ALAMEDA NEWBIES

[maxsteamer]

Hello RPskater,

Insurance. Insurance. Insurance. How much Capital do you have on hand????

[windhorny]

I personally am tired of all the stories that have come up related to this over the years. I am tired of having friends tell me they are scared to kite at the friendliest beginner beach in the bay. I am tired of hearing about malicious phone calls to the city and then acting like everything is perfectly ok in person. Boardsports monopoly on this beach and apparently 3rd's as well has to stop. I do not want to feel like I have to join the dark side of the force to be able to enjoy my sport legally. these 2 chicks have developed such an incredible hate club it is amazing they are still in business. They have excessively worn out their "fine print" advantage.

[maxsteamer]

How do you think I feel when I grandfathered lessons and rentals in to the "Shoreline Beach and was told to get my students and boards off the beach unless I join there team?? I had rent to pay to a gas station owner at Park st. and shoreline drive. I also had 30 windsurfing boards to pay for and not to mention my employees that wanted there money. I was told that I was on Park Property and as of right now I was trespassing.

I'm a law abiding citizen, so I told the officer that I needed at least 1 hour to clean my sails and boards from the area. He said I have 15 min or he would issue me a citation with pictures of my boards and sails on the beach. I said yes sir and got them off the beach in ten. Now I thought it was over and done with?? but that was not the case. about 2 hr's later the officer comes to the gas station that I was renting and said I could not do business adjacent from Crown Beach.

Now that I could not understand??.. so I said if I want to rent my boards and sails from my rental location how can you shut that down. He said I was interfering with there concessionaire and there right to make a living. I said you will be hearing from my lawyer.

He said if one of my rental's was to show up on crown beach it would removed. so there I was with 30 boards and sails and no place to put them. To make a long story short... don't mess with the law!!!!.. as they have reason's for what they do. and many of them are for the good of all concerned..and if you want.. you can take issue with these laws?? but it will cost you alot of money and take my word on this one.. when all is set and done they will have already won.


Max be with you " I already died on that cross/ let it be bro...

[rvv]

Same thing happened with snowkiting at dillon reservoir in colorado, the party wanting to share rights to the launch with the vendor that had permited rights to said launch tried for 6+ months with no luck to get joint access and was shot down and stalled out repeatedly......then :idea: :idea: :idea: someone notified the local press of the situation and used the word monopoly...amazing how fast an mutually benificial agreement was ratified....just a thought... :?: :?:PR is a deal maker?

[OliverG]

So what's the deal now? Who can or can't demo at 3rd?

[NewBkiter]

OK, so now I am wondering if I can ever kitesurf at the beach with something I don't purchase from boardsports. Am I reading the preceeding messages wrong or do they actually pursue individuals on a 2 mile beach that are not using their equipment?

[Greg]

I was told by Jane that they have approval at Alameda, Crissy and 3ed ave for demo's... She said most others still need to obtain proper insurance/approval(S) for legal clearance...

The Parks Attorneys failed to return my calls, I'm NOT going to spend ANY money on this issue, so for me it's over.

Good luck,Greg

[steve]

guys and gals...there is a difference between 3rd and Alameda when it comes to this issue. Alameda ( the park dept) has provided an exclusive concession to Boardsportsschool...that concession covers the entire 4miles of Alameda beach. Foster City has granted a concession to Helm (lessons/sales/demos/events), NorCal (lessons/demos/events) and to BS (events/demo) and in the past Aquan (lessons, ?)...think that's the way it goes.

Alameda (park dept) will not, or at least has demonstrated in the past, that they will not grant a permit for any event to anyone else who might be a competitor of BS, due to the exclusivity of their concession...don't know what would happen if BS gave their OK to the park dept. Foster City on the other hand will grant a permit to others for an event, but the lead time for that permit has grown from a few weeks to several months over time. It is also possible for others to partner with one of the concessionaires, but they will be under the concessionaires contract with the city...eg: will be using the concessionaires liability insurance.

Alameda (park dept) has taken other questionable actions over the years regarding the concession at Alameda Crown Beach..just ask Jeff R, attorneys that have been involved, or others who have pursued this issue.

Yes, these concessions are a business advantage to the holders, and in my view this business advantage needs be used wisely. As an "insider" of the industry, my view has always been that we should work together when possible to grow the sport... grow the "pie," and that if your respective business/company has the right product(s), and/or service, your business/company will get it's fair share of the larger "pie."
steve

[windhorny]

If a ford salesman drove his car in front of a Chevrolet dealer's lot (on public streets) and offered to let someone try out his personal car, what would happen? Assuming chevy calls the cops, would they say hey, you cant park your car on this sidewalk because it is in front of a competitor? No of course not, they cant. AND there is no exchange of money. So the real question is what constitutes business? As a team rider, and this goes for all of us, what constitutes business as to sharing gear? When Jane called us to give us her "friendly warning" at 3rd, it was just me and another rider with our own kites. There were no flags, no free redbulls, no money exchanged and above all there was NO BOARDSPORTS!


In response to NewBkiters comment....You should not worry about flying any different colors here. Boardsports is not so anal as to just call cops for no reason. My point is that they technically, by the books, do have the ability to do so. And that in itself is wrong!

[RPskater]

Just to clear things up. I did call Donna at East Bay Regional Parks this morning and got the clear scoop. I asked her if it was ok for me to teach a family member kiteboarding on Crown Beach. It is perfectly fine to teach a family member or friend to kiteboard at Crown Beach provided that there is no money exchanged for that activity and that it is exactly what I said it was, teaching for free. I am perfectly fine to teach my wife without issue (as long as I am doing this activity in a safe manner of course). On the flip side of this issue, there are people from time to time that claim they are just teaching a friend but are in fact teaching for money. That is the issue that the parks do not allow. I hope that is clear enough for everyone. If you want to know for yourself directly from the horse's mouth, then you can call her too (Donna)at (510) 544-3171. Case closed! :!: