Hatteras Island Wavesailing acess could vanish

[colorit]

First Maui, now Hatteras.
The best wavesailing spots on Hatteras Island are in danger of
being declared off limits to all human access. April 3rd is the date
that Judge Boyle will rule on the request asking the courts to close
cape point from ramp 44 all the way around the
south side to ramp 43 and all the inlet spits and to outlaw nighttime
driving all year round. All we can do now is wait and hope for the
best. http://www.islandfreepress.org has all the details if you want
more info.
If the judge rules in favor of the lawsuit it would mean the end to sailing the Point, the Cove, Hatteras Inlet and North End Ocracoke. Hard to believe its so close to being reality. We would still have access to soundside sailing spots and wavesailing areas such as Ego Beach, Isabels Inlet and the Salvo Wreck, but some of the best wave action is found at the beaches that would be closed.

[geohaye]

Has the local windsurf/kite community put up a fight? Or is this the first everyone is learning of this?

[fortheloveofital]

Maybe the reason this is happening is to protect the fragile environment and due to some bigger picture than 'how easily can I drive onto the dunes with my car?'

As a windsurfer and women I wonder if perhaps it is a little short sighted to be against closed access just because it may require finding another solution to reach a sailing spot.

Is a spot not better when it is remote and hard to reach and - don't we windsurf in part because of our love of nature?

[mickeboone]

forthelove...

Have you ever wavesailed at Cape Point or Hatteras Inlet? Gone fishing there?

[fortheloveofital]

Yes - I have;

[jbryja]

All sides were negotiating in good faith and were working together to see that the needs of all stake holders could be addressed and along comes this environmental group that tries to use the courts to bully and gets its way.

No more 4-wheel drive access would mean an end to wave riding at The Cove. fortheloveofital is likely the only one that would suggest walking 3 miles to ride, that if they even allow pedestrian access.

[geohaye]

John brings up an issue that we've all seen before. Environmental group comes in and lashes out at public access, unwittingly hurting their own cause in the long run.

Why?: there needs to be some access -- even to some environmentally-sensitive areas -- in order to inspire an appreciation for nature. Less and less people spend time in nature these days. The last thing we need is to shut people completely out of areas like this one in question.

I generally support the efforts of too many environmental groups to count on my fingers, but it doesn't mean they're always right. Some of these turkeys don't realize that hikers are not the only interest group that matters any more -- mountain bikers and windsurfers/kiteboarders also pursue natural sports that engender an appreciation for nature while for the most part not damaging it... Especially compared to real environmental damage that we see a ton of now: land development for malls & homes & big box stores. Focus on that!

In the SF Bay area, we had a potential "decent" additional windsurf/kite launch at Seal Point -- just upwind of world-famous 3rd Avenue. Well, I spent months on the project, and we could have had something okay (not great, due to the geography), and along comes the Sierra Club fighting hard against public parking where we absolutely needed it to make the place viable.

End of story. Now every time the Sierra Club sends me requests to renew membership in the mail, I send them my letter about the changes they need to make to some of their local policies. Pristine wildlife environments are one thing, but restricting public access to windsurfing & mountain biking areas in urban zones (for example) is often the wrong call.

Haha, you gotta voice your opinion...

[dwr888]

You mean BIG oil interestes?? ... Sierra Club has gotten in the way of too many really nice things. Your project / countless Mountain Biking restrictions .. They have not once put up a fight when a GOLF course strips thousands of trees. Especially when the big money is behind it.!!!
The Sierra Club is Not really an environmentally sound Group.

Chances are that they are behind this action .!.

Dwr

[fortheloveofital]

I agree that in many cases a blanket ban is just as bad as blanket open / full access by cars ( in this case ).

I am NOT suggesting a full ban is the best idea but having spent time in the outer banks I can say that a good portion of what does happen when access is granted without any restrictions is basically abuse of the natural resources.

Where I live one of the best proponents for preservation of areas I care about are ... hunters ... . I don't agree with the beer drinking shoot yourself in the foot idiots that are a minority of that group nor would I ever hunt but I have friends that do hunt and that is their business.

The problem, I think, is that there are vocal people on the side of keep the beach access fully open who really care little about the environment and only care about their imminent domain and 'freedom' to use public lands.

When one group of people pushes for total access it is more likely another will push for total ban. Neither are good or smart or what I am suggesting.

Thanks for listening!

[geohaye]

Very true.

It is an interesting point about hunters. From one perspective, hunting it reprehensible, but from another perspective it's very core to being human and living in the natural world. National Geographic fairly recently had quite a story on the topic. The upshot: not everyone loves them, and there are irresponsible hunters everywhere, but hunters as a general group do an awful lot to protect open land...

...As long as you're OK with that open land being used for hunting at least parts of the year, then it sure as hell is a lot better than the housing developments that would often otherwise occur on that same land (if the hunters were not ponying up enough cash through license fees to keep the "park land" viable.)