Mud Is. via The Kraken

[RALKITE]

Went in search of adventure and satisfying curiosity.

left Saint Leonard's in the Kraken Midday Sunday with a compass heading and gobs of power.

Into a 14kt head wind and bay chop. set a comfy 25kt cruise speed and 25 mins later....

this is north side in 14-15kts 0.5m deep everywhere.

Then we approached the most likely boat access.

went exploring.

This spot is kite-able in any wind direction. Has flat water everywhere. is from 300mm deep to whatever the tide goes up to in an area that would swallow the entire Altona, Saint Kilda, Point henry, and Brighton usable kiting areas combined.

The Kraken can take groups of 8 kiters from either Saint Leonards or Sorrento or even Rosebud. spend a few hours then Blast back.

Cost would be $480 which works out at $60 per kiter. Which is less than the cost of a 45min Jetboat ride, and even more exhilarating.

It's a wade to shore. and you have the security of a support boat equipped with First aid and radio etc.

head to www.krakentours.com get your best 8 together and book in.

[SoutherlyBuster]

Sounds like a nice spot Tony, will keep it in mind.

I wouldn't be surprised if some would be interested in flying the kites back to Rosebud from Mud Island.

[Jev]

Awesome Is there enough room for gear on the boat and how much time would you have to kite?

The northerleis seem to be a bit stronger there as well. Could also be a good downwinder to rye- if you take the boat from rye otherwise it would be a bit of a logistical pain.

[RALKITE]

Plenty of room for gear, but best if one board per kiter. If each kiter took 2 kites then it might get cosy, but doable.

Down winders are the go but 8 kiters and one support boat means kiting as a group as the boat needs to be able to rescue all kiters very quickly if the wind dies for instance. Kiters heading off on their own and needing rescuing risks the others, so it's a look out for your buddies type attitude.

As for time out there that could be pre-decided but 3 hours would be a good session i would think. Of course Daylight and Tides and wind all play a part.

The boat will also be able to take refreshments etc.

Keep the questions coming.

[Junglist]

Hey T

The flat water in that first shot looks sweet.

Looks like a good alternative to kiting with 25,000 others at Altona / StK.

It always blows its ring at Sth Channel Island..... sign me up.

Cheers

C

[Jev]

Maybe not such a good idea after all. The island is a marine reserve and it looks like there are massive currents on tidal changes.

Nature reserves and sanctuaries should stay off limits for us kiter and other hoons.

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kite ... o-survive/

TGF

[SoutherlyBuster]

Hmm interesting read. I suspect the Kracken would be a much more sea worthy craft than a Jet Ski, but environmentally I had no idea it was an off limits zone, so let's keep it that way. As for the rescue, perhaps having a GPS with you as well (and knowing how to use it) would be handy to relay to your rescuers your Latitude Longitude position. Glad to hear the fellas got back in one piece.

[RALKITE]

It is not OFF limits. You can't camp on the islands, you can't destroy or remove anything on the island.

As a bird sanctuary it is mostly overrun by seagulls.

The KRAKEN can do a 30Kn full lock turn in 1m seas with a full compliment on board.

It also has all the safety equipment etc that a Survey Vessel has to have.

If those 4 kiters referred to had had the Kraken for support there would be no story to tell.

Maybe an inconvenient mainland landing spot but that's all.

We took the Kraken out of Shallow Inlet 3-4 times on the weekend and I can assure you all it can take some wild sea conditions.

Plus we pulled some classic bottom and top turns that bring a whole new meaning to power surfing.

[SoutherlyBuster]

Thanks Tony, in the mean time I looked at the Vic Parks site and could not spot any words that said kite surfing was out of bounds. Even the friends of Mud Island did not say anything about a ban to be there. Perhaps some times things get blown out of proportion.

[koma]

We took the Kraken out of Shallow Inlet 3-4 times on the weekend and I can assure you all it can take some wild sea conditions.

Plus we pulled some classic bottom and top turns that bring a whole new meaning to power surfing.

Which days did you manage to get out? I kept an eye out for you boys but didn't see anything of you!

I did notice that there were a couple of safe avenues to get out to Wilsons Prom, but on Sunday afternoon in some places there was overhead swell (~7ft+) as i was making my way down from Sandy Point main beach to the inlet. Any time i've been out there in more than 20kn it's been almost head height breakers or above.

Thanks Tony, in the mean time I looked at the Vic Parks site and could not spot any words that said kite surfing was out of bounds. Even the friends of Mud Island did not say anything about a ban to be there. Perhaps some times things get blown out of proportion.

Kite surfing on Mud Island hasn't been banned at the moment because it's not a common thing. Take a look at many of the other significant bird areas and you'll find that the managing bodies are fairly quick to object based on the grounds of the birds being scared away by the kites appearing as larger predators. Now don't think this is me defending the bird sanctuary, but we're the new kids on the block so if we're going to be around for a while then we've got to play by their rules.

[SoutherlyBuster]

True Jason, scaring away birds whilst they are breading is not a good idea. Reckon there are still plenty of places left for Kracken adventures such as the 13th Beach - Ocean Grove trips Tony has been talking about. Here's an interesting one to add to the list, Lake Corrangamite. And if you really want one off the wall ......... for the total adventure trip ...... Lake Eyre, perhaps I'm going off on a tangent here.

[RALKITE]

Taking note of breading seasons is only right, and we would not be kiting near those affected spots.

The fact is, it is mainly the north shallows, that are vast , that we would aim at in these times.

The Kraken could simply anchor in the 600mm sand expanse. and kites would be pumped up in boat whist kiters walked their lines out.

Would mean kites being set up previous but that's no biggy.

We were at the Inlet with the Kraken Saturday and Monday.

Here is a pic sent to us of the Kraken leaving the inlet entrance about 1pm Monday.

[Saffer]

I reckon there are plenty of other spots without having the need to go to this one. Kiting this would technically be illegal whether kiting is allowed or not for the simple reason you're not allowed to exceed the 5 knot limit when kiting within 200m of land (this is land) and the majority of flat water is within 200m of the island.

The issue I have with kiting this location (or promoting people kiting at this location) is that it is likely to raise eyebrows from environmentalists and/or create a public outcry which could portray kiting in a bad light and potentially impact on kiting in other areas where the council currently turns a blind eye to kiters. Large numbers of birds and kiters don't combine well. If we don't manage ourselves, the council is going to feel the need to step in and manage us and we all know what happens when the council steps in.

[RALKITE]

Hi Saffer,

I fully see where you are coming from, but if we are to raise the 5kt dragon then technically any planning Kiteboarder (normal)

will be probably breaking this rule. A point I brought up back in 2001/2 with the water police who came to St Kilda to hand out brochures on this very point. Their answer was that it was a simple way they could control those being dangerous to others.

The is also a driving law "Dangerous Driving" that a cop can use if he decides you are driving unsafely. It can cover just about anything the cop can imagine.

As for drawing attention from the enviros. I believe this to be a big red herring and of no consequence. Of course any direct harm to the flora and fauna of Mud Islands is not to be tolerated.

You really have to go there to appreciate the vastness of the north flat water area and how inconceivable harming the local area kiting could do.

Yes there are other places, and we will adventure to them, But there is no factual reason not to also use the capabilities of the Kraken to take our kiting adventures to the Mud Islands as well.

In Fact if there are enough nature minded kiters out there, we can line up a session there with an after session of helping the "friends of Mud Island" with their monthly visit to the islands to walk all over it picking up rubbish.

[Saffer]

Hi Tony

The 5 knot rule is not applicable to kiting zones which is why we get by at StK and Altona. Its the not kiting areas that the guys are legally allowed to apply it. I used to kite extensively at South Melbs and Port Melb but unfortunately due to some people kiting near swimmers, the life guards have become hardass about it and don't allow it most of the time. (unless its miserable and cold)

I've been out to mud island before. The major concern is with those who will (and we know there are people who won't listen to common sense) fly their kites over the island while kiting there. The vast majority won't boat launch (too lazy) and that means these people will launching right next to hundreds of birds on the island itself. We only have to look at the other beaches to know there are a 10% of kiters who are incapable of using common sense when it comes to kiting and this venue requires mandatory common sense and self control.

The problem with opening this up and advertising it to kiters as an acceptable option is the more this becomes an accepted kite spot, the more chance of having these idiots kiting there and the more chance of all hell breaking loose while guys are diving their kites about the island nesting grounds and flying their kites into birds which are always flying in their hoards above the island. It doesn't take much to get there, a jet ski or small inflatable boat which a lot of people have access and that makes it dangerous, both for kiters and for the kiting community. Whilst this may just result in a ban at the island, we all know the roll out affect. If the people managing the bay seeing kiters behaving irresponsibly, there is a risk they may relook at other areas (which are currently not zoned for kiting but where they turn a blind eye to kiters) and ban the sport outright in these areas or confine kiting to only those areas zoned for kiting. The affect of something like this would be devastating. I for one don't want 200 kiters at Altona and St Kilda with no alternative kiting options.

[RALKITE]

There were no Kiting Zones when the 5kt rule was first focused at kiters.

And I would be careful assuming that kiting zones have total dispensation from this rule.

What I am hearing is a very few that have been kiting to mud Island want to stop me taking small groups(8) to their private spot.

I have a small inflatable that would get me and a mate to the Mud Islands. Not a safe thing to suggest and suggesting it is so doable will just result in more of the rescue stories. It is such Rescue stories that do the real damage.

I appreciate the concerns that a secret spot will be over run, But in the scheme of things Kiting Mud Islands is one of those maybe once a year adventures by the more adventurous kiters. The Hordes that you think will invade are not so adventurous and will elect to take the 20min commute to a beach and to the social animal thing.

The Kraken is capable of a whole host of different adventures. I think there should be a Saffer Adventure where Saffer designs his own route and gets 7 others to take on his challenge.

Did we beat the Springboks in the RWC?