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Old 10-16-2007, 10:37 AM
Skyway Scott
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Steve, (this post was actually originally made in response to several posts from Steve, all of which were subsequently deleted).



I hear what you are saying about one kiter reflecting upon the group.
In areas where people might have never seen kiting, the kiter(s) they do see serve as a first impression and can strongly influence how they view our sport. This happens a lot at the beach, especially this time of year, with tourists. Some have never seen the "ocean" (Gulf), let alone a kiter. So for many people, every kiter has the ability to strongly influence that individual's impression of the sport.

I think at EB, the tourists that show up there and watch us are just as impressionable, and what they see that day, is what they know. If they see a kitemare, they believe kiting to be dangerous. If they see.... you get it.
The thing is, we have SO much time in at EB and have left so many good impressions on Jim Wilson and his staff over the years, that I don't think much could happen to change Jim Wilson's over-all impression of us. As a group, we have already proven ourselves to be no more dangerous or disrespectful than any other group that utilizes the park. I believe that at Fort DeSoto, more than any spot we ride, we have progressed beyond being viewed/judged as a group, and predjudicial decisions won't be made against the group as a whole (total ban unlikely). I was confident of this when I first approached Mr. Wilson several years ago, otherwise I wouldn't have gone in to talk with him. This was a while back, but you might remember him actually posting on Tom's forum, jokingly calling himself "The Man" and telling us that all was basically cool, and that permits for events weren't a problem. I do remember a time when there was a group of us afraid to even talk with the rangers, for fear of a bad outcome.
Those days are ancient history .

Fort DeSoto is therefore an exception to rule (of being judged/banned as a group) imo, because the main guy is reasonable and has a clear understanding of the situation.

So many other areas don't have "a main guy" that has a history with riders and a realistic impression of kiting, in general. These are the areas that concern me. Jim Wilson's job is literally to attempt to make sure as many people as possible utilize and are happy with Ft. DeSoto park. He takes that obligation seriously, that benefits us.

That's not the purpose of the DOT at the SW, or the police that patrol the beaches. The primary job of DOT is to insure safety to motorists. Therefore, the SW is a spot we could lose exceptionally quickly, imo, if another kite enters the interstate.
I have been riding the SW quite a bit lately, btw (I wouldn't have guessed this would be the case 2 months ago).
Most riders are practicing pretty safe riding over there, and I have seen a fairly limited number of incidents. Most incidents I did witness were from skilled riders hot dogging near shore, not new riders.

At the SW right now, it would appear that self-regulation is "ready to go". What I mean by that is that no talks/situations have happened recently, but several riders are expressing intentions of being ready, if the need arise.
These are laid back, rational guys/gals approaching me and telling me that they want to insure a safe riding area. It hasn't been necessary to say anything, but it's nice to know most riders out there are trying to stay safe.

One thing that has concerned me recently, and in the past, is an observation I made within only a few months of kiting. The observation that some riders will call those of us who care about safety and maintaining access to spots "haters, nannies, etc", instead of just trying to resolve the issues and work as a team to find a solution/compromise. It's easier to label and walk away, than step it up and attempt to work on things.
Unfortunately, all that the approach of calling some riders "haters" does is split riders in two groups, polarize, lessen communication and accomplish nothing. It'd be nice to get out of this mindset, if possible.

This comes back to some other observations I have noticed.
This scenario with the lessons at EB that day that you guys are mentioning.
Why is it on here? Why wasn't it addressed out there? It sounds like you guys agree it was a bad scenario. Well, talking about protecting an area is fine and all, but someone ultimately has to do something if you see the blatantly wrong occuring. Grab a buddy or two and go into action.
Are we not doing this for fear of being called a hater or not being cool?
I suspect this is the case, and it's understandable. Still, I think at some point we just have to get over it and do what we know is right.
There are things that are obvious on occassion, I feel we need to have the heart to approach in these situations and talk with those involved. I am not pointing the finger, just trying to open up conversation more and figure out what could have been differently.

Not too long ago I approached an instructor giving a lesson on a C kite at Lassing in 25 to 30 knots about 75 yards upwind of trees in nearly onshore conditions. The guy receiving the lesson didn't even have on a helmet. Both instructor and student were getting lifted from the water in the gusts. It was obviously a bad situation, and I didn't really need to ponder too long before talking to the instructor.
I asked the instructor to put a helmet on the guy, he said no, I asked again, he said no, I got in his face, he stopped - that's the short version.

I didn't really mention it until now, but when I heard this term "haters" used again recently it made me really question where that came from and if this mindset is affecting some from taking action in situations that obviously could benefit from a rider stepping up and saying something.
What if they got hurt? Again, my goal is to open up discussion about stuff like this.

This is the heart of the whole gig, in my opinion. It always has been, always will be - self-regulation is a bitch... it's your friends.
The thing is, if we are really all friends, we should be able to come to some agreements and stick to them. We should be able to avoid name calling (especially in public arenas) and we should be able to reach a compromise between having a shitload of fun, and being safe.
I still believe it can happen, but not without communication.

I think this year has been our best year in terms of people communicating at the spots. There is a lot of room for improvement, but I have seen so much worse and we seem to always be moving forward, which is a great sign.
I do think we should continue to be welcomed guests within F.D. and do our best in there, I don't want to say otherwise. My point was though about the curfew, I would expect that we will indeed see a few less kiters out there possibly in the future, and that as long as you leave before sun set, you won't be one of "the missing".

Last edited by Skyway Scott; 10-22-2007 at 11:12 AM.
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