VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Well another season and another debate, new people at the beach and some of the same old ppl with nothing really to add except taunts and stupidity.

So to start...why not kiters downwind of windsurfers. SIMPLE, poor launch area (less beach for beach launch and water gets deep to quickly for water launch) Windshadow past old boat launch, wind begins to get funkier further towards the bay on lightwind days and also it seems that there is a lot more kiters these days than windsurfers and there is more "beach" upwind to accommodate those needs. finally, shorter distance to end of bay = less quality time for student to learn = more runs for student = less efficient. YES over the years there have been a few incidences with students with sailors of both disiplines, but i am willing to bet there have been ALOT more incidents with experienced sailors "showing off" and messing up or windsurfers running people down/ not willing to change tack cause they figure its their area, causing mayhem and misfortune. So the beginners/schools are not really an issue considering the track record of the more experienced sailors from my point of view.

Also for the record, in the beginning and even now windsurfers did/do not wish for the areas to be switched because they did/do not want to have to pack all their gear up beach, and nor would I considering how bulky it all is. The comment of "Each group has their territory pretty clearly stamped out ... the culture is established, and it would take more than common sense to change it at this point!" seems unfair and misinformed to me

Onto the "territory" debate/dispute...... REALLY???? Beach real estate as well as water real estate belongs to NOBODY, and is available to everybody. There are "established" areas that have been used for the schools and their students, and for the most part it has worked, why the problem now???? It is not up to me to justify or defend but someone mentioned "papers" to back up their claim...... I know that one school has met with ministry officials and has gone to great lengths to ensure they meet all the ministry requirements to be there, they also carry insurance which is required, and provide valuable emergency communications/rescues out of courtesy. I personally believe if you benefit from one of these rescues a gratuity is in order, but that is just my take.

Ultimately the lake is getting busier and busier, and space is becoming more and more a premium, and I believe it is going to take all people/users working together, being courteous and respectful so that we all can exist and enjoy our experience at nitinaht individually and together.

Like Pasta said......

and true enough about wind/launch...and jet/ trailer access

new people will be new people, some mean well.....odd guy drifting thru is no biggie esp since the schools seem to have taken their students offshore a lot more with the security of the jets, therefore minimizing the problem....i know I have self rescued a few times making people dodge me, so the lone, un-supported learners are probably the bigger problem for beachgoers....

Sinced we are onto the jetskies tho the only thing that's bothered me are the jet exhausts/noise but they do provide great coaching and insurance so my only hope is they get used minimally and get turned off as possible and not used for joy riding even tho one almost collided with me last year cuz the pilot was bikini watching....but which I can also identify with

kitesurferdale wrote:The comment of "Each group has their territory pretty clearly stamped out ... the culture is established, and it would take more than common sense to change it at this point!" seems unfair and misinformed to me

No disrespect intended. My point was that even if there were good reasons for this to be changed, the established pattern has been worked out over 10, 15, or 20 years ... and even if there were good reasons to try and change it, that's a lot of history, I think it's questionable if the community would be willing to change now.

But more importantly, you clarified there are reasons for the current set up that are more than just force of habit....better launch upwind and the windsurf gear hauling. Good enough reasons for me!

Hope to see y'all up there some time this summer.

We already cleared this up. Why is this coming to debate again?

"3- Give the school and students a wide berth, and remember we were all once (still) kooks "

From the Nitinaht rules which were written by youooooo all

http://bigwavedave.ca/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... c&start=15

It is always a debate and it is tired. As Skywalker points out--read the guidelines, oddly enough they work quite well. The biggest danger seems to be people trying to land their kites on the main beach, and just expecting that someone/anyone knows how to catch their kite and will catch their kite. The decent thing to do is to go down beyond the boatlaunch, take responsibility and self land your kite, thereby not endangering children etc.

Have fun.

Question: do the kite school boats normally start where they will work their way down through othe sailors and kiters in an equal amount, or do they tend to start where they will quickly be in the most travelled sailboard lanes, then moving down to the lower lake?

If so, it could be suggested they (a) make sure they work equally in both the well travelled kite areas, and the well travelled sailing areas, or (b) boat up high in the lake, and work/drift their way down until stopping
before any of the busy areas, or (c)boat up high and work/drift there way through all of the kiting/sailing areas.


Having the courtesy of a rescue boat is great for everyone, but no group should be disadvantaged more by the presence of these boats during their normal work.

Having this, or any debate, is important to the presence of any single suggestion or question, no matter when, where, or how frequently made.

OK, that's settled then.

Next question: say I want to stay up really late playing bongos, where's the best spot for that?

[just joshin', for all of you drum inclined dudes and dudettes]

this only started from the initial post which seems to have been changed or deleted.

In the outhouse, Juan.
For as long as you play in there, I will gladly listen ( from afar ).

I am going to be offering late night Bagpipe lessons at the lake this year. As a special incentive, I will offer them for free to those who cannot master the boingo's.

FREEDOM!!!

What is PSA???? None of the abbreviation list that came up on google would fit, and English is not my first language

Teabag wrote:What is PSA???? None of the abbreviation list that came up on google would fit, and English is not my first language

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)...test used for prostate cancer

Where are some of you people from? If self-proclaimed "competent" kiters or windsurfers can't handle a few newbies being coached by professional instructors on jet skies passing by from time to time during Nitinaht "rush hour," then something is wrong with the experienced wind rangers not with the schools or the newbies. Get a grip people. Share the wind and the BEACH, don't have the audacity to compare Nitinaht to everywhere or anywhere else in the world. It is its own place, special to those that understand what is it all about....(like Pasta, Marty D, Marie, Dale, and a boatload more).
And if you are spoiling for a fight, go to Squamish and better yet just stay there and leave Nitinaht to us happy people.

PSA = Pressure Sensitive Adhesive ??