Eventsite open to launching on Oct 1 till May 1

Mark · Since 20 Jun 2005 3678 Posts I need my fix because I'm a Naishaholic

October 1 Launching and landing is OPEN!! Please use common sense and if its crowded, use the sandbar. See ya there.

Eventsite is open for launching and landing Oct 1- May1.

Pepi · Fri Oct 01, 10 9:10 pm

What a ridiculously awesome opening day for the Event Site Kite Season!!

Stoked to see so many people out on the water and on the beach. Totally fueled my stoke meter.

Just a quick reminder for those of you who were a little impatient about trying to launch before others, please do not pull you kite lines over bystanders and launch your kite even when people are immediately down wind of your kite/lines, or even tangled.
Let's keep it safe out there.

The Event Site is by no means a beginner or safe launch site, so if you are not confident of your on-shore flying/launching skills, then please continue to launch from the Sandbar so as to avoid any accidents or damaged gear.

Thanks
Pepi

hilton · Since 15 Aug 2008 803 Posts Opinionated

Yes, it was a great after work session to kick off the weekend.

I would also encourage all kiters to stay East of the bathrooms and leave the West end for the windsurfers. If we can all share the Event Site in the off season, it could eventually become a year-round 50/50 split of the grass.

Try not to be "that guy" who ruins the access for everyone.

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1861 Posts XTreme Poster

I am going to second Hilton's post. While we have the right to use the entire Event Site during this time period, I think it would be very cool for us to informally keep some of the west end for primarily windsurfers. We really don't want our gear too close to those large skyward pointing fins anyway.

What an amazing day to kick in October!

Eric

forrest · Sat Oct 02, 10 7:54 am

Was pretty fabulous day.

I too saw some people that shouldn't have had a kite in the air with their feet on the event site ground. It's a sketchy launch, and if there was just one other person on the Sandbar I would have launched there cause the convenience isn't worth dying for. If you insist on launching from the grass please make it quick, the longer you stand there with your kite at 12, trying to reach your board on the ground, the longer you're at risk. Prior to launch, just toss your board out into the water so that you can body drag right too it.

Windance Crew · Since 18 Apr 2008 473 Posts Hood River Kite Shop Obsessed

I second Forrests comments but add that you are safest to wade into the water before launching the kite. You may as well, you're going to get wet anyway and no one is giving out medals for hero launching.

Dave

Pepi · Sun Oct 03, 10 1:04 pm

Let's take those suggestions from Hilton, Dave and Others to be considered as locally understood safety guidelines.

1) Please launch kites from the Event Site only east of the Bathrooms for safety and courtesy.
2) When you set your kitelines up on the grass only do so when you are ready to launch so as to avoid traffic jams.
3) Ditto on landing. When you land your kite, clean up your lines by coiling them up on your bar and moving your kite to the upper section of the grass hillside.
4) When you launch, do it by positioning yourself in the water as far from the beach as possible.
5) Avoid standing in one place with your kite at 12o'clock. Get in or get out. All of the injuries at the Event Site (which caused the original closure) were the result of kites lofting people standing on the beach.
6) Please keep the trick shows at decent distance from the beach and give courtesy to the windsurfers and kiters trying to launch or land.

We've been doing all of this at Stevenson for years successfully, so these sorts of guidelines are definitely not hard to abide by.

*Lastly, no, I am not the lawmaker, so these are primarily recommended guidelines.
As Hilton so eloquently put it "Don't be that guy who ruins the access for everyone else"

Thank you
Pepi Gerald
Local Shop Owner
and
CGKA Board Member

hoodkiter · Since 10 Jul 2010 95 Posts Hood River, OR

Very nice that we can launch there now.

Now all we need to do is dump some sand on top of those rocks at the waters edge there, and it truly would be the perfect launch. Line rigging on grass to smooth sandbar out to the water.

Anyone have a boat with a flatbed boat trailer thing? and an excavator? there is so much sand so close to those annoying rocks.

Wishfull thinking is always fun...

Pepi · Wed Oct 06, 10 2:59 pm

Reaper356 · Since 10 Dec 2006 781 Posts Salem / LC Oregon Opinionated

I've never launched off the grass, but I've heard the wind is sketchy around there.
Second Forrest - I'd launch off the sandbar is there's room.