BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Today when I arrived at Waddell, the wind was a bit light so I hung out on the beach for a while. I was watching a small group of surfers clustered together at a peak in front of the parking lot catching some fun waves. To my dismay, I noticed about half a dozen kite surfers repeatedly cutting through their lineup, taking all the good waves, and coming within a couple feet and even spraying the surfers. A few minutes later a couple of the surfers came in and they happened to be parked next to me. They were very upset and were discussing what government authority has jurisdiction here so they could file a formal complaint. I stepped in and apologized for the actions of the kiters and told the surfers the kiters were not clear on the rules and I would have a word with them if given a chance. That seemed to calm them down a bit but I'm not sure if they are going to go forward with a complaint or not.

I never got a chance to confront the kiters, but this is never OK. I realize when it gets windy its not the best place for surfers, but kiters or anyone with assisted power need to give surfers and other beach goers plenty of space. Many jurisdictions consider kitesurfers a vessel and require them to abide by the 100 foot rule from any swimmers or surfers. I have seen places shut down from kiting for this (read up on Leo Carillo), so this is completely unacceptable behavior as kitesurfing is a privilege and we need to do whatever we can to protect access.

Kitesurfers have a huge advantage over everyone else in the water and there's plenty of other room at the beach besides the 50' of beach where the surfers were at. Kiters should keep at least a kite length away from any surfer or swimmer or other beach goer at all times, even if it means having to go downwind. Being a surfer for 23 years and a kitesurfer for 13 years, this behavior beyond irritates me as I have never attempted kiting anywhere near surfers that I am not on a first name basis with. If you see someone doing this in the future, please talk to them and educate them so they do not jeapordize our access rights.

Well said. Maybe next time have 'right of way etiquette" literature that you can stick on to their windshields. Kitesurfer cars are usually easily to differentiate. What brand of kites were they riding?

sflinux wrote:Well said. Maybe next time have 'right of way etiquette" literature that you can stick on to their windshields. Kitesurfer cars are usually easily to differentiate. What brand of kites were they riding?

Several of them were Caution riders, but that's not saying much as 90% of the kiters here ride Caution.

As both a surfer and kiter, that would piss me off in two different ways.

It seems obvious that you would avoid kiting where the surfers are lining up. Thanks for saying something and keeping the peace.

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that's what got kiting restricted everywhere from Malibu on down. had guys running thru surfers, then it all got shut down. we used to be able to kite everywhere prior to that...those were the good ole' days