Hobie Beach/Rickenbacker Causeway UPDATE

[ricki]

For practical purposes kiting is no longer allowed within several hundred feet of Hobie Beach/Richenbacker Causeway due to construction. We were in discussions with the authorities about kiteboarding in an effort to find some way of maintaining access and avoiding plans for posting "No Kiteboarding" signs. We may or may not be successful in maintaining access to launch from Hobie Beach. Time will tell.


Several important points came out of the meeting:

1. Within a month, Hobie Beach will be closed for major construction work and landscaping. Similar work is occurring along the western part of Rickenbacker Causeway currently. Kiting, swimming, etc. will not be allowed or feasible during the construction which will last until perhaps August 2010.

2. Hobie Beach is governed by Miami-Dade Parks Rules. Enforcement before now has been light, this is going to change in a big way soon however. This is an IMPORTANT distinction because it brings many rules into play, including but not limited to:

--a. Hobie CLOSES at sunset. You need to be GONE by sunset, not after. There is a $500. fine and/or 60 day jail stay for trespass and possible vehicle/equipment impound if you are there after sunset. Deputies WILL enforce this very soon.

--b. No instruction of any kind is allowed off Hobie Beach nor is advertising for instruction (signs on vehicles, etc.) allowed. There is a $500. fine and this too will vigorously enforced.

More about these regulations in CODE OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Chapter 26 PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS


Major changes are coming to Hobie Beach, regardless of the future of kiteboarding there. More to come on this.


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[ricki]

Major changes are coming to the shoreline right of way areas of Rickenbacker Causeway under the Shoreline and Roadway Protection project. The work is underway right now.

By current indications, the changes will result in:

- Substantially less parking and no more parking outside marked spaces.
- The beach will largely be replaced by a revetment and protected dune vegetation. Kite rigging and storage area will be largely removed. Alternatively, "Keys" or boat style launching may be required. That is IF kiting is allowed here.
- Running lines over the parking areas will not be allowed.


Current conditions



Conditions after project completion


The authorities have no choice but to take major steps to protect the Causeway from erosion impacts and to curtail surface water runoff into the bay particularly during hurricanes. They are not being allowed to replace sand in the eroded shallows bordering the Causeway over concerns for protected seagrass on man-made spoil islands. The alternative approach selected is to create an armored revetment or stabilized rock covered slope along the former beach to resist storm recession of the shoreline. This is the first part of the project. Access to the Hobie Beach area is to end within the month and not be reopened until the project is completed perhaps in August 2010.



Past conditions. Cars will no longer be allowed to park on the sand. The beach will largely be replaced with revetment and dunes with protected vegetation. It won't be possible to store kites here. Photo: A. Anderson



A photo of the revetment and improvements currently under construction along the western portion of Rickenbacker Causeway. The area around Hobie will have a different type of revetment from plans. Photo: Ovidio


The second part is to install curbing and storm water retention to reduce untreated runoff into Biscayne Bay. Currently turbid, contaminated water can run off into the Bay, the project is designed to reduce this.

The third part is to remove invasive plant species (like all those Australian pines along the western part of the Causeway) and landscape with native species.

As a result, the current level, sand and grass covered area shown below is going to change.



Photo: A. Anderson


Armored revetments are to be constructed above the MHW line largely covering up the narrow beach that currently exists, dunes are to be placed above the revetment and planted with protected sea oats, parking outside of marked spaces is no longer going to be permitted or feasible with the improvements, access to the water will be through a narrow pedestrian walk and still more.





We are having discussions with the authorities to try to maintain kiting access to Hobie Beach in some form. Take it as given, IF we are successful, the days of showboating and riding routinely inside the buoys are gone forever. It always was a bad idea, time hasn't improved it.

Hobie Beach after these changes will have:

1. Far less parking, restricting the quantity of people that can use and visit the right of way park.

2. The beach at high tide doesn't look like it will exist in the eastern portions of Hobie Beach. It will be under the revetment. There will be no apparent area to stockpile inflated kites on dry sand in this eastern area with a dune and protected sea oats to the west.

3. There looks like there will be no real upland setup and tear down areas for kite gear. There will be no clear room, running lines across the paved areas has always been illegal, count on enforcement after things are reopened. You can't walk or put anything on the sea oats on the dunes.

Hobie will likely be changed into something common in the Florida Keys. An area in which you likely need to have your lines preattached, your battens inflated, kite rolled lengthwise taco style to be inflated in the shallows. When you come back in, you will likely have to put it back into the same form just to be able to get it to you car. Turbolaunchers can help with line management in this process. This is nothing for new kiters to be attempting. This is a MAJOR change in how kites will be setup, launched, landed, stored and torn down there.

That is if we are even permitted to kite off here. As there is no kiting inside the buoys, we hope we can be permitted to have an access corridor into Biscayne Bay from here. Launching and ideally landing out near the buoys and riding outside the buoys exclusively.

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[BigR]

Assuming kiters are allowed to stay,

then it seems to me the biggest losers are the Windsurfers.

kiters can at least pre rig and pre inflate but windsurfers have to
roll out sails/ masts, attach booms, mast feet etc.

what does Ovidio think?

[ricki]

Draft rules for kiting at Hobie Beach, if we are permitted to establish a launch corridor there to access riding areas out in Biscayne Bay outside the buoyed swim area. It states the obvious from existing regulations regarding kiting inside the buoys and standing, strict prohibitions on instruction within the Park (Hobie Beach). More info on these points and pending enforcement and penalties above.


We agree, kiteboarding inside the buoys and in the swim area along Rickenbacker Causeway should come to an end. We would like to request that a corridor for kiteboarder ingress and egress into Biscayne Bay be established. Once the final rules are agreed upon, we request that signs be erected with the rules on them if possible.

1. Kites shall be launched and landed with assistance, as close to the buoys as water depth allows, at least 100 ft. offshore.

2. Once their kite is flying, riders should immediately go out beyond the swim buoys and stay out until time to come in.

3. Kiteboarders shall come off their boards close to the buoys and walk in with care to an assisted landing without delay.

4. No kiteboarding instruction is to occur inside the buoys.


p.s. - Ovideo may comment himself on windsurfing off the Causeway. Last time I saw him though he was still considering how to approach setup, launch, tear down etc. following completion of the construction.

[ricki]

If you want to have any hope to being able to kite at Hobie Beach, Miami. STAY OUTSIDE THE BUOYS AND COMPEL OTHER KITERS TO DO THE SAME. Do assisted launching by the buoys, land by them as well, failing that walk your board in to an assisted landing. Always be ready to Emergency Depower too. NO ROUTINE RIDING INSIDE THE BUOYS.

Just received a warning from the authorities for that area today. If we keep screwing up, we deserve what we will get, basically nothing. Please help us to preserve access. Don't blow this off, get involved and pass this on to other kiters online and at the beaches.

The buoys are about 400 ft. from the shore. At low tide you can walk close to them. Around high tide, just get as close as you can to do an assisted launch or landing. Or, to walk your board in closer for an assisted landing. DO NOT ride your board inside the buoys or we will lose this launch!

[Ovidio]

By the looks of the new causeway, space is going to be limited. This means that we as windsurfers will have less room to rig and move around but access will remain as it has been for the last 30 years.
On the other hand kiters might be extremely restricted if it is allowed at all.
County was going to ban all "Vessels" from operating inside buoys, this would have stop windsurfers from launching or operating close to shore.
We feel that water access should be for everyone, with restrictions depending on safety issues.
There will be inconveniences to come and the vibe of the place will never be the same, in many ways that is good.

[troubleshooter]

What about installing caribiners to the exisitng bouys so we can self launch and land?

Or we could set up a designated launch/land area with the neccessary hardware and floatation so not to disturb the original markers.

[ricki]

Good suggestion. I was thinking about that as well. If kiters had a well secured anchor and float to launch and land BOW kites with that should remove some of the need for assistance. It should also keep flying kites out by and past the buoy line. Not sure how many kites we could handle but it would address some of the issues. Not sure how well the existing buoys would serve given the water depth around high tide and compliance issues. We'll bring it up in discussions assuming we're still in the game to use this launch. That later consideration may depend in large measure on how we conduct ourselves here on out.

[ricki]

Good luck Ovidio, it is a sea change for the windsurfing area. I recall some guys that kite launch and land off rock cobble beaches put down and take up squares of carpet each day to aid setup and recovery. Not sure that would fly here but it might help if permitted. I can recall pressuring my folks into driving me down to RSMAS from Ft. Lauderdale to do library reef research in the early 1970's. The causeway seems little changed since then until now. New day coming, good to manage it as best you can.