Moving Backward at Hardings
Mon, 07/26/2010 - 15:39
So, what Kook was at Hardings Sunday afternoon, crashing her kite into the beach and pissing off the beachgoers?
We had a woman come up to us when we were pumping up our kites (around 5:30) asking us how much insurance kiteboarders' carry. The woman went on to tell us that the girl flying the kite about a hundred yards east of the main beach nearly hit her a few times while trying to get her kite under control. And some kiters did witness two kites crashing alot on the beach down that way. One ran down to stop the craziness. I am sure those n00bs ruffled some plover feathers too.
So, what is up with n00bs thinking they can learn to kite at Hardings? The terrain conditions are NOT n00b friendly AND the locals are even less so. If you can't land backrolls, stay away from Hardings!!!!! Seriously. That is where the bar should be set.
The woman said she was going to speak with the person in charge of beaches in Chatham. We'll see what becomes of this.
Mon, 07/26/2010 - 20:08
#1
Was she an
older grey haired thinish lady maybe 5'3? I wonder if it was the same one that questioned me two Sunday's ago about some idiot riding that Saturday in the shorebreak splashing swimmers left and right. She mentioned some one going to call the police or speak to someone in charge of the beach.
I guess we need to police ourselves better.
Mon, 07/26/2010 - 20:35
#3
I think I saw this incident
I think I saw this incident (or one of them) from abt 100 yards away. the girl didn't know how to fly , went from launch directly to loop and she was yanked and augured herself into the sand. her kite crashed hard and then flailed around in the grass for quite a while, for some reason none of her friends went to retrieve . maybe they were helping her bc that must have hurt.
Mon, 07/26/2010 - 20:40
#4
hardings' kooks
THE HORROR, THE HORROR
Mon, 07/26/2010 - 22:22
#5
Why?
Why is it we can police Pleasure Bay really well in the city but Hardings isn't policied well.
I don't get it.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 05:52
#6
Could it be that kiting is a
Could it be that kiting is a kook sport?
And you can't fix kook.
Just a thought.
How about a damage report from MV...
Should I bring my kites with me the next time I go over or is it banned now?
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 09:05
#7
MV report: We had several
MV report: We had several kiters wrap their kites around each other, then drag down the beach, snag some tourists including women and children. All were dragged out to sea never to be heard from again. There is now a year around ban on kiting on the island, because every kiter on the beach was tested and their blood alcohol level was 8 times the legal limit. Just another weekend in the life of a MASSkiter...
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 10:48
#8
I heard they washed up on
I heard they washed up on nantucket and pulled a similar stunt so in one weekend we managed to get kiting banned on both islands. Those women and children still have not been found although I heard the coast guard was opening an investigation to see if there is anyway a kiteboarder started the fire in Menemsha a couple weeks ago.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 12:20
#9
I love it!!!
I love it!!!
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 21:33
#10
It is a kook sport and that
It is a kook sport and that is part of the larger issue!! Some kooks can not be fixed.
Wed, 07/28/2010 - 11:30
#11
This is your best post ever!
This is your best post ever! 
Mon, 08/02/2010 - 09:17
#12
Jean You forgot to mention,
C'mon Jean you forgot to mention the plover egg hunt!
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 09:48
#13
I"M A LOCAL
I'M A LOCAL WHILE I'M THERE!!
Hardings is not a learning place for sure unless you have a boat and hit monomoy island Last year I went there but was having a hard time staying upwind so we end up hitting West Dennis..
Mon, 08/02/2010 - 09:12
#14
@ J2MFE
The Vinyarders just told us to tell you specifically not to bother to come over there!
Mon, 08/02/2010 - 11:34
#15
I think he going for a
I think he was going for a Haiku:
Could it be kiting
is a kook sport? And you can't
fix kook. Just a thought.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 09:00
#16
Probably becuase
Pbay is a sketchy launch and newbies are intimidated by it.
Hardings looks innocent enough, but I don't think some newbies understand the danger & difficultly of riding with onshore winds.
This incident sounds crappy, but I wouldn't automatically assume this person is a Masskiter and blame this forum on this person's kookiness.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 21:31
#17
I don't think anyone is
I don't think anyone is blaming this forum. We only want to raise awareness and this forum is great for getting the word out.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 09:58
#18
You should have seen Pleasure
You should have seen Pleasure bay a few years ago! When people first started kiting there it was KOOK central. Does any one remember the chicken guy? I used to avoid pbay because of that.
Now everyone is lucky that the majority of the pbay crew are awesome riders with a focus on maintaining access there. So when a few folks are causing harm, there are lots more people to deal with it. The sheer number of "locals" at pbay will out number the kooks which is only going to help.
The problem with hardings is that its a "vacation" spot, so newbies and out of towners don't feel the repercussions of their actions.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 12:23
#19
Well put Ted.
Well put Ted.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 07:13
#20
Thank god the world was
Thank god the world was patient while you learned. You have inspired me to quit.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 07:24
#21
learning
I was not foolish enough to try to learn on Cape Cod in the summertime. I learned in the off season. AND, I did not crash my kite once while learning the basics, i.e. how to ride back and forth. Thank gawd I had good instructors, like JE, and a little common sense.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 07:40
#22
Wow, you didn't crash your
Wow, you didn't crash your kite at all? That's like a newborn not falling down once when learning to walk.
Hey, I'm a beginner, maybe next time I'm cruising at Hardings I can learn from this kitesurfing icon?
So, whats your name? It would be good to know a true local kitesurfing prodigy so I can properly understand the rules and be as safe as possible.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 13:11
#25
The Water Hammer
I call my kite "the water hammer" Anyone that has ever seen me kite will agree... Gear breakasuarus as Ted calls it. I have been through 5-6 kites and snapped a bar, shredded lines, ripped bridals, and a board. Sometimes my kites just give up at launch. But that also makes me a very special kook!
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 14:40
#26
i was self launching
i was self launching yesterday and i looked down to switch from anchor strap to my harness, then look up and see a old lady climbing thru my lines near the kite!!!!!!!!!!! no problems as i just held it steady but and thankfully the old bird didnt start pulling on the lines, she just cruised thru them, i launch and walk up to her and say dont do that again as it was dangerous and she could of been hurt, she just looked at me like she couldnt undstand english, come to think about it she prob couldnt, WTF
advice- you want to clear out fogland beach wear yer trusty green hat that says US Boarder Patrol, also recomended at the emergency room and the DMV!
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 16:28
#27
Hardings is a crappy spot to
Hardings is a crappy spot to learn, and it's a hard place to self-police because it's so spread out.
Onshore wind + small beach + beach goers is a bad combination for a beginner.
I know the "local" Cape Cod crew likes to give us shit on the website here, but I think every one of us wants to make sure that beaches stay open and people don't get hurt. people are going to learn to kitesurf no matter what we do, and they are going to head where the rest of the kitesurfers go. What we can do is make people aware of just how dangerous a kite looping up the beach in an on-shore wind is to the kiter, the people standing by, other kiters, and the sport as a whole. One major injury to an innocent bystander (especially a child) and kitesurfing is going to get banned. Think before you kite.
I was at HB a few weeks ago with my wife and the wife of a fellow kiter and I came flying into the beach when I saw beginner kiter launching with her lines four feet upwind of the girls on the beach to tell them to move away. Common sense folks, common sense.
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 20:02
#28
Sticky
JohnnyD,
What about adding a "sticky" section to the Masskiting forum for newbies outlining general kitesurfing safety, where NOT to kite, conditions NOT to kite in, etc?
PS. Thanks for the rides to and fro MV and hauling my body bags worth of gear!
Wed, 07/28/2010 - 14:12
#29
Great Idea
TimmyC wrote:
JohnnyD,What about adding a "sticky" section to the Masskiting forum for newbies outlining general kitesurfing safety, where NOT to kite, conditions NOT to kite in, etc?
PS. Thanks for the rides to and fro MV and hauling my body bags worth of gear!
Great idea.
Posted.
http://masskiting.com/kiteboarding-forum/beginners-guide-beaches
Tue, 07/27/2010 - 22:30
#30
Just a thought..
Maybe we could get the beach goers and the piping plovers banned from certain beaches....
Oh yeah, that's in the process hopefully....
It's called the "How u doing" house in WD!LOL
Wed, 07/28/2010 - 11:40
#31
People see kiting and they
People see kiting and they want to "try" it. Working at a kite shop, I deal with it every day. I get people calling and coming in daily asking to rent or inquiring about it. Half of the time they snicker when you mention the word "lessons". I've come up with several analogies for explaining the importance of lessons or "training"... sometimes they get it, sometimes they don't.
Many many people buy used gear on ebay and craigslist and take it to the beach. How are they going to know the dangers or the rules? This is our job because if we don't tell them in the friendliest way possible they are never really going to know until it's too late.
Wed, 07/28/2010 - 13:38
#32
@Dunoyer and Eric - those
@Dunoyer and Eric - those women and children we dragged to their untimely demise all washed up dead, which is scchweet, since there is no one to file a complaint. Next time we should leave a couple of gimpers alive to protest our existence and feed the plovers we maimed. Who knows, they could even bless us with children that become local cape cod kiters who feel as though masskiters are to blame for all the worlds wrongs.......... Shame we clipped that oil rig in the gulf on that downwinder....I wonder if anything ever came of that.....
Wed, 07/28/2010 - 20:27
#33
I don't care....
I don't care....
Fri, 07/30/2010 - 14:40
#34
27 comments and not one of
27 comments and not one of them positive! Why didn't you go down and help this person ? If I saw kites crashing on the beach I would go down there if not to help at least to see the carnage.
Okay and seriously are we going to start setting a skill level to every beach? back rolls required at Hardings Kite loops at The gut. What happened to self educating here or are you above that 2
"hey you know this really isnt the safest spot for you to be learning at, there is a great place for beginers to intermediates not to far away it is called Waquiot bay"
Come on really it isnt your cape cod
OH and I want to shake your hand when I meet you you are my hero "NEVER CRASHED A KITE WHILE LEARNING" THE ONLY WAY THAT COULD HAPPEN IS IF YOU NEVER FLEW ONE
Be a Part of the solution not the problem
Darryl
Sat, 07/31/2010 - 08:27
#35
This is the way to go...
Darryl wrote:
27 comments and not one of them positive! Why didn't you go down and help this person ? If I saw kites crashing on the beach I would go down there if not to help at least to see the carnage.
Okay and seriously are we going to start setting a skill level to every beach? back rolls required at Hardings Kite loops at The gut. What happened to self educating here or are you above that 2
"hey you know this really isnt the safest spot for you to be learning at, there is a great place for beginers to intermediates not to far away it is called Waquiot bay"
Come on really it isnt your cape cod
OH and I want to shake your hand when I meet you you are my hero "NEVER CRASHED A KITE WHILE LEARNING" THE ONLY WAY THAT COULD HAPPEN IS IF YOU NEVER FLEW ONE
Be a Part of the solution not the problem
Darryl
u killed it man! thumbs up! ill buy u a beer 
Fri, 07/30/2010 - 15:02
#36
Lisa gets a bit cranky
Lisa gets a bit cranky sometimes
Fri, 07/30/2010 - 23:37
#37
Who was there? What kind or
Who was there? What kind or color of kite was this girl flying on Sunday??
Yes DSZ; that sounds like the same woman. Very pleasant person, but she was definitely not happy with the "girl" kiter. Hardings is a big beach, unlike PBay. You could spend all day on a weekend running up and down the beach policing AND get a very good workout AND no time kiting. Hard to know where to draw the line, but some self good policing would go a long way. We need to get better at this.