Open Kiteboarding Community by Kiteboarders for Kiteboarders

keeping a little more organized at the beach

Hey guys I've gotta say that days like sunday reinforce what a great group we have down at Long point. Jim and I arrived late afternoon but there was talk about a problems a few guys ran into with equipment failures or a number of small problems and there were always people that stepped up to help. The usual help launching and landing etc.
With the recent discussions about the closing of one small launch location at Keswick I was thinking we should as a group try and stay on top of beach management whenever we can. Lately there have been some groups of kiters setting up directly in front of the access point. When possible could we as a group inform people that set up there to move down the beach a bit further - even if we offer to help move their gear etc and not appear heavy handed.
There were a couple of days that started cold and windy without many on the beach and the first few guys set up there and then when the skis cleared it meant the kites were in the centre of the beach population. It only takes 1-2 times staging in that area to set a precedent.
The main thing is we have a great group down there and I think if we keep it positive it just keeps that good vibe and people shouldn't mind moving down.

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Permalink Reply by Josh on July 21, 2009 at 4:30pm: ya man... good call mark!!!! im totaly one of the guilty ones setting up right infront of the entrance to the beach... like you said when some of us got there it was still crapy and overcast and noone on the beach!!! once it did get nice i moved my gear down though...a few didnt follow suit but i should have said somthing!!! this year has been cooler out so there has only been a few crowded days with beach go'ers... we'v bin lucky!!!
we have such a great crew out there it will be easy to make this happen!!! cant wait till the next session with all you guys!!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Josh on July 21, 2009 at 4:33pm: P.S that was the second run away kite i have had to grab this year!!! i dont think Simons kite would have even hit the point it was so side shore though ha ha ha!!! glad you were ok simon!!! i didnt see it looping or anything just the boys trying to help!!! good job clay,drew,kyle, and mark with the dash out with the little sail boat to save him the swim in!!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ted on July 21, 2009 at 10:53pm: Yes, this would be an excellent time to be on our best behaviour! And keeping it positive is what it's all about. I agree that it's a great group. A couple of weeks ago a guy apologized as he asked me to interrupt my set up to give him a launch but I said hey, don't be sorry, everybody helps each other out.
The thing that should set us apart from the Keswick problem is that we actually try to communicate with the locals and try to get along with everybody. That should stand us in good stead for a long time to come.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mark Groshens on July 21, 2009 at 11:29pm: Later sunday there was a guy and girl with a trainer foil flying right over a few families and the girl was obviously not that skilled but she sure filled out her bikini so I think that's why a few of us watched her...ahhh I mean watched to see how she was handling the kite before going over to speak to her. She crashed the kite just a couple of feet from a family and Simon went and spoke to them and after they started to pack up i went over and told them the dangers of line cuts and that we are happy to see them learning and many of us would give assistance but we ask that they move a little downwind.
(Okay, maybe I just wanted to see the girl in the bikini up close); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Simon on July 22, 2009 at 12:39pm: Yeah, folks need to walk down wind a bit (where us do-gooders were setup on Sat). This is a definite for weekends. On weekdays we should still move off to the side a bit, but not so critical. Don't hesitate to tell people to move because you have the majority's support.

Wouldn't you know that my flag line was the one to break. It's pretty hard to catch up to the kite by swimming. I think if I were to swim hard long enough to close the gap, I would have gotten to it, but I had to rest every now and then. When I rested for 10 seconds, I lost the ground that I had made in the previous few minutes of swimming.

Eventually I gave up swimming after the kite and I headed for land. I was glad to see Mark in his rescue cat cause I was getting tired of swimming.

Thanks for the kite rescue Josh - I know it's really tricky to drag a kite in. I would have been happy for somebody to come and drag me over to the kite. Hopefully it doesn't again though.

The people flying the trainer - I told them to fly down wind of everybody. The guy wound his lines and packed it in instead.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Drew on July 24, 2009 at 12:52pm: Good call.. We are very fortunate that almost everyone is a skilled kiter which certainly decreses the chances of an accident. I think as a general rule we should all set up at least 6 cottages down (a couple past the red cottage) to ensure we allow enough room for the bikini's...
To be honest, I've heard more concern from locals about the Sea-Doo's that are running around (maybe 4 at most) than with kiteboarders. The fact that we are staying away from the swimmers and wrapping up our lines when not in use is a good thing as well.

If anyone's heading up to Oliphant this week I'll see you up there... Narissa isn't very pleased to see 15+ knots being forecast during our family vacation :); ▶ Reply to This