How to shred your kite and shut down a launch site!

moondog · Since 15 Aug 2007 706 Posts white salmon Addicted **CGKA Member**

This was relayed to me by a witness this week.
"We were in the parking area and saw a red Cabrina tomahawk into a sign next to the train trestle. The kite was actually laying across the tracks and ripped in half. A fellow kiter runs up the rocks and untangles the kite and returns to the beach with it."
Two takeaways from this:
1. If you are throwing tricks that close to the the trestle and loose control of your kite, you are a very selfish person, because your actions will cause the closure of this
site!
2. If you are a beginner, this site is not for you. There is not a lot of real estate to recover from normal beginner buffonery.
It is up to all of us to protect this launch site, please say something to prevent closure when you see"extreme kookness"!

Sasquatch · Since 09 Mar 2005 2103 Posts PNW Bigfoot

MD: I suspect you are talking about the White Salmon spit/launch?

I'm actually surprised that there hasn't been more accidents on the shores of the Columbia ie kiters flying into trains or hwy traffic.

moondog · Fri Aug 14, 15 11:35 am

The name of the place has been removed to protect the innocent.

lloyd · Since 16 Aug 2007 108 Posts Hood River Stoked

There are lots of reasons why and how a kite can get away from somebody. Unfortunately we have a tendency to jump to the same 2 conclusions every time, without even knowing the truth. Why is it always that Either the kiter was showing off too close to shore or he/she was a beginner? What if the kiter was in trouble and legitimately activated their safety in order to avoid a more dangerous situation for either himself or someone else? Without more info please be careful of jumping to conclusions that start rumors. When those in charge hear these rumors they believe them to be true and they make policies that we don't like.

mikeny · Since 17 Apr 2009 44 Posts

We are privileged to have this site to kite from the railroad easily shut it down I witnessed a kiter at the hatchery doing strapless airs his board was flying through the air and landing amongst the wind surfers he probably knew what he was doing but it made a lot of windsufer is very uncomfortable there's a lot of river out there this behavior does not have to happen be courteous