Greatest Threat To Access

[ricki]

Greatest Threat To Access ... IS RIDING IN SWIM AREAS IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA.

STAY BEYOND 100 YARDS OF SHORE IN LIFEGUARDED AREAS
AND DON'T FLY YOUR KITE ON THE BEACH IN THESE AREAS!





- Riding too close to shore has caused or is still causing access problems for MANY years in:

Pompano Beach
Ft. Lauderdale
Lauderdale By-The-Sea
Miami Beach
Hobie Beach/Rickenbacker Causeway (banned)
Virginia Key Beach (banned)
Crandon Park (restricted)
Matheson Hammock
Key West
Islamorada
Hollywood
Dania Beach
John U Lloyd State Park (banned)
Deerfield Beach
Boca Raton
Delray Beach (regulated by law)
Boynton Beach

It is EASY to avoid these problems. Stay outside out of bounds areas and motivate other kiters with your friends to do the same.

Where we've gotten people to stay offshore in the above list, these access hassles have largely faded away. There are places you can ride close to shore, popular kite launches at most of these places aren't among them. This is a heavily populated area, about 6.25 MILLION people within ten miles of the beach.

If you want to ride the shore break, are doing a downwinder STAY beyond 100 yards of shore in guarded areas. Most kiters aren't wimps, they're watermen at ease in the water and offshore, so why not go there and get out of the shallows causing problems. Wear an impact vest and if your swimming skills are weak, build them up. How many more lost launches do we want? Your choice.




Need a sign? Why not try something as simple as this? It gets some essential information across. We need to be following these simple procedures in lifeguarded areas in southeast Florida!


.

Along Fort Lauderdale Beach many of the buoys that mark the swim zone are gone over the years. These have not been replaced.

As a rule of thumb maybe you can remember that if you see a lifeguard house, that beach is guarded. So do not ride close to the beach, even if that is where the best waves are.

Look out and stay out if necessary.

just my 2 cents ...

Eric

[ricki]

Excellent points Eric. You can't ride the break off guarded beaches in the southeast in most cases. That puts you inside 150 yards of shore. You have to go to non-guarded areas for that. There are plenty of such areas too, just be courteous of others when you get there to avoid complaints off the public beach. If I drift downwind in lightening conditions and can't make it back to the designated launch area I usually will go to the far side of the guarded, out of bounds area. It means walking or getting a lift but so what? It sure beats encouraging a ban through laziness. We're the watermen, we need to anticipate and control our circumstances to the best of our abilities.