NPS wants to ban Kitesurfing to save the Plover

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

I'm sorry, I guess I thought it was clear that only a few kiters do that thing with the heel drag during/after the launch. Evidently, enough do so because I seem to remember seeing that nearly every time I've paid attn to a group of kiters in many venues here in FL. There seems to be at least one set of hell ruts... Plovers' nests are not that easy to spot, BTW. Just a shallow depression and a couple of eggs or hatchlings. They are nearly invisible to those that aren't naturalists or avid bird watchers Not the stereotypical birds' nests.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

Wind.Man · Joined: 12 May 2001 Posts: 39

bird loving idiots - who gives a sh** about the plovers - really?!?! WTF. Give me a break...stay out of my life...if I want to kite, I will kite - you can go F yourself.

And for those windsurfers who think kiters are punks/trying to be cool/attention mongrels...you're right on all counts! don't worry though, you all join us sooner or later and realize how much cooler kiting is!

PeconicPuffin · Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 1830

Wind.Man · Joined: 12 May 2001 Posts: 39

yeah puffin - windsurfers have never had/caused an accident. I've seen plenty of windsurfers showboating in a swim area with a high speed jibe - barely missing other windsurfers and swimmers...the "footprint of badness" is equal

colorit · Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2009 8:27 am Post subject:

Funny those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it. Back in the 70's it was the 16 to 24 year olds terrorizing the "mature" skiers on the slopes with their "Hot Dogging" moves. But it was younger skiers annoying older skiers. Then snowboarding came around. The younger crowd moved to boards and terrorized the older skiers with their skidding the snow down to ice and jumps and 'Jibbing". In the early 90's as a snowboard rep I would explain the situation with the phrase, " Same Hormones, Different Sport". Meaning that irrespsonsibility is usually a function of youth that is eventually grown out of. It's seemed easy for the mature skiing crowd to demonize snowboarding at the time, but really it was just the generational difference between the participants. Now with the advent of Kitesurfing it the same situation repeating itself again. Typical Windsurfer is 40 + years old. Typical Kiter is under 30, so we're back to same hormones, different sport situation all over again.
Based on a recent article in the Island Free Press from the Outer Banks it looks like the Cape Cod decision might affect kiting on the NPS beaches of Hatteras Island. What we have is an enviro-wacko driven decision based on some grad students thesis from the 80's well before kitesurfing existed affecting the recreational choices of Americans at their own National Seashores. Instead of kiters and windsurfers calling each other names, maybe kiters and windsurfers should team up and double the pressure on the feel good environmentalists who seem to think we'd all be better off if we got our exercise indoors in an un air-conditioned warehouse instead of enjoying our national parks and outdoors. I think that it is possible to share the environment in a reasonable fashion that doesn't result in outright bans of human presence in the outdoors.

dsz · Joined: 31 Aug 1993 Posts: 193

Having been windsurfing in Hatteras for over 20 years and now kiting mostly, I think both factions seem to get along quite well there. Most kiters stay offshore of Canadian Hole and windsurfers stay away from KP for the most part - as it should be I guess. When I do encounter a windsurfer in the Sound most of the time it is a friendly wave and smile, both enjoying the experience.

I have been to the Gorge Event Site and I think both parties can be guilty of showboating too close to shore there.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

dsz · Joined: 31 Aug 1993 Posts: 193

jingebritsen · Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Posts: 3371

Who gives a crap about our eco-system? Everyone likes breathing, using high tech pharma, and enjoying the wide open spaces of the great outdoors, right? Science is a funny thing. One may find out in the future that plover eggs may cure aging. Oh no, we've got too many "who gives a crap" types that love to plow up all parts of our eco-system to put in a parking lot, already.

Shoot, the greater part of our oxygen comes from the ocean. Scientists have yet to figure out all of just how that works. Yet we humans keep dumping our toxins into all the high seas, rivers and lakes. Another part of our O2 comes from trees, look what we've done there. Let's just clear cut the planet and shiite extra hard in our local kite sailing launch. You don't care about that, right? There are some ginormous cesspools in NC on the Smithfield Farms properties that are full of pig excrement, up river from the Pamlico Sound, maybe all kiters that don't care about nature oughta go kite in that.