STOLEN kites -- Ft. Lauderdale
 

My rental car was broken into today (jan 28, 4pm) and both my Best Waroo kites were stolen, along with a number of other kite-related items (matching bar and lines, pump, quicksilver booties, board shorts, gloves, back packs, etc.), and my Dell laptop and camera. Please keep a lookout for the following kites in case the thieves try to sell them... Both are 2007 Best Waroo kites. One is an 11M, mainly bright orange with black trim. The other is a 15M, mainly red with black trim. The 15M Waroo has been repaired professionally from a pretty good size tear on the wing of the kite (this is quite visible and will easily identify the kite). The 11M has been used maybe 5 times.
Ironically, the kites were stolen out of my rental car while I was visiting a kite boarding store in Ft. Lauderdale on Federal HWY -- in BROAD DAYLIGHT. The thieve(s) broke both the windows on the rental car, popped the trunk and took everything.

I'm visiting from Atlanta and am leaving tomorrow...
If anybody happens to come accross these kites (at a price that makes you wonder), or comes accross a nice new dell laptop (has a missing 'D' key that just popped off) or knows anything, please post a note on the forum. Thank you. Please feel free to email me directly at bkujaws@yahoo.com

That sucks Bryan!!

I will keep a look out for them, hopefully somebody will spot them. Do you have photos of the stuff missing?

Mike

I am sorry to hear about this and am surprised it happened when and where it did. Then again, been out of Ft. Lauderdale as a resident for sometime.

Anyway, usual advice is to inform the local kite retailers about what was stolen. In this case I assume the shop you were parked at knows all about it. Thieves often have no idea the value of what they stole or even what it is at times. Often enough, they cart the gear down to kite shops in the area. Not sure if they would go back to that shop or not. It would help to let the guys know at Tiki Beach (Neil and Chris, Nhukusa@aol.com) who may read about this here anyway.

There really aren't any other bricks and mortar shops in Ft. Lauderdale and none north until about 50 miles up the coast in Jupiter, http://jupiterkiteboarding.com/. Heading south, Adventure Sports Miami (http://www.adventuresportsmiami.com/) and The Kite Shop (http://www.tksmiami.com/) come to mind. Not sure if the thieves, often not real bright at any rate, would travel that far or not.

I hope you get your gear back. It has happened before, not commonly, but it is possible. Take care and sorry for this crappy thing happening during your visit.

So sorry to hear about that mate, this is not normal of Fort Lauderdale. I will keep a close eye out for them and will spread the word, if they are sold within the viscinity of Ft. Laud I will hear about it. Check ebay if you can.
Cheers Neil at Tiki Beach.

thanks
 

thank you all for the input and for keeping an eye out... i'm sure the crooks tossed the kites once they opened the bags and found nothing of immediate value. It's a shame.
The story is coming together... per the cops, i was followed from a jewerly store that i was visiting prior to my visit to the kite store. the thieves obviously thought i had a car full of valuables after spending some time in the jewelry store and getting back in my car with my laptop bag. The reason this makes sense is because they did not touch my $200 sun glasses or the $700 garmin on the dashboard -- and just went for the trunk.

Again, i appreciate the input and kind words. I'll be back to Florida soon for more good weather kiting... i haven't given up yet :)

Really sorry to hear this. I had all my kiting stuff stolen while visiting Miami several years ago. It was stolen right out in broad daylight as in your situation, in a crowded parking lot. I know how infuriating this kind of stuff is. Really sorry it happened. Got my eyes open, should it make it up here.

sorry man
 

yeah that sucks sorry to here that i had something like that happen cept they took everything but my kite, then a week later some one stole my board off my front porch while i was inside eating lunch i hate theifs ill keep a look out