Kitesurfing is easy to practice safely with a little forethought and common sense. Ultimately you are responsible for minimising risk to yourselves, others, and our great sports future.
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Know your limits. Assess conditions, layout and eventualities to avoid getting into nasty situations.
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Select a safe, clear kitesurfing launch site.
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Pre flight check, make a routine check before eve launch, ie. Wing, bridle, lines, safety, harness, etc. a tangled kite with the lines twisted can take off and give you only semi control.
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Always prevent kites from inadvertent launching on the beach by weighting with sand.
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Never leave a kite in the self launch position unless you are about to take off.
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Always announce when you are about to launch your kite so people can be prepared to move in the event of a gust or problem.
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Disable an unattended kite by removing one of the lines, then placing the kite, leading edge down, facing the wind, and weighting with sand or a board.
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Always roll your lines when not in use, this helps to avoid tangles and also avoids inadvertent launch by dogs or children playing nearby.
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Always give way to the public on the beach when about to launch and inform them of the danger as few onlookers realise the possibility of injury.
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When launching leave at least 50m of clear beach downwind of you.
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Avoid kitesurfing near any airport or runways. In Botany Bay no further north than the Novatel Hotel on Brighton Le Sands.
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Stay clear of overhead power lines and obstructions.
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Maintain a distance of 100m from any vessel displaying the "Divers Below" flag.
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ALWAYS use a deadman release device on your kite.
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Always maintain a "safety buffer zone" when on the water, and on the beach.
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Keep Windsurfers outside of the wind window or powercone.
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Do not leave kite lines layed out when not in use. Do not allow them to lay across any ones path along the beach.
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Do not launch or land on a crowded beach.
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Give way to all other water users, especially sailing boats involved in racing, and power boats, as they will not know whether to give way to you or not.
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Incoming Kiter to give way to outgoing kiter at all times.
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When passing another kitesurfer going in the opposite direction, the windward kitesurfer is to fly their kite higher and the downwind kiter to bring their kite down low to avoid tangles.
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Do not go for big "airs" when you are within 50m upwind of another water user as you can easily fly more than 50m downwind.
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Check your gear before and after every session, replace any worn or damaged parts before going out.
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Don't fly a leaking wing, If in doubt don't go out. Always taking a repair kit is a smart idea.
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Don't use lines longer than necessary. More than 55 meters is pointless, 30 - 40 meters is normal.
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Don't use thinner than stock lines because aside from being weaker, they tangle and cut worse.
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Get the wing into neutral as quick as you can after any crash, lines in the water are trouble waiting to happen. The exception to this rule is if you break a legrope.
