Saturday, February 16, 2008

KITEBOARDING REGULATION IN FRONT OF HAWAIIAN SENATE ?!?!

...this proposal was defeated! I've moved the prior post to HERE

posted by kiteVC at 6:20 PM

2 Comments:

Blogger martin said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

7:46 PM  
Blogger martin said...

Thanks, Bill, for posting this situation that occurred in Hawaii just a few days ago. You are absolutely correct regarding the intent of this senate bill and the desire to have everyone exercise good judgement on the water. Fortunately, Hawaii Sentate Bill No. 2091, to restrict windsurfers and kiteboarders in Hawaiian waters from coming within 200 feet of other ocean users, was shelved. Otherwise, had this bill been passed into law the impact to recreational and commercial kiteboarding in Hawaii could have been devastating. The Bill was introduced by a senator who represents the diamond head district on Oahu. Apparently there is one kiter who is creating havoc for surfers and others in that area and a constituent was able to convince the senator to introduce the Bill. Many riders on all islands responded quickly with testimonies and the senate committee chair remarked how impressed he was with the quick response from windsurfers and kiteboarders around the islands.
We should consider this recent senate action a warning shot over our bow, so to speak, and get more riders educated about sailing rules of the road and sailing etiquette.
Currently riders in Ft. Lauderdale are having challenges from local officials due to a few riders who don't want to abide by local self-regulating guidelines designed by kiters to keep the sport growing in a positive direction. We need to get everyone on the same page....
Martin Kirk
martin@ksmaui.com

8:00 PM  

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