Yeah, and I'll add that newer kiters might want to stay in areas that are a bit more instruction friendly if possible such as East Beach. I am guilty of this as well as Chris and I were teaching Amber at the Skyway. The only reason we were teaching her there over EB was because it was an EXTREME low tide and we walked way out to the sandbar far away from other kiters...Amber got up for about 5 seconds thanks to Chris!!! She's well on her way!
On Sunday, a rider got caught downwind at the Skyway after helping a non-local, retrieving her board. A REAL complaint I have with the attitude that seems to have developed is that I saw him in trouble near the rocky area and asked 3-4 people who were on the beach (I had a kite up and didn't dare ride down there for fear that I would get stuck too) to help him. They all said "He'll be fine" or "He's gonna touch bottom soon, he'll be okay". All it would have taken is about 5 minutes of effort to hop in a car, drive down to where he was stuck and catch his kite for him. Instead, his BRAND NEW kite has about a 3 foot gash in both the leading edge and the bladder. Props to Jeff for trying to ride downwind and help him!!! The rider in question could have been caught by a gust much like Tom was at EB that day and taken into the fence or worse, across to the highway ramp and badly injured if not killed. NOT COOL, if you see someone in trouble then take a minute to imagine that it is you out there flailing around. Would YOU want assistance? Then get up off your lazy a$$ and go help a fellow kiter in need of help!!!!!
Also, there were two other instances Sunday when one kiter launched his kite without being hooked in or having his leash attached. You don't have to hook in while launching, sometimes it is the safer way to launch but the VERY FIRST THING THAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING when you pick that bar up is to attach your leash!!! This newer kiter proceeded to throw his bar and voila! RUNAWAY KITE! Luckily the bar got caught on a car and Randy grabbed the bar and Roy got to the kite real quickly and grabbed it.
Not 15 minutes later, a group of kids from Tallahassee decided that they would launch a 19 METER KITE and all the while the same girl that Roy rescued is shouting to the pilot how to launch!!! Well, he got the kite in the air after launching the kite in the wrong position, the kite started to climb on him, got into the power zone and looped! Luckily, the bar was thrown and the kite crashed in the dirt road right next to some spectators.
What I am trying to say in a nutshell...take instruction with CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS, learn at EB unless extenuating circumstances arise and your instructor takes you elsewhere, hook your leash to the bar before you do ANYTHING else and when a rider is in trouble, HELP THEM IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!!!
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