so i'm rollin' out on this 2hour run in the fog about 8-10mph whippin the v13 working on some back roll trans and switches and stuff....

working my way up the section about 1/2mile then down wind it and repeat....

and so on

and when i go back to the launch spot where i left the mesh sail bag for my rig ......gone

thief in the fog


one bag and 3 bungess hope they need it

( i do have the org. PL bag but the mesh bag was right on and simple and dry quick

oh yeah..... damn it was foogy

I thought it couldn't be foggy in the wind! Kite in the air and definitely there is fog. That sucks that someone would be so low as to take a simple piece of equipment like that. Karma works both ways though.

moisture in the air so heavy... water was running down the lines like a faucet at the bar ends maybe the 4 or 5th fog session...daytime solitude for sure, except for someone who needs a mesh sailbag

...little sh$t that people steal blows my mind....can't tell you how many kite stakes and screwdrivers I've had stolen...and the park is not too big....I can see the area clearly....they must be stealing it when my back is turned....

...so I had to tell the wife to pick me up some screwdrivers from the .99 store....so far so good...no one has stolen those yet...

true about karma....it's gonna come back and bite them in the a$$!

Sorry about your loss....

I was out at Ocean Beach this weekend and was using a sand anchor that I had made the night before out of some re-bar and plate steel - perfect for hooking in the PL's for a rest. I was out buggying and some kids tried ripping it out of the ground - luckily I had some friends there to cover my back, they scared the kids off - the great thing was that the kids weren't able to yank it out of the ground with the five foot shaft I used on it. Some people are like crabs - they will scavenge anything that's not bolted down. These kids would have probably thrown it at some birds since they really had no practical use for it - sorry about your loss though - karma will catch up with them.

We were at Jekyll yesterday and the fog was epic there as well. If you know the bridge on the way out to the island, it looked like the Highway to Heaven because you could only see the ramp going up and disappearing into the fog/cloud. Very cool! If we had had some Led Zepplin ripping, it would have been perfect! I wish I had taken a picture. And yes, it was blowing 10 mph in socked in fog. The wind did die after 3:30 though. Nice seeing Angus and Rob out there. Also, meeting a new kiter John!

Oh yeah...sorry your stuff got nicked. As mellow as Jekyll is, I was worried about leaving my kit on the beach myself when we unloaded. It was so dense that 100 yards or so away and it would disappear. I was glad the wind was blowing side shore so I could just reach down to the water and then back to my stuff. Made it easy to keep an eye on it.

people taking something i can buy at some store is bad ...

but when someone steals my custom junk they are taking me with them whether they like it or not ,,,this is the worst .

sorry to hear that Phree...............glad to hear your 16 wasnt in the bag and along for the ride.

Sorry about the bag, Chad. At least it was nto the PL bag. Yes the fog and wind was really spooky and that trip over the bridge was surreal. I was hoping I was not really dead, driving on top of a cloud like that.

Chad's loss makes me re-think my beach habits. For years I have plopped my stuff down on Kite Beach and riden off without a worry. I'd keep my wallet on me, but toss camera, car keys, tools and everyting in the zippered kite bag and leave it in a pile with other kites and gear. Never a problem. I think now I'll keep a dry-bag on each bug and keep the kite bag in there. I'll still have to take a chance with the other stuff...

i do realize it was just sandy in a wod on the high tide line and could have been "oh that's just washed trash" i did check the trash can on the way out and nothing but dog crap bag's,,,, but there's a small chance that a local picked it up and knows me but just couldn't see any one around. maybe

the day before did exactly the same thing BUT put my phone in the bag , no fog and could see it from my ride for the most part. at times i've left a mountain of gear there and been out 3-4 hours

I usually fly on the beach in full sight of my backpack -- one time I was really having fun with the best wind in a month and after getting totally knackered came back to the pack to find it missing.

Found it in seconds, it had been moved into the shadow / back side of a tree just twenty feet away and the bag had been gone through, all cash & my transit card (like cash) and the phone gone.

CC's were left behind, as well as my ID and kites.

It was the oddest burglary! I figure it was somebody who knew the pack belonged to the guy on the beach with the kite, and saw he was having fun and not paying attention to his pack, and so that robbing somebody moved the pack to where I wouldn't see and just took the easy to use / untraceable stuff, but left everything else. Which tells me it was somebody local.

Makes me feel strange, sometimes, flying on that beach knowing that somebody who robbed me is likely there also and watching me.

nowadays I leave my kit at a nearby beach shop... the incident changed my attitude about the beach, tho -- before it felt like an extension of my home and so I just left my s#@t around, now I see it as a public place where my property is at risk if I am careless...

It took months before I flew there again, tho...

sorry to hear about your bag, don't let it keep you from having some more sweet sessions on that beach!

Hey Sailors,
I have lost way too many hacky-sacks and sand bags and bean-balls over the years.
Kite takes off and the weights are left behind.
I figure it's usually kids and dogs.
"Hey! Look what I found!"

A bag, by itself, laying on the beach, with no-one around, is going to get some attention.

I always put up a pole and windsock where I leave my gear.
I have a tell-tale for winds and an obvious marker for my spot.
A bag could have been left but that pole and sock were Put Up specifically.
I figure it's a subtle psychological ploy but it seems to help.

No stopping the dedicated thieves but much of this seems merely opportunistic.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

Hey Sailors,
Oo - Oo - Oo
I just remembered a neat story.

This was back in the day...
Back in the day of Hawaiian 16's and Sky Claw handles with the winding tree.
Remember those winders?
Padded handles that slid onto a stick and became the core of a winder.
Cool when you had only 1 kite and 1 pair of lines.
At least cool enough to get one started.

So I'm walking out onto Asilomar Beach with my kite bag over my shoulder when I spot a guy coming towards me with three of these winding trees in his hand.
He has no kite.
Just the three trees.

I see three kites down the beach, flown by three separate groups.
They're all still flying so no-one has noticed their winders are gone.

I ask the guy about the winders in his hand and he replied that he found them on the beach, didn't have a clue what they were and was going to throw them away when he passed the garbage can.

I thanked him and took the winders back to the three groups.
It must have looked odd as I walked up with these winders.
A couple of them thought perhaps I had stolen them.

No body meant any harm.
No body stole anything.

Sometimes things go missing but it's not a theft.

Thought you'd appreciate the story.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

Quote:

Originally posted by coreykite A bag, by itself, laying on the beach, with no-one around, is going to get some attention. I always put up a pole and windsock where I leave my gear. I have a tell-tale for winds and an obvious marker for my spot. A bag could have been left but that pole and sock were Put Up specifically. I figure it's a subtle psychological ploy but it seems to help. the coreylama

That's a great point. I always put up at least my 40" pole with wind streamers next to my stuff. I never thought of it as giving a sense of purpousfulness to the spot and acting as a deterrent, but I bet you are right.

Sorry to hear about your bag.

Corey did make a great point. I just ordered my windsock

I had stolen one PL bag to a phantom (with shirt, hat, wind meter, towel). They also got a fellow's extra kiteboard that was nearby at the same time.

So I started using a homemade bag for my arcs; just a tube of fabric, takes about 15 minutes to make. And changed my habit to only leave on the beach that which I wouldn't mind being stolen. So no more wind meter, nice sandles, nice backpacks, etc.

Since then I've had one homemade tube-bag taken (not stolen, could have been what corey said).

So I started burying the bag in the sand, leaving only a bit for me to see. I take note of where it is as best I can.

Steve

I was buggyin' one day and I passed an older woman carrying what looked to be one of my lime green, golf ball, kitestakes . So I finished my downwind run and turned around ,when I approached her , I slowed to a stop just ahead of her. When she got to where I was , she said " that sure looks like fun" I responded " it is! , But I really need that kitestake back" . Then I explained what I was doin and that was where I land my kite to take a break. She was all apologetic and stuff, really had no idea that that item had anything to do with the guy flyin the kite. She just knew it didn't belong on the beach.

I guess having a windsock or flag on a pole next to some gear would be a good indicator that the gear next to it is for a purpose, something to do with wind???

and so passers-by would connect that to the kite flying around somewhere down the beach and not take it upon themselves to do a public service and clean the stuff up...

Not sure it would be a deterrent, as thieves would make the connection, see where the kite guy is, and help themselves if they feel the guy is occupied and not going to pay attention.

I know that when i fly on more remote beaches that take a little effort to get to I don't worry about my gear, just leave as close to the water as is safe and don't worry about it too much, as the folks enjoying those beaches seem to be the sort willing to take a little effort to soak in the good karma of an empty beach and won't mess with one's gear.

But it's the beaches with lots of folk around (and thus not the safest places to fly anyways) that worry me! Those beaches are easy to get to, often lots of eye candy around, lots of folk BBQ'ing and getting a little bent on beers or whatever -- like my home beach in HK on a weekend. There I'm a lot more careful with my gear.

A lot of what goes into kiting safely is risk management -- counting up all the things that can go wrong, and making as many of them as safe as possible -- and it's often when we get comfortable living with a risk that is always there -- like gusts -- but hasn't gotten to us in a while that we get bit -- like me and my pack on my home beach and possibly phree's bag (who expects folks to get out to a beach when it's foggy, windy, and probably a bit wet, anyways???)

another good food for thought thread from PKF!

full circle baby .....................bag is back !

local hung it on the railing at the club , then a fly buddy (windsurfer) saw it on his wind check run and thought it looked familiar ....

saw him today and viola - bag

great ending restores my Utopian world

great stories it generated makes us all more aware

:bouncy:

Yep, we might all be a little more careful and you have your bag back. All is well again.

I've had all sorts of things taken from the beach. Usually towels, flip flops (trashed ones at that), hats, sunglasses, and the like. All of which is no problem.

I did have my skateboard stolen by some local guys who didn't like where I was putting it in the bushes. It was recovered after a fight.

I now carry everything with me. I just wear a backpack and put all my goodies in it. The big Flexifoil bag is nice but a straight up back pack will work as well. Plus it is a little cushion if you wipe out and go down backwards.

When I kitesurf I take a ziplock baggie and put my t-shirt and hat in it. Then my flip flops and zip lock go into my mesh pack for kitesurfing. The only thing left on the beach while kitesurfing is an old beach towel that I picked up after it was left on the beach and washed up higher during high tide (I have several of these towels). Haven't had anything stolen in a long time.

Scott

during the summer when the "visitors " are here and heavy are the times when you have to be careful.

during the summer i would take CAMEL PACK FOR WATER and zip bag if i planned to stay for a long ride on the water