Hello Steve,

Thanks for passing on the information. I didn't know that First Flight would entertain a rider for an event hosted by a certified instructor or school. That is good to know. I thought the IKO insurer had rating or coverage issues in the USA limiting usefulness of the insurance. I used to get coverage fairly easily through K & K and reasonably too for events. No longer I am afraid. Outfitters Insurance claims to write such coverage. Then again the last time I asked for a quote, I received it 3 months later and at a cost many times more than we could consider.

I thought it would be fun to do a run from the middle Keys to Bimini in a SE wind. Nothing nuclear wx-wise and as the wind is largely going with the current we shouldn't have the insane seas and boat sinking hazard to deal with. I don't have a boat anymore, fortunately, but would be interested in riding in a casual crossing with a few kiters.

Kiteboarding Lawyer Found
 

In DC but willing to help. Back sunday. Let me know. L
Lawrence Caplan

-----Original Message-----
From: CBIANDREA@aol.com

Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:38:09
To:Intltaxcorplaw@aol.com
Subject: Kiteboarding lawyer needed.....


Click here: The Bahamas Kite Race ...2007? - FKA Kiteboarding Forums <http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4173>

Hello Lawrence,

Thank you for getting in touch. Neil would be a good first point of contact regarding a possible future event. He didn't seem real anxious to undertake all the risk of this great event again anytime soon when I last spoke to him about it. Then again if an effective program could be pulled together for risk management, Neil or perhaps another organizer might step up. A big part of RM is reasonable liability insurance coverage. This doesn't seem to be available at present, "there's no market" or as of my last inquiry. If you have ideas in that area it would be great to hear them.

Another part of RM are proper disclosures and well crafted waivers. Perhaps you could help with these areas. You can see the waiver that Neil worked up for the race in 2005 higher up in this post. I don't believe he had legal counsel on the final form of this form. Your ideas along those lines would be most welcome. Also, any other suggestions you might have to make this undertaking more realistic and palatable from a liability standpoint for organizers and sponsors would be gratefully received.

Thanks!

Bimini Crossing
 

Ive been wanting to do something like that for a while now. Tell me when you got a group together Mikerooka@yahoo.com

Never heard anything from Lawrence. So, it would seem to be back to a few folks getting together privately to do a crossing or for some other concern to organize a more wide open event.

Any interest out there?

If we can't get a crossing, a huge downwinder would be fun. Maybe not even a race, just a huge long session.

..BUT, if we can't get a crossing because noone will insure within the US, what if it originated in the Bahamas and came back? Is it possible to get insured that way?

just my thoughts

A large downwinder was fun such as Neil organized last year from Jupiter to Ft. Lauderdale. Not sure if he is planning another one this year, hope so. More about last years effort at: http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=64

It would be fun to try to do a run from Miami to Key West or vis versa. I am not sure how feasible this would be from a wind direction standpoint however. I don't think anyone has done the entire run yet successfully. The curvature of the Keys can be a real bugger in sorting out viable winds for the entire run from a single direction.

This question would be best fielded by an attorney. That said, here goes, if the organizers are offshore, the liability and lesser quantities of it may stay there. On the other hand, if some or all of the organizers, sponsors reside in the USA, it wouldn't be much of an effective means of avoiding liability.

We had a similar problem in finding insurance for the record Key West to Cuba crossing in 2001. They wanted insurance for the effort, but all I could find was coverage within USA territorial waters. Once they kited beyond those waters, the coverage stopped but the liability did not unfortunately. Good news is the crossing came about, with some injuries and damaged gear but fortunately out of control liability issues did not arise.