SE (000 - 160 bearing)

In 20+ knots and cloudy Eastern will still be sweet as.

Another option is that we start organising trips to Orewa. Nowhere near as many people at the southern end of the beach as what there is at Eastern. I doubt any but perhaps the stupidest of people swim in that rivermouth either... i'm sure Lee and co will have something to say about this as to where the best places in Orewa to kite are. It's only really for Easterlies (070 - 120 bearing) that the problems start out at Eastern as Bramley takes care of the more northerly directions. Easterlies are very very rare out East during summer but it only takes one of them to ruin Eastern forever.

Your opinions please.....

You'll have no chance of kiteing in summer at Orewa. To many swimmers to many kiters as it is, and also don't forget the learners over the light wind period.

Not interested in the light wind stuff. If it's a light wind (ie sea breeze) at Orewa then it'll be a northerly down here... Bramley takes care of everything from the north.... low tide, high tide both are a zillion times better than EB in thermals. i'm talking about 20-25 knots Orewa.. a decent blow. One day earlier on this year at Eastern we had 20-25 knots of Easterly and it was STILL packed... this did not make me happy at all.... the sun was to blame of course and there was 15 of us out kiting plus a large number of swimmers and many people on the beach.

As for kiting at a crowded beach in 10 knots (ie Orewa, Takapuna, Eastern in a seabreeze)... well that's the dumbest thing around and the reason why we are faced with wall to wall bans along the eastern seaboard.

I'm advocating the cessation of 10 knot grovels on hot summers days at Crowded east coast beaches. Who agrees with me?

Ha, I just moved from Auckland to stay at Ohope Beach for the summer, I've had cross onshore northerly sea breezes every day. Even when a 20 knot SW is forecast (eg yesterday) with a bit of sun the sea breeze just comes straight in. I've been lit up 13-15 knots every time I've been out. Oh and the best bit? Not another kiter in sight and nobody else even near the water. Only the occasional group of onlookers wondering what the hell I'm doing.
Question: Does anyone else in Ohope kitesurf?
I suggest if it's forecast N, NE, NW take a trip and go down the coast. Tauranga is 2.5 - 3 hours for a mission, Ohope round 3.5 - 4 hours. When it's sunny the beaches are only packed around the surfclub and lifesaving rescue stations. That leaves 18km of empty beach.
Can't wait to get back to Auckland.
Bring on Orewa at hi tide with the rest of Auckland..

The northerly direction is allready sussed. Why drive 400km when i can drive 5... Bramley in summer is also 15 knots from the north, a few kiters (enough to be company but not grand central), no swimmers, no beachbums, very warm water and perfect learning and trickin conditions. Easterlies are the bugbear around my parts... Northerlies and Easterlies are TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT directions where i live.

If it is gonna be easterly then it had better be over 20 knots and overcast.. then it'll be great, just like winter... the alternative of course is to kite evenings... chances are the wind will pickup and the crowds will disperse from 5pm onwards..... then things get good until sunset and maybe even a night sesh. Infact come to think of it night sessions will be one of the best answers to the summer ills at eastern..... we can provide the lightin.

I like your style thrasher
You are a committed and knowledgable fellow kiter and I look forward to meeting you next year when I return to the great city.
I frequent Takapuna, Eastern, Shoal, Farm Cove and am very keen to try Pine Harbour, I've heard very good things.
I will message you next year, as I believe a few beers and stories after an evening session (kiting) could go down well.
Could I ask what you ride?
Any favourite kites? Boards?
Favourite lightwind kite?

Go hard, enjoy this weekend..
Reuben

I just talk it up :wink: Nah just kiddin reuben. Seriously though i've had to say something about farm cove (bramley) this summer due to the fact that Eastern really is very very close to being off limits to kiters. Even today i heard someone put their kite on the road there. Bramley is an excellent alternative to eastern for thermals (which are allways from the north out here on da eastside)... even low tide is still good here.

My main board is my underground fridgedoor(blue).. general purpose tricking board but still forgiving in lulls. I also have an underground lunchtray(yellow) for the high powered stuff... excellent trickin board and still kicks ass for the jumps. In addition i also use an array of plyboards and of course my trusty underground directional for something different.

My kites are now a 17m Yarga with a decent range from 10-25 knots and in the higher winds this kite is great for the jumps whilst still beign a great wakestyle kite too. (yellow and grey)

My mid range kite is a 2002 hydro 9 (blue). Starts at 15-20 knots and can go to 30.. and maybe even beyond. Handles gusty conditions extremely well too and is one brilliant wakestyle/wave kite.

My high end kite is for 20 knots and above but now it's mostly my big air kite in over 30 knots... this kite is an 8m AERO II (orange).

As for Pine Harbour. Best in late afternoon with a moderate WSW wind. Once it hits 30 knots it gets gusty.. and if it's a hot day the updrafts can really poke the wind... hence best when the sun heating has weakened (late afternoon/evening). But when it's on this place takes some beating for setup and is a handy beginners spot too.

As for my favourite lightwind kite. i used to have a 20m AERO. A hard pullin med aspect dream lightwind machine. But in gusty stuff it gave me the bash... and if you get thermal updrafts like the ones you can get at Pine Harbour... the results can be interesting :twisted:

MY 17m yarga however turns nice and fast to get through lulls... and if it starts to rock.. i don't need to downsize.

But probably my favourite lightwind kite i've used is Phil's rhinosaur. 22.5m Rhino 2001. Now that's one hoary beast. When you jump on that mumma fully lit you stay up for a long time and 13 knots has you well powered so handy for summer sea breezes in East Auckland. But for steady winds only... for the gusty stuff this kite will kick your ass.

So Thrasher... wanna buy a Rhinosaur? Mates rates since I know your financial situation.

Nah mate i'm clearing the house of toys at the mo. I'd rather just wait for when it gets 15 knots or more and then do some proper kiting. But i am looking to buy another kite.... one with a slightly larger windrange.

A Bow/SLE purchaser if I've ever heard one.

::Waroo12=You

what's the waroo windrange like compared top the turbo diesel? I REALLY like the idea of only needing one kite.

I'm a BESTie at heart but if i'm gonna spend more money i want the kite with the biggest windrange to it... doesn't matter if it's $500 more expensive. Can the 12m Waroo do 10-35 knots on one board? Grant says he can do 10-35 knots on his TD. I didn't find the low end to be as low as 10 knots.. but then again I'm a blob compared to Grant so maybe it's more of a 13-40 knot kite for me :twisted: ... sweet that means it'll fit in nicely with my 17 yarga. What about the waroo?

Yes i'm a bow convert.

Never believe a used-car salesman...

For the pure humour value though, I'd like to see a 65kg guy on an STD 12 in 35 knots :twisted:

They do seem to have a good low-end, until they invert and have to come back to the beach to reboot that is!

From what I've seen, you don't like being over-powered so your BEST bet is the Waroo 9

Ask JK.

Nah mate i reckon it'd be even funnier if i saw you on your Rhinosaur in 35 knots. I'm sure you could make up a bridle system, attach it to the leading edge and convert it into a bow kite. Then it would have the power of a 28 and turn like a 12 and the top end of an 8 8) .

Finally tried the fifth line on my yarga today bro and it bloody rulz... 25 knots for sure now but it may have just been the way i set it up but it seemed to have lost it's low end. Anyway it turns even faster now and the swivel bar totally rocks.. pity the wind was iffy today... bring on winter and some real wind.

PS: As long as the wind isn't gusty i don't have any probs with riding overpowered... remember i was out on my 17 the other week at EB when everyone else was on 14s or smaller... and that was still only setup with 4 lines back then... with the 5th line i could add another 5 knots to the top end at least... and the kite won't taco now once it exceeds 20 knots 8) .

Now i'm planning on getting a bow kite i mite see if i can try Joel's waroo... or maybe scab a go of Shannon's when he comes over next month. Whats the wind range for the 9 do you know phil? i'm 75kg - 80kg. If at all possible i wanna stay with BEST as their attitude kicks ass.

If you really want a one-kite Bow quiver you can't do better than this and here's why.

Simply (not the) BEST :twisted:

12-25 knots??? Is that all?? Bullcrap I tried Grants kite again yesterday in some real wind and i could have gone out in at least another 10 knots before running out depower (a very conservative estimate i mite add).

12-25 knots is achievable even with a c kite.

Hey Phil are u coming up to see Shannon put the waroo through it's paces?

Nah ,mate Shannon is coming over to watch (you) Mark.
grab the demo Waroo and go for it.

:roll:

Yeah mate he likes hearing me talk it up. Me and Philleas Fogg we talk it up all the time :wink: It's a tad easier than actually doing it ya know what i mean. Dimwits like myself need to cut corners and take the easy path to get by... talkin it up is the way to go eh Fogg ! 8)

When is the great Shannon gracing our humble shores?

First weekend of March.

Shameless Promotion Alert!!
Go and Instant Buzz off

I agree with that.

HEY STOP PICKIN ON THE YOUNG DUDES!! jUST BEACUSE WE DONT POP A HIP WHEN IT GETS OVER 20 KNOTS (joking) :twisted: JKS and theres nuthing rong with riding a lilttle old lawnmower ahaha and dont tell us to stop beach jumping when some local guys still do it!!! :shock:

Had a wicked seasion at bramley the other day ,perfect flat water.I finall landed a kiteloop s-bend!!!

GIVE US A CALL MARK SO WE CAN GO TO PINE HARBOUR!!! I FINALL GOT A CAR AHAHA
PH ME ON 5347350

this would be the hardass young kiter dudes we saw "playing" on boogie boards on sunday?? in the best wind for weeks??? get those kids a can of HardenUp :twisted: what happened to kiting boyz? :oops: PS nova 9's still 4 sale - fit in the new car just fine

Is that you Jacob? Finally on the forum eh. Yeah mate when it turns westerly again I'm all in for pine harbour. Now that summer is over I'm not edgy about Eastern anymore.... so without further ado lets all get dragged across the road just like the good old days. Sunday was nice and windy... ok maybe a tad too much for the 12 waroo but it was fun standing on the beach by the car and hearing Joel getting stoked when he was at least 100m from the shore. I do need a 9m waroo definately and it won't be long before i get one... either that or a yarga pro.

I'm the East side "media rep" now (aklbob has retired) so i guess it's my job to take pics of you doing those kiteloop s bends.

PS: Nothing wrong with jumping on the beach... well i tend to land on the beach... but take off was from the water. I'm back on the forum. Never EVER trust the beast from the east.

this is the website for the Eastside

http://www.geocities.com/eastandsouthsidekiteboardinclub

... and the beast's lair http://www.geocites.com/thrasherkiteboardin

You have at last revealed yourself...

Long May you Rock our Skies.

wicked mate!! I'm sure i'll be seeing you at the beach next time it decides to blow.

There is no room for the prowler at the end of the world.

Wowsers on Monday there was no thrasher jinx at EB.. infact it looks like i got the best of the wind. The waroo was nice and lit and the first time i've used the kite at EB in some decent wind, and it bloody rulz.

Medusa has forfieted the media rep job as i'm lacking in the AV department so i guess if we want some vids of the eastside madness then someone with a camera and editing software is gonna have to step up to the plate. Keeping on topic i think this summer was a real success story at Eastern Beach as we had no complaints and no bad attitudes shown by either kiter, bystander or resident. Congrats to the east auckland crew for being considerate and not making an ass of ourselves. Heres hoping that EB continues to blow over the winter months. some the best sessions i've had over the years have been out at EB during the winter. A 20 knot NE or E is smooth and not affected by the heat and there are no crowds. Here's hoping for a good one.

Phil i don't know what the wind is meant to be doing over the next few days but i allways finish at midday so if up for a sesh then let me know dude and i'll be there. tides are looking favourable for EB or flat island in the arvo so here's hoping for a strong SW or NE.

AHA I didnt see you out there phill i spose u were at home all tucked up with a blanket,coffe and a scon so mayb u should get comercial sized can of harden up!!!!! aha

nah bow kites anrt for me c shape 4 life

round 2 is on Sunday :twisted: Very strong northerly in the morning then nasty NW change at midday... should be fun.

So you sheelas have another chance to prove whoz da man.

C kites then? So what is it now? Yarga pro or Nemi pro?

Dono those nemi pro's look pritty cool bumer lee dosnt sell them!

might get me a 9m yarga for kiteloops

Your kiteloops rock bro. You're going hard with that 9m. Good to see the young chargers out there goin for it. how many of you guys are there now?? 10? That's more than doubled the number of kiters at EB.. i don't get lonely anymore.

The weather gods are dishing us up an allmightly treat for EB in the next few days. those isobars look PACKED so that NE is gonna rock. See yas out there.

the website is http://www.geocities.com/thrasherkiteboardin

MEDUSA

Eastern Beach is looking good for tomorrow so i'll meet you eastsiders at the north end just after midday.

hey, awesome pine harbour session on saturday, mite head bak out there after skool on wednesday or thursday, good westerlies this week, mite see u ther

Certainly will dude. And yes it's looking good. If not PH then flat Island for some wicked flat water and insane venturi wind.

I'm on the verge of heading out to EB for a sesh. Whoz in?

just been down to eastern for a look, not much wind, wut day u heading out to ph, i mite head out on thurs, good norwester then

lookin great for PH or FI today.

Tomorrow hopefully more of the same.

c ya there.

hi, just wondering, does pine harbor work any good at a low tide?, cheers

It's ok but in the usual winds that we kite there in (NW to SW) it's tonnes better at high tide.

But in N or S winds it's better at low than at high!

im gona head out to ph tomoro afternoon, wen the tide has started coming in,hopefully its a good breeze, u gona head out?

Hey Guys,


Great to watch you guys bringing colour and action to the beaches, but I'm afraid to say I am proud to be a windsurfer. May become a kitesurfer in another life when I have time and money to devote to it.

Had a bad experience at Bramley on Sunday which I think you guys should know about. Understand you are working at self-policing to keep the Harbourmaster off your backs. It is in all our interests to keep the public happy and avoid both sports being banned at the best spots, despite no other beach users when its nuking.

I had the family at Bramley on Sunday, Wife, Baby 5yo daughter and friend. What is disturbing and has rattled my wife is that there were a number of kiters ripping and jumping in the shallows with kites flying over head of families along the beach including my girls in the water.

Most of these kiters were teenagers. Thinking it would be a better approach, my Wife spoke to some older kiters but they weren't interested in taking any action, suggesting they were all kiting in close because the wind was better. I managed to move them upwind and suggested they sail out into the river. Things were OK for a while, but new kiters launched and the originals returned. Ended up moving the girls to the yacht club/channel side (not the best place for swimming as the rip gets going after high tide), and then kiters followed us round.

One young guy with Yellow (Best or Waroo) Kite was really pushing the limits with some impressive tricks, but crashed his kite half a dozen times, once within a bus length of the girls.

Later on I was out sailing and deliberately giving way to this guy despite being on starboard as there was no indication he knew the right of way rules. After a few runs I pointed to him that he should be giving way and was flipped the bird. Spoke to him on the beach later and he seemed to think there was plenty of room despite playing chicken with him a number of times. Unfortunately another windsurfer came over and gave the young guy a real hard time over a near miss which I don't think helps with education.

What would help is to lead by example, remind the groms to look out for other beach users and spread the word on the right of way rules and speed rules when you see stupidity. There is a huge sailing area at Bramley, a lot of which you can touch the bottom and i see absolutely no reason to rip up and down the beach at high tide pulling jumps within a lines width of swimmers and people sitting on the beach. Save this till winter if you need to play in the shallows.

I think kiters also need to be aware that although you may be in control, Joe Public may not view it that way.

I have seen a few kiters up trees, and have recently played with a 12m kite on the beach in 10 knots wind so appreciate the power you have and how easy it can go wrong for the inexperienced.

Wishing you good weather and nuking NE soon

Mickel

Hey Michel thanx for letting us know. If it's who i think it is then i'm gonna rip him up next time i see him but i wanna make sure we have the right person before i proceed further.

What color kite was it? was it bright yellow (floro) or was it a darker yellow? and what size was the kite? A 13 or a 12? What build was the rider? lanky or stocky? was he wearing a helmet? did the incident happen in the shallows in the north facing side?

i wanna clear this up as soon as possible and so does the rest of the established kiters out this way.

hey dude i've just re read your post and you never spoke to me about it. i'm one of the more established kiters out this way and are pretty hot headed about protecting the local spots. i was the kiter out in the channel wearing a helmet and able to pull impressive moves without endangering anyone else as are the rest of the older kiters out this way.

I wasn't spoken to by anyone so i can assume that it wasn't ME that was causing the problems :oops:

however i've laid down the law allready this week in regards to another act of stupity so needless to say won't hesitate to do it again so speak to me next time you have issues with the offending kiter as i think i know who it is but will not take matters any further until i know for sure who it is.

Now in regards to the other windsurfer. I did see something unfold on the shores of the channel area. a windsurfer looked pretty irate and i was wondering if it had to do with the same kiter who caused problems at pine harbour last week and is suspected of casuing the same problems at Bramley that day. and now it seems that me putting two and two together is gonna make 4.

i need to know pronto who it was cos if it's who i think it is action WILL be taken.

pm me in private if need be.

Mark,

Thanks for making the effort here. It's great to focus on the really stupid behaviour first but I felt in general on Sunday there were a lot of kiters too close to the northern beach.

As discussed off-line, kites over swimmers and sunbathers heads is not acceptable. Wind direction didn't help I suppose and I know 200m is hard work direct upwind but hay, make the effort and improve your kiting by learning to upwind if you don't want to venture into the channel.

Mickel

Mickel

yeah the best place to bust moves at Bramley is in the channel. Infact it's perfect for it as it's nice and deep so you have a big cushon if you bail. crossshore too so can't hit the beach, not to mention the best seat in the house for a camera bitch. Those 15 knot north thermals totally rock when combined with the high tide at Bramley. That north facing area is great so long as your powered and can head upwind as it'll be onshore there (if not then it'll be gusty). more suitable for big kites and windier days. ie not using 12m waroos in 15 knots unless the channel is used as well to get upwind.

So what r the chances of you , Alan and Susan gettin into kiting again?