Ok, so this thread has moved towards issues along the beach. I love riding the beaches, especially in the spring. Tons of fun.
In a nutshell we need to unite as one and be a voice. An organization needs to be formed to make important decisions and be a liason between public officials. The more proactive we are now, the better off we will be. As a sport, we have issues that must be dealt with. For example, we are working with Honeymoon State Park to insure they know of our intentions and have laid out guidelines in advance that we as riders intend to follow. The guidelines will help the lifeguards educate new riders and empower them to deal with offenders that don't follow the guidelines. It is alot easier for a lifeguard to approach a kiter in question and say "these guidelines were developed by kiters for the safety of everyone". The park officials appreciate that we are taking the first step. It goes along way in building a relationship.
Furthermore, we are working to open up access again at Howard Park. It may be a certification only location, but so be it, it is better than having no access at all. We will see how that all goes, it will take time.
Finally, to get back to this original thread, I spoke with the kiter today on the phone. We had an excellent conversation and he feels a bit overwhelmed about all that goes into this sport. I offered him to sit in on my safety class at the shop. I believe he and his friend are going to attend. I apologized for being harsh, but I clearly wanted to express that we are serious about safety and we will do whatever it takes to protect our access. We all make mistakes as newbies, and that is understood, but certain actions are not acceptable. He clearly realized that passing a kite, in high winds at a crowded spot, to someone that has never flown a large kite, is now a bad idea. He learned from that mistake. Luckily, nothing bad happened, but we all know luck runs out. I hope by working with him in the safety class, that he will be able to make wiser decisions in the future and keep himself and his friend out of harms way.
I know this is long, but Chris Kenny has been in the shop all this week, and he is getting is kite fixed, and plans to be on the water in maybe 1-2 months. Full recovery. Congrats Chris and looking forward to sharing that first day back on the water with ya.
IM OUT!!!!
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