Reducing Exposure to the Reckless

bthiel · Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:54 pm Post subject: Reducing Exposure to the Reckless

I'd like to apologize for my reaction to what occured on Labor Day, Saturday.

Everyone,
I do know I was wrong, regardless of nothing extreme happening as a result of releasing the kite, accidently. I like to ask, what was the most important part of this we can take away and move forward? What did we learn from this lesson of events? How can we move ahead to prevent errant events?

What was and is important to me now is how to maintain the safety of the public on land and water?

Kiting and windsurfing can be deadly on the water, but should never be to any of those on the land. The other issue is to maintain this same safety on the water.

That said, perhaps that would be an intelligent outcome of this thread.

I want to learn, okay? I will wait before I post again to see your suggestions which may or not have been previously stated.

Thank You.

isobars · Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935

It's really pretty simple: one never puts his gear where, even with loss of control, it can harm anyone else.

WSers can just jump in the water; unless airborne, they stop immediately. Kiters have a MUCH bigger footprint, and with it goes a MUCH larger radius of potential harm. That limits where they can play, both morally and legally, and "Chill, dude!" or "I didn't see you" won't stand up in criminal, civil, or kangaroo court.

rswabsin · Joined: 14 May 2000 Posts: 444 Location: New Jersey

The launch in Seaside offers access to great sailing/kiting conditions with no wind obstructions and is a big favorite for all of us. But the parking lot can get overly crowded on the good summer days and there is only one narrow path providing access to the water. Alot of folks insist on parking within a few feet of this path which makes carrying a sail, kite and boards to and from the water a real challenge. I know it irritates the hell out of me.

Given the access constaints imposed by the Park Rangers and the limitation of the launch itself, I think one lesson to learn here (for everyone) is to be conscious of the space your taking up and leave room for others to get by with their gear. If we gave each other a little more space, looked around us while carrying our gear and didn't block the path, maybe the incident that occured would have never happened.

Rob

jkrug · Joined: 30 Apr 2000 Posts: 50

don't launch a kite where you shouldn't...ever. don't pull a kiter's lines...ever. people make mistakes in judgment; the key is to not make the same mistake twice. of course, access can be lost after just 'once'. so if anything can be learnt here, it'd be to think first, act second. whether you're creating a potential 'event' or reacting to it, think first...is it worth whatever possible worst case scenario can come out of it? easier said then done, i know.

bred2shred · Joined: 02 May 2000 Posts: 989 Location: Jersey Shore

DelCarpenter · Joined: 06 Nov 2008 Posts: 499 Location: Cedar Falls, IA

Reducing recklessness among adrenaline seekers like windsurfers & kiters is a tall order.

Recklessness was good for learning to hunt big game. But it is also part of how we keep getting financial market disasters due to too much speculation. In deciding what to do we focus on the good things that could happen and neglect how badly things could go wrong.

We tend to rely way too much on our ability to figure what is likely to happen, such as recognizing there is only a low probability of an accident. We don't pay enough attention to the possible consequences of an accident. (See Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.)

bthiel · Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2014 11:00 am Post subject:

Reckless
Adjective for a person's actions without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action.
synonyms: rash, careless, thoughtless, heedless, unheeding, hasty, overhasty, precipitate, precipitous, impetuous, impulsive, daredevil, devil-may-care; irresponsible, foolhardy, audacious, over adventurous; ill-advised, injudicious, madcap, imprudent, unwise, ill-considered; informal kamikaze; literary temerarious.

Good idea if not the best IMHO: Why folks don't just launch out of the park/boat ramp at 13th ave.

I assume the poster meant kiters because in order to launch a kite from most of the various wind directions, they'd have to go past the posted sign. Or be reckless and launch from the parking lot. The Lot Launcher's wanted to be in compliance with the State Ranger's Posted Sign, whether being reckless or not.

It's really pretty simple: one never puts his gear where, even with loss of control, it can harm anyone else.