Strand beach safety: The need for kitesurfing restrictions
Letter to the editor.
Image: File
By Jaap de Lange, a Stellenbosch resident
On Monday, January 12, I went to the beach at Strand. The kitesurfers were taking over the whole stretch of sea and speeding through the swimmers.
It is only a matter of time before an accident happens, which could be fatal. Swimmers are just hoping that the kitesurfers will see them.
This is very risky. The solution: place a couple of buoys in the sea, restricting kitesurfers, within that region for at least 100m from the shore (spring low tide) and 1km along the coast.
In that case there will be safe swimming and the kitesurfers will have to surf deeper in the sea for that stretch.
On many beaches, there are restricted areas for surfers, kitesurfers and swimmers. Why can't these safety measures be implemented at Strand Beach?