Montrose 6/25 Review- Good, Bad, Ugly.

[skysurfr]

Ok, it's time for my annual Montrose rant and rave.

First the Good. So many of you did a great job following the rules. You headed out to the open water played in the rollers, and came back to the beach. We had a classic afternoon blast. That was as good as it gets on a North wind at Montrose.

The Bad- We are supposed to avoid all swim areas, occupied beaches and piers and respect a 100 foot safety zone. That means if your kite comes down it won't be within 100 feet of those areas. That means you on your board need to be AT LEAST 200 feet away and or upwind of any active swim areas. When you tomahawk the kite its going to drag you downwind and land apx. 100 feet from a swim area. That's the worst case scenario. When you hit the 200 foot mark, you're are supposed to turn around and give up. Many kiteboarders were flying their kites over both open swim areas yesterday. The swim area in the center of the beach was open and the DOG BEACH swim area was open. Kites were flown over the lifeguards head in the center swim area. All that was needed was an extra tack or two to get outside.

Dogs are people too! Thats right, the Dog Beach is a swim area! We had kiteboarders going directly through the Dog Beach swim area, flying their kites over the shore, over the dogs, over their owners.

There's no excuse to fly kites like this at any beach.

The Ugly-

Michael who came in a ZIP Car- You've kiteboarded with us in the past. You know the rules. You're an expert kiteboarder. You buzzed the beaches, you buzzed the swim areas, you were throwing big air right next to the beach. Thank you for moving to the outside when asked. Paul and I had to explain your rude unsafe behavior to the Lifeguards. Please get us a copy of your IKO or PASA Card and get a streamer.

North Vega 12M - White with red and blue trim. Gold Numbers. You are an expert kiteboarder. You have to know better than you demonstrated yesterday. You buzzed the swim area non-stop yesterday. You had to make every jump in front of the swim area within 100 feet of it? The double rotation where you lost the board and landed within 10 feet of the swimmers and lifeguard in the water was TOTAL BS. There was 90 miles of open water upwind of us yesterday and your ability enables you to get to it.

Oddly the two biggest offenders were the two best kiteboarders at the beach yesterday.

Excuses excuses-

It's onshore wind and waves and hard to go upwind- No kidding? Thats why we have the rules. Thats why Montrose is tricky.

In November I kite right where the swim area is today.... Thats November, now it's In-Season and summer. The beach is full of people.

I really like the smooth flat water on the inside- No Sh##? So do we all. It's off limits int he summer.
The best waves were right upwind of the swim area- No Sh##? We all know that. They are off limits in the summer.

Follow this simple rule in the summer: We are allowed to access the open water from the beach at Montrose in the summer.

Again- A job well done by so many including our newest certified riders. You did a great job.

Mike

[mzhadkevich]

Thanks for your post and for the info on the beach. Sorry my behavior was rude. I should have made sure about the summer rules before heading out. I promise wont happen again. To be fair, I only kited "rudely" for like 5 mins, when you waved me down, i came out and did exactly as I you suggested, thanks for the help. I will obey all the rules, and I am not trying to get the spot ruined for anyone.

I would like to defend myself on a couple of points. 1) I spoke to three lifeguards about my "behavior" yesterday, and they said I was totally fine, way far past the swimmers. One of them was named Ziggy, he has been a lifeguard at that beach for 6 years, and said "you are really far away from everyone, totally in control and we are all totally fine with you, trust me, you have nothing to worry about". He was the one that was closest to the kite rigging part of the beach, so im not sure which lifeguards demanded an explanation of my rudeness.

2) As to the Dog beach, you are mistaken, I never flew my kite over the actual shore. I dont do this because its dangerous for the kite and the people on the beach. I wouldnt fly my kite over people or dogs, thats stupid. If I drifted too far downwind I would raise my kite up and get back upwind as soon as possible. I didnt "buzz" any swimmers at ANY time yesterday, before or after you talked to me. I am always conscious of swimmers in the water, and am always very far away from them. When i was close to the beach was only right in front of where the kites are, and I stopped riding there as soon as you spoke to me, after kiting improperly for less than 10 mins. Sorry again for this, it was stupid, and thanks again for the suggestions.

3) While I honestly do appreciate your comments I wonder why dont you bring up what else happened at the beach yesterday? Two things stood out in particular.

The first is that kiters STILL refuse to lower their kites when they ride downwind of you. This is a basic rule followed at all beaches around the world, except here. I noticed that each individual who made this error (not you Mike) was obviously iko certified with a streamer, so I wonder why this isnt taught. If you are riding towards someone and are downwind, put your kite down. If you are upwind of them, kite up, that way everyone is safe and kites cant get tangled. This was an issue at waukegan as well. This is an easy fix but people just dont pay attention.

The second thing that is more frustrating is 2 kiters, neither of whom you are calling out here, dropped their kites in the water DIRECTLY upwind of the swimming area, couldnt relaunch, failed to properly self-rescue, and ended up getting dragged through the 50 or so swimmers with the kites and lines totally out of control. This actually is DANGEROUS. If Montrose beach access is going to get complaints, surely its this sort of stuff you should worry about? Im really upset you said I was buzzing the swimmers bc thats always a priority of mine, and these two guys got dragged right through of the middle of the swimmers, many of whom dont know any better, tried to help get control of the kite and endangered themselves.

While I dont mind getting called out publicly on a forum, despite the fact that after 10 minutes of improper riding, you calmly talked to me, and I totally obeyed everything you asked, and continued to ride upwind of all the other kiters on the water, it is frustrating that you take no issue with the 2 cases of ACTUAL dangerous behavior that happened on the water.

Again I am not trying to stir shit, I TRULY do appreciate everything you have done for beach access, and I did screw up by not checking the summer rules before heading out (guess I was too excited sorry). Once you told me the rules I obeyed them and will continue to obey them forever. Your post makes implies that I came across as some sort of rude dickhead, while your conversation in person with me seemed very pleasant and chill. I would like to point out that while everyone there is seemed IKO certified and has a proper streamer, this is not enough apparently not enough to practice safe kiting.

Thanks again for your comments, you are a obviously the godfather and an invaluable part of the kiting community in this area, and for that I am truly grateful.

[adseguy]

I wish I was there to see it all. I heard about the crashing of kites next to swimmers. Bad job guys. I know in the off-season we ALL get close to shore and do "pretty much" whatever we want, but in the summertime this changes CONSIDERABLY!!! THIS IS WHERE WE CAN LOSE ACCESS!!!!

Get the FUCK away from the swim areas when they are open!!! We are being watched and just one tiny fuckup will undo our access, so lets enjoy the waters just a simple 200 feet upwind. Not the best place to be as far as small waves and flat areas is concerned, but it's better then driving a good 1.5 hours any direction for the next beach.

PS: I have packed a small knife in my car now. After seeing a REALLY dangerous fiasco with a low accidentally looped kite hitting people at Wolf lake I WILL CUT YOUR LINES. That's not exactly a threat; It's a fact that will happen. I don't discriminate either. I don't care if it's Urban, Paul, or any other M regulars.......if you drop your kite in the swim area or anything else that isn't corrected immediately I will come over and cut your lines. If you want to stop me just remember what I'm cutting your lines with. I hope that gets the message across.

I think I need to go kite.....I have been tied up with a MASSIVE Project that I will be announcing soon on the Forum. I'll be back in shape for another ride around the crib

[adseguy]

I'll stand up for Mike Z on this one. He is an awesome rider that just didn't know the summer time changes. He's been out with me a bunch when the swimmers aren't out and we get used to being closer to the shore line. All he needed was a reminder to stay away in the summer time.....don't have to tell him twice.

Don't take it too harshly Mike Z, they let you know, you followed up. I don't think you are the concern

[FSP]

i think you all need is to drive an extra 20 minutes, leave the swimmers alone, and ride casino where the rocks, trees, and surfers will offer all the policing and consequence you need for bad behavior.

question for adrian: so do you get ur lines cut if the wind drops and kites come down unexpectedly? please dont bring ur knife to wolf then!

[adseguy]

i think you all need is to drive an extra 20 minutes, leave the swimmers alone, and ride casino where the rocks, trees, and surfers will offer all the policing and consequence you need for bad behavior.

question for adrian: so do you get ur lines cut if the wind drops and kites come down unexpectedly? please dont bring ur knife to wolf then!

You may be right about Casino actually , but I like my 5 minute drive thank you.

Hindenburg at Wolf lake? No way....I've NEVER seen that If you are dumb enough to drop it on people then yeah I'll cut your lines I've Hindenburged there, but I never am in a situation where it will drop onto people

[skysurfr]

To Mike: Again...."Thank you for moving to the outside when asked." I tried to talk to you as you were leaving to say thanks and explain what was going on. You made a U-Turn in the Zip-mobile and were gone.
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To All:


Yesterday, we held the first "at Montrose" Certification. It went fairly well. The guy you saw down in the water probably won't ride on-season at Montrose and needs a bit more practice. There were three of us down in the swim area as he came in, just past the swim area. We got 5-7 people their IKO cards. If we do this again, I'd suggest that the "self rescue practice" be held to the far downwind side, closer to the pier.

Earlier in the day I explained to the guards that we were going to have some new riders certifying at the beach. They weren't taking lessons and all were know to be intermediate or better riders by me or Amanda ( the IKO instructor). They were expecting a crowd and had the swim area moved to the east.

That said, kites will fall, kites will fall and drift into the swim area. The safety zone gives the guards enough time to clear the swimmers, and let the kite drift into the beach. The guards actually pushed the swimmers to the west as they saw the kite coming yesterday. When we debriefed this event I suggested to them that they might have wanted to totally pull the swimmers out of the water next time.

So as you noticed there were a bunch of new riders not familiar with common courtesy on the water. It was their first experience with it. You'll also find that the farther you go out, the fewer the riders and the more space you have!

A note about the "Guards"- Most of them are High School kids. They know nothing about kiteboarding. Orange Jackets are beach guards. Dark Blue are senior Mates most likely college students. Light blue are the Capt's of the Guards. They are the most experienced and in-charge of the beach. Asking the guards questions is about the same as asking the counter help at McDonalds. They do a great job with the responsibilities they are given.

[skysurfr]

Forgot to add...

1 kiteboard to the head required First Aid yesterday.

[winter234]

1 kiteboard to the head required First Aid yesterday

.

Was that to a rider or a swimmer?

John

[skysurfr]

It was a rider without a helmet. outch.

[billg]

Was a board leash involved?

[skysurfr]

I dono... but it was a wave day... so a board , a wave, and a head were involved for sure.

I hope all turned out ok.