nice guy maybe/ but an idiotic kiter

[greg meintjes]

Just rode past Smathers beach in Key West, and there was this kiter standing with his kite up in onshore winds in the middle of the crowds ( the beach was packed people) with the volleyball court and the electric lines less than 60 feet downwind of where he was. He was with his buddies and he also had a beer in his hand while his kite was in the air. (We do drink beers while we are on the beach , but we limit ourselves and never while we are flying a kite). Anyhow I walked up and asked him his name (Which I have forgotten,because I was so pissed at him) and told him that he was kiting in the wrong area. This idiot,,,, tells me that No, it is okay, because he is an" instructor "and teaches in St Pete. He also starts throwing a local instructors name around and telling me that it is all good,, IT IS NOT ALL GOOD DUDE /( I KNOW THIS LOCAL INSTRUCTOR VERY WELL AND HE WOULD NOT HAVE AGREED WITH YOU, HE WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME AS I DID AND TELL YOU TO MOVE TO THE KITING AREA AS I DID )I also called the local instructor and left him a message about this , as I am sure I would like to know about something like this if it was my name that had been thrown about.

Well Mr. INSTRUCTOR FROM ST PETE ,some questions for you.

1 Who do you teach for
2 Who told you it was safe and acceptable to stand on a crowded beach with power lines less than the length of your kite lines ,directly down wind from you
3 Next time an expert like yourself goes to a beach or location that you are not familiar with, you might want to find out where the locals kite and what is acceptable behaviour for that location.

On a positive note I do thank you for telling your buddies (some of them were pretty large ) to keep quiet while I was talking to you, BUT, as I told you on the beach , if you are an instructor,YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER ////

Greg

[ricki]

Sounds like a rough day at Smathers. Seems like despite so much effort over so many years, nothing is set in stone regarding access in many areas. Thanks for trying to help the guy see sense, despite how frustrating that can be.

Common sense will take you a long way in life and this sport. Learn about new launches before you ride there, respect local rules, always!

More about the rules at smathers including pictures at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=5813