The Skyway, aka the Highway to Hell

RickI offered $100 and that covers two signs.

[Wolfie]

Who has the last copy of what we came up with. I will e-mail it to a few sign companies and see what would be best $-wise. I will also help with the idea to sink a few bouys to mark off the no jump/trick area at SW. How far out should they be?

[Steve-O]

Scott, very good perspective on the current situation.

Some thoughts.

1. We need to continue this effort and not give up until we succeed with these ideas that we all seem to agree on.

2. Wolfie's idea with the bouy's is something I was discussing last week with Craig Whiteleather, a very safe rider. I don't see why we couldn't permanently put some bouys at both Skyway and East beach to allow for a safe buffer zone for outgoing riders and to remind folks to stay clear of the beach. Are there laws against having them in place on a permanent basis? Anyone?

3. It sounds like the signs are close to some completion. Let's get it done. Count WSW in for $100 towards signs.

4. As far as tagging goes, Triton and Watersports West have the most amount of instructors in the bay area. If we could put our resources together and agree on a tagging system hopefully other instructors/schools in the bay area will follow our lead. I will spearhead this with Matt.

Signs could be in place in less than a month as well as marker bouys.

Tagging could take a bit more time and have the most issues to deal with, but if we don't try, we will never know.

Let me know what you all think

[RKITEKT]

Originally Posted by kite-4-life

Scott, I agree on your posts completely.
the original (missing)posts werent negative at all, they were facts. I was a little shocked to read something, grab a cup of coffee, and have it gone when I get back, thats all!
My solution to getting the tricksters off the beach?
Build a slider, put it on the sandbar.

One of the photographers who has been taking photos of us recently offered to build a slider... just let him know what to make and he will make it. That is what he said...

I think its a good idea... build a slider way out there! And put "no jump - zone bouys" up. Can't we hit up some of the local marine shops and kite shops to donate for the cause?

[Sam]

would bouys really make it safer? It would seem that a bouy could tangle with downed kitelines and create a different set of hazards...

[jim]

I think Sam has a point. With the density of people at SW buoys will be another hazard to tangle with in an already small area.

[bryanleighty]

yes they could... I've seen kites tangled in the buoys on the gulf.. not a pretty sight.

then again.. there are crab traps all around at the skyway launches .. rare for an issue to occur.. but it has happened..

[inferno]

Originally Posted by Sam

would bouys really make it safer? It would seem that a bouy could tangle with downed kitelines and create a different set of hazards...

probably 99% of downed kites are due to people trying tricks, whether it be an inverted handlepass or a backroll.....

so the bouys might actually encourage them to stay further away.....

Well after seeing the skyway lately... it's not the skill level which is the current problem... it's the advanced riders jumping close to shore.

I too mistakingly thought it was beginners out there who were most at risk but that seems to be a gross error at least on my part.

But like Scott said... it's hard to walk over to someone who has been riding longer and is obviously a much more advanced rider and ask them to ride further out.

I tried once but was told they needed to land close to shore in case they got hurt. To me that just sounds off since shallow water is where you are most likely to get hurt.

Now I'm not really trying to blame the advanced riders... because I think the REAL reason this happens is because the contests promote doing tricks close to shore... the more likely you are to get busted up the higher the points (and this goes with just about any extreme sport). This is just the mentality of ANY extreme sport.

That's just how it is. So, placing this in perspective... maybe it's just not possible to convince advanced riders to stay further out without changing the entire mentality of the sport? It would be like taking gaps, handrails, and stairs away from the skateboarders. That's not a challenge I would like to take on, and honestly I am not sure I am interested in turning an extreme sport into a nerf football and a safety net.

So what now! No idea!

It certainly doesn't hurt to convince the next generation of riders to jump further out... after all they are not riding pro contests and have no reason to be taking such risks.

[kite-4-life]

Dude, Where's my Kite???