BayAreaKiteboarding.com

kitedancer wrote:I always ride my pink TT at Waddell-----maybe some day I will join the elitist group of riding a surfboard ; )

I hear you, I hope no one thought I was a kook or first timer on my TT on my rides there. :shock:

It's my third year of kitesurfing / kiteboarding (never know which is the proper term :?: To learn, I have taken quite a few lessons with a great instructor mainly because I didn't want to injure myself and others while progressing in the sport.

One of the things I greatly appreciate about the sport is the friendliness of the community and of other kitesurfers. Having friends who surf in the Santa Cruz area, I regularly hear of fights, threats and how unfriendly surfing can be.

I think it's a great thing to have these posts on how to behave and what guidelines exist in certain kitesurfing spots, especially if one hasn't tried them before. However, what I would find unfortunate is not giving a chance or being intolerant of newcomers, and having the same attitude that you can find in regular surfing. A newcomer in a surfing spot should obviously seek guidance from locals but please be tolerant of mistakes that a beginner may do - trust me they're not intentional :) ! Otherwise, how will one ever learn and progress!

I agree that if the same newbie doesn't show respect, continues to do mistakes and acts irresponsibly, locals can be harsh with them (just as with a bad student!).

Thanks again to the ones that do put these great guideline posts on sites - they're extremely useful.