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Works also on sand. And can be used without sail, i find its more fun than moutainboard in those conditions

@gum-nuts do you still have your buggy?

Noswar I have posted pics of the kites and 4-line handles in the following album As mentioned elsewhere, the Rage is going for $130 and the Twister for $100. If you are interested, I will be in Darebin (Melbourne on March 8, 9, and 10) and we can arrange a pickup. Let me know if I need to pack them in amongst the other gear I will need to bring down Cheers BobM

Good to hear from you. I thought you had passed on. Didn't we do a thread in your honour? 🤣 Great picture.

Hey 👋 where was the picture taken?

Gday Nigel. Good to see you still breathing too.. we moved up the coast almost back to the Stone Age. It’s awesome. BobM has seen it your ALL welcome up here anytime.

G'Day Douggie!! Good to see we are all getting to have a play at the beach!!

Glad to hear it. That beach looks awesome.

Hello to old members and new. i haven't posted here for a very long time and figured id send a wave and say im not dead yet.

Your apprentice worn out by all that fresh air methinks. Good read! You even got the flipper of approval. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Nigel - appreciate the expertise. Sounds like I'm looking good for a fun start up kit!

Starting on handles is a very good move. As Shane says, easy to bail out off when it hits the fan. You will find your time in a buggy will be limited by your arm strength in the beginning. But, as you get more experience under your belt, you can then transition to a harness. A harness is great, as it puts all the load on to your waist, not your arms. Bob's kites would be a good start. The 3.5 Rage would be my pick, with the 2.5 Twister second (I'd get both to have a small quiver). I would skip the Ozone Razor, it's a full on race kite and needs constant attention when flying, not so good for cruising around the park. The Reactor is a big kite, which will only get a run (and used) in light winds, a fair handful. But to buy one in that size will cost a lot more than Bob's asking price. I would get it as well, just to give you a super light wind kite. Purchase a 4.5-5m kite next and you should have about 80% of conditions covered. You could also do far worse than Shane's buggy. It would serve you well. Not a heavy buggy, so easy to transport. Not a fan of the super grippy rear tyres, but you can change them easy if you want. Cheers, Nigel.

Nigel / OBEwan - thanks to both of you for taking the time to respond. Appreciate all the advice. To answer the queries, I'm 74kg, 178cm. I live in Belgrave. Perhaps the handle kite from BobM and the buggy from OBEwan sounds like a great place to start. Looking to minimise the OBE experiences! What sort of dollars are you looking for for the buggy?

Hi Tim Where are you located? I'm in Hoppers Crossing, Vic. It's been some years since I kite buggied and am thinking of parting with my kit including the PL Outlaw buggy pictured above. I also have a pretty big selection of depower foils of various sizes and sundry spares and body armour that have all been stored indoors and are in good to fair condition. If you're interested, let me know and we can negotiate. If you're local we can take it all out for a spin. I'd highly recommend you get your hands on one or more foils with handles like the ones mentioned by BobM rather than depower kites to learn with (I don't have any, sorry). A small mistake with a depower kite that's attached to you via a harness can easily end in an OBE (Out of Buggy Experience) and a ride in an ambulance. A kite with handles allows you to let go when things go pear shaped as they inevitably will. Whenever I've asked a group of kite buggiers to raise their hands if they've ever broken a bone doing this, it's usually unanimous apart from the ones who can't raise a hand due to their plaster casts. Shane

Welcome Tim, As Bob has stated, there is very little around in the way of shops to get any kiting gear these days. There are two I know of in Australia (mail order should be available from either one). You can try: briskites.au or www.kitepower.com.au Not sure if they have any buggies, nor what they have in the land kiting scene, as it seems to be all water these days. Another option to try: plk.nz No mention of kite buggies on their web site, but email the crew at Peter Lynn Kites, as I think they might have a buggy or two gathering dust out the back of the factory. The Outlaw is the Buggy PL has if I am correct: Are you on facebook? Join: Victorian flash mob kite flyers Come down to one our Dingley fly days, and I can give you a fly of a foil kite. Or you can chew my ear off with lots of questions. And another question, your size and weight? Helpful to know as we can suggest options for you, both kites and buggies. With a lot of kiters moving to Blokarts, I am sure there might be a few who would be willing to part with some kit. I think andy666 might have a buggy for sale, but not sure. Give him a PM. You might might need to have 5 posts before PM's can be made? Hope that helps. Cheers, Nigel.

Hi Bob Appreciate you taking the time to respond. At this stage, without the buggy I'm looking to purchase a foil. I have a bunch of dual strings under the house, admittedly not flown in a while. I'll keep hunting, but appreciate the info. Cheers Tim

Hi Tim You're absolutely correct, there is not much of a buggy scene these days, even though the fun is still there to be enjoyed. A lot of the former buggy pilots have taken up blokarting https://www.victorianblokartclub.com.au/ The buggiers I know have more advanced buggies and kites which might be beyond your initial budget and skill set. I have a couple of foil kites on handles which I can sell you (freight is the killer on price - I'll be visiting Darebin on 8 March and can meet up, if you are still interested) Cheers BobM

What a day!! Rocked up about 11.30am to a firmish beach (not as hard as Sandy Point). Tide was on the way out, and the beach getting bigger. Almost a perfect onshore, but only 7 knots. My apprentice had an attempt at a buggy (his third go), but, with not so much room, nor wind, as he has had before. He didn't get on very well. So packed up the kite, attached his buggy to mine, and off we went. The wind was expected to build, so a 4.5m Century was the weapon of choice. A little under powered in the beginning, but, as the wind slowly picked up, the kite started to sing (the lines did). Off South wards we went, and exploring we did. Some interesting sections of the beach at times, as it thinned, and the sand got a little soft. Passed a sunbaker on the beach, who was rather shocked as we passed by. They even did a runner towards the water, but we had passed them by that point. I think the young seal thought they had the beach to themselves, and not have to share it with some weirdo's in a kite buggy. We passed the seal on the way back, but this time all the reaction we got, was a flipper wave. Covered 14km down to as far as I could buggy. Went through a rock field, but another 100m later it was not passable. Took some pics and headed back the other way. So the plan now was to cover the full distance, from as far South as possible, to as far North as possible. All the way to the sand spit overlooking Inverloch. Well, the wind had picked up a knot or two, and we were moving!! Holding 40kph, and topping out at 47kph, on the long run to the sand spit. When we reached the end of the sand spit, the wind had picked up another knot or two and the buggy was being dragged sideways with each minor gust we got. Had to put the kite down on the spit, and change to a smaller kite. As the 4,5m had become quite a hand full. Took a few photos at the end of the sand spit overlooking Inverloch, and checked the GPS. Wow, covered 23km, from end to end So, job done Went back down the beach to Venus Bay (about 9km South), and got my apprentice set up and buggying. I played around shadowing him for some time, until he was all worn out. Dragged ourselves of the very crowded beach, packed up and headed home. What a great day. And my apprentice just took himself off to bed.......... Even after a snooze on the way home. No staying power these young ones.

Morning all This seems to be the right place to ask the following - how do I get started in bugging?! I'm a 46yo kid who grew up flying stunt kites. I'm camping at Pt Leo at the minute, and at low tide yesterday there was no one on the beach, the wind was constant, and the beach stretches for miles. Felt like a buggy would be a good idea. A quick google didn't reveal a huge number of retail options for a buggy set up, and then found this forum. Would appreciate any suggestions on how to get an entry level set up - other than hunt on marketplace! Cheers all Tim

Hi All, Well, as luck would have it, I have managed to get a day with no commitments. So, buggying I will go. Looks to be a perfect 10 knot on shore at Venus bay. Low tide at 2.42pm, so intend to arrive about 11.30am. Uncertain of the quality of the beach, as I have only been there once, about 15 years ago! But, will fall back to Sandy Point if the beach is no good. Wind for Sandy Point is almost straight down the beach, so no big runs. Hope to see you there!!

As a local Poole is all about tide height and wind direction and going when the DFL's can't . At a big high then yes the the chip bounces off the walk and it's horrible. But you get long sessions with perfect beginner/intermediate conditions and on a midweek afternoon term time you can have the place to yourself

Hi everyone. A very old thread and I'm sure nobody will read this, but I'm Micks daughter. It's been so lovely to read your comments on his lifes work, Spider. My whole childhood revolved around kites until he sadly passed in 2009 when I was 15. I'm 30 now, with a bunch of skills and lingo that I forgot I knew so much about untill I googled his name and found this thread. If anybody has any memories of him or his kites, I would love to hear them. I still fly my Dad's kites from time to time. They are as robust as they were 25 years ago! Amie x

Not a bad day!! Went down with two beginners, and spent most of the day sorting them out. Had rain on the way down, but none when we got there. Patchy overcast conditions, and as such, almost no one on the beach. The wind was very cross-on, only just able to buggy up the beach without tacking. For Sandy Point, it was a little bit gusty at times. Going from 10 knots to 15. So it made it a bit hard for my beginners to get to grips with their kite's power. Sorry no images, to busy. Next low tides at Sandy Point: Saturday, 4th Jan. 9:51am Sunday 5th, 10:37am. Monday 6th, 11:23am. Tuesday 7th, 12:09pm. Wednesday 8th, 12:57pm. Thursday 9th, 1:48pm. Friday 10th, 2:42pm. Saturday 11th, 3:41pm. Sunday 12th, 4:40pm. Any takers for the above dates!!

Ok, my arm has been twisted. Heading down tomorrow, wind is cross on, so fingers it is not too much down the beach. Low tide at 1:10pm Looking at getting there around 10:30am. Threat of rain should keep the public off the beach. See you there!! Now to pack the car....