Utah Windriders Association

I am writing this post in Billy's behalf. He will get home late and the word needs to get out.
Over the course of this weekend a few DNR (Department of Natural Resources) employees showed up at Lincoln beach with threats of citations for kiteboarders who were not wearing approved floatation devices. Apparently, according to their interpretation of the law, we are supposed to wear PFD's while on any of Utah's waters.
In many places around the world there is an exemption to PFD laws for participants in sports that a PFD would cause a safety concern (Like Kiteboarding). PFD's make things like body dragging significantly more difficult. The DNR employees were not interested in our side of the story, only in enforcing their interpretation of a law that was written before kiteboarding existed.
Billy was told that the only way to change the situation is through the legislative process, and he has been given the contact information for the person in charge of Utah's laws on PFD's. He will be posting it here when he gets a chance.
The purpose for this message is two fold. Firstly; to inform our community of the new PFD requirement. We obviously intend to comply with the law (to avoid tickets, as well as maintain out image as a beneficial community) until we are able to get it changed. Secondly; to ask for any ideas, thoughts, comments, or anything else anyone in the community has to say about this. How do we as a community wish to approach this situation?
Last summer we were able to join together and maintained access to one of our best beaches. This summer, it looks like we have another battle. I am grateful that no matter the outcome of this, we still get to ride.
Hope to get this all worked out soon,
-Chris

Ok

I second what Todd said.

I'm not seeing the reasoning behind a locked forum here.
Last year it was a person we were discussing that could use our discussion against us.
This is an open discussion on PFD usage.
I'm sure our windsurfing buddies can also have great input to help the cause.

I could be missing something here.

As I remember, which is getting harder to do all the time, we fought this battle many years ago with windsurfing. We also had to lobby against having our boards registered, as boats, complete with license numbers on the sides. Maybe DCJim or Dmitri M can help us out?
JonMzee

Hey guys the forum isn't locked. All forums are open for reading without login (exception Forecasts).
If someone wants to post they must be logged in.

Anyway, If they are choosing to start enforcing the law, and the only way to change it is Legislative then that could be some bad news for this year. As the state legislature only meets for 100 days at the beginning of each year.
Which would also mean that there is time to prepare. Also note that it takes months to get the bill ready before they meet.

Rebecca Strong had some dealings with this last year, specific to SUP. As SUP has grown so fast and is more in the face of the park rangers there was some legislation put through last year regarding this, basically reversing the legislation the UWA got pushed through years ago. As not much was said last year or enforced I was hoping this would just go out as a new unenforced law.

I believe the bill was passed in 2011. I am looking through the legislation now to get the bill number and information.

Josh

Ok update number 2.

I have been on the phone with Rebecca Strong (Utah Paddle Surf) who sits on the Boating Advisory Council.

The Boating Advisory Council is organized by the DNR.
Each year the BAC makes recommendations to the legislature on law changes.
They meet on a somewhat regular basis. Their next meeting is the first Wednesday in July.

http://static.stateparks.utah.gov/docs/BoatingCode.pdf

As it stands Windsurfers are exempt from the law, thanks the the strong lobby years ago.

Rebecca has been trying to overturn the law regarding SUP, and over the last two years they evaluate the sport (on the water) and make a decision.
For SUP the law still stands.

So overturning or changing the laws could be an uphill battle to change it for kiters.

Josh

I spoke with Dave Harris the Ut boating Coordinator (801) 538-7220. He is currently looking in to our case..

Josh the law for sailboards was not reveresed for Paddle boards... You do not need a pfd while windsurfing. But the verbage in the law is based on a Mast attaching to a board that allows the rider to still be in contact with there vessel. Paddle boards and kiteboards ...no mast.

We are all aware of the issues with PFD and kiting.

Lines get cuaght, cuaseing looping and lack of control that lead to drowning and death, Bars can hang up on the PFD causing looping and out of control kiting, leading to drowning or impact, injury etc...

The inability to body drag back to ones board when seperated. etc creating a caspized vessel..

Dave seemed to understand the issues we have and was going to look at other states laws concerning kitboarding, I urged him to look at kiteboard spots like Hood, SPI Haterres etc, claiming that other states may be just as uneducated as UT and require PFDs...becuase our vessels are new and the laws were not written with us in mind.

The next meeting for the Boating adviseray board that we would need to meet with is in JULY. Dave is looking to see if PFD use is the Norm or not. Hopefully he will discover the truth and he says he has the power to "adapt" the law from sailboards to kites if need be and can provide the information to keep the DNR from writing tickets. We will see. He said he will not be getting back to me for a week or so and did not seem very concerened about us or the saftey issue mandatory PFD use would create. But he saw the need to solve this issue.

This should not be a up hill battle at all. And if it is be prepared to use UWA funds to fight it. All we need to do is educate the community that Our lines are the replacement for the sailboard mast and we are connected to them... then the law is already in place..

The paddleboarders have a bad realtion ship with the commity and should not be involed from what I learned this morning...

For anyone going out to get a PFD "for now", I've found a bare-bones Kayak pfd is least resticive. Look for one that is basically a triangle float in front and back without the pockets and other extras a lot of them have. something like this:

http://www.outdoorplay.com/NRS-Ninja-PFD-Kayak-Lifejacket?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=3650&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=39363031&gclid=CI-359LE7q8CFYje4Aodhm6kzQ

Unforunately, most of these seem to run $100 or more.

Impressive progress already.
Great work.
I've posted a request for information on kiteforum.com

Todd, sorry I misread your post about moving the thread.

Billy, I really don't know enough about kiting to say what is safe or not.
I just wanted to make a few phone calls and see what is going on and post what little I do know concerning the DNR.
This is about the extent of help that I can give.
Rebecca gave me Dave Harris' number as well and said we should contact him.

If anything else is needed, I will do what I can.

Thanks
Josh

This is the follow up letter I sent to Dave Harris today after spreaking to him on the phone..

Dave Harris,


Thank you for your time this morning on the Phone. I hope you understand the danger PFD use will place Utah kiteboarders in, I pray there are no injuries to my fellow kiters while this matter is resolved.


As I mentioned on the Phone, Utah would be setting a very dangerous precedent by enforcing PFD use among kiteboarders. The world wide kiting community concludes PFD use provides a intense hazard that leads to life threatening incidents when used. There is not a PFD yet manufactured to meet the needs of kiteboarders this is becuase there is no need or market for one because PFD use doesn't exist in kiteboarding, due to the dangers a pfd creates, currently all PFDs provide massive hindrance to the harness and rigging systems, causing confusion and forcing the user to cover manufactures safety systems, making them unusable and placing the sailor in mortal danger. There are many places for our kite lines or kite control bar (sail Boom) to become entangled and create a uncontrollable kite that will harm or kill its user and anyone down wind of them.


I understand that the Sailboard exception that is currently in place could be very easily be adjusted or interpreted to include kiteboarders. The sailboard has a mast that attaches to the board allowing the Sailor to stay within reach, or easily reach to his board and maintain contact with it. Our vessel do not have a mast but instead lines that connect us to the sail, we are harnessed to our sail, via 800lbs lines which is filled with 6psi in 4-8 separate chambers based on the kites manufacture and model. I single inflated kite can support three to four people floating on it. The conection to the Inflated sail provide massive floatation when the kite is not flying, and when the kite is flying the kiter remains bouyant becuase the kite is providing lift the entire time it is in the air. The lift is so powerful it can be used to not only propel the sailor on their boards but lift them of the water as high as 10m. When reentering the water from that high the Pfd also creates lifting forces that manipulate our control and creating a out of control vessel.


We meet all the same criteria that the sailboard law states only with newer sails, and technology that was not considered when the law was written. Our lines take the place of a mast and our sail fly's and floats, Kite boarding is the newest form of sailing and should be treated the same as sailboarding in the state, regardless of the verbiage of the law based on the unforeseen technology that progressed Sailboarding into its current form of Kiteboarding. Many of us are former sailboarders that progress to Kiteboarding because of its massive range and ability to sail in much less wind making Utah a prime spot to kiteboard.


As riders progress in Kiteboarding and become Intermediates, the PFD creates more of a entanglement risk as the rider starts to Jump and spin as the rider progresses and learns more challenging tricks and becomes a expert the chance of entanglement grows even greater.


The PFD also hinders the ability of the rider to retrieve the board when the become separated from it. Kiters use a technigue called "body dragging" to retrieve there board when they fall or crash. Body dragging is when the sailor uses their submerged body as a keel to drag up wind to their board while attached to the kite. A PFD not only makes massive drag but hinders the kiter from using a submerged body by forcing them to float on the surface, the decrease the upwind angle then prolongs the retrieval process by up to ten to twenty minutes, this increases the possibility of losing ones board and creates a vessel in distress and a kiter in danger because their vessel is incomplete and unusable to make way with out the board.


I hope common sense will prevail here and you will see the need for adjustment in the verbiage, and enforcement of the PFD law concerning kiteboarding. The longer this issue goes as is, the longer people will be placed in danger on Utah water ways while kiteboarding..


As a community we strive to provide the safest conditions for kiteboarding, by enforcing a law that never envisioned a kiteboard vessel when written places all of us in danger and negates all of the proactive steps our community has strived to provide.


Please come and familiarize your self with this progressive form of sailboarding, I am sure after just a short introduction to our gear and rigging it will become obvious to yourself what a dangerous mistake is being made by deciding to enforce a law that has never been infoarced in the 15 plus year history of kiteboarding in UT.


We as a community would like to remain in compliance of the law, but complying to a law that increase the mortal danger of a fun recreational sport that is very safe with out a PFD, a sport that includes a rigging system that keeps the sailor attached to the inflatable sail at all times... the sailor becomes the part or the vessel. And has the ability to remain afloat at all time with out a PFD. Just flying the kite (a necessity to go sailing) provides upward pull keeping the sailor afloat, and when crashed the kite floats for years, there have been kites that have blown off the beach and remained inflated while navigating the globe adrift only to come aground months later fully intact and usable, These are several thousand dollar kite and sail boards that are the newest, safest technology made to work and provide the sailor the safest experience without a PFD and the Hazard a PFD provides.


Placing Kiters/boaters in mortal danger because of a lack of understanding and out date legislator seems like the opposite of what the DNR and Utah parks department mission statement is.


I and the Kiting/sailboard community are at your disposal to rectify this dangerous situation quickly to decrease the chance of injury or death to a kiteboarder, becuase of outdated legislator that may take years to process....






Thank you, for your time.


William Bordy

utahbordys@msn.com


435-602-2935



Please feel free to post comments

Thanks, ..er... William