I played hooky from both my jobs on Friday , went kiting . The wind was 15-25 out of the wsw .Was having fun with the buggy , then I had a luff and the kite went in the Bay. As it fell from the sky I jumped off the buggy and ran across the beach to regain control.Enter the unleashed dog of some MORON! This dog starts barkin and growlin like I was a chew toy.The owner,oh she was 50ft away watchin' not sayin anything like she thought it was cute. I yelled that" dogs were supposed to be on leashes out here" and "get your dog away from me".still she says nothing.At this point my Flexifoil Rage 4.7 is full of water and goin with the tide. I've got kite killers on to boot, so I can't just drop the handles and run from the dog. So out comes the blade . I swear I have three dogs, but if fido would have tried to bite me I would have bitten back. She finally got her dog on a leash,and starts talking trash. Like I'm the bad man!
She leaves... I say screw it kites soaked , I'm pissed. Lets go home. Walk back to truck, and guess who is sitting behind my truck. You got it ,MORON! She pulls off as I get to my truck,then I find this note written on a napkin...

this is the sign at gate

George Carlin said it best- "When you think about how stupid the average person is, you realize that half of the people out there are dumber"

Count to 10!

you might want to translate the note
into type...

It seems though like the "conservationalist"
writer of the note
Is the same type that would allow
a forest un-tended, Totally full of un-removed dead wood,
in a way that promotes
Forest fires!

That means you Tahoe!

Sierra Clods

COM-pletely oblivious Tree hugging birdwatchers!

Watch out Weldn,

I've learned that in states like
Florida people have been succesfully sued
for making menacing faces and gestures

I think you'd have a better chance of suing her for how her dog was harassing you. Don't you just hate dumb people!!!

Always remember that you are REPRESENTING

I have to play total suck up to the 2 line folks at my local park because they were there 1st. I end up dealing with folks and their off leash dogs + the :moon:"presnts" they leave behind far too often as well. 3 sessions ago I was packing up and notice I had :moon:" presents " smeared over all 4 tires :flaming:

I put up with a LOT I HAVE to We are cutting new ground here in Van. and if Florida is like Vancouver the vocal minority hold all the power :flaming:

Think carefully before you push things from here. Your riding space may be at stake :!:

Sorta reminds me of the time a bordercollie
actually stuck a leg up against my
parked yellow frenzy 2004

the kite must have only got a
mini-shot cause it doesn't smell
awful now

Gee, I can read the sign and it clearly says ALL DOGS MUST BE ON A LEASH. But you evadently interrupted her me time with fido and that upset her whole day. shame on you :D

I own dogs, and often let one of mine run with me while I'm in the buggy. Yeah... I know, we have a leash law too. But it's my responsibility to control her and not let her bother people. If it's too crowded, then she has to stay behind on a leash.

Even though you were in the right, we still have to remember what Snowbird said... that we are representatives of the kite community.

SOmetimes conserationist's, environmentalists, and yes.. Kiters are all very passionate about what they enjoy or believe in. In her itty bitty mind, she was enjoying nature with her dog. You were not (to her). Which is an irony, since you were using a wind powered vehicle and there for the same reason.

I try to set up my kites and things away from where cars would drive. But I've been cussed at many a time for blocking an area that some drunk decided to drive through. THe old "It's a public beach and you can't do that" speech each time. I just smile and ask for a minute to move my lines, they continue to #@%$#!, put it in reverse and make the 30 ft curve back to the path other cars follow and off they go....

We meet all kinds out enjoying ourselves... some of them deserve to be strangled. Unfortunatley their is power in numbers, and the idiots will always outnumber us... so that's why we have to try and keep it cool, even when it's hard to do.

All I know is I always carry a knife and if a dog anywhere out in public attacks me, I'm defending myself period! Unless it's some little mutt you can kick.

Don't get me wrong ,I take my female aussie frisbee golfing with me and I don't leash her. Now if she bothered you while we were out I wouldn't blame you, It would be my fault! I was just quoting the sign because she was in the wrong and still thought it was your fault.
Like you guys said it's people like her that will probably petition to band kiting on your beach. I just don't understand why these warped people get off on getting in other peoples business.:puzzled:

It is tough from both sides. The 16 acre park across from my place is fringed on the outer edge by a wooded ravine which is all off leash. We (yes, I have a dog too) all tend to trudge through the ravine one way and then back up on the park side along the trees on the way back. For the most part the dogs are under control though off leash but that's not to say that last week I didn't see a four legger run over to the Access laid flat to be packed up and lift a leg. Both me and the guy I was chatting with halted any secretions with our abrupt hollering but it was that close. That dog - not controlled. Most others, controlled. Trouble is one will ruin it for all. Same with the kiters and rc fliers (more issues with the latter than the kites though).

If it had been my dog I'd have TOTALLY felt the fool and certainly not left a note like that. I know that my dog wouldn't attack but she sure as hell sounds like it when she's not sure who you are and I don't blame people for a minute who are unsure of her.

I think snowbird is right, here. Diplomacy must rule, or kiting could be put into jeopardy at that spot, and possibly more. I have encountered situations like this, and as hard as it was, I managed to suck it up and be a nice guy- even though my first instinct was not very nice at all.

If she wanted to persue anything, and she was a real b*%ch about it, she could possibly get kiting banned at that spot (or more). As some of the first people doing these things in some areas of this country, it is up to us to be representatives of kiting (whether we like it or not). The people we come across will have either a good impression of kiters, or a bad impression of kiters (notof one individual- all of us). There are a lot of dumb people out there, and its up to us to deal with them. You could be someones only impression of this sport.

I'm sorry that you were threatened, but it seems like you escaped with just a wet kite and a little too much adrenaline.

Have fun, and Happy Kiting.

you folks need to see my other post "big trouble for me". I am already gonna get banned from this beach cause of some dumb bug And a bird. And I don't have to be diplomatic when your dog is accosting me and you don't even call your dog off.To me that is the same as turning your dog on me!I know the state law about aggressive dogs, I had one. Had to put him down,he was schizo or somethin. She can say what she wants , but my wife was there too. So I got a witness, her witness is a dog.;-)

And since I am the ONLY kiter around here apparently , I will be the only one to suffer. Macboy I'm sure when you saw the dude crash his kite in the water.And the dog run after the dude, you would holler at your dog. You know say its name, tell it to come, heel, somethin. This person did not say a word, until the blade came out. Then she knew the gravity of the situation,as long as I was the one in duress, it was funny.;-

On the other hand, her message didn't have anything to do with him flying kites but rather defending himself against her dog that was threatening, off leash and not being under the owners control. I'm not sure kiting would come into the equation if things escalated. If contact was made by any authority, he was just enjoying the beach and was threatened by a dog off leash. I imagine her being a conservationist is not a professional endeavor but merely a badge she wears when she needs credibility to justify or offset her actions. Can you call yourself a conservationist if you merely recycle cans?

I don't know what the laws on this are where you are but there is someone near me that had their dog (small terrier cross) taken and put down just for growling at someone in the town so there has got to be something (maybe less extreme) that could be done

Thank for the backup Beamer, you got it right. It's not a kite thing, I fish out there too.And would still be on the defensive.
The law in the city of Hampton is all dogs must be on leash in public. Except in dog parks. This place is no dog park, in fact between may 15 and sept.15 no dogs are allowed period. But those irresponsible dog owners with that feeling of entitlement still go out there. Hell I had one guy(that I told dogs were to be on leash out here) tell me that ten other people saw him with his dog loose and no one but me had a problem with it.That is when I let him know if fido touched my kite he would be the one payin'. There are alot of jerks out there nowadays.