Problems with Kiteboarders?

[kiteboarder]

As you can tell by my screen name, I am a kiteboarder. If you dont know what it is, it is kind of like wakeboarding with a big sail (kite) in the air. Anyhow, my wife and I learned to dive last year and find it is a sport we can enjoy together. I now find myself looking for dive/kite destinations. We have been to Hawaii, Cozumel, Bonaire... I will be returning to Bonaire in April to kite (along with 9 friends), and may dive if it isnt windy. Although I think Bonaire is one of the few places on earth that can reliably promise good conditions for both sports, web posts make me feel we are unwarrentedly not welcome. While reading bonairetalk posts for the first time I realized that many divers and many in the dive industry fear kiteboarders as a source of injury. Do scubaboard members feel the same? Is kiting at Atlantis a serious point of contention among divers? When divers have had "near misses" what were the circumstances around the incident? How are other destinations able to harmonize multiple sports to benefit tourism? Are there substantiated claims of accidents, or just fearful anxiety due to a new sports "extreme" image? As a responsible kiteboarder, I am really interested as I know safety is always our primary concern while on the water.

 

[Bosun]

This was discussed at length on Bonairetalk and not resolved. IMHO if the Kite Boarders adhered to safety rules such as slow in the shallows and stay 100M off shore then the two sports could co-exist at the same site, if not they can't.

We just returned from Bonaire and the Kiters are great to watch but for safety reasons, I would not want to dive at any sites close to Atlantis.

 

[DiverVince]

Kiteboarder.. Well obviously safety is the primary issue here. If Kiteboarders adhered to marine rules applicable to boats there would be no problem..
<<The following regulations are strictly enforced:

* The speed limit is 5 knots when passing within 75 m (230 ft) of the shore. >>>

That is the issue pure & simple. If the kiters stay out on the bluewater, no problems.
When they come zipping in close to shore & can hit a diver surfacing, BIG problems.
I for one would be very apprehensive in the water with Kiters. Nice to look at but not to dive with.

 

[txdano]

I almost got hit this past Dec at Dave's Den, even though I came up in 4-5 feet of water while carefully looking 360 degrees around. I would say the board missed my head by 2 to 3 feet. The two guys were going full speed all the way from the kite bus area up to near Salt Pier, very close to shore, endangering anyone entering/exiting the southern sites. They did not look like novices, and seemed to be very skilled. That is the only incident we have had during our two trips, but we are going back in March and will be extra cautious.

 

[Jetwrench]

This is what I wrote on another site about the subject:

I personally don't feel that the kite boarders are getting fair consideration for a viable site. Being a diver, I think we as divers should consider what would be the "big" conflict if in fact kite boarding was the prevelant sport and "we" were the relatively "new kid on the block." What then? A game of "king of the hill?" And divers viaing for what the boarders are now wanting? What about the sailboarders? Factor that in. Turn the tables around and look at it from the other side of the fence. Maybe a little more consideration on ALL sides is warranted, mostly on the side of the divers and sailboarders, IMO. ALL should be allowed the enjoyment the island has to offer. If you deny one or a group of that privelage, you yourself must be willing to relinquish your privelage as well. If you refuse to relinquish your privelage, you must then allow others the same privelage. It's called "Fairness", or "the right thing to do". M2C

Adding to that, boarders(being the new kid on the block) need to understand and remember that the safety of a diver in the water is almost completely in the hands of the boarder. Privelages also carry responsibilities. Just as a diver is responsible for his/her conduct u/w, the boarders must acknowledge and adhere to a set of rules for the safety of all. If one cannot or will not follow the rules, be it a diver or a boarder, the privelage can and should be taken away. It only takes one bad apple to spoil it for the whole bunch. IMO

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
I kind of fall in with the rest. IF IF IF the kiteboarders would follow the park rules there would be no problems. On a past trip I was considering a dive at Pink Beach when I watched a kiteboarded running full speed 30-40 ft off shore all the way up to the salt pier and back. All along the way making high jumps. There is no way he (she?) could have watched for divers. At rough guess this single boarder was making 4 to 6 dive sites unsafe to use. We moved on to another site. I am all for making Kite Boarding only sites but at the same time they need to be strongly restricted to those site(s). When.....not if but when, someone is badly hurt by a kiteboarder that may well be the end of it on the island. The biggest problem is.....and I hate to sterotype but it's true.....there are those who will not follow the rules and high speed type sports seem to have more than their share of them. There is a reason they have already been ban from Lac Bay.

 

[Peter_C]

using an open mind, lets look at a similar scenerio.

You are driving down the street and up pops a man hole cover followed by a person. Who has the right of way? Yes the driver needs to look, but if you jump out in front of a car do not be surprised if you get run over. If there had been a cone in the road where the person was about to pop up, could you have easily avoided them?

SMB's (surface marking bouys) could prevent any issues. Launch from a decent depth and drag it along, until you surface. Kiteboarders will then be able to see you and avoid you.

Divers do not own the water, nor do kiteboarders, so they MUST share, along with boats. That does not mean close off the water for either group. Instead the divers must give a warning that they are surfacing.

From what I know of kiteboarding, it is best to ride closer to shore, either because of waves, or for the flatter water. To say a kiteboarder must stay off shore in crappy conditions and only go 5 knots which is too slow to plane is not practical.

I do wakeboard, and if someone popped up in front of me, it would be one heck of a surprise, being either the rider or boat driver.

 

[cneal]

using an open mind, lets look at a similar scenerio.

You are driving down the street and up pops a man hole cover followed by a person. Who has the right of way? Yes the driver needs to look, but if you jump out in front of a car do not be surprised if you get run over. If there had been a cone in the road where the person was about to pop up, could you have easily avoided them?

I do wakeboard, and if someone popped up in front of me, it would be one heck of a surprise, being either the rider or boat driver.

The analogy is bad. That's like diving through a school zone at 170 mph and blaming the kids for getting hit. In a slow traffic area, you have to go slow and look where you are going because you are responsible for any injuries. Within a cetrtain distance of shore the regulations specify a speed. If you don't like that get the regulations changed or go somewhere else.

 

[OHGoDive]

using an open mind, lets look at a similar scenerio.

You are driving down the street and up pops a man hole cover followed by a person. Who has the right of way? Yes the driver needs to look, but if you jump out in front of a car do not be surprised if you get run over. If there had been a cone in the road where the person was about to pop up, could you have easily avoided them?

SMB's (surface marking bouys) could prevent any issues. Launch from a decent depth and drag it along, until you surface. Kiteboarders will then be able to see you and avoid you.

Divers do not own the water, nor do kiteboarders, so they MUST share, along with boats. That does not mean close off the water for either group. Instead the divers must give a warning that they are surfacing.

From what I know of kiteboarding, it is best to ride closer to shore, either because of waves, or for the flatter water. To say a kiteboarder must stay off shore in crappy conditions and only go 5 knots which is too slow to plane is not practical.

I do wakeboard, and if someone popped up in front of me, it would be one heck of a surprise, being either the rider or boat driver.

This is a bizarre analogy.

A person walking in traffic (regardless of how they got there) has no business, nor right, being there. Not because they're being discriminated against, but because they are not as big and fast as cars and trucks, which do belong there.

There are way better analogies, and I don't think any of them would support very fast (albeit manueverable) moving machines among slower moving, vulnerable people where neither can see the other until or just before impact.

An SMB will tell you that divers are near, but not exactly where all submerged divers will exactly surface. You can't control your speed (stopping ability) well enough to determine how much safe distance you'd have to provide. The more of each there are, the worse it's going to be.

Boats aren't banned from near shore swimming areas because people hate boats, but because common sense dictates that a boater at speed would be unable to see a swimmer at or just below the surface until too late to avoid a collision. Same thing here.

Kiteboards and swimmers/snorkelers/divers can't coexist safely for very long in the same area. Work to get designated areas and respect each other. It works (mostly) for lots of activities.

 

[Peter_C]

So I used a bad anology, but it is still valid in that, divers need to protect themselves. If you can not understand that then?

Kitebaorders ARE NOT BOATS, they are boarders. Boating laws do not apply. I may be wrong, but show me where it is in writing?

Not sure how a school zone came up? Is there a speed limit on the open ocean? I do not know of one? Inside a harbor yes, but we have high speed races on the San Francisco Bay a few times a year. You can go as fast as you want right off of shore. We also have kiteboarders and windsurfers going every which direction. So your analogy is bad.

Oh man we are going to have to go after surfers next for speeding to close to shore...

So what is the problem when diving in known dangerous areas to use an SMB? Because it is a hassle?