Re: Kite sailing concerns - god help us all

From: J.R. Ridgely (seven@mechsys2.me.berkeley.edu-DeleteThis)
Date: Mon Jul 24 2000 - 15:39:56 PDT


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Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 15:39:56 -0700
From: "J.R. Ridgely" <seven@mechsys2.me.berkeley.edu-DeleteThis>
Organization: Cal
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Subject: Re: Kite sailing concerns - god help us all
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Erik Eiseman wrote:
>
> [About kitesurfers and windsurfers sharing space]
> ...Is there a way to find out how this works in other places...I have been
> flying a trainer kite and hope to try the sport soon but if any
> one has information beyond "giving lots of space" I would love to hear it.
>
> thanks,
>
> Erik

Here in Berkeley, we have a couple dozen windsurfers out on a good day and maybe
two to five kites. I think most of the kite sailors are skilled windsurfers also
(the several whom I know are). As far as I know, we haven't had any trouble so
far -- everyone respects everyone else's space and most of us pure windsurfers
enjoy watching the kiters doing their huge jumps and plan to try it sometime.

However, it's important that we each understand the other guys' method of sailing
and limitations. In the relatively flat East Bay water, we can easily see the huge
wake generated by the kiteboard, see the kite, and figure out where the lines are.
Most windsurfers can point well enough to pass a kite upwind, or easily get back
to our course after ducking way under the kite (I share Erik's paranoia and prefer
to pass downwind of the kite, never getting under those lines). But this is only
possible because of the small number of kites out there.

In the future, we will no doubt be getting mixed up with each other in close
quarters, and accidents will happen, just as windsurfers occasionally jibe into
each other with often disastrous results. Knowledge of each other's sports is the
key to minimizing these problems. I think what's going to save us all from having
a real mess is that kitesurfing is, like windsurfing, difficult enough to learn
that most of the PWC-driver personalities won't spend the time to get good enough
to collide with anybody. People who get good enough to kite in windsurfing
territory will almost all be skillful enough to avoid trouble, and they will have
crashed enough to gain a respect for the hazards and a desire to have lots of friends
on the water to help them out when the inevitable trouble occurs. (Or they'll learn
in short order.)

So what can we do to help? Make friends with as many kitesurfers as possible, and
talk about things so we all know each other and what those rag drivers are up to.
And that way we can tell who the bozos are and everyone can avoid them, just as we
do with less-responsible windsurfers. We can and should fight the tendency to divide
into opposing camps. I'm hoping to do a fact-finding mission into kitesurfing soon.
Anybody have a used trainer kite for sale cheap, in support of a diplomatic mission?

                                                                                 JR



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