Event site: WTF?

Bettyboarder · Tue Jun 09, 09 11:27 am

It would be great to have you guys as members.

Here's our new site

http://www.cgka.wordpress.com/

Here's is the membership page (to sign up)

http://cgka.wordpress.com/become-a-member/

Always feel free to pm me, Forrest, Shred Jim, MagicMaker, Mark or any other of the board members with questions.

shred_da_gorge · Tue Jun 09, 09 12:26 pm

So funny to see the more things change the more they stay the same. Several years ago the same bitching went on and the Old Guard thwarted attempts at change (i.e. in Port and City Council elections.. or ask Cory about a missed nonprofit tax filing during the fight for the waterfront - yeah, politics gets nasty). Now the mayor and several Port and city council members are windsurfers, which means they at last understand recreational concerns. These people are active businesspersons in Hood River so they understand the economic impact, and don't think they have their "heads in the sand" or trying to keep kiters down because they're windsurfers. In the grand scheme of community needs kiteboarding is a small and seasonal piece of the pie. Yeah, the WRC may be at issue, but it's not so long ago they were soliciting volunteers.

Thanks for the CGKA link Betty, I've been looking to join.

PFW y'all!

Pepi · Tue Jun 09, 09 1:17 pm

Just a word of wisdom to those newbie kiters and forum members, before you drop in to bitch about that which you have no historical knowledge of and no prior history of helping with, please refrain from commenting until you have a proper understanding of the bigger picture.

If you want to see some change, learn about what the history of the situation is, find out if there are others working on making change and then find out if you can help or be a part of those attempting to make a change. They might not be doing exactly as you wish, but it might be in the direction you might want to be a part of.

Selfish bitching on a forum you just joined (or you too Hein, sorry, but I have to include you) does not make change. Bitching and moaning makes a person(or us fellow kiters) sound like they are the royal members of the pity-party where life sucks for them only and if no one is interested in appeasing their personal needs, then they're going to pack their bags to go play and spend their money somewhere else.
I'm sorry, but this is not Disneyland. It's all of our land and it requires all of our help in making it work for everyones best interest.

Sure the windsurfers were here first, but you know what, they actually busted their asses off lobbying to use these sights, then spent years fundraising enough money to work with the Port or State Parks to make each of these launch spots what they are today.

Now, believe it or not, crappy website, or no crappy website, your local CGKA has a board of directors (no, volunteer board of directors) who spend a great amount of their free time to do their best to maintain a constant line of communication and lobbying with the Port of Hood River, Oregon State Parks, and Washington State Parks, focussing on maintaining, protecting and finding ways to develop your local kiteboarding launch spots. This past year, the Board of Directors has been trying to get the website up and running, but you know what, they have been actually too busy trying to do their job.

Now, I'm done bitching and getting back to work on our damn permits and insurance requirements dialed in for the Slider Jam Party and CGKA Demo.

Pepi

Sella · Tue Jun 09, 09 1:47 pm

Well said Pepi. Managing communication and needs between multiple entities is a delicate balance that always takes time and the people that are trying to move kiting forward do it for FREE.

In defense of Hein...he was up front about the alcohol disclaimer multiple times. Very Happy

For me it's about convenience and right now the launching / landing is not ideal. The magic tippy-toe walk out hoping to touch terra firma on the river bottom only to come upon a non-existent rigging area with lines everywhere while you look back at a big green empty Event Site has you thinking "but it could just be so easy and hey why are those windsurfers laughing at me and my fellow kiters trying to deal?" Who cares. I'm lovin' the green grass and all the people hanging out just chilling with their dogs but until the water goes down I'm going to keep it simple and use the actual original KITEBOARD parking area. Why?

1. I didn't have to swim to rig having a chill set in pre-session.
2. Don't swim post-session.
3. Enough room to rig in the sand.
4. Plenty of peeps to help launch...or carry and drift.
5. Great little tree line for wind shadow self-landing post-session
6. Never had anything stolen from that area.
7. Good crapper as long as you don't grab tindy.
8. Choice ponds location to bond with booters and learn something about riding.
9. My parking pass works both areas.
10. A-Train!!! You never know WTF that guy will be rolling out of his mouth or in his van down by the river.

I'm going to try and make the CGKA meeting this Friday at 7:00 pm at the Port building to find out what Jim says about the water level time line. Our beloved Sandbar will return order to the madness when she quits hiding. Very Happy

Until then...enjoy the ride in one of the best spots in the world.

pdxmonkeyboy · Tue Jun 09, 09 2:08 pm

there is a CGKA meeting this friday...? Where does one get this information?

Sella · Tue Jun 09, 09 2:25 pm

I found it on the Events tab. 2nd Friday of every month it looks like. Sometimes it's at 2nd wind or the Port building by the boat launch. (Across from Chevron, Starbucks, McDonalds etc before you cross the bridge to White Salmon.)

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

Ditto everything Pepi and Nic said.

There would be no Event Site access what-so-ever if it were not for the efforts of the CGKA.

Remember this is a group of VOLUNTEERS, if you want to get involved, get involved. Its way too easy to post on a forum and bitch, much harder to find time to attend meetings. I am not a big fan of meetings, but with public process that's what it takes to get things done.

(and yeah the old website is crappy, its been the #1 gripe of most the BOD for the last year... hopefully its a quick fix to get the cgka.net address to resolve to the new site. you can also just click on "CGKA" at the top of nwkite.com and it will walk you through becoming a member.)

K4L · Since 19 Jan 2009 483 Posts Obsessed

kenja · Since 19 Jun 2008 179 Posts Stoked

Pepi -
You have obviously been in the trenches for a while and are sensitive about the ground that's been taken already. I respect that and plan to help out where I can as well. But IMHO sometimes its a good thing to look at the big picture instead of tip-toeing around it. While you are one of the few I have heard from who actually claims to know the history, you should also realize that 95% of the people who kite here don't. To those people, the situation looks pretty messed up and they're liable to say so, as I did. You can slam them/me for not doing anything about it, being newbies, or whatever... The people who think the situation is F-ed up are the people you want as part of the process. Instead of scolding people for sharing their observations and opinions, why not try to get people involved by agreeing that it's messed up (It's pretty obvious, right?) and giving them some ways they can help.

To expect people to keep their mouths shut and not talk about it is not realistic, no matter how much time or energy you or anyone else has spent inching out victories over the last several years, volunteered or not. Don't take it personally.

My point with the crappy website comment is that we had four people wanting to join the CGKA of which zero of us signed up because we couldn't figure out how/where. It wasn't a slam to the CGKA, board members, or anyone else. As I mentioned, I'd be glad to help with getting that fixed. With 10 minutes, we could have the new wordpress site ranked at the top of Google and eliminate the 2007 version of the site from their rankings all together. If you don't want my help, have your webmaster look up "301 redirects".

If you're really sensitive about the history, ongoing efforts, and wanting people to tip-toe around the issue of kiter access, then fixing the website, getting up to date information published, and helping people find it would help a lot. It would also help build momentum for the cause. Again, I'm happy to volunteer.

Bettyboarder · Tue Jun 09, 09 4:14 pm

Kenja,

I would love your help with the site....are you going to be at the meeting Friday. If so stop and chat with me.

Pepi didn't write that to be mean...I realize you are kind of new to the forum so you wouldn't know but every year we go through this. If we seem kind of pissy about it..it's just cause it gets old.

kenja · Since 19 Jun 2008 179 Posts Stoked

Sure. I'll try to scrounge a couple others as well. What time is the meeting and is it at 2nd Wind or the Port building?

I can understand the frustration. From the outside, the kite access situation is a real mess and the valiant efforts of those who fought to get it improved from "Totally F-ed Up" to "Real Mess" are easily overlooked by those who don't have good visibility (most of us). No disrespect intended.

Pepi · Tue Jun 09, 09 4:44 pm

Hi Kenja :

You make some very good points, and thank you for not taking too much offense at my post. It was not intended to be directed at you.
You are correct in that my fur was ruffled, as this is a subject that we spend a great deal of extra time in managing each year when we have new kiters to our community come out and feel a certain sort of entitlement or special treatment from the City and Port of Hood River.
I in no way expect people to keep their mouths shut, but encourage them to use their comments and energy in a productive manner. All comments on this forum are of public knowledge and regularly monitered/read by those who we have relationships with outside of the kite community (ie - Port of Hood River Board of Directors, County Sherrif, City Council, CGWA Board of Directors, etc...). It bodes well for us to understand how outside opinions of the kite community can therefore be reflective of ranting posts.
I guess, I have flailing hope that people have a concern about how there comments are viewed and reflect upon their associated community.

Your follow up post is very much appreciated and I am hopeful that I have not given you a misrepresentation of my feelings towards new posters or people new to the lobbying situation that we maintain with the City and the Port. I'm a local shop owner and it is not in my best interest to come across as an ass.

As Nicole and Phil have both stated, it is a lengthy and time consuming process that is based on communication, trust and abiding by agreed rules, all of which are managed via the Columbia Gorge Kiteboarding Association in coordination with the Port of Hood River, the Corps of Engineers, City of Hood River, Columbia Gorge Windsurfing Assoc, and all other inclusive State and environmental organizations involved with waterfront recreational access.

As Nicole has recommended, we do very much welcome new people (and old) to attend our scheduled meetings to become more educated and more active in the community. We do a lot of fun stuff as well, so drop on by our next meeting and introduce yourself.

Pepi

kenja · Since 19 Jun 2008 179 Posts Stoked

No worries, Pepi. I think we're on the same page. We're obviously both passionate about the issue, as are most of the people I kite with. As lopsided and irrational as the current situation appears, it's going to take time and effort to fix it. It's frustrating from every angle, but it is what it is. I'm looking forward to doing what I can to improve the situation.

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1872 Posts XTreme Poster

Pepi,

I remain very impressed with your ability to help bridge the divide between the multitude of issues, and users of the water front. You are a very good point man, and I feel very fortunate to have you represent the interests of water users.

You are a class act.

Regards,
Eric

mikeinhoodriver · Since 23 Apr 2009 442 Posts down wind somewhere Obsessed

...maybe HE should run for port commissioner? Very Happy

forrest · Wed Jun 10, 09 5:15 am

Pepi for president of the State of Hood River!

I appreciate the opinions of the newer kiters with the absurdity of the current situation. There is definitely a culture of dislike of recreationalist and tourists by the "rest" of Hood River county. It's good to have those opinions as most of us who've been in town for a while have been desensitized to it.

It's pretty tough, but we've made some progress. While it doesn't seem like much, the privilege to pump and dry kites up on the Event Site was a huge step forward for kiteboarding in the Hood River area and is new this year.

On a side note: Here is where I started learning the history after relocating to Hood River in June of 2007. The Winds of Change - The Decline of Extractive Industries and the Rise of Tourism in Hood River County, Oregon: http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ohq/108.3/pierce.html

bulae99 · Since 12 Jul 2006 1692 Posts XTreme Poster

is engaged in? What can us complainers do besides post?

I think it sucks that we only have access to 1/5 of the beach. The amount of kites on a light wind day far exceed the sails.