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Old 09-05-2011, 10:42 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Default What to do with dangerous people?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dyyylan
Today during a 17-19 knot session I saw this older guy with a bunch of kids setting up an old 17m gaastra 4-line c kite. He was struggling with it a bit having his 12 year old launch him, and looked like he didn't really know what he was doing so I went over (also being mildly curious about the kite which he said was from around 2003 I think) to see what was going on. The bar had no safety systems at all just a leash tied to the bar with a chicken loop made from rope. The depower throw was about 6 inches with two knots tied... looked like he set it up himself. He was telling me that his 12 year old was interested in kiting as well.

I asked him if he knew what he was doing and he told me he knew how to fly a kite and body drag. He was getting thrown around a bit on the beach just holding it at 12 oclock (I was very very powered on my 12m so I can't imagine what it was like on a 17). He ended up crashing it in the water then yelled at some people when they ducked out of the way and told them that kites are very dangerous and they shouldnt stand around them :roll:

I told the guy several times that he really needs to take another lesson or two and get a modern kite so that he doesn't get hurt, this thing looked like a flying death machine.

Ended up going out (after self launching far away from him lol) by myself and while riding I noticed he was trying to get his kid to fly it. He crashed the kite right after he was launched by dad, and got dragged down the beach into the guarded area, in the prime time of labor day. Luckily some college guys grabbed the kite until dad could retrieve it, after giving them a lecture about how they should land kites because they are very dangerous :roll:


Anyway, the lifeguards had already talked to one of the other kiters there earlier that we were riding too close to people (in the unguarded area -- Rick or anyone else who knows this area it was at palmetto in boca). Luckily the lifeguards didn't say anything but this guy was really scaring me, especially letting his kid fly it. I could probably still pass for a highschooler so I don't really feel in the position to lecture him about how he's being irresponsible letting his kid fly the deadly kite without ever having a lesson or anything, the most I really did was urge him to get rid of the thing and get something safer, at least, and to take a lesson.

What else is there to do in these types of situations since it was an unguarded area and he didn't actually end up hurting anyone thank god...
This went up on Kiteforum today at http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.p...713963#p713963.
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