Hobie Beach/Rickenbacher Closed for Kiting

[ricki]

In the case of Hobie/Rickenbacker, the main credo couldn't be any easier.

Don't ride inside the buoys in the swim zone and effectively motivate other kiters to do the same.

This was posted over nine years ago and many times since then, passed around in hand outs to kite shops years back, discussed on this and other forums for a long time. It made sense nine years ago and it still makes sense.

How do you propose to motivate people to do it? Peer pressure can be a very powerful thing, but the peers have to apply it.

The riding in the video was unacceptable for many reasons. This is clear and beyond consideration for anyone that wants to continue to be able to kite in public venues. This is a fact. Considering this forum is public and monitored by some in government, I really don't want to launch into a bunch of flaming back and forth on this point. We have larger issues to try to solve, the flaming might well sink our prospects.

[Ovidio]

Must be hard to keep lobbying for the sport when you read such negativity. Like you said "hopefully something good for the sport will come out of this incident."

[ricki]

Most kiters I meet aren't that negative at all. Common sense says we should be able work through this stuff.

I can't believe that video. If that kiter lost control during the kite loop it would have been soooo bad. i can't believe people do this. one bad apple ruins the bunch.

[OttoNP]

I've said this before and I'll say it again, you guys in FL need to get the real cops and authorities to treat kiting like surfing or boating, get them on the page that kiting is an undeniable right and THEIR job is to stop the kiters that are not responsible. You do this by:

1. Perhaps trying to pass some law that guarentees the right to kite ocean waterways, call it some kind of "ocean access preservation law" that's intent is to ensure people have access to ocean waters, then put kiting in there as a footnote to sneak it in, like wind powered recreational sports. At the higher level the better (Florida state law), in fact, perhaps we should be working to establish some law at the federal level that guarentees public access to wind and water...
2. Showing them the revenue they can generate by fining irresponsible kiters, this money will more than fund the policing effort required since they already police the area for other things
3. The number of responsible kiters compared to the number of irresponsible kiters
4. Show them that it is easy to control the bad behavior with fines and/or equipment confiscation
5. I would try to convince them that kiters are same thing as sailing boats or other boat, fine is the same as if a boat violates swim area or endangers someone.
6. Last resort is find some kiters that are lawyers to file against the city for banning kiting, then the city has to either decide between fighting the lawsuit or just patrolling. With the cost of litigation to the city and no cost to the kiters, the city is motivated to just regulate kiting instead of banning it

I can tell that in the future that some form of government control will exist for you guys at many spots as you fight to get access back, maybe in many many years. Hopefully it will not require licensing, registration, etc... Hopefully it will only affect people with bad kiting behavior, but if you don't start working towards what you want it to be, you will be stuck with what they decide. You should try to just get the people that do stupid things fined or inprisioned...

You should all forget your peer pressure self policing and start working on this. Peer pressure self policing will not and has not worked in your case because you are not a tight small group and you lack the legally authoritive to enfore any of the rules you make up. This case and the other thread about fort lauderdale show the ineffectiveness of it. You have too many tourists, too many visitors. I would guess your local crew is not the problem...

ok, that sounds a little too harsh, peer pressure and self policing should continue, but it is only effective with tight groups that have a lot of mutual respect for each other. It seems you guys are always on the verge of a ban somewhere and try to rally peer pressure to stop it, then it doesn't always work...

Good Luck and I hope you keep your access!

[ricki]

Thing is peer pressure has worked and for some real hard cases in the area. Guys with no reason to change, loners by nature, found some. In fact one serious problem kiter went over so far as to now lookout for kiting access I understand. Stranger things. Don't sell it short, join in and work to keep us flying. The more that are onboard, the better it works.

[OttoNP]

I edited my post, it was a little too harsh about abandoning peer pressure...you should still use it, it will work to some degree.

It just doesn't seem like enough to stop the bans in FL, I mean how many spots have you lost now? It makes me very sad and very angry whenever I read about a spot lost...

[ricki]

We don't have the group identity of some other places as you indicate. This can weaken peer pressure significantly. At the same time we have done it before and I would hope in this case, more would come on board. If people care they will, if they don't they won't but probably won't like what it may earn them. Think about it, problem kiters often ride too close to show off. They care what others think about them, right? Why else do it. Otherwise boost huge and extreme well outside and/or off thinly populated beaches and avoid problems in general. We have beaches and spots like that too. It seems like they might be even more subject to peer pressure at some levels than others. We're going to try every avenue we can including enforcement assistance but we can't count on it alone to solve this sad to say.