Montrose Unsafe Riding Solutions.

[skysurfr]

If you ride at Montrose you know how delicate the situation is especially during the open summer season.

We have a rider, Adrien, who has consistently pushed the limits and demonstrated a lack of respect for the rules set in place to keep the beach open. Despite many requests the near shore riding, jumping, buzzing the swim areas, buzzing the dog beach continue.

Adrien and any other rider who can not live within our rules:

After some consideration and consultation here are the options you have for riding at Montrose.  

You do not have the option to keep riding where you are riding and how you are riding.  We can not in good conscience allow bystanders to be put at risk.  

1.  You can publicly pledge to launch, go out and ride the deep water far from shore, and then return to shore only to land your kite. You will then be expected to follow through on your pledge. This is how all riders are expected to ride during the open summer season.

2. You can voluntarily refrain from kiteboarding Montrose in the open season.  We will respect your decision to kiteboard elsewhere and look forward to seeing you at other beaches.

3. If neither of these options suits you,  we will consult with the city on other options.  That meaning we will discuss options on preventing unsafe riding or riders.  These options would include banning you or others from the beach, restricting kiteboarding only to the times when all swim areas are fully closed, closing the beach during  the open season, or closing the beach all together.  This is of course the worst case scenario.

Obviously the first option is the best for all concerned.  

Please let us know how you would like to proceed.


Mike

[skysurfr]

I know several of you have expressed your view that we should just ban people, cut lines, throw people out etc. Those solutions may save a day or two, but do little in the long run. What we are trying to do is put in place a policy that can be relied on in the future as well.

Also, everyone makes mistakes and mishaps happen. This issue concerns people who consistently break the rules and know better.


This is the first time in 8+ years that counseling and peer pressure have failed.

Mike

[adseguy]

Just got your text.

Option 1 sounds pretty good. I would write a glorious essay pointing out my side of things, but an internet forum can't provide the tone I need for a truly open discussion on this. It would take too long (as I've pointed out to you) Yet you continue to push even after we've talked.

Simply put your views are exaggerated (sometimes wildly might I add with the whole "jumping over people" thing ), but as far as the rules are concerned. you are correct. I could ramble off the relationships I've had with guards and the good feedback I've had from them over YEARS, but again, too long to explain. I'll make sure to stay out farther in the summer time and hit up the downwinders more often. Thanks for the reminder buddy.

[skysurfr]

Option 1! Great choice.

The Lifeguards are kids who have no clue about kitesurfing or the dangers involved. They think we are cool and want to be accommodating. However, their bosses know the rules etc. The dog people know and so do the bird people. The line Lifeguards aren't supposed to make kiteboarding decisions. They are not trained to do that and we agreed not to involve them in kiteboarding decision making.

Our agreement says we can kite when all swim areas are closed. That was designed to take all the decision making and guess work out of the equation. The Capt of the guards may allow us to kite at other times when it's not busy. In reality the Capt of the Guards have been very good to us.

None the less welcome to the deep water where the big boys play. LoL.....

Mike

[zulutimer]

Very well and diplomaticly stated Mike. And from what I have seen and according to "feedback" from other riders reports this is neither "exaggerated" nor wildly inaccurate, but on the mark.

Better a "push" now than a shove later!

Paul

[Bryce FLK]

Option 1! Great choice.

The Lifeguards are kids who have no clue about kitesurfing or the dangers involved.

Mike

I was at Montrose last week and the wind was light. There was myself and one other guy on a 17meter cutting through the dog beach and swimmers. I approached the guards and asked if they know the rules of kiteboarding here, they responded that I am ok because I have the streamer and then they pointed to where we are suppose to be riding. I pointed at the guy out riding without a streamer who was all over the place and asked why they didn't enforce the rules. The two teenage lifeguards were more or less dumbfounded and responded "We didn't see that guy".

I am new to Chicago and Montrose and I feel out of line police-ing the beach, but someones gotta step up when the lifeguards aren't paying attention.

[skysurfr]

Again....the lifeguards are kids. We are not supposed to be asking them questions about kitesurfing. They are not supposed to be policing us. We don't want 16 ur olds policing us. We are supposed to know the rules and follow them.

The lifeguards have no authority to rewrite our rules and we shouldn't be asking them if it's ok to not follow the rules.

It's up to each kite boarder at Montrose to self police each other.

What the guards will do is tell their Beach Captain. Then a call is made to the CPD office. Then I get a call. If the streamer system fails then we go back to leaving our cards at the main lifeguard office while kiteboarding.


We are supposed to launch, tack upwind to the deep water far from shore, kite board out there, then return to shore to land.

The only real decision made by the lifeguards is..... Kiteboarding is or isn't allowed on a day by day basis. Their judgement is based on beach and crowd conditions, as well as swim area co ditions. They make no judgement based on winds or the suitability of the wind or waves.

Thanks for joining the discussion Bryce and welcome to crazy beach!

[FSP]

how will anyone see my handlepass offshore?

[STF]

'

oh boyyy what have i been missing?

[West]

Mike your commitment to a cause is unwavering, I highly applaud your tremendous effort in trying to maintain a safe kiting environment at Montrose. I also respect wholly your attempt at resolving the situation "behind the scenes", and know that the last thing you wanted to do was to "go public" with it. You have worked tirelessly on keeping Montrose open to kiting for about a decade, you along with the help of Paul have been the main reason for this success.....WOW, that is what you call stepping up for the community of kiters, generously donating hours and hours of your time for the group.

It is troubling that as recent as last year you were ready to "turn over the reins" to the up and coming kiters to monitor the Montrose scene. Adrien, you are the one who has stepped forward to shoulder this huge responsibility; no doubt you have devoted your time and efforts to continuing the vigilance of Chicago's only kiting spot, and I know that is appreciated by all who kite there as well as those of us who do not......Please take a step back, and realize that your actions as a leader at Montrose are watched by all and held to a higher standard than others. Take this opportunity to reassert your desire to be someone who can continue in the footsteps of Mike and Paul, as a caretaker of Montrose. Learn by their experience that in order to do this, you have to serve the group and lead by example.