VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

The other day i ran into a kiter down at cook who had a kind of bright orange float attached to his board inbetween the straps. He was talking about how it helps to right the board, but mostly makes it REALLY easy to see in the waves. I don't know if this was a homemade contraption or not, but it seemed like a great idea. I am by no means suggesting all kite boarders should use these, that's rediculous, most kiters i run into have a lot more control than i do, but these would be a great idea for the beginner. If nothing else, an abandoned board would be a lot more visible for windsurfers and kiters alike, and once a newbie has the skills to retrieve their own board, they could pass the float along to another newb. That's just an idea, and i dont even kite, so maybe it's an idiotic idea. But with the quick learning curve most kiters seem to have, it might only be a very small sacrifice for a very short time.

xmyx that is the Go-Joe thats recommended above. As well as making the board visible, it speeds up the drift so that you can drag downwind to the board; much easier for newbies.

At my Floras Lake kite lesson earlier this year I was shocked by the windsurfers that would sail in close to me; some would even come in and stop to rest or adjust gear less than 10 m away, directly across the wind where I was waiting to downstroke the kite. I was stuck till they moved, and they were oblivious to the danger they were in, with me having minimal control over the kite in the 30 knot gusty wind. Its also a responsibility for windsurfers to get to know the safe(r) zones around kiters, especially newbies, and any competent windsurfer should really learn to catch kites; its just a good 'waterman' thing to know and help out other wind enthusiasts, or prevent a dangerous situation on the beach that could lead to closure for both sports. A tired/panicy newbie desperate to land a kite should get help FAST.

To the Kiters lurking out there....IF you lost your kite board and a windsurfer, or other kiter, ran into it at full speed and damaged their equipment would you be offering up $$$ for damages or would you be saying tough shit too bad you could not avoid the deer on the road sucker??

Not in so many words... but if the person in control ran into the slowly drifting object... thats my fault...yeah totally...who do I write the check to ? Do you go into the forest and start ragging on the trees when you hit a piece of drift wood?
I know I have towed in a windsurfer before. I also know I have had many windsurfers launch and land my kite for me. If you guys want to know how to land a kite. Ask any competent kiter. Itll take 5 mins for a thorough lesson and the more people that can launch and land, the safer the beach!

It's a great point that some windsurfers (like myself) likely don't have a clue how to land a kite so stand by so as not to make a bad situation worse. I felt like a jerk standing on the beach watching them go by but.....wasn't sure what to do or even if they needed or wanted help.

It would be great to have a lesson on how to land a kite or assist a kiter. If anyone is willing I am up at Nat next week or at WWW most weekends.

Kevin

kite catch for dummies: signal you are cool to catch by patting your head. then, just grab the leading edge, not the lines. once you have it, do not let go until buddy walks up, says thanks and secures it.
kites should not land on the windsurfing area unless it is an emergency. this is the very first Nitinat lake kite riding guideline (stickied in the kite discussion forum). and in the wiki.

thankfully, these types of issues will fade away as the windsurfers slowly die off and take up less beach, !

When you convert to kiteboarding from windsurfing it is not coming to the dark side. It is just SEEING THE LIGHT.

yes its been a while since a good ol' kite vs pole internet dust-up! too much pent up righteousness.

downwind dave wrote:thankfully, these types of issues will fade away as the windsurfers slowly die off and take up less beach, !

Thankfully some of us are just getting started and have a long way to go before dying off (pending any unforeseen Oregon Coast shark incidents).