VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Or you could have surf police like these. Surfer detained and threatened with charges for drop in. First on the wave/closest to the peak you decide. Looks like they both enjoyed the wave. Can't people just share sometimes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ay_KOBBVEY[i][/i]

I'm a 20 year surfer, 2 year kiter ... the friendly community attitude in kiting has been a major plus for me. I can hold my own in the surf, and I can get my share in most crowded situations ... but what I need to do and how I need to act to do so pretty much wrecks the experience for me. It is very refreshing to do a sport where, for the most part, more is indeed merrier and newcomers are welcomed.

But the one place this isn't the case in kiting is wave riding. It is still one rider to one wave, but I believe the mechanics of kiting make it worse. With a kite on 21m swivel, that creates a 70 foot buffer zone around each rider. With the extra speed, and with cutbacks and possibly even short tacks, there is much less room. So if 15-20 is a crowd in surfing, where it starts to become a problem, is it 5-6 kites on the same break?

I think we're about to find out....as more and more twintip air masters become interested in wave chasing, and as more surfers learn to fly kites. I wonder if increased crowds will erode kiting's current "aloha" spirit?

Where is Jordan when you need him.

I remember an incident about 15 years ago when a certain rolly poly friend was enjoying an afternoon of surfing frolic with some more experienced surfers andwas harassed everytime he made a mistake however some young big boy made the mistake of poking Roly poly in the chest on the beach and making some comments and ended up extremely bloody and finely tuned in 30 seconds . Turned out that roly poly was super tough and when he returned to the lineup and continued with his cookism and slight judgmental errors nary a peep did he hear from the surfers . He apparently earned his respect .For me plenty of fine waves without the nasty crowds that really take the fun out of the sport . I also had some lessons from a pro surfer that mentioned that this was a mean crowd and I watched him surf circles around the locals and make them look like chumps however he offered me some pointers . Surf mentality is stupid