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Originally Posted by HYNMAN
Heard a unknown kiter up in Ormond by the Sea got blown up onto the beach and their gear got wrapped up into the power lines on busy A1A. Not a good thing. 2 FPL trucks were called out to help assist the removal of the kite from the lines. It was blowing 20-30 dead onshore and I believe he was a beginner kiter. Distance from A1A to the waters edge is less then 50 yards.
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That sucks, thanks for mentioning it here though. Was the rider injured? Would you be be able to take some profile shots, that is looking north or south along A1A showing the ocean, road and powerlines? I would like to write this one up and spread the hard won lesson around. No mention would be made of the area, maybe not even Florida. If this is feasible, would you please PM ricki?
Too right, people are way too indifferent to onshore winds, particularly strong winds. They set themselves up for avoidable problems and the rider and the rest of us may get stuck paying the price.
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Originally Posted by HYNMAN
Another kiter dumps his brand new kite on a cactus bush. Has been told repeatedly not to kite in that location because of no downwind buffer zone.
Why do these people not listen to other seasoned riders when it comes to kiting safely?
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There seems to be an element of human nature in this. I originally thought natural selection would have taken this trait out of the gene pool eons ago. I figured out why it may not have been selected out. Think of a skillet over a fire full of mexican jumping beans going nuts. Some stay put and roast, others jump out and land in the fire with the same outcome. Some jump out, clear the flames and jump off to Reno or something, staying alive. The moral being random stupid behavior may lead to unusual outcomes, most of which may be fatal or cause injury however a few doing stupid stuff may land "beyond the fire" accidentally and thereby persist. Natural selection, jumping beans and kiteboarding, go figure?!
Quote:
Originally Posted by HYNMAN
And here's the best one yet....My friend has been teaching his buddy how to landboard. No lie.....it's the blind leading the blind here. It's blowin' 30mph+ and this guy thinks sending the kite back and jumping on CONCRETE is too cool. Upon several requests of not jumping and the conseq. that can happen. This guy sends it.......gets' hit by a gust. And is lofted 10ft. into the air in a superman position. Kite loops...powers up....and he slams to the concrete breaking his ankle. Requiring 2 pins to hold it together.
All of this happens within acouple of days. I'm now taking more of a proactive effort to police the places that I like to kite. Sooner or later we're probably gonna have designated riding spots due to such incidents.
How do you politely ask someone to pack up their gear and head to a beginner kiter spot? Should I post a sign down at the beach for rules and regulations for kiting advanced riding spots? Just seems to me that these people are getting their kites off Ebay and just showing up at the beach. With little to no instruction.
Time to lead by example.....to keep my riding area safe & sound.
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Clueless newbies wanting to "teach" other clueless newbies isn't that uncommon. The sport looks too easy, so it goes.
I would try to find some like minded kiters in your area, get together, figure out the most threatened launches, those that you want to work to preserve vs. those better avoided intentionally by kiters. Figure out the most common issues there, write a short set of guidelines (6 to 10 points, people have no real attention span for more) and consider putting up temporary signs, hand outs, etc.. Permanent signs usually require a lot of permissions and may start some new threats to access in the asking.
You said it, Lead By Example, bigtime.