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  #21  
Old 02-19-2008, 12:24 PM
poop miller poop miller is offline
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I am a new rider who took lessons. I was flying the green North rebel on sunday. I am not 100% sure how kiting etiquette goes so feel free to call me out if you see me doing something stupid. I rather hear it from someone who knows what they are talking about than get hurt or get someone else hurt.
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  #22  
Old 02-19-2008, 12:45 PM
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toby wilson toby wilson is offline
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Kiting etiquette rule #1:

Don't walk down the mangrove path at the backside to take a poop, you might regret it.
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  #23  
Old 02-19-2008, 12:50 PM
TritonKiteboarding TritonKiteboarding is offline
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Just so you don't have to be calling anyone out a few weeks down the line, i'm about 95% sure your referring to myself and my fellow eckerd college kiteboarders. My number is 203 918 6637, i don't believe anymore in getting forum ****ed or doing it to anyone else, you never have called me, pm'd me or emailed me. I would very much like to talk about this situation with you in a civilized manor preferably face to face or on the phone. If its not myself or my riders I am sorely mistaken and apologize for responding.
-Matthew Sexton
sextonmg@eckerd.edu
(203) 918 6637 (Cell)
(727) 368 1069 (Home)
President/ co-founder
Eckerd College Kite Club



Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyway Scott View Post
I agree, for the most part most of us are friends. That's why I debated this post. At some point you have to put principle before being liked by everyone though. Ultimately I got into to kiting to kite, not be everyone's friend.

I know what that feels like Oldschool, trust me.
What really sucks is when you do that respectfully a few times and get blown off or have the story twisted around to the point where you are somehow the bad guy for wanting to preserve access. I and others have approached a few of the same riders regarding riding in swim zones (more importantly close to swimmers and near beach-goers) and have been blown off or just given lip service to appease us. These same riders have continued the behavior that they said they would not do.
The particular behavior that concerns me is riding close to shore in areas with swimmers. As we have seen recently, this can very easily lead to bans. If I originally didn't know this was possible (it happened at Ft. DeSoto about 4 years ago) I would have never even cared or brought up the issue. But, it's obvious that riding in swim zones full of people is a bad idea, that a few riders in particular have been talked to, PM'd etc. going back a ways, and that things are still basically the same in terms of continuing to ride close to shore within swim zones along the entire beach.

I feel that talking with them hasn't achieved much and gave up pretty much after hearing and reading their response. Because of this, I have reached out for help from some other guys I respect locally and am hoping they can talk these guys into staying a safe distance from swimmers and shore.

I and am going to wait to see if their efforts have an effect on the rider(s). In a few weeks if nothing has changed, I will make it abundantly clear who I am talking about and will be sorely disappointed if guys like Neil shy away or take sides based on "rider profile/friend status" as opposed to the facts and what's right.
Especially in light of his recent statements on KiteForum and the recent losses of access in areas like Pompano and possibly Lauderdale.

I guess we will see. I gave this approach a lot of thought before this post.
I have recently seen a conflict on Kiteforum about someone riding in swim zones and realize that he said/he said is easy to squirm out of without some sort of proof. So, as dumb as I feel doing it, I will have a video camera on me at all times when at the beach. It's not my sole intent to make a person look bad and my clip if made won't be a 2 second clip "catching someone" near shore. No, it will be many minutes long, showing a clear behavior. My goal is to have the behavior stop. I don't dislike or like those involved any more than any other rider.
Yesterday I could have made a very long tape, btw, but opted not to without prior warning.
So, if you end up on here on film, it's your fault for putting our access at risk. We clearly have several riders throughout the state saying "post it", including Neil, and I will post it in efforts to have the behavior stop. I personally am not really into naming names and consider it a last resort.
I won't however, just sit and watch as people risk access to a beach I walked as a child, especially in light of the current bans.
I still can't believe some guys have to be dealt with in this fashion, but so be it.
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  #24  
Old 02-19-2008, 01:00 PM
TritonKiteboarding TritonKiteboarding is offline
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Just call me scott. Don't want to argue.
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  #25  
Old 02-19-2008, 01:05 PM
TritonKiteboarding TritonKiteboarding is offline
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you responded to the last post in seconds, i'm sitting by my phone and don't have your number, but would like to talk, mine is their laid out, please contact me
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  #26  
Old 02-19-2008, 01:12 PM
TritonKiteboarding TritonKiteboarding is offline
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or just erase your posts
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  #27  
Old 02-19-2008, 01:49 PM
Tom Stock
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... if it's waves these people wanted (whoever it was), the waves are BETTER 100yards out at John's Pass right where the rollers are coming into shallow water from the deep channel. They are generally head high with big steep faces and no surfers are gonna go out there because of the current.

Riding knee high shore break isn't any fun.

Of course no chicks watching in the channel but I am not looking for attention from beach goers so I don't care about that part anyway.

Based on Scott's post, sounds like if you're not riding in the swim areas and stuff it doesn't really matter what you are doing, so you would have nothing to be concerned about.

Last edited by Tom Stock; 02-19-2008 at 02:26 PM.
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  #28  
Old 02-19-2008, 02:28 PM
TritonKiteboarding TritonKiteboarding is offline
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Fully understood there is always a possibility for unseen circumstances like tough to see swimmers, surfers, and bathers. I do my best to mediate between reckless riders and the safe techniques, i was riding about half way in between swim zone and shore yesterday slowly and without doing freestyle. I don't believe riders should ride near shore and i know there are better places for waves. I'll take the weight of it on my shoulders and make it a mission of mine to ensure our access is preserved and our (meaning greater tampa area) reckless/ potentially dangerous riders are called out. Simply put i will do it to their face and continue trying to help our community as i have been since I became a part of it 3 years ago.
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  #29  
Old 02-19-2008, 03:00 PM
Tom Stock
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Just wanted to say... I don't care about people riding near shore, just where they do it.

We all cruise the shoreline once in awhile, it's no lie and I'm no angel either. But cruising the shore line at big beach or shell island for example is different than doing it at PAG, T.I., or sunset. Basically if there are kids or people anywhere near the shoreline or in the water I stay the hell away from them. Bans aside, the last thing I need is a lawsuit or the lifelong feeling of guilt when my lines drown an 8yr old. I also don't want a group beat down when I tangle with a surfer. There is no stoke to share when you wrap your lines around their neck. I can't tell you how many times I've broken a line on a botched jump or kite loop and had to swim in, lines dragging, kite tumbling through the surf and been crapping my pants as I am approaching a bunch of young swimmers. Wrapping my lines as fast as I can hoping to god the kite doesn't launch and start looping before I can wrap 20 feet of one line.

When I was young I didn't give a crap about anything ... kids were a nuisance. I drove fast and didn't give a f@#$.

Then a friend of mine hit and killed an 8yr old when he was driving too fast. He had to face the parents, and the kid had a brother and sister. He still has trouble dealing with it. That was 20 years ago.

So hey use good judgment and be accountable for your actions.

Sounds like we are all working on this.
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  #30  
Old 02-19-2008, 05:47 PM
Skyway Scott
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No one protecting our spots or not shredding near people should have had any cause for concern. It definitely was not my intent to FF anyone. That's exactly why I made the post as a forewarning and asked two other locals to speak with the riders in question (and express my intent) about just consistently staying a safe distance from shore. It was not my intent to catch someone off guard. Just the opposite. I think it's pretty obvious.

I am only concerned with people riding close to bathers, etc. A strictly enforced swim zone or no launching at all is what the police will end up doing, and wasn't my intent. My concern has always been about riding too close to people. For some reason, some people think that 20 feet is cool and that they are always in control. Well, it is pretty obvious that doing that can lead to bans and we actually had a ban in Ft. DeSoto due to riding in a swim zone.

After reading Neil's post and other's posts on the subject, it seemed a video tape of behavior was possibly the most impartial and "honest" way to handle self-policing. Video doesn't lie. Neil, Rick and others seemed pretty fired up about self policing and I obviously don't want to lose spots. So to me, the video seemed like the most impartial way to show behavior. It's really the only alternative to he said/he said, unless you want to listen to one guy lie and watch the other turn blue in the face.

While talking to people about this today, I realized that every time a real issue about safety or self-policing comes to the forefront here locally, people usually draw lines in the sand based on friendships, not based on issues. Either that or more likely, they just sit back, watch, and say nothing. This means it usually gets pretty twisted and nothing ever gets done. So, what's the point? We never even got a sign up at EB and we actually agreed on that one, so it's hard to believe any good is going to come out of attempting to change someone's behavior.
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