VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Factory seconds (cosmetic) if anyone needs a helmet: http://www.shopatron.com/index/343.0.10087.10853.0.0.0

Hey,

Just a quick note to remind those who are new to the sport that there are better locations than Cook St. to be learning to bodydrag etc.

There have been a few incidents this spring with kiters who are clearly not the competence level required by Cook, and I fear someone may be injured soon.

I am not trying to be a scaremonger, or territorial, but simply not wanting to be a first hand witness to any more carnage. There has been at least two incidneces in the last week that were quite distressing to watch.

So, I thought a reminder might be in order that Island View Beach (especially at the lower tides and in the mid afernoon) and the Parksville area are much friendlier beaches to launch/body drag and get those first 'open ocean' runs in after the lake. Cook St. has a dangerous launching zone, reefs, rocks, logs and the added complication of many advanced kiters that like to come into the main area.

Cheers!

Hey JL, that link just brings one back to the beginning of this exact thread. A good starting point, yes, but was that your intended link?

Also, as I posted on the message board, a good barometer in my opinion of whether you are ready for Cook St. is if you can stay upwind elsewhere.

For me personally, I had 10 months of practice of kite flying and body dragging at Parksville, Island View Beach, Gordon's and Nitinat before venturing out at Cook. I could also stay upwind regulary at the Lake prior to going out at Cook. And that was back 7 years ago when there was much less traffic!

Those of us learning at the time were lucky to have Ross, Grant, Jan and other to let us know of the best locations for learning, and now I am just passing on what they taught us.

Sounds like a fine idea.....if you have now achieved competence and is easy to proclaim
faced w/ this kiting thing right now .. banish??....internal responsibility system seems to be degrading to Gestapo Beach.

Apart from driving hundreds of k's Kook is the only launch suitable on a typical light summer westerly. I have also considered CowBay with a boat but that brings up other problems/hazards.

Perhaps launching downwind from reefs would make more sense among other good points one could put forward. Appreciate the thought behind it and preventing incidents and all but outright telling people they cannot launch is a bit ......aaaah, what's the word

Any other more constructive input for those ready to give it a try? BTW I have and can go upwind given good wind conditions but will likely be driftwood at Kook for a few days for sure, regardless of body drag practice and going upwind

The big problem with launching downwind of the reefs is that the wind is swirly, thus adding to the potential problems. I tend to side with Paul on this. There are lots more users than in previous years, and thus more potential for injuring someone else.

to put it in perspective, I have seen 2 concussions, 3 broken arms, 1 broken Jaw, one broken femur and numerous minor injuries. The narrow beach leaves no margin for error, and is thus dangerous.

There is also always the potential issue of a kite hitting people watching from the cliff-top.

Hence Paul's advice is good, consider Cook St an advanced spot. Just as a novice windsurfer would find the conditions challenging, so would a novice kiter. The difference is that the kiter is more likely to injure themselves or someone else trying to overcome those challenges.

Exactly.

again, no argument from me, raging agreement in fact.

yes, the tally of casualties is growing everyone knows....but it being the best of the worst W-spots, what else can ya do? Not kite? or drive 2-3 hrs?? unlikely scenario ross bay would be a great spot on low tide ,no? except for da road how's the swirlies there, bad I suppose

oh, the argument "added complication of many advanced kiters that like to come into the main area" doesn't hold much water w/ me they of all people should keep clear of beginners as I do regularly at the Nat and elsewhere for windsurfers OR kiters.

Kus, you are different, you have sailed at Kook lots, are competant in the water and as stated, can stay upwind at Nitnat. If you haven't sailed/kited at Kook before, and are new to the sport, then the best advice is to get some practice time in a safer spot. A wrecked Kite is more exspensive than gas(barely).

This is just a word of caution to novice kiters. Unlike Mattdogs advice, we can't banish them, but we don't have to launch them either. For instance, last night a kite was put down because an exsperienced kiter realized that the (novice kiter he was launching) had their front lines longer than the back lines. The kite had flown backwards once already. Luckily the wind was light. I have seen the same thing cause a concussion and broken arm.

So all this is, is advice to hopefully lessen injuries and keep Cook St as a kiting option. Nobody wants to see kiting banned there becuase a bystander was injured.

What do they do in places like MAUI and DR with the kiters and wsurfers. Do the keep them in separate areas or what? Zones seems like an idea.

whew, I think we need a committee, eh?

Zones? it's not an issue of wsurfer/kiter interference I don't think.....at least not how I see it but merely a launching hazard at Kook when LoserKiter Kus et al get dragged into the kelp, hooked, then launched onto the rocks or rigs his kite improperly and becomes part of the landscape on the beach imbedding a few small children and tourists enroute.

Nah, we need a bit of fill for a proper spit for the launchsite is all maybe out to the reefs fill'er up with gravel and sand

Seriously tho, apart from the Nat where can one learn/improve to kite on the island in summer? When the W blows: Esquimalt is dangerous due to its gusts/swirls, Gordos has the trees and houses right there but maybe (never thought about it there due to the hole, is it better to try there??), tho it's a bit of a drive and launch is tricky, Willows has a huge shadow, Cattle Point is offshore, mega rocky not to mention crawling with tourists but if ya had a boat.....

At Kook I guess I figured once the beginner is out more than 50 yrds he's likely going downwind and ending up at the turret or Clover Pt which is cool I think, no If the experienced kiter assister can help their fellow dood: check the beach for living obstacles, lines set-up and another helps launch by holding the newbie it should be ok....but this would require a generous bunch of kiters sitting idle on the beach when there's wind, kinda unlikely situation....Back to that internal responsibility and having a knowledgeable partner/trainer

Just to clarify, I didn't suggest banning those who are not a particular level! My post had the intent of helping guide personal responsibility and avoid unnecessary injuries.

I don't want newbies to feel unwelcome either. To the contrary, I want those who join our community to feel welcome and educated as to best practices and protocol in order to foster friendly relations for all while preventing potential injuries and kite bans.

While injuries could happen anywhere, a kite ban is *far* more likely at Cook St. We have had incidents where kites have hit people on the cliff and just last week as Rob Scott pointed out, children have come close to being knocked down.

I was simply pointing out the best areas for learning to bodydrag and get the first runs on the board. IV and even Cordova Bay often have excellent steady SSE winds in the summer months in the afternoon before strong westerlies kick in the evening. For example, while a couple of beginners were waiting for the winds at Cook st. the other day, Gmac was out kiting at Cordova Bay in light winds.

And Kus, you are definitely not the kind of person the message was targeted to. People like you and windoc are very familiar with the location and wise to the hazards. I am not playing favourites either - just that you guys obviously know the location well and also appear to have taken time to learn the necessary skills to avoid major errors on launching. As well, I was not trying to be long winded or spark debate (so much for those goals;) but since both of those have fallen by the wayside, I can add that the staying upwind is a measurement that is kind of irrelevant. What we hope to see is knowledge of kite theory and kite handling skills that will prevent disaster on launching, where most of the injuries have taken place. People tend to (but by no means always) have those skills by the time they can stay up wind. I would have suggested people just stay away until their kite handling skills are great, but that is very subjective. Staying upwind is objective and highly correlated with good kite handling skills.

Finally, on the Lake issues, I believe Ross H and Paul Betts created guidelines that are somewhere on BWD that had zones and suggestions to avoid conflict. I will leave that to others to dig up and discuss, as that is getting away from my main point, and the lake is only one of many places to learn.

Good winds,
Paul

Just a thought, because more and more people are learning to enjoy the wind as we all have. How about a sign at the top of the stairs. Just pointing out some hazards, to not only windsurf/kiters but to everyone that walks down those stairs. randoms love to skip rocks right in the launching area. we could suggest keeping a heads up for kites above and lines on the beach. Some people don't understand the dangers at all. I'm not saying we have rights to the beach, it's not only our beach. A heads up would just let people know to be careful! Recommend this area for advanced windsurf/kiters only and watch the heck out for the rocks at low tide! These kind of warnings could help avoid acciddents hey! CJ out

Sounds like you're saying when there are kites launching, etc, at the beach, the beach becomes a risky place to visit. What do you mean by "randoms" in "the launch area"? On a public beach, we all have a right to walk where ever, and not have to worry about some kite slamming down on us, or lines getting tangled around the limbs of children and pets. The "launch" area at Nitinat used to have wild roses growing, till they were pulled out to accomodate the needs of kiters, very sad.

Ok I was going to stay out of this conversation but ......... I consider myself an intermediate kiter and I still have reservations about cook st. when I visit. Going upwind is by no measure skill, period. With the quality of lessions and someone "in tune" with the skills nessesary they can be upwinding within 3 days of practice, but when @#$@# hits the fan or a launching error happens there is in no way any "automatic" skill set that kicks in due to experience that is gained only by having alot of time on the water and dealing with problems as well as witnessing problems/accidents. This sport is fantastic and has in me created a "addiction" but that doens't make me stupid and unaware of my saftely or the saftey of others, that is a simple attitude, and if people can't have that respect for themselves or others then they have no business being on the water... period. So if somebody shows up and demonstrates or behaves in a unsafe manner, then the more experienced sailors should either educated them in a friendly manner or advise them of the peril and refuse to launch, can't really get any simpler than that. As for bystanders, well they are not informed or aware of the dangers and there should be warnings out so that at least they can make a educated descision on wether they are placing themselves or their children in danger. KSD out.

The Best summer teaching spot is probably Eagle Point in Nanaimo. Below a 3m tide there is 200 m of pure sand from the rocky shore to the water. The sand area is about 800m wide. Low tides are typical during the summer days. We get many light to moderate northwesterlies in the summer. Perfect for teaching. The water is also shallow out about 50 feet at least. You could launch a jet ski in Lantzville - there's a ramp - and drive it down to Eagle point a couple km with your student and gear on board.