Kite in the highway cause car accident.
 

So I hear someone lost their kite At the skyway & it flew into the highway causing a car accident.
Anyone have any info or details?

Heard it too..
 

Two car fender bender I heard...no details otherwise...

In my opinion, as a seasoned veteran instructor of the Tampa Bay area, the Skyway rest area is no place for a beginner. Onshore winds mostly and many, many, down wind hazards. Unfortunately, many schools operate at this launch and invite beginners to use this location. This will not be the last of highway accidents caused by kites at this location.

The school I have managed for 6 years now does not permit lessons at the skyway rest area as there are better options. In addition we do not recommend to any of our beginners to use the Skyway as place to get their water time. This is the responsible choice to make as we advise beginners a safe entry into the wonderful sport.

Intermediate/Advance riding spot is how this is defined in our ride maps for the Skyway rest area.

It is the most visible spot for kiteboarding to the public in the Tampa Bay area. It makes business sense to set up shop there, but it does not make any ethical sense to me to conduct beginner lessons at this location. Yes under supervision, lessons can be conducted there. However, beginners will come back and make plenty of mistakes. i.e.....kites on highway causing accidents.

If the riders of the Tampa Bay area truly care about their access, a group should be formed to come together and solve these difficult problems regarding access and responsible business practice. The north county has come together and united as the North County Kiteboarding Community. Our mission is to preserve access through education and distribution of information. If you are interested in forming such an alliance, feel free to PM me and I will get you started. However, what you decide to do is up to you. I will only offer advice but not be in charge as it will be viewed as bias since I am in the industry.

To do nothing is just watching a ticking time bomb. What if the car accidents caused a death?

Food for thought.

Steve Visnage
School Manager
Watersports West Kitesurfing Team

Did the people in the cars hold the kiter responsible for their damages? IMO if I know I caused the damage een if by mistake I am responsible for righting the situation...

I agree with this view completely.

I'm not sure of the severity of the accidents but I arrived at the Skyway approximately 15 minutes after the incident occurred and saw no police or cars on the side of the highway. So while it was not a serious accident (fortunately) it was an accident regardless.

These things tend to take on a life of their own so in a few months this will have grown to become a 20 car pile up with wild Yetis eating the wounded.

From what I heard when I arrived the individual was a beginner and was not with an instructor or anyone for that matter. He was supposedly being pulled towards the bridge and ejected his kite. Anyway...this was what was relayed to me.

As far as the instructors at the Skyway I can say they all keep to one specific area...far up wind...and no where near the highway or bridge and always out of the main thorough fare of other kiters. They have always conducted safe training sessions and are hyper vigilant with their students. I'm not an instructor but I think the ones I am frequently exposed to do a good job of keeping their students safe.

I'm more concerned about the bone head kiters who don't bother to exercise kinesthetic awareness and show basic water etiquette. Instructors (in my opinion) should place HEAVY emphasis on general kiting etiquette with their students. Teaching them:

- not to shadow another kiter
- not to beach another kiter
- not to jump right in front of others
- look behind you before you transition
- understand right of way - (seriously pound this into their heads)
- give a wide berth to kiters launching and landing
- stay at least lines length from the beach when tacking
- don't do dumb ass tricks 5 feet from the shore line - seriously...no one gives a shit if you can do a quadruple back flip phuck nut twist
- wrap your dumb ass lines up when you are not kiting
- and don't leave your kite gear all over the freaking launch area

I've only been kiting a little over a year so you can call me a beginner, intermediate or whatever...just don't call me inconsiderate.

That's the right idea MSC...and a good set of ideals for you to follow....but (not to sound jaded or be sarcastic) you've listed just about everything that happens on any busy kiting day at the Skyway...or anywhere else for that matter (and I'm speaking from 10+ years of observation). And for the record it's not the first time a kite has gone into the road there...and there have been plenty of kites in the trees and people on the rocks too.

"As far as the instructors at the Skyway I can say they all keep to one specific area...far up wind...and no where near the highway or bridge and always out of the main thorough fare of other kiters."


I totally disagree with this statement. Almost everytime I ride at Skyway, there's 1 - 3, lessons going on right in the middle of everyone. There's nothing more annoying than going to Skyway when the wind is cranking and seeing instructors and students standing literally right in the middle. It's one thing dealing with other kites on the water, but having to dodge instuctors and their students is just retarded. These people think they are paying for safe instructions, but this couldn't be further from the truth by just being at this location. It's only a matter of time....

Skyway instructors...
 

I agree with all the points made by MSC.

JoJo, I also see where the instructors cause some havoc with traffic flow.

However, when riding skyway, I find it easy to avoid all ongoing instruction by simply tacking upwind and getting away from the launch.

If you are riding skyway, east or west side, there is a lot of area to ride where you can be virtually alone.

The problem, IMHO, is when the "experts" want to cruise by the launch with every tack to do their "amazing" tricks.

This causes a lot of the problems mentioned in MSC's post.

So, all you advanced riders enjoying the skyway launches. Give the newbies a break and just get away from shore. West side has 7 square miles of pristine conditions. East side has at least 4 square miles of flats.

If you have to have an audience for your tricks, get a pal with a gopro and make a movie.

Just my two cents...