another hobie day

[kent]

Sorry Neil for calling out Ft. Lauderdale. I guess that the other guy was from around there. Not sure, but I'd bet that he got the heck scared out of him when he ditched his foil after nearly killing himself and at least 5 others. I hear that he's a pretty nice guy and is probably at home feeling stupid. As for "b", he's a good guy, but should know better. I hope he'll respect our riding area a bit more in the future. I know that you more than most have had to deal with riders like this when trying to preserve access. It's not easy.

Good seeing you in Tampa. As it stands, it looks like we would have been better off staying on this coast for the weekend!

[cabdriver]

I vote that we implement an IQ test for existing and new riders. The problems with "a" and "b" yesterday would have never happened because they would have never passed the test. Seriously, how many frickin' times do we have to write about this?

NO KITING INSIDE THE SWIM BUOYS AT HOBIE BEACH!!

This isn't even a locals issue, you shouldn't ride like that at any location. Props to Patrick for catching it on video. I watched both of those two cracking up 10 feet from the "beach" inside of an exposed sandbar no less... DUH. I drove down to see who died after "b"'s incident, but he had already packed up. Apparently he released his kite before "final" impact and miraculously, nobody was injured.

There were at least three lessons inside the swim buoys as well. That's brilliant too. The sad fact is that the other concessionaires at this location (windsurfing, catamarins, and SUP) have stuck their necks out for the kiters because they don't want regulation coming down on their sports if heavy regulation is imposed on the kiting. I somehow doubt that they will continue to support us after we continue to disregard any standard of safety at this spot, as well as to endanger their patrons.

[greg meintjes]

We have been fighting this sort of behaviour for years and nothing seems to stop it. It would be great if there was some way to get individuals who are reckless and a danger to the sport and the general public banned and not have the whole beach banned from kiting. Maybe if the locals at the trouble spots form a group / association and approach their respective town committees and get some sort of authority to call the law enforcement agencies who would then evict the rider from the location.

One problem with this would be to ensure that if there is a kite company that operates at a location, they do not abuse this system to shut out competitive brands and riders or that riders do not make personal attacks and try get someone band because they do not like them etc , one way to help avoid this would be the formation of an association or club for example "Hobie Kite Club"

As we get more kiters on the water we are going to get more new hotshots that want to be the big man on the water, and as much as we would love to just go kite and not worry about these problems, they are here and we need to put more effort in to preserve access.

Greg

[conchxpress]

Agree with all you guys. However, you're forgetting one thing. Nobody can see Mr. Beach Hero up close out on the sandbar. He doesn't really care if he can do the trick, only if the "amazed bystanders" can see him to the trick. It's called low self esteem desperately seeking the admiration of others. You saw this in first grade with the emerging class clown. Going to be hard to cure 20+ years of behavior with a stern talking to. But peer pressure is the only way to go. Post a picture of him on the beach labeled "unsafe kiter please avoid". He'll get the picture. No pun intended.

[Whitey]

It's pure and simple "Look at me". Locals need to let him know they saw him and tell him and they are not impressed. Ask him to "STOP" nice the first time. Don't assume that he takes the time to read this forum. Hate to see you guys loose a spot down south, as there are so few left to ride at. Posting video is the first step to letting these starved ego's know that it is not cool, is not acceptable, and will not be tolerated, as much as surfing has become ugly in places we need to take a page from there book in these cases. It has to be taken up face to face, really close face to face. This is like watching a kid play with a loaded gun, and your access is in the room with him. Just one persons opinion.

[BizGuru]

Why is everyone saying it is not a local problem? I have seen plenty of locals inside the swim buoy. I understand that this guy throwing kiteloops over people's heads is taking it to the next levels, but I am sure there were plenty of locals riding inside the buoys, just in a slightly less dangerous manor. Also it is a local problem cause if the "non Miami natives" show up and shut it down with stupid actions, you lose the spot as well. I love to travel around Florida to kite, and one thing that is very clear is the Miami seen has more of a "Not my problem" attitude than ANY other local crew I have had the pleasure to ride with. Not saying everyone is bad, just in Tampa, St Augustine, Jacksonville, Jupiter, and even Pompano, when one person walks up to talk with a kiter, there is a pile of people behind him to enforce the severity of the issue. Most of what I see in Miami is one guy talks to a problem kiter and gets ignored. In many areas this beach enforcement is driven by the local shops and school, with support of the locals. Considering the ratio of closed to open beaches for kiting in Miami compared to other areas, I think I look at how it is handled elsewhere may not be a bad idea. I will say Matheson has got much better over the past few years. But still nothing like what you see up north. I don't want this to come off as a negative post, just trying to push some general observations. This is NOT an attack on Miami or the kite community there, just some constructive criticism. Also I would like to thank the person for posting the video, really points out the problem and gets people motivated and discussing the issues, even if the idiot (not gonna avoid a personal attack when someone is being that stupid) in it never sees it.

Who was giving lessons at Hobie?
I thought it was an accepted fact that Hobie was not suitable for teaching?
This is what should be documented and sent to the appropriate certifying organization. I have avoided Hobie for the obvious reasons plus the Keys and West Coast are so much better on a west wind. However, next time I am there I will make sure to bring a camera and document the teaching. Cause that is just plan stupid. The shops and school should be leading by example... which has not always been the case in Miami.

[kent]

Ken,

Yep, there were locals in there too. The teaching thing is well documented and I'm sure that a simple search would pull up most of the info on this forum. It's generally the same crew and I doubt that many, if any are certified. You do have a good point though. Get some pics and send them into IKO and PASA. If this is against their professional guidelines they should know. Additionally, the poor person paying for the lesson wouldn't really know the danger that they are in.

Two of the guys teaching were on Best kites. One of them is surely not on the "A" list from Best and I'm sure that they have nothing to do with him, I don't know about the other, just that he teaches on a red Best. There are a ton of these "dealers" and "schools" around that operate on the fringes.

I guess it's good to give props to those that do not teach at Hobie.

Miami Kiteboarding
Wind Addict
etc. i know that there are tons more, just not sure what the school names are.

[Chris.Quinn]

Originally Posted by BizGuru

Why is everyone saying it is not a local problem? I have seen plenty of locals inside the swim buoy. I understand that this guy throwing kiteloops over people's heads is taking it to the next levels, but I am sure there were plenty of locals riding inside the buoys, just in a slightly less dangerous manor. Also it is a local problem cause if the "non Miami natives" show up and shut it down with stupid actions, you lose the spot as well. I love to travel around Florida to kite, and one thing that is very clear is the Miami seen has more of a "Not my problem" attitude than ANY other local crew I have had the pleasure to ride with. Not saying everyone is bad, just in Tampa, St Augustine, Jacksonville, Jupiter, and even Pompano, when one person walks up to talk with a kiter, there is a pile of people behind him to enforce the severity of the issue. Most of what I see in Miami is one guy talks to a problem kiter and gets ignored. In many areas this beach enforcement is driven by the local shops and school, with support of the locals. Considering the ratio of closed to open beaches for kiting in Miami compared to other areas, I think I look at how it is handled elsewhere may not be a bad idea. I will say Matheson has got much better over the past few years. But still nothing like what you see up north. I don't want this to come off as a negative post, just trying to push some general observations. This is NOT an attack on Miami or the kite community there, just some constructive criticism. Also I would like to thank the person for posting the video, really points out the problem and gets people motivated and discussing the issues, even if the idiot (not gonna avoid a personal attack when someone is being that stupid) in it never sees it.

Who was giving lessons at Hobie?
I thought it was an accepted fact that Hobie was not suitable for teaching?
This is what should be documented and sent to the appropriate certifying organization. I have avoided Hobie for the obvious reasons plus the Keys and West Coast are so much better on a west wind. However, next time I am there I will make sure to bring a camera and document the teaching. Cause that is just plan stupid. The shops and school should be leading by example... which has not always been the case in Miami.

People teaching at Hobie should never have started, there are several "so called" schools that teach here......I wonder if this kid understands the dangers? On this day if this child was injured the so called qualified and professional Instructor would be jailed under the Child Protection Law!!!!! People step it up!!!!



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