Breaking Point
“I’ve seen some crazy shit in the past few days. I understand there is a learning curve, and we all were there once... but this amount of stupidity and lack of common sense, let alone prickish disrespect towards all other beachgoers has to stop!” —Smokey
This posting on a local forum sums it up perfectly. Kiteboarding is experiencing exponential growth and, as a result, some growing pains. The advent of safer high-depowering SLE and bow-style kites has some riders taking shortcuts in their progression. People are becoming self-sufficient riders faster than ever before, but as a result, they’re also missing out on a great deal of the mentorship that experienced riders took for granted in their learning curves. It was during this mentorship that most riders learned local beach etiquette.
It is the etiquette aspect of the sport that increasingly has experienced riders shaking their heads in disbelief and, for the first time ever, wondering if there may be too many riders. Localism may even be on the rise as a result, and this would be a tragic loss for the sport. Growing crowds and congested riding spots are something we are all learning to live with. In many cases, they inspire us to set out and find new places to ride.
That, to me, has always been one of the greatest appeals of kiteboarding—the search for new spots. I have spent countless hours scoping out new locations with Google Earth before making the expeditionary first strike...
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