Pass a Grille and riding there

This weekend I noticed several newer riders showed up at PaG to ride.
I mentioned this idea to most that were there that were new to the area, but figured I would post it again on here all the same. I have been riding PaG now going on 7 years for kiting and before that windsurfing going back quite aways. We have had a core group of about ten riders there for several years that have followed an "agreement" out there.

Until this weekend, I had never witnessed kiters or windsurfers enter the swim area where all the people hang out. Yesterday, I saw several riders going thru the swimmers repeatedly for hours getting very close to people and on several occasions dropping kites in the swim zone close to waders.

It concerns me that 6 years of kiting etiquette and efforts to stay out of that area to insure continued access might be risked if this approach continues.

Here is the situation as I see it.

When at PaG, nearly all the people are located in a fairly limited area by where the parking meters are. Most people are very lazy and don't want to walk 5 feet more than necessary, so it ends up being very crowed by the meters.

This works to our advantage, because about 150 yards north of where a lot of riders were yesterday there is relatively open space with very limited numbers of people (usually 2 people per 40 yards as compared to 2 people per 10 feet).

So beach goers laziness works to our advantage at PaG by providing a non crowded rigging and riding area for us to use.

Can I ask that riders in the future please walk the extra five minutes to insure we don't land and launch in a crowded area. Kiting is by nature takes up a lot of beach space. If a launch went bad yesterday, it would have been in a highly visible area and also may have adversely affected some beach goers... double whammy.

The riding in the crowded area was what really got to me though.
I just don't think there is any excuse for this. I saw several incidents that basically floored me, especially jumping and landing close to kids.

I want riders out there to realize that we have had zero problems out there up to now for a long time due to the agreement at PaG among riders. I only want for this to continue.
If we do run into problems, I am confident that it will be due our laziness to not walk the extra 150 yards and also our ignorance to ride in the swim zone of a relatively heavily populated area of our beaches.

Please just use judgment out there.
Thanks.

Well... here's my perspective.

At PAG yesterday there was a group of 4-5 riders who insisted on riding in the middle of the swim area. This was a crowded beach of 500 people and about 30 small kids in the 2 - 8 age range playing and swimming in the water.

(edited because I believe this issue is being taken care of)

All you have to do is ride outside the bouys, or walk 500 feet north of the swimmers and sunbathers (where everyone else was riding).

[bryanleighty]

well.. i had just typed up my agreeing with Scotts post when I saw Tom's and now am pissed that anyone in our area would give lessons in an environment like that.

at PaG park at the most northern tip and just walk north a bit. rare to have even a single person there. tons of room. on saturday i had ample room to self launch.

cant fu*king believe someone would give lessons on a crowded beach.

[bryanleighty]

removed due to Tom being loopy.

Yeah, it was disappointing. The instructor agreed to move, and I think that was the right thing to do. The riders however did not... it only got worse.

[bayflite]

If whay you say iz true...someone shouldda taken video and sent it (along with an explanation of how illegal it iz) to eckerd officials. They are the ones that own the kites and would prolly put a stop 2that kind of behavior. Explain that Ecked would get sued in a worst case senario by an injured party.
Matt iz a cool guy and I bet he would be upset if he found out hiz students were doing stuff like that.

Sounds very good on paper and very easy to put in practice Bayflite. I am sure Matt and Mike will spread the word.

Thanks Rick for the post reminding us that no kiters have inordinate rights that supercede common sense.
If common sense and courtesy is not applied at PaG, it is very possible the authorities will enact some type of measure to ensure that we can't run into or land on a kid. It won't be the first time, as Rick points out, that lack of self regulation has led to loss of access.

Hopefully this won't become a big issue and will be easily resolved by just walking 150 yards.
Let's just not be lazy and put in the 5 minutes of walking North.
The area up there all the way to the DonCesar is basically desolate.

[TritonKiteboarding]

First off there were no instructors for Watersports West out there, Steve-O is the only instructor around who works directly with the shop. They weren't involved and their name did not need to be dropped so harshly, they are one of the best resources around for kiting and thats that.

Now let me apologize for any of the riders in my club that may have been riding in potentially dangerous ways, such as a close to people or in the "illegal swim zone". The only reason i started the club was because i saw their were college kids getting into the sport and i knew they would hit the beaches in numbers with kites. I have been riding here for two full seasons now and wanted to bridge all the gaps between college riders and local riders, i do not want any college rider ever being responsible for a beach ban or an injury to riders/spectators.
Since our beginning i've actually posted this and our goals as well as all my contact info, asking locals to not hesitate to call if they saw anything wrong with college riders on the scene. We've hosted two beach clean-ups this year and are planning a third, we're also working on getting air-compressors installed at the skyway and a sign made for the bird nesting regulations against watersports on all gulf facing beaches at fort desoto through august. This forum is great but a problem can be solved much better directly rather than posting names and obnoxious comments like

"Will the kite club survive when the complaints start rolling in to Eckerd College?

Would either WSW or Eckerd College kite club survive the lawsuit if there were an injury?"

Scott thanks for posting this in the first place and doing it respectfully, tom appreciate your input, 203 918 6637, thats my number, dont hate. Rather than complaining to cyberspace call me personally and i will set the kid straight who you deemed as potentially dangerous or reckless. Toby thank you for defending us a bit, i'm aware of all risks associated and to bring up the club in this issue is not cool. We're going to survive and were going to be safe and beneficial to the community.

I'm trying to do the same thing as everyone, ride as much as possible, get better every time, promote kiting as one of the best sports in the world, and preserve our riding locations through safety, regulation awareness, and environmental sensitivity. We just moved into a house off of 20th ave in PAG, we're pretty stoked that we would have another way to provide local riders with perks, like a grass to kill your kite, outdoor shower, elevated balcony, air compressor, and just a general locations to start/stop downwinders. We also have handle pass/trampoline/and slack line, unicycle, indo board, surf ball, and standup paddle boards for cross training.
The guys got excited about the house and i guess rode out in front rather than walking up two blocks, dont worry this wont happen again. I was guiding a downwinder from north st. pete beach and was not on the beach untill about 6:30
I am a PASA Certified instructor, my paperwork is being reviewed right now, i've taught windsurfing, sailing, and wakeboarding for six years now and know all about safety protocol and eliminating negligence on the beaches and with beginners. I will be an IKO instructor as well by the end of this month. We're just trying to help and get our names out there to hopefully get sponsored.
We've taken leaps and bounds forward this year and won an award last night from eckerd college as the most improved/outstanding club of the year. If you have problems with us tell me and i'll solve it. I'm workin my ass off to make the scene around here a bit more organized, have some kiter parties this summer, organize owc trips, obx trips, and even one to brazil. I'll be living here all summer in order to plan for next year and plan with the bars/ promoters try and get us a better kite hangout, like ft. lauderdale and key west have. We're also trying to set up some other local boarder-x and course racing but were a bit hesitant because of the complaints from last years that came up. We're trying to keep things moving forward. If you dont like the sound of any of this PM me and i'll be sure to not send you the memo.
In the end sorry for my riders riding close to shore and around people, i've talked with them and they were doing it because the kids in the water and the spectators were asking them to and cheering them on. no one other than other kiters had anything bad to say about them, most were pretty stoked to see guys landing new tricks and what not. I told them regardless they need to be out of there and just walk farther north between the don cesar and PAG where there are no people. Hope this issue is squashed and sorry if any feathers were ruffled
-matt sexton
President of Eckerd College Kite Club
TritonKiteboarding.com
sextonmg@eckerd.edu

[ricki]

Riding among bathers has caused kiteboarding to be banned at many locations nationwide. This is a no brainer, keep it up and out we go, pretty much guaranteed.

This caused kiteboarding to have been banned or come close to it at:

Miami Beach
Crandon Park
Rickenbacker Causeway
Hollywood
Ft. Lauderdale
Pompano
Boca Raton
Delray Beach
Key West


Maybe you'll be lucky and after access is lost you can negotiate for restored kiting with stringent rules like at Crandon Park, i.e.

Certification
Registration
Signing in
Helmets

Then again, that happens only if you are lucky after this sort of behavior gets you kicked out.

Think about it and choose well.

BTW the instructors are NOT ASSOCIATED with WSW.