Kite Boarding at Kanaha

[Tsawwassen]

Hi guys, I just saw the petition about Kanaha beach and thought I should share this with you.
I've only been to Maui a few times but intend to make this a yearly pilgrimage for me and my family and I would hate to see Kanaha beach closed to water sports or our access to the area made even smaller. I know we from BC are a small group but we should all know what we are getting into when we travel to a water sport destination.
Here are a few links from the MKA that I found when I went for my first trip 2 years ago.
http://www.mauikiteboardingassociation. ... emaps.html
There are a few maps with the areas outlined farther down the page.

A quote from Rules and Zones

Please do your part to be informed of the regulations, laws, and agreements that exist on our island, and then you will be able to participate in the sport of kiteboarding in a responsible and respectful manner.

Also check out the FAA WAIVER section as it outlines the areas as well.
My first trip to Maui a few Kiters went up towards the yellow area and almost got kiting banded completely.

Another thing I thought I should mention was the right of way rules on the water. My first year there I took a lesson from one of the guys at Pritchard windsurfing and asked about wave riding etiquette at Lowers and he said basically that there was none. The locals look at lowers as a beginners wave riding area and many people from all over the world come here to learn how to wave ride. So the rules go out the window as it is hard for most to be able to respect them when learning. This is where almost all the teachers take students. There are many factors out there that most are dealing with for their first time. The reef, the break, turtles, shark fear, Weird Wave, crowds and at times some massive waves. So I was told to be as respectful as you can and try to follow the standard rules but most people only expect them from Sprecklesville up to Hookipa.
Kanaha is a big playground for all so play nice.


Also here is a link with the letter that started this situation.

http://mauinow.com/2013/05/03/letter-ki ... kaa-point/

[MartyD]

The learners at Lowers do get in the way, but are usually easily avoided. It is more the experienced sailors who sit on the inside and snake everybody that are the problem.

[nanmoo]

If Kiters get themselves banned it sure will be a boon to the Windsurfers. No crowds!

[GregK]

Read deeper, they are considering banning all watercraft ( kites, windsurfers, SUP, etc ) from most of the shoreline at Kanaha, and instead crammed watercraft users in to a tiny area. The swimmers would get the majority of the beach.

Look at the petition, see who signed it recently :

Jeff Henderson PAIA, HI
I love the beach the way it is. It works and is safe.

Anders Bringdal MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Keep Kanaha as it is. A fantastic place to meet and enjoy the different watersports Hawaii have to offer.


Better sign the petition.

[Tsawwassen]

Signed it a while ago. Here is a good one...

Peter THOMMEN HAIKU, HI 3 days ago Like 1
Windsurfing is my passion. I've been sailing out of Kanaha Beach Park since the early 80's and wish that this splendid beach remains accessible to all water sport lovers for future generations. It's a unique place, a meeting point for people from all over the world. Keep the Aloha flowing.

[eastside]

It doesn't hurt to let the regulators in Hawaii know that their decisions will impact tourism and employment, although many of the residents don't seem to care about that. They would be happier if you stayed home, once they get there. When you read reports like this you realize how lucky we are to live here. We do need to remain vigilant to retain beach access and very aware of other users so we never get this kind of bad press. This includes self policing. It looks like a couple of inconsiderate people caused this problem to escalate to the point where everyone may get banned or restricted. We don't want anything similar to happen here.

[Geoffy]

On every recent trip to Maui I have seen multiple kiters pushing the boundaries, especially of the FAA Regulations, but also of the beach areas in and around Kanaha. This is an example of a small confrontational situation snowballing and how easily lack of respect elevated into potential to impact the whole sport of kiting on Maui. If in that forum things had not kept going and folks had shown respect for DLNR rules and just backed off, then this outcome could be very different. Similar thing happened in 1985-86 at Kanaha with windsurfers and swimmers and spearfisherfolk - resulted in some rules and restrictions that have been well respected and self-policed (mostly) since then. Kiting has had much smaller economic impact to Maui than windsurfing has. (Point being that re-writing the rules may not impact windsurfer access as much as kiter access, so best not to go down that road at all.) I still support the petition but Maui kite association has to step in and make some hard decisions about reigning in problem individuals in all North Shore areas (even if it is only perceived problems - this one appears to be more than perception from the photos.) And, with this exposure FAA visibility is raised; they may not act because of a beach access issue but may have to if direct complaints of violating FARs are lodged.

[Guilly]

On every recent trip to Maui I have seen multiple kiters pushing the boundaries, especially of the FAA Regulations, but also of the beach areas in and around Kanaha. This is an example of a small confrontational situation snowballing and how easily lack of respect elevated into potential to impact the whole sport of kiting on Maui.

It is great that those MKA maps are online, it is what I used to navigate the launches/area on my first rides, but after spending a long time riding there with the locals and becoming a daily regular last year - I would note that those rules and maps are not exactly up to date, to the new rules.

If you are there riding for a while - get to know the rules and the info from a local respected daily rider on the beach, or even better contact the MKA directly on current rules. Personally when I go back I would talk to some guys again and see what's what with the rules pertaining to my riding, before going on what we were doing just 11months ago.

But in the end, the typical kiting of the regular launch zones outlined in those MKA maps putting you into the lower-Lowers wave, downwind boneyard wave, and lanes should keep you very happy and busy.

Guilly