Some interesting thoughts to add...
1) the poll shows who voted for what, so come race day I don't want to see the people who selected no to be inside the no "wake" zone, except at take off and landing...although at irb I believe the bouys reads "no combustion" motors/engines. how does a no wake zone bouy make sense where there are already waves of some degree most of the time...don't quote me on that though. They may say "no wake" in the intercostal.
2) of all the down winders I have done over the past 3 years I have rarely if ever seen anyone go much past the bouys at all for more than just passing them on a tack... I will admit that the only time I stay outside the bouys is when I see surfers or swimmers. This time of year though it is especially important to stay a few kite lengths away as mentioned earlier. Also even when not in the gulf I see a majority of riders riding close to shore, so i don't think its just a swim zone thing.
3) this may be old news but still interesting since many kiters also do standup. The Coast Guard has classified sups as vessels that have to follow the same rules outside of designated "swim zones" or bathing areas...this means among other things wearing life jackets and carrying proper safety gear... never seen anyone do that either...
http://www.hoviesup.com/hovie-sup-bl...s-Vessels.aspx
anyway I thought it was interesting since they actually have different rules depending on where they are operated.
Danny