As some of you know, at the end of the BBQ on Saturday night in the fall,safety on the beach was brought up. Todd and I have now set up a safety committee for the bash. It consist of Dan Delpapa(aka buggy danny) and Mike Dioguardo(aka soulflyer). With Sam(aka indigo wolf) also adding in his support as well.

The three of them have vast experience in the kite and buggy world and will be a great asset to the safety aspect of the Bash. Safe flying is fun flying.

Not going to be Beach Patrol or anything like that, they are just going to set up some suggested guidelines about general kite and buggy safety, right of way, passing, set up areas, buggy parking areas and any other aspects of using the beach together in a safe manner, to make the bash as fun and safe as possible for all that attend and all the watch.

There is a lot of beach at WW, we can definitely use more of it. There is always room for one more!

If you are interested in helping in the safety committee, send me a u2u and I will respond quickly. Thanks

Safety is key to having a great Bash. If you have any ideas or suggestions, let us know. We want everyone to have the best time possible. :wee:

Does this mean Sam is gonna be there....? :bouncy:

We can always keep our fingers crossed! I would love to finally meet him.

Excellent idea!
I didn't get to ride much last time, but was amazed how many more people showed up this Fall.
Its gettin' HOOJ, and with that, there's alwayz growin' painz! :o

Rule #1 ... Go that way really fast ... if something gets in your way ... Turn!

Thats my fav LOL

sorry for the hijack but it is a good rule to follow :saint:

Uhhhh..... I personally suggest "not going between the piles of the storm drain jettys" :embarrased::wee:

http://vimeo.com/35915688

Nice one Dino!

Uhhhh..... I personally suggest "not going between the piles of the storm drain jettys"

You're supposed to pop up a two-wheelie just BEFORE you get to the piles! :P
(say, just what happened to that big Reactor of yours...did I miss it here someplace?)

it will make a better flier out of you cuz your experience[weldngod].....daring.

As WBB has become somewhat of an international event I think some knowledge of French language will make it safer. I believe a key phrase to learn would be: "gros cul kite a venir par le biais , de sortir de la voie" . If I'm not mistaken I heard this phrase several times on the beach , and while I did not understand the words I understood quite clearly what I needed to do to stay safe. Such a good time!

Safety is paramount and I would like to keep this event to see it grow. Thank you to all for such hard work in this effort.


Special thanks to Rich for picking up my slack while I'm on the road.

That is what a team does brother! Team work is also paramount!

Quote:

Originally posted by snowspider As WBB has become somewhat of an international event I think some knowledge of French language will make it safer. I believe a key phrase to learn would be: "gros cul kite a venir par le biais , de sortir de la voie" . If I'm not mistaken I heard this phrase several times on the beach , and while I did not understand the words I understood quite clearly what I needed to do to stay safe. Such a good time!

LOL I love Google Translate :singing:

Hey everyone- so as Wildwood is approaching I had an idea that I wanted to throw out to the safety committee to see what you all think.

Keep in mind I haven't been to wildwood, so I'm not sure if this is even feasible, but I thought it may be a good idea to designate a particular area as a beginner friendly area (think bunny slope). This way the guys and galls doing speed runs won't be mixing it up with someone getting their first runs in.

At the place I do most of my kiteboarding in the summer we have this type of setup and it's nice because it helps beginners like me feel a little more confident and have a little more space- while being sure that we aren't in the way of the more advanced riders and messing up their ride.

What gave me the idea is the increasing trepidation I have about riding with lots of others riders at Wildwood. Worried that I'll make a mistake or be unable to respond appropriately in a tight situation and cause a wreck or something.

After the great time I had in the fall, I've convinced my wife* to let me bring my 11 year old this spring. We're not buggiers, but are trying to learn the world of the board. As a relative newbie, I appreciate that we are all concerned about safety; thanks to the committee for stepping up its visibility.

* She's thrilled that a bunch of grown kids on the beach actually care about safety.

Mike, we have actually discussed something of this nature. The beach is 8 miles long, about 300 yds deep or more in most spots. We will be discussing this more in the near future. We definitely want everyone to come and have a good time and leave in one piece! I was also timid around other buggiers when I first went to WW, (there were only 19 then) I never wanted to mess up in front of anyone to cause an issue. cool part is if you can ride on the soft stuff, it really makes for some extra riding in a less packed area. The hard pack usually gets pretty big. Timing is everything with the tide there.

Hiaguy, your son is going to have such a blast just seeing all the kites in one spot! Glad you guys are making the trip!

This may seam like a long post, but please read it carefully.


Safety is of primary importance to our sport. Under the stewardship of the current organizers the Wildwood buggy bash attendance has grown sharply and at times the flying area can become quite full. Last bash we had an injury and some close calls. We formed a safety committee to reduce the risk of mishaps occurring again. We decided the best and least intrusive way to do this is to offer friendly advice and suggest some “best practices”. This is what we are proposing:

Have base camp a good distance away from the hard pack to avoid a dangerous bottleneck.

Have a novice area just south of the base camp in the softer sand that can allow generous room between flyers and not have them feel like they are in the way.

Have pilots travel at a slower and reasonable speed near base camp.

Minimize the amount of cars/trucks on the beach and encourage them to make trips to drop and pickup gear and not park on the beach. Fewer hard objects on the beach is just safer.

Encourage flyers to please wear safety equipment when moving, a minimum of a helmet. This is a good idea and shows the general public that we take safety seriously.

Provide a handout that explains etiquette and the right of way for flyers. Have flyers announce their tacks, passes, and position. Most flyers don't have experience with the high kite densities of the bash. Communication and a common understanding of the “rules of the road” will greatly increase safety.

Lastly and most importantly flyers must respect the general public and operate at a safe distance from them. Remember that most don't know what wind sports are and have no clue about the potential dangers. Use common sense and remember that we are guests of the Wildwoods and have to share the beach with the general public. Also any unfavorable actions or incidents could have us loose our good will and get us kicked of the beach ending the bash and ruin it for the locals.

We want feedback; please respond to this thread with your questions, concerns, or ideas.

My thanks to the organizers for carrying the torch on our behalf.
As a buggy-newbie, I like the idea of being able to learn without getting on the way of the hard-pack cruisers.
As a dad, I always require that my kids wear a helmet, and I do too.
While I'm sure that Chris' nose is OK by now, I'd like to see an event without a repeat. (But I expect to be launched once or twice before I figure out the logistics of staying in the seat.)

update to earlier post: my son is in basketball playoffs and won't be there. i'm proud of him, but sad for me.

So people are aware, the safety commitee is made up of Buggy Danny, Mike Diguardo, and some help from Sam. They have been working together since the fall bash to come up with a good safety minded ideas to help everyone enjoy themselves at WBB and go home in one piece.


Like Dan said, any questions or suggestions should be posted here. Cant wait to ser everyone at the bash.

Quote:

Originally posted by snowspider As WBB has become somewhat of an international event I think some knowledge of French language will make it safer. I believe a key phrase to learn would be: "gros cul kite a venir par le biais , de sortir de la voie" . If I'm not mistaken I heard this phrase several times on the beach , and while I did not understand the words I understood quite clearly what I needed to do to stay safe. Such a good time!

google translate = "big ass kite to come through, out of the way"

Dan thanks for the post. (not to long for the subject) You and Mike are doing a great job as far as I can see. Keep it up.

Dear safety commitee: I have 40 orange soccer cones (thin almost flat) that would work nicely to designate a "go slow zone" on the hard pack , a line of them on the north and south of the busiest area would remind flyers to please slow down thru this area. A number of them could also be use to designate trenches , goffer holes , sand castle remains and misc. other difficult to spot hazards.

Quote:

Originally posted by snowspider Dear safety commitee: I have 40 orange soccer cones (thin almost flat)

Something like this?


Do they just flex or crack, if they are run over by a 100+lb buggy and pilot?

ATB,
Sam

You can also find those small, cheap, day-glo, wire marker flags at the hardware stores - about .19 ea.
They might be useful for marking where lines are laid out.

orange marking spray paint .... eco friendly ......??? would have to be refreshed after a while ......

Patrick, bring the little cones, they may help out a little especially at base camp, I am not sure I want to put them down by the hard pack, someone may think we are trying to limit where the general public may go, that would be bad juju! When we used the cones during the last spring bash at base camp, it worked out pretty well! Can't wait to see everyone!

I have a couple dozen of the same cones in the trailer. Not all orange though. Plus I have a few of the tall thin driveway markers for when it snows.

Great job Danny, Mike, and Sam. Time to put this plan in action and have a safe event.

Quote:

Dear safety commitee: I have 40 orange soccer cones (thin almost flat) that would work nicely to designate a "go slow zone" on the hard pack , a line of them on the north and south of the busiest area would l remind flyers to please slow down thru this area. A number of them could also be use to designate trenches , goffer holes , sand castle remains and misc. other difficult to spot hazards.

Patrick

The cone are a great idea as long as when we use them we don't give the impression that we are partitioning of a portion of the beach from the general public use. Thanks in advance for bringing them.

Quote:

orange marking spray paint .... eco friendly ......??? would have to be refreshed after a while ......

Konrad I don't think that it would be politically correct to use some paint and I feel that beach overseers would not like it. I think that the cones will be fine.

Thanks for the feedback, please keep it coming.

Safety pamphlet is out for final review with the committee (y'all should have something in your inbox now ;-) ).

So now's a good time for a round of thanks. :wee:

• Thanks to Mike for drafting the original text.
  
  
• Thanks to the members of NE Traction for reviewing the first draft.
  
  
• Thanks to Chris at HQ Kites and Iain at Ozone for providing images for the cover panel.
  
  
• Thanks to Popeye for providing the inspiration for the diagrams for someone who's artistically challanged.
  
  
• Thanks to the Safety Committee members for reviewing Version 2 of the pamphlet.
  
  
• And last but not least, thanks to Dan for keeping me on track when I got a little OCD about layout and appearance of the document. Hope the delays didn't add any gray hairs (when I got my hair cut last week, I noticed I have picked up some new ones in the last year :sniff: ).
  
  Hope everyone finds the document useful.
  
  ATB,
  sam