Suggestion: Lead by example, and access should continue.

[jp5]

[hunwil1984]

This is for the kooks at leo who can barely make it to the water with a walker. Really, isn't it time to drop the pole boards, bow kites, take off the seat harnesses and stop driving the pedophile vans?

Just so I clarify, this isn't directed at the guys who can rip in the waves and ride their 4.7s and wave boards. This is for the kooks who ride formula boards through the lineup because it is too light to shlog on real gear.

I'm all for self policing, I kite at leo every once in a great while when the wind and waves really line up, otherwise there is no point in going. And really, the trick is intimidation. If someone drops in on you f-cking scream at them until they leave crying, or beat them up on the beach. After all it works surfing.

Lastly a note to all the kiters: if you see people doing kook maneuvers (i.e. gay dangles, wakeboarding it waves, dropping in on people, etc...) take it upon yourself to tell them how great cabrillo and belmont are and how it is much more conducive to their style of riding. And instead of telling your "cool" buddies how fun and great kiting is tell them how unsafe and hard to learn it is we don't want windsports turning into surfing.

[dabull1]

Hey Huny, you just provided a great illustration for my last post... share the aloha! Bull

[dabull1]

Gosh nealpar, that really hurt! For your 411 I had a Bruce Jones assy and a full quiver of Pryde Mark Angulo wavesails back in the days before slalom boards and prior to your birth [a compliment]. Why did I not follow the ways of the wavemasters such as Billy, Clark Merritt, and yourself? I guess I just got bored schloging , getting sent thru the rinse cycle , and buying a new Ampro grey once a month. Slalom boards, and later, the Hybrids, have quenched my thirst for speed, which gives me a big ol' smile, especially, when at the end of a session I join the Leo swim team for our evening workout. AND, Todd is my new hero for wavesailing, and rippin, with a friggin 7.5 on Monday.... HE WASN'T SCHLOGING!!! Finally, I appologise for using you as my inside jibe mark during my amateurish attempts at wavesailing.Bull

[nealpar]

DaBull, JPBassking, once again, you guys are showing your girly-man side. Instead, you should've just been out there with the rest of us today, trying to get the last of this latest south swell, instead of absorbing every comment as if it were strictly about you.

One thing I'd like to comment about cyberspace: It's fake! Real life is not inside this stupid machine. It's out there, at work, with your family, or on the water, etc.... Next time you have issue with something I do or say or write, take it up with me IN PERSON!!! Enough of this nonsense!

[johnnycrash]

Wow! I can't believe that I'm actually inclined to chime in. I have sailed Leo since 1982. It has been, and can be, one of the best venues in the world. Sunday and Monday were just spectacular! I have seen most surfers, sailors and kiters share this awesome spot, in relative communion. I have seen over 100+ windsurfers on a weekend during the late 80's and early 90's. There's always that thing that happens when the swell arrives that pushes us to test our skill and nerve to get with the big dogs that read the sets well. I find my self watching Billy, Terry Lukoff,... and trying to get one of those last in the set grinders, that no one happens to be charging for. I most always give respect and way to those with greater skill than I. I really don't mind, until that moment when a kiter ( or windsurfer) shoulder hops me and heads at me upwind, with their back to me. I yell, " watch out I'm not good at this" and then I'll make the hardest bottom turn I can. Sometimes they bail or sometimes I short turn my face carve and I bail down the line - if it looks too unsafe. There's only one way to get better though.
Nealpar, I have a right to sail my "Freeride" board, in the waves anytime I want. I've had many waveboards that really don't work, most of the time at Leo, (due to typically light close shore winds). (It's rare that it is ever really filled in). Yes it's fast, but it turns really well, and I find it to be the MOST fun board I've ever sailed. A Wave snob I'm not.
I know many of the kiters that were/still are windsurfers. Most of them are respectful.
If you have the time and money, kiting is the way to go. They must get in three times the sessions that we get in. They can launch at many open beaches, cut through kelp, sail in 10 knots or less, milk every wave to ankle depth, launch and turn toward the water at the same time ... But the one thing they can't do is crowd a limited space like Leo's 30' wide take-off zone. I feel that they have the whole freaking ocean and that most of them raid Leo mostly for the spectator factor. I think they should only be allowed IF, there are no windsurfers. Period. And they should be happy with that!!! By the way, doesn't the flag with the red ball covering a kite in the middle mean ANYTHING? I thought I should have heard a guard's bullhorn many times this last long wonderful weekend?
See you out there when I can.
Peace & Embrace your Mother Earth

[jp5]

[quote="nealpar"]DaBull, JPBassking, once again, you guys are showing your girly-man side. quote]

Hey Bull, is it your turn to bake the cookies or mine? HAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

[theq]

"Perhaps you guys have forgotten my post a few weeks ago.."

Neilpar, neilpar, neilpar, what do you expect from guys our age?

On my near miss the other day, I was upwind of Ron. His attention was elsewhere at the time I guess. Like I said, it was freak setup for an accident that quite fortunately was avoided.

I agree that some sort of compromise is the only way that things can be worked out.

I don't agree that only "wave sailors" are entitled to sail in waves. I have always considered myself a hybrid, albeit a much more attractive one than those B.K. hybrids . I must emphasize that all should be aware of, and adhere to, long institutionalized rules of the road regarding waves. If you have any questions, I believe that you can find the "rules" on surfline.com somewhere. One unwritten rule in my book has always been "Don't be a wave hog". This applies to kiters and windsurfers alike, although the worst offenders are windsurfers, IMO. To me that's just as bad as leaving someone in the pit, as it breeds ill-will among fellow sportsmen. Nobody needs to ride them all. I find that if I bide my time, clearing to the outside, I eventually end up on a nice hump, one that will be mine alone. Mine, mine, mine. Not everyone clears it to the outside, instead they hang out in the surf zone the whole time. Hot Tip: Everyone knows that if you hang out inside you'll be in position for a lot more waves during the course of a session. It's not that some are just smarter than others. I know that neilpar sometimes ventures out a bit further at times. Perhaps this is to "clear"? Maybe it's just to get away from the crowd for a moment. Either way the result is the same. I think that for the sake of equity and peace, wave sailors should take it outside for a bit after riding a nice wave. I feel that I'm not the only one who feels this way. Perhaps I'm wrong?

The kiter interruption/complication to our longtime windsurf spot was bound to happen. It's the way of our world. As much as we want stability, we just can't have it. Not while other people are fighting for food, money, status, oil, religion, or their own road to ya-yas-ville. Too many conflicting agendas. Decency and compromise are signs of strength to me. They show an understanding of the nature of being human that afflicts us all. (Sorry, that might sound a bit heavy or preachy, but I'll leave it.)

I remember surfing back in the seventies (Neilpar: It's the short-term memory that goes first. ), and enjoying the "away from the madding crowd" aspect of it. It wasn't far into the eighties that I had to travel further in order to get this desired effect. In the mid-eighties I started windsurfing in order to have the ability to get away from the crowd and still get my jollies in the ocean. With windsurfing/kiting, it's really starting to look like "deja vu all over again". If windsurfing starts offering such greatly dimished returns for me, because of the aggressive crowd situation, I'll be forced to find another sport. I have few regrets at having all but given up surfing in favor of windsurfing for the past 8-10 years. I'll consider myself quite lucky to have enjoyed windsurfing in what will probably be looked back upon it's greatest years. Like I said, nothing lasts forever. I will exit this sport on my own time, but will not be the type that stays until the experience turns sour. I'd rather leave it on a positive note. I'm not there yet, but it has potential.

Since insults, name-calling, and/or the claiming of some divine right to something or some place, is not a good way to start a dialogue toward compromise, I apologize for my kiter "swarming" comment. I thought that it was sort of funny. My bad.

[swchandler]

When I read real nonsense like nealpar and hunwil1984 noted above in their posts, I'm really amazed at how inflated and self absorbed some folks truly are.

Frankly, I'm surprised that the simple folks don't readily get down on their knees when such marvels of personality grace the beach with their presence, especially if there are waves of any kind. For those that don't understand and appreciate their greatness, beware of your fate, particularly if hunwil1984 cops an onry attitude and wants to go off as suggested above.

To be quite honest, you two really need to develop some humility and lose the pompous attitudes. But, I don't know if that's even possible when egos get so tweaked over time. I guess we can only hope.

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to make the long drive down to Leo very much the last couple of seasons, as C Street has been offering sufficient fare without all the bent attitudes. But, if I do make the drive, I'll definitely bring my slalom board to mix it up in the waves and ruffle up those with the foolish egos and standards.

[jp5]

AMEN! Come on down brother!