“Safety” at Crandon Park, Key Biscayne, FL.

[Kite Safe]

I have been observing during the last few weeks the new “measures” taken at Crandon Park to improve safety, for riders and bystanders, and I would like to share with the community my thoughts about what I have seen.

First, for those who are not completely aware of what is the current protocol at Crandon Park, here it is:

When you walk into the beach through the northernmost entrance at Crandon Park you will likely be greeted by a receptionist-like person who will inquire if you have IKO or PASA certification, and if you have liability insurance for kiting. He or she will explain that they are the organization/school commissioned by the county to supervise and enforce safety at that particular spot on the beach (according to them the only location in Miami Dade where people are permitted to kite), and that they will ensure all riders are certified, have insurance and, most importantly, follow safety rules published on a board displayed on the beach access (no jumping nor tricks near shore, launch in a specified area, designated teaching area, use of helmet, etc) . In the event that you are not certified and don’t have insurance, they will provide certification on the spot ($30.00) and sell you insurance for the day ($10.00) or for the whole year ($89.00). Once you understand the rules and regulations and comply with the requirements (provided IKO or PASA certification or got certification with them), you will receive a flag (for the day) to put in your kite, and you are free to kite.

Being a Safety First kind of rider, who despite enforcing agencies or not on kiting sites, always followed safety guidelines, I thought initially that these measures could only do good for the sport and for our local riding areas, making them safer and securing them as riding spots in the future.

Unfortunately what I have seen is almost the opposite of what the regulatory organization/school promotes, and here are some facts observed during the last few weeks.

- Recently I witnessed a friend who despite his proficiency in kiting (riding for over four years now) had never bothered to get an IKO or PASA card. Well here we were at Crandon and now was time for him to do it and this is what happened: As stated before the receptionist asked him for his Certification and Insurance. After the receptionist briefly explained what I mentioned above, he paid the fees and asked what would the certification encompass. According to the reception person, an instructor would check out his gear after it was rigged, verify that he was wearing a helmet and had a leash attached to one of his lines. The instructor would give him some general guidance, launch his kite and observe him during launch and riding, in order to see if he complied with all the rules and was qualified for riding. To his surprise, when he finished rigging his kite and asked for his instructor, the answer was that the instructor was kiting, but that he could go anyway. A fellow kiter launched his kite and he went on riding without ever seeing or hearing from the certifying instructor. He got his IKO card after his ride and he is now certified without apparently anybody ever checking to see if he even had a line leash, could ride, could rig, had a helmet, etc.
- Few weeks ago, I saw an instructor from this school perform pre-launch instruction and launch a student in the sand in the middle of the experienced rider staging area. In that specific instance, because the sand was so crowded resulted in the instructor launching the student’s kite (with the student attached to the bar) almost 180 degrees to an onshore wind, resulting in the student being catapulted 10 feet forward and landing on her head. Luckily another kiter managed to grab the student’s kite and no one got injured.
- On a busy day at Crandon more than half of the riders in the water don’t have the flag on their kites. I saw no action from the organization to enforce that. I can only assume that these were people that didn’t want to pay the certification and insurance fee for some “mysterious” reason.
- Riders with and without flags on their kites were performing jumps, tricks and risky launches less than 30 feet from the sand and right in the middle of the staging area. (again I saw no action in different days from any member/employee of this enforcing organization/school)
- Maybe 10% of the riders were wearing helmets. (no measures by the enforcing organization/school were taken either)


So, I then wonder what is the real purpose of this commissioned organization/school staged at Crandon Park. Riders that they have approved to ride on that spot are not complying with their own organization/school’s rules, which apparently they don’t seem to care nor enforce. Their own instructors are creating dangerous situations for their students and experienced riders. Their certification process looks like a pay and ride ticket instead of a real verification of skills and safety equipment. Unfortunately I have seen no improvement on safety and organization at Crandon Park since this new situation appeared. On the contrary I see more riders per square meter, more students mixed with the experienced riders, I see more danger... On a windy, sunny day during the weekend it may look like a fair to an innocent bystander with all the colors and kites flying. To a kiteboarder who actually knows what is going on and what the potential dangers are, it looks like an accident waiting to happen.

On the same safety note, in regards to the incidents at Hobby Beach that happened on the weekend of December 15th. I wonder, why this agency is not interested in doing the same thing there...

Kite Safe.