I was out there the other day... SSW, 8mph, 4mph on the beach. 12 kites in the air!! In 6-10mph?! What!

Imagine what a 15-20mph day will look like in 2 years!

I couldn't even find anywhere to lay out my lines, so I headed off somewhere else to ride in peace.

This sort of thing is exactly why I decided against becoming an instructor. I calculated that to make a living, I would need to teach between 78 and 150 students per year. Figure half of those are locals, and only half of them continue with the sport. That would leave at least 20 - 40 beginners per year from just me alone. In two years we would have between 40 and 80 new riders at the skyway in exchange for my new career, and that wouldn't include the numerous other instructors in the area.

I ultimately decided that whatever money I would make would never replace the riding locations the whole community would loose due to over crowding.

Don't get me wrong, my intent is not to bash instructor, they do a fine job and are generally great guys who work hard, and most have been riding longer than I have (but not all).

But the sad fact is that promoting this sport means over crowding our favorite riding locations. And when a large chunk of that crowd are beginners, the number of accidents will increase quickly.

Have a look at Sunset or Upham beach on a good day of surfing.... riders sitting shoulder to shoulder as far as you can see. That's a whole gulf beach... we only have a handful of good East wind locations, each smaller than half of a football field.

Our sport is fermenting.