Yellow kiter yesterday crashed at Leo

[jp5]

yeah, what about them boardshorts on an intellectually big person? whutzup with that?

[pzwinakis]

Lets see.. how can I make this simple enough... ever been hit by a beach ball? Thats what getting hit by a kite is like, just a lot harder.. And yes it stings. I have been hit by windsurfers, a good friend had fat and nasty stuff hanging out of his thigh after being hit by a windsurfer. I'd rather be hit by a kite, but I would prefer to be hit by neither, thank you.

Also, trying to kite in the surf while dodging windsurfing gear being cycled though the impact zone (not connected to a human) is not very fun. I really love it also when you give a windsurfer his/her right of way on a wave and they can't keep up with it, they fall out the back and then take the next wave you have been patiently waiting for.. that's great. or when they....

[boggsman1]

Dear PZ..... There are a lot of pikers in the water , windsurf and kite alike. Its the nature of any sport. Up in the Bay Area, its colder , windier, waves are much bigger, and whitey is roaming. But you know what ..... nobody's bitchin, except maybe a couple of homers at Davenport , why yoo buggin man?

[swchandler]

While I can find agreement in getting along and sharing bit, but what kind of teenage dialogue is this:

"(even though I think their sport is antiquated and silly)"

"(the future of windsurfing is certainly a little more suspect though)"

So many kiters think that they graduated to some kind hero sport that's superior in every way. Frankly, I find the attitude a bit too teenage in nature for me. One doesn't need to reject or belittle the past (or others for sticking with something great) when one moves on in a different direction.

Although kiting clearly appeals to some folks, it doesn't to others that have a different point of view. Really, I think windsurfing is a fantasic sport, and while not it's not for everybody, it's quite rich in dimension and substance, and easily worthy of one's participation.

So, think about more about the positive aspects of communicating and getting along, and lose the pointed adolescent attempts to needlessly criticize windsurfing. Without a doubt, you would find better synergy and acceptance overall by avoiding devisive sideline commentary.

[windoggi]

Remember folks, polesurfing and tea-bagging are both Pointless Activities that exist only because of our hedonistic desire to play with all of that free energy out there. Arguing the virtues of one over the other is akin to arguing for the use of the left hand over the right hand when Choking One's Chicken...we all share the same goal.

[nealpar]

I don't mean to ruffle feathers, but MOST of the people that got into kiting were MEDIOCRE WINDSURFERS, at best, and a lot of them never even had any wind or ocean sports backgrounds. (I'll acknowledge maybe Treg and another guy as exceptions...)

This applies not only to the local So. Cal. kiters, but also to some of the "big kiters" in Hawaii.

Indeed, when kiting was new, these formerly mediocre or weak windsurfers found a way to "stand out and be noticed", something they never experienced as windsurfers or in their other "who knows what sport".

However, the "being noticed" phase quickly morphed into an unjustifable ego-feeding frenzy, which, we all know, persists to the present day. We windsurfers as well as most kiters know full well which kiters masturbate to their own pictures...talk about nothing but how much they're kiting..., and turn a deaf ear to issues such as the one presented by this topic.

My attitude with kiters is this: Some are decent folk and you can indeed talk to them rationally and if their numbers one day exceed the self-absorbed A-holes, then there's hope for reaching a mutually desirable solution BEFORE the dreaded accident and resultant SHUT-DOWN!

In the meantime, I am actually learning to kite, so that I can better understand the friction between the two sports-enthusiasts...(no, not really....or maybe?....neh.)

Love y'all!

[jp5]

don't do it Nealpar, it's not too late. truth is kiters are pod people, taken over by aliens. fight the urge, you can win.

[tweeky]

[theq]

That'll teach those windsurfers to leave their equipment on his beach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8mrjYRr6ao&NR=1

[theq]

Perhaps nobody ended up dead in this crowd, but it would just be from shear (sic) luck. Warning: This is a rather nasty wipeout, perhaps not for the faint-hearted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-ssOtmbMKE&mode=related&search=