The Grinch that Stole Alameda

[reyrivera]

Hey Jane and Rebeca,

I'm glad you posted this so things should clear up a bit. I got a question:
What is the procedure for independent manufacturers so they can do an informal demo. Since Alameda can be finicky with good winds, how would one independent manufacturer not carried by Board Sports School or Kite Wind Surf be able to do a small demonstration without violating any rules given a short window of opportunity.

It would be nice to have Ocean Rodeo, Eclipse, or Caution kites, as examples, to be able to go to Alameda and do demos.

[EvanOR]

I don't mean to hijack the thread here, but we are currently establishing a solid core of team riders to cover the entire Bay area (right now the majority of us live in the city and stick mainly to Crissy). We are doing this in part because of the difficulties of doing impromptu demos at both 3rd Ave (takes 3-4 weeks to get a permit for a full scale demo) and Alameda. Please email me at ussales@oceanrodeo.com so I can make sure that you can get a Rise into your hands one way or another. Or just show up at Crissy most any week night. :) There is typically plenty of beer and tequila circulating post-sesh.

Thanks also to Jane for providing further insight and detail into the story. I am quite sure there is more going on here than what is immediately obvious to the rest of use.

[Boardsports]

Hi Rey,

Any commercial activity requires a permit through the park. Manufacturers can simply go to the east bay regional parks to inquire about a permit. I just chatted with Evan from Ocean Rodeo about this.

My understanding is that as long as it's a commercial activity, permits are required. Even the paddle-for-breast-cancer-prevention fund raiser that CCK puts on at Crown Beach is permitted for liability reasons.

Just call the East Bay Regional park office. They will know the details.

:-)
-Rebecca
Boardsports School

[lmontejo]

Charly,

With all due respect, you are missing the point. Read my last line before the epilog:

Kitesurfing IT learned, does not come from a store. Maybe kiting, means just a little bit more!

I have been careful not to take sides here. I have simply depicted, in a humorous way, what everybody has been seeing for a while.

And just as one corrects one's own son or daughter for misbehavior (and yet loves him or her), I posted this here to remind EVERYBODY that we MUST keep kiting ABOVE ALL our differences. And that if we have any, we wash our dirty laundry at home. That is, we don't call the cops.

I started with Dr. Seuss here, but now I am going to play Ward Cleaver...

How should the Beaver have handled this issue? Certainly not by calling the police. The demo had been posted several days before on this forum. If the Beaver had problems with it, he should have called Wally and coordinated the event so that everybody could be a winner. Any issues/differences should have been resolved BEFORE the North team showed up. Had I worked for the Shack, I would have been there to even help them pump up!

As much as I like you Charly, your answer only enhances the problem. (I know you love to play Eddie Haskell). And yet my interest here is neither picking sides nor bashing the Shack. Read on...

My entire goal is to introduce a novel concept at Alameda: CIVILITY

We have two shops - we have two styles. If I can be the person that breaks this impasse and gets them to think about making the pie bigger, and not fighting on how they split it up a smaller one, then I will have accomplished my purpose.

But we must STOP the current approach of handling differences with the police, simply because in the end, everybody loses.

I urge you all to participate in making this happen. (You too Charly!)

Best regards,

Leo

[CdoG]

how about if north and jeff just went though the proper channles
in the frist place
just becuse jeff posted
dose not a permit make.
and iam missing your point
if jeff didnt push the line..

as far as CIVILITY
show me on the beach

[windhorny]

"wash our dirty laundry at home."

this is really the key.

But if a crook is threatening to take your wallet you generally dont talk him out of it, you look to higher authority. All this stems from past. And as Charlie says, THEY should work it out. Both sides are guilty and innocent. In a perfect world, or alameda beach for this matter, we would be able to use the kiters as a jury. But that power is never directly given to us. Ironically it is the kiters who feed both businesses and are, in the long run, the life of the sport.

here's a question:

If every kiting business got along with eachother would anyone ever go out of their way for a permit? Of course not. This is a an issue stemed from territorialism which is stemed from one business being forced to pay money to the city while the other does not HAVE to.

So then, to be utterly direct, if KWS paid Boardsports a "leave us alone fee" for the day to demo, the city would never know about it, they dont care, no kiter cares, it is 10 kites pumped up on a beach next to 20-30 others. The average dog walker sees us all as the same. even the random guy on a foil kite is one of us to the old couple sitting on the bench. It is a fact that Boardsports is required to pay huge amounts of insurance to the city. KWS, not being directly on the beach does not, yet they pay for their own insurance to teach. So both busniesses are paying their due insurance. So this is not an insurance issue. Now if North actually had a permit that day would Boardsports have actually known about it? Or is it just assumed they didn't?

The truth is that no shop really needs a permit to run a demo. the permit is a way of keeping an upper hand over eachother so we can point fingers. As much as I like both parties, these 2 HAVE to find a way to work this out without higher powers involved. Lock yourself in a room and dont come out til this has a resolution. our community is at stake. Do it for us.

We are just getting into the heart of the perfect weather for kiting, lets not destroy the stoke by adding politics where they dont belong. Even if i am contributing by typing.

At the end of the day we all smile and love each other. Even the guy on the yellow omega. :)

[Travis]

This was the reply I got back from the East Bay Regional Parks department following my request last week for a permit to have a kiteboarding demo at Crown Beach anytime in the near future...


Hi Travis,
Unfortunately, you will not be able to obtain a permit since it conflicts with our contract with the Board Sports concessionaire. I apologize that I am not able to accommodate your request.

Tiffany Margulici
Reservations Supervisor
East Bay Regional Park District
ph 510-544-2540/fax 510-639-4757
tmargulici@ebparks.org

[Blackbird]

Minus all the political, emotional mud slinging, none of this affects my stoke for kiting Alameda. I learned here, from KWS. This is my favorite place to ride when it blows. Why?

1. The people are great.
2. Lots of entertainment on and off the water.
3. the views are stellar, especially sunsets over the SF skyline.
4. Good restaurants close by. La Pinata!
5. Excellent ice cream: Tuckers.
6. Close to home (at least for me)
7. TWO shops to choose from.
8. Squishy goose shit between the toes.
9. Waves, flats, shallows, all tide dependent.
10. I'm a homing pigeon. I learned here, love it here, and keep coming back.

The politics don't matter much if you focus on the good stuff. Ultimately it is your wallet that makes your preferences known. Nothing else. Words are cheap. How cheap is your kite budget? Probably a lot more expensive than your words...

And big kudos to the Grinch story creator. That rocked.

[Blackbird]

So, according to recon by Travis, the issue is actually EBRP. A bad contract for the concession I presume. No wiggle room for other vendors. Hmmm. Sounds like our tax paying dollars hard at work, eh?

[Blackbird]

One more thought: a public beach, paid and maintained by OUR tax dollars, giving exclusive rights to only manufacturers available/sold/stocked by ONE shop that resides in a SHACK! Hmmm, will I be limited to only wear REEF sandals on the beach? How about only be able to drive Chevy vehicles into the parking lot? For a public access beach, this sure sounds crooked...