What to do?

[Jake-wright]

A few days ago when we had strong north winds all day long i was working in saratoga springs and as i pulled into the neighborhood where i was meeting someone i saw three boys in a fairly small park trying to launch a decent sized naish kite that was severely underinflated 50 yards upwind of playground equipment and not much further was a busy road. I got there just in time to see the first guy get picked up and dragged until the kite finally hit the playground and relented. I went inside thinking they would give up, but when i came out they had outsmarted the kite by removing the harness from themselves...probably thinking its safer to just ditch the kite...onto the highway. So at this time i'm pretty worried and decide to confront them at the risk of seeming like a no fun D.B. after chatting for a bit i could tell they had no real interest in kiteboarding, they just wanted to challenge the kite in the wind. they were eager for me to tell them what they were doing wrong once they asked if i "have ever played on one of these damn things". I didnt know what to do other than tell them how dangerous the kite could be not only for them but for everyone driving on the road and any kids who happened to walk by. I told them a few of my war stories and experiences as well as a few pointers on site selection and wind speed and conditions. And of course told him if he was interested in learning to kite i could find a contact for him to get some lessons. After hearing these things the owner of the kite seemed frustrated that i wouldnt just help him fix it, and he'd just figure it out on his own. so i told him to go home and youtube kitemares or kite crashes and then decide if he was willing to try that. I'm sure that in his eyes all kiters are stuck up and want everyone to think the sport is harder than it really is so they can feel cooler than they really are.

I wonder if there is a better and more effective way for some one in my situation to handle this type of attitude. Obviously the primary problem IS his attitude, but what can one do other than let him hurt someone or himself? I guess this is really more of a rant than a question...i've learned the hard way to always respect the power of the kite and wish everyone could see these kites through my eyes i guess.

[RickHeninger]

Sounds good to me. SAYING something, a little wrong or non-pc or even offensive, is probably better than silence. But it sounds like you did the best of all worlds... If you were at Saratoga Park or Pelican Bay Marina, it is really important that we keep things safe and friendly there. So I say, great job.

[Mark Johnson]

You should have taken a picture so that you could identify the stolen property and the thieves.