Accidents at Hobie Beach (12-15-07)

[ricki]

It looks like conditions will be ripe for accidents at Hobie Beach over the next couple of days. Strong winds are forecast 15 to 25 mph Friday (are already blowing 15 to 30 mph as of Friday am*) and particularly for Saturday, 20 to 30 mph and likely much higher in squalls. There is a 60% rain chance for Saturday alone with a strong cold front passing over.

NO INSTRUCTORS should be teaching there and sensible kiters should avoid the area. I understand a student was injured recently in a squall in the area and was well offshore.

NO KITEBOARDERS should be launching or riding much inside the swim buoys. Guys jumping nearshore are not only breaking the law they are begging to eat someone's bumper or shattered windshield, AGAIN.


** NEWS FLASH **
Just because you are flying a flat kite doesn't mean you are automatically safe from squalls. If that is all you have ever flown you may not believe that as much as someone who came from C kites. Dealing with squall gusts can be complex, your reactions and systems can fail, many things can and have gone wrong.


How many kiters have been lofted into cars and timber posts at this beach over the years? I can think of at least five but there likely has been more. I can still remember chilling stories of the lady kiteboarder from California who was lofted into a timber post screaming in agony with kidney damage and fractures in a similar SW wind 6 years ago last month. Kiteboarding Magazine tastefully included a photo of the injured woman on their back page at the time. That was years ago and too many people haven't gotten the idea yet. For that reason alone two shocking images are reproduced below. I apologize to the rider, her friends and kiters that were there that day for showing these here.


From: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2296336

I remember a guy getting ripped off the water and blown into a car flying 15 ft. away from me in less than a 32 mph gust. If any one of them struck head first they could have easily been taken out.


Why is Hobie dangerous?

- Southwest to west winds are gusty due to land shadow from the western shore a short distance away.

- Southwest to west winds come with fronts and powerful squall lines frequently with dangerous gusty winds.

- There is virtually NO beach or reasonable safety buffer onshore. The timber posts and parked cars are feet away.

- There is a four lane high speed roadway, Rickenbacker Causeway, a short distance away.

- Riders have foolishly launched and landed on or near the shore and ridden too close to shore out of bounds swim areas marked by buoys for too many years.

- Too many easily avoidable accidents have happened here. We need to improve this situation, now. Don't ride there in these conditions.




Illustrations of past loftings


The winds at Hobie Friday morning (3.7.08), WITHOUT squalls and a 5 to 10 ft. buffer from timber poles, cars and more. The guy that was lofted into a car in front of me was out in winds little stronger than this.

[miamikiteboarding]

Unfortunately , the guys who take the liberty to teach in hobie beach , will do it anywhere and anytime, because at that point there are not led by conscious or responsible thoughts but simply by ca$h.
And in this state of mind, the concepts of riders community" safety", Liabilities risks " or just guiltiness" doesn't not even cross their mind ....

I'm still chocked when i see "self-made instructors" or even worst: certified ones(?) throwing their students into Bodydragging exercises with kids and bystanders right in their wind window , 30 yards from the beach in 1 feet of water , on a hot sunday ! as it can be in Hobie.

Being an instructor and trainer , that;s details we observe rigth away on a spot> where the danger can come from ? and it's sad to say in this case, it comes from guys supposed to set an example and teach the opposite.

So it can not work , cause you can be sure the same student will come back and practice in the same spot by himself , in the same conditions as soon as they get sold a kite...! likely be the same instrcutors ...and so on.

Basically, u must know that for a couple of hundred $$, some guys have no more respect than this regarding the fragile beach accesses we have for our sport.

What everybody should know mostly is that Hobie is a spot tolerated by "default " since there is no signs to forbid kitesurfing yet, but there were working on it 3 years ago, apparently they stopped the process , not for long i think.

But more than anything, as we warned before: if there is a kite involved in a car accident or just injured bystander at Hobie, we can expect the big Media cover and the definitive ban with a sign up right after , maybe extended to other beaches , depends how bad will be the incident . …

still we see the same behavior from every day’s can’t-happen-to-me riders .


The funny thing is we still have some cheap “hotshots riders” out there who are still thrilled by throwing the same-old-move-they-know to impress 2 fat chicks wrecked on their beach towels meanwhile he lands in between 2 other kids playing 10 feet away from the beach …yet the dude smile and already prepare mentally the next move he could boost…unhooked , maybe ??

So As Rick Iossi perfectly described about Hobie as a riding spot and to confirm Paul, Kent's, all of those riding here for long enough:

Riding on hobie is typically before a front ( warm or cold) when the wind veers to the S first, then SSW as the front lines passes over associated with squalls from heavy Rain and or Cummulonimbus, T-storms, etc,
So keep an eye and be ready to get back to shore BEFORE THE GUST FRONT HITS .

Next step, you still have to make your way through, rocks, trees , cars, pickup trucks, broken glasses, Cops, kids, dogs, bikes, joggers …then:

YES you can ride at Hobie, but must walk, launch & waterstart 50 yards ( 2 lengths of lines) from the shoreline. And stay out of the buoys at all time.

NO You can’t teach at Hobie , it’s cheap, dangerous ,disrespectful for the riders and bystanders and your students…and from the beginning, illegal.

After it’s up to each of us to apply these simples rules, which should not be a problem for whoever pretend caring for the kitesurfing community where we all ride.
If we all do and say it , only the bad ones should stand out. ?

[kent]

Well put MKB. The real issue is that when consumers sign up for lessons they put their trust in an instructor. How are they supposed to know that these guys don't know what they are doing?

Want to Win a Prize?

I've got a FREE NPX Hydrotex for the best photo of one of "South Florida's best" teaching at Hobie today or tomorrow. It has to be a lesson and clearly show the "instructor" teaching at this location. Good video will earn you a lycra as well.

Also...

If we get good footage of an industry member ie. instructor, team rider, representative in the air less than 1 kite lines length away from the beach Adventure Sports Miami will anti up again! YUP, add a prize. That's another NPX Hydrotex! Same as above, if you can immortalize the rider in video you've got yourself a lycra too!

It's only for the best in each of the 2 categories above. So there will be 2 winners if we get submissions in each category. Submissions will be judged by Garry "the body Menk and "Two Tall" Todd Greaux. We will take submissions at info@adventuresportsmiami.com. Any submission that appears to have been staged or encouraged will result in disqualification. Please DO NOT include the names of the riders in photos or video as our crack judging staff is familiar with all industry members in S. Florida.

If you see anyone teaching at Hobie, I'd suggest informing the student of the dangerous situation that they are in and they should seek more qualified instruction. This is of course after you secure your prize winning photo or video.

In truth we shouldn't really even be riding at Hobie as we have proven that we can't control ourselves. Therefore, if we do choose to ride there we need to police the beach carefully. Let's all get serious to protect our riding locations and keep them open. Shoot away!!!

Kent

[ricki]

Good summary and to the point Christophe. Kent, that is an inspired idea! I hope there are no takers, but if there has to be, hope they get some good clear images. We need to stop abuses, especially the easily avoided ones at our launches soon.

Thanks for all the input!

Tomorrow is another day, one with the arrival of a strong cold front with a nasty looking band of squalls. Squalls and unstable gusty winds are likely to occur in the area tomorrow. History repeats itself? Maybe, the choice is yours.





You can see realtime winds during the passage of the front at:
http://windmapper.com/?Loc=FL
and
http://www.ikitesurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=171

Checkout: http://www.wunderground.com/stationm...0.20020&zoom=6



.

[ricki]

Here's the latest out of NWS for the area:

THIS AFTERNOON
SOUTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING NORTHWEST
IN THE AFTERNOON. GUSTS UP TO GALE FORCE. NEAR SHORE...SEAS 3 TO 5
FEET. IN THE GULF STREAM...SEAS 6 TO 8 FEET BUILDING TO 8 TO 10
FEET IN THE AFTERNOON. INTRACOASTAL WATERS CHOPPY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS IN THE MORNING.

Gale force = around 40 mph.

I think Kent was right, things are spot on for some serious problems today at Hobie.

[b-rad]

any problems? or did that do the trick?

and wasn't that the warmest NW we've ever had???

[kent]

As it turned out, the wind went NW a bit earlier than expected. Therefore, I don't think that we got too many submissions from Hobie. I did receive a few requests asking that Crandon be included as well. One potential winner failed to have his camera ready when he saw an "instructor" flying his kite well above his head in gusty conditions at the sign in desk while talking to a prospective client! That's the way to encourage respect for power of the kite.

So in the spirit of good clean fun and prizes for all, we will also have an "open" category that will accept photos from any Florida riding location. The rules are earlier in the post. We will judge submissions from the 3 divisions on April 1st as this is appropriately "Fools Day". Happy hunting!

PS. send all submissions to info@adventuresportsmiami.com

Kent

[ricki]

Kent asked that I bring this back up to the top. I agree, we need to tighten things up in instruction. Instructors are the experts, establish the standard of care for their students perhaps for their entire kiting career. That is a big obligation and one to be taken very seriously. Instructors need to protect their students from high risk practices certainly during the course to a reasonable degree and equipment them with the knowledge and guidelines to watch out for themselves once they leave instruction.

This is obvious, there is nothing remarkable or controversial about it. Instruction in many other actions sports has paralleled this for a long time. We need to step up what we are doing in instruction to preserve our access, the odd student and others.