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faradroka1 · Joined: 14 May 2001 Posts: 216 Location: East Bay

a a a a

NickB · Joined: 30 Jun 2009 Posts: 510 Location: Alameda, CA

Good you were there! Those rocks are nasty, too bad he didn't have a helmet. Hope he's ok.
I'll take a good catapult anytime over that.

gerritt · Joined: 06 May 1998 Posts: 632 Location: Redwood City, CA

Last week, I just saw a short video w/ Naish talking about how much the kites have improved in the last 5 years, making it possible to really surf a wave. I was in Kuai at the time, where there are no windsurfing kits for rent and was pissing myself at all the great conditions. I surfed and SUP'd instead, but was thinking 'you know traveling with a kite would be so much easier than traveling with windsurfing gear, I should probably try it.' 'It looks fun and I could probably pick it up pretty quickly.' 'The new kites are supposed to be so much safer, etc.'

Every time I begin to think this way, I hear about another kiter either killing or braining himself and quickly come to my senses. Who needs it if you live in the Bay Area. Now if I lived in LA???...

Hey Gregor - want to explain in all capitals why you don't Kite? Your the best moaner on the boards. I love your stuff and you never cease to remind me why I left LA. Really Gregor, I do love your stuff. Rip me a good one, but rip the kiters a bigger one!

dvCali · Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 1314

kevinkan · Joined: 07 Jun 2001 Posts: 1661 Location: San Francisco

Yeah, I came in today at the restaurant cuz the wind was dying and going North at the docks, and I saw a kite bar suspended from the trees and was thinking WTF? Now I know.

Scary!

tswei · Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 17

the tree catching and de-powering his kite may have saved his life, as without it, his second impact would've been against the restaurant Shocked

after witnessing this firsthand, I am completely and forever cured of any interest in kiting.

Tony

rigatoni · Joined: 25 Feb 1999 Posts: 498

Be careful about posting inflammatory statements on this website regarding kiting. Some of them tend to troll these forums looking for controversy in a never ending quest to "cancel windsurfing"

http://www.bayareakiteboarding.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8276

And no kiters, we don't hate you, but we are concerned for our safety and continued access at all these sites.

jp5 · Joined: 19 May 1998 Posts: 3394 Location: OnUr6

Ollie_G · Joined: 10 Aug 2002 Posts: 342

human_catapult · Joined: 20 Nov 2007 Posts: 374

Ollie,

This year I've seen some pretty irresponsible stuff going on by kiters who not only lacked the skill, but didn't know they lacked the skill for certain situations.

Holding on to huge kites with big storm clouds coming and wearing shorty wetsuits when the air + water temp was below 100F are a couple situations that come to mind within the last few months.

Because we're also wind/water users, we helplessly watch sometimes as guys risk their lives realizing our fate as launch-users is tied to their sometimes irresponsible decisions.

This isn't to say I don't see windsurfers doing things occasionally that I think are unwise, but the situational risks tend be much lower with windsurfing. That's why you sometimes see threads like this where you sense a level of tension from windsurfers in forums like these.

aaron