Little girl with smashed face at Alameda today

[Fassn8]

Starting a new thread (with better title) for the "education effort".

[Greg]

I kited Alameda yesterday afternoon and it was pure bliss!
Yes there were lots of kites but it was pretty managable.. The beach at the Shack was fairly well organized and the launch area was mostly open...
Personally- I got a clean launch and land and had nothing but FUN inbeween!!

The beach looked pretty mild to my yesterday..
L.M.G.

[windhorny]

When i see a family on the beach next to harms way i always tell them something like this... "you are at a beginner beach and most people don't know what they are doing, so don't assume they have things under control as the lines can be very dangerous." it always works well because you are not pointing the finger at them. many people sit as close to the entry points of the beach as possible. So this will effect every spot that we launch from. When it is nice at home and people are out i just walk somewhere else to self launch. but when families park right in the middle of the shack or shellgate launch, they NEED to know.

But i dont think signs are a good method at alameda as it makes us look really bad to have to post them at all. Self-government is the only way.

"but my 15 year old son only had a 15 meter kite." .........

[mike]

I rode Alameda yesterday (from the shack) and agree that everything flowed smoothly for the most part, and it was an incredible day. I didn't see the incident involving the little girl, but did see the almost-lofting at the apartments mentioned by reyrivera, and I only bring it up for reasons that will become evident, sorry for the thread hijack.

What I saw - kite launches hot and powers up quickly, dragging the kiter up from the water towards the street. Kite powers back and forth several times, nearing the apartments - several cars driving along westline drive hit the brakes as the kite flies overhead and the kiter nears the street. Luckily the kite crashes on the beach and the kiter ends up in the bushes just past the transformers. Kiter was shaken up but seemed OK.

What was potentially very disturbing about this incident - several very angry eyewitnesses said that the launcher basically threw the kite into the air well before the kiter was ready - i.e. kiter looking away from the kite, bar/lines not properly oriented, no thumbs up signal, etc. Apparently he had done this with several other folks yesterday but they managed to avoid problems.

According to those eyewitnesses, the launcher is a kiter who proceeded to ride as if nothing had happened. Some folks apparently tried to talk to him but were brushed off.

I only saw the almost-lofting and not the actual kite release - maybe others who saw the launch can comment further. We've all seen some stupid s**t but its pretty scary to think one of our own is really that careless/clueless.

Back on topic - I follow windhorny's advice - I think it's up to us to keep a good distance from non-kiting beachgoers unless they're planted in the middle of a designated launch zone, in which case a gentle, self-deferential approach usually works.

[rvv]

This stuff happens every day in europe!

[Greg]

DONT YOU UNDERSTAND??

Just ONE call from the Captain of a vessel to the C.G. or some concerned parents with a bloody faced child explaining their experance to a news reporter and YOUR (read that OUR) life changes for the worse...

We (kiters) simply cannot afford this kind of ATTENTION! :(

Gregory Boyington

[windhorny]

Seriously. If i had your brawn, there would be a lot more deflated kites.

[windhorny]

delete

[Greg]

Seriously. If I had your talent and shop I'd build some INSAIN TOY'S!! :idea: :idea: :idea:
and let EVERYONE ride them for FREE :) :) :D

please God dont give him any more toy ideas.. :o
L.M.G.

[windhorny]

I do and I have! :)