Hobie Beach/Rickenbacher Closed for Kiting

[cabdriver]

I understand (from 1st hand source) that Hobie has been officially closed for kiting now. Actually the ban will include the entire causeway which is much worse. Signs will go up all over as soon as they are made. Apparently "a" was disrespectful to a law enforcement officer that showed up over the weekend after he and "b" and their too-close-to-shore riding. That was the nail in the coffin. This is a major loss for kiting in Miami and again it happened because of idiots from another county. Congrats to "a" for exercising such great leadership in the community!! I guess I'll have to find another place to ride AGAIN!!

Rick - I know you received some information on this, so hopefully you can corroborate this as fact or rumor. Please tell me it's rumor!!!

[ricki]

Todd,

I am sad to say it is confirmed. This is a portion of an email from the governing authority for the Right of Way along Rickenbacker Causeway including Hobie Beach.

Enforcement of the motorboat exclusion zone along the Rickenbacker
Causeway rights-of-way, is a multi-jurisdictional task and we rely
mostly on marine units to assist. We have discussed the kite boarding
issue with local kite boarders, staff, other governmental agencies, and
our local police. It seems the overwhelming consensus is that the kite
boarding along the causeway does not mix well with our general public
shoreline access visitors.

We have deemed it to be in all of our visitors best interest to fabricate
signage prohibiting kite boarding along the causeway rights-of -way,
(Hobie Island /Windsurfer Beach & Hobie Cat Beach/Dog Beach).
The PWD is currently working in an expeditious manner in the
process of fabricating and installing signage, once completed we will
begin the enforcement process.

.

[miamikiteboarder]

Hey "b",
Its great to hear how much thought you put into your actions and how well you represent the kiting community. I know that everyone in Miami would like to personally thank you for the way you've represented us with the city of Miami.

also, learn how to ride and get some lines that aren't 12m long. There's nothing impressive about being able to do kiteloops with 12m lines when its only blowing 20. But I guess that’s why you decided to ride 2 feet off the shore, cuz that’s the only way people are gonna notice. Wow that takes a lot of skill and I'm sooo happy that you decided to show us all what you could do last weekend and let the law enforcement know how amazing you are. Hopefully one day you'll learn how to do something productive for the kiteboarding community instead of continuing your habitual useless habits.

[The Kite House]

i know this all sucks, but this could be a blessing in disguise. I would get some local riders to go meet with them, show them some easy ground rules for signs, make it a law to make someone responsible[the police who patrol there daily] that way when someone is doing that, its one call and they are stopped. I have been in alot of different places this has happened, and if professional...a group of residents who ride shine way better than a few local idiots. I have been told this from many officials time and time again. Get riders who actually live in the districts...who is the politicians there? they will not want to Deni you the right to ride as good citizens and voters. Why didnt the 2 schools i hear of that teach there all the time try to help control this? No giving a shit catches up with you in a hurry. Tell me i am crazy, but with the right group of riders, i bet you turn this thing around fast. Dont hesitate. Anything i can do i would gladly help.

anyway thats my 2 cents....i hate hearing the loss of a spot on a nw wind up there

[BizGuru]

Did Bobby's post get removed? I wish it would have stayed so people understand what we are dealing with.

[ricki]

He deleted it himself, fortunately. The authorities read posts on this site.

If we have a hope of restoring access, we're going to have to be responsible about things.

[miamikiteboarding]

Well it feels like a cold shower , but let's face it: we all knew we were on thin edge at Hobie and it would happen soon or later .
However we are kinda lucky the ban didn't occurred bc of a tragic accident and no one get hurt, therefore there may be room for negotiation with authorities.

At least we don’t have the Media pressure against us all !

We are all pissed now, pointing at the "bad guys" but it's somewhat a "laisser-faire" from all of us =
Truly each time I pass by Hobie :
- I see the same faces teaching the same lessons, on the same shallow spot within 70ft from the shoreline.
- I see the same local riders launching between trees, cars and bystanders,.. and yes I do see many “locals throwing it within 100ft.

2 years ago, we had a Miami kite industry ( shops, instructors, schools) meeting about Hobie, where guidelines were set, but nothing changed or so little !
Why ? bc the ones that don’t follow these rules, do not follow meeting neither , nor they read the posts on the forums btw !

YES we understand nobody wants to be the “Sheriff” and appears like an Ass, but when the real sheriff ( the cops ) step in to do the job, this is the results we can expect : consequences are much more stiffer for the rest of us and it’s too late .

Sad as it is to loose an access from Hobie, I’m sure it’s going to have a reverse beneficial effect on the general Kiteboarding behavior in other spots:
Since now we all know HOW , WHY and WHEN a ban can occurred (and it really does )… I’m convinced the majority of mindful riders will be much more PRO-ACTIVE in protecting their spot vs foolish behavior from a few.

Yes it does take guts or commitment to stand for the good cause for a few minutes but it is not much compare to a definitive ban.
As a matter of fact , for a group of riders together, it will take only a few minutes to get rid of one trouble-maker for the sake of us.

Beside that, other factors may have increased this ban process at Hobie:

- Much more west winds this year so we all eager to ride in ANY conditions !

- Causeway vendors were re-located right on the spot, therefore, we can all understand they may worry a bit for their clients when 50 kiters are riding around

- Unconscious Instructors who take the freedom to teach there and obviously the student will likely come back on his own for "more practice" , which they do !

- increased volume of new kiters with poor safety awareness and poor-to-none safety procedures drills ( sadly the least of the concerns of many instructors)

- the "kiteboarding threat " is certainly the least desired of the PWD ( Public Work Dept of Miami Dade) in regards of the big $$ put in the renovation of the causeway.

- and the Sony Erickson coming up by next week with huge increased of traffic expected on the Csway, another risk the PWD won't take.

For being a Vendor on Rickenbaker during 7 years at the time of my Hobiecat concession, I can confirm Kiteboarding was never welcome there, and was only “tolerated by default” …until the signs come up.
It was just a matter of time I think.

But If Kiting has to get re-instated at Hobie, it will take much more than the good faith in riders “responsible behavior ” ! we all know this is unfortunately an unrealistic concept considering the volume of Kiters we talk about , and their diversity.

Better get ready to find a boat for next season .

Speaking of, I want to correct some rumors regarding Miamikiteboarding, as I realized some "said so” instructors were heavily using a name very similar to ours (certainly for the quality value behind it ) which have led to confusion:
Everybody in Miami knows we take our students and occasionally riders to offshore sandbars with our Taxiboats and always denied the teaching at Hobie. Period.

And considering the many days of west wind this season, we have bought a brand new boat recently and will be offering more taxiboat to stiltsville and West Point. So you know ! prices will vary from $20 to $50 according to distance.


Luckily west winds should subside as spring is on us.

DON'T FORGET : MIAMIKITEBOARDING MASTERS April 10th & 11th in Crandon North Beach.

...which is banned for our riders "a" and "b" of the Hobie Video by the way , i keep the names for me but they know !

[ricki]

Glad to read your input Christophe, lots of good points. What I think it is going to "take" is a lot simpler though. Just making some basic rules, a handful really, and effectively compelling people to follow them. The further south you go in this state from the GA line, the greater the tendency to be lost in a population of transients. No real sense of belonging or need to protect access. Just do what you feel, and most days no one will really bother you. That needs to end.

So, there are "exceptions." These rules, they're for the other guys or when I feel like it, if ever. That won't work as you point out. We just need to ditch the exceptions, build awareness and enforce this as a good sized kiting community. This "exception" phenomena has plagued other launches in the area at times for quite a while.

We have the numbers, we have something to lose and I have no doubt we can do it. That is if we try.

Regarding Biscayne Bay being the solution, it could be a great help. But, I think we could even threaten that if poor behaviors occurred to excess even there.

Time to smell the coffee, toughen up, pull together as a community and get it done.

[Lonny]

I am sorry to hear about the hard line that the County has imposed on Hobie and the entire causeway, but ultimately it was bound to happen.

As Rick has mentioned, this is nothing new that happened at Hobie during our last series of west winds, and while Kent's "no feet in the straps" (cool though as it would exclude me ) idea is a good one, it is just a re-branding of the policy that was supposed to be in effect from many years ago. I clearly remember Rick pleading with the people that regularly ride at Hobie to not jump or actively ride inside the swimming buoys.

The simple fact of the matter is, that I guarantee there were many people riding that day that knew what those guys were doing was a bad idea. However, I would be surprised if one other rider went up to that person and said something after it happened the second time around. In fact, I would also guarantee that there were several riders boosting inside the buoys, although probably not as blatantly or caught on video. Ultimately, we all share the blame for losing the causeway spots. Although it is much easier and feels better that we blame one or two people rather than feeling the burden of that responsibility.

The comment about, "why would you ride inside, when there is a paradise sandbar on the outside?" Really?, I mean really? Take a look at almost any kiteboarding launch in S FLA, and its the same story. Crandon is massive, yet the majority of riders ride right in or around the launch area. Matheson, its retarded. Instructors teaching directly upwind of people throwing mobes. Kite loops right in front of the "beach" of concrete. Hmmm... Virgina Key - well that one really makes me sick, since it was lost by two or three idiots that had to antagonize the windsurfers by again riding inside the swim buoys and then arguing with the life guards. Oh by the way, in case any of you did not know, VK has been closed to kiteboarding for 3 years now! Thanks again! Pretty sure the guys responsible for that one do not even kite anymore or moved.

Quite simply, nobody wants to be the bad guy, or the asshole that has to tell someone to stop doing something - especially when most of us just want to go out and ride because this is our escape from the daily grind. Our sanctuary so to speak. However, I can tell you from 10 plus years experience of policing at Matheson Hammock - it is a losing battle because more often than not people just do not care enough to make a difference. And the people that do make a difference, well eventually, you just do not want to ride there any more because you do not want the hassle of dealing with it.

Unfortunately, since we could not handle the matter proactively ourselves the County has handled it for us, and sadly we all lose.

[blinksster]

Not just your video misinformed the audience, your opinion ions are baseless and to find a scapegoat like you have. It is not fair and balance.

You are a poor informer if you want to allocate the responsibility of this misfortune; you failed to do so with your dumb video and all the writing you did over it just to make sure your pointless point gets across.

No body seen anything wrong with the rider on the video but the cowardly way you put it out.

This closure requires all kiters to be united so we can address it accordantly; we need positive contributions to solve this matter together no just point fingers and orchestrated a witch hunt.

We need solutions so we can stop the closure, how? We got to be united and stop behaving like we are a bunch of disenfranchised citizens. Accountability is a good start



We should develop a credo for kiters, Post it, Followed it and Enforced it


OC

Originally Posted by FL_Kiteboarder

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Kiteboarding Banned at Hobie Beach - Stay out of Swimming Areas! (the now infamous video)

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