Maui Kitebeach to be banned !

[vfr]

Can someone give me an email address for a person in authority involved in banning this access? We
are about to book accommodation for upwards of 40 people on Maui in July 2014. Although very
few of us are kiters we will go somewhere else besides Maui if access at Kanaha becomes difficult.
I would like to know exactly what areas of the beach are to be banned-I have been going there for
almost 20 years now windsurfing and kiting so I have intimate knowledge of just about every rock
from camp one to the sewage plant.... It would be very sad to stop going to Maui but it isn't the only
windy place on the planet.

[L0KI]

An update from the Ocean Safety Alliance

update - urgent action needed

Mr Ed Underwood from DLNR-DOBOR just confirmed that they are moving forward and preparing to install three sets of buoys at Kanaha Beach. These buoys will designate the expanded zones that will exclude all vessels and watercraft. This includes; kites, canoes, windsurfers, surfers, SUP etc. The expanded zone includes about three thousand five hundred (3500) feet of shoreline that will become an exclusive swim zone. This represents an huge increase over the currently used areas. Now any vessel or craft that attempts to enter or cross these expanded zones will be subject to increased enforcement which includes; fines and possible confiscation of equipment.
Mr Underwood also confirmed that this enforcement action is in direct response to the confrontations between the kiteboarder and the swimmers at Ka'a point.
He also stated that there are currently no plans to update or amend the old rules, that are about to be enforced.
The DLNR-DOBOR confirmed that they have already built the marker buoys and anchor systems, and plan to install them very soon.
We anticipate that once these buoys are installed and the old zones are enforced, that it will become an extremely difficult task trying to reverse this process at a later time.
Please don't let this catastrophic loss of access occur, everyone will be affected because all of the current users will be forced to crowd into a reduced area that is far smaller than the currently accesible area. This will create a domino effect of overlapping user groups that will be forced to move into each others areas.
Every concerned person should take immediate action to contact the authorities and try to persuede them to defer the installment of these buoys until a reasonable and updated management plan can be reached.

[balugh]

This sucks but it's going to be difficult overturning existing rules without really good reasons. I don't know if this has any merits in the particular circumstances but would the authorities consider a 'club' operating from the beach? I'm not a big fan myself but sometimes these can work with a very light touch and ensure that safe access to the beach for all responsible users is maintained...

[Dave_5280]

Does the 3,500 feet include the beach used by the kitesurfing schools? Or does it extend the other direction?

[Dave_5280]

Oahu District Office, DLNR Boating Division
Oahu District Manager: Edward Underwood (acting)
333 Queen Street, Suite 300, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Ph: (808) 587-1973 Fax: (808) 587-1977
Email: Ed.R.Underwood@hawaii.gov

[juandesooka]

I think I owe you all an apology, as this situation is probably largely my fault. You see, I have booked my first trip to Maui for Christmas, and Murphy's Law being what it is....kitesurfing will probably be completely banned in the entire Hawaiian Islands by then.

Kidding, but I am increasingly distressed by this, originally seemed like something way in future, latest update looks like this is happening NOW. Holy crap, will it ever SUCK if my first kitesurfing vacation is screwed by this. Those familiar with Maui ... are there other locations that have launch potential in windy zone? Is it just that launch possibilities are worse, or is the geography such that this is the only good area?

It is unclear to me if there's been any attempt at a political response to this. You have petty bureaucrats in one small dept making decisions on their own tiny sphere of influence and not looking at "the greater good". This issue needs to be expanded to include decision makers who can also consider the economics of tourism and supporting local businesses. Because I can say with certainty, that back in July when deciding whether to go to Maui, Dominican, or Baja, if there'd even been a whisper of this risk, I'd have taken my family's several thousand tourist dollars elsewhere.

Politics requires backbone...because you absolutely cannot please all the people all the time, so you have to make choices. Here, looks like one vocal opponent negating the interests of several thousand beach users. Surely there's some compromise here. But from what I can tell, within the letter of the law the vocal opponent is correct ... which means that the greater good requires changing the law! Those organizing this: suggest you combine it with a letter writing campaign, and not just DOBOR, but the local mayor, senator, governor, etc. A few hundred or thousand letters in their face is much harder to ignore than a petition. Get the local businesses to write letters too stating how much of their business comes directly from windsurfer & kiter tourist $$ ... because $ and votes is something that politicians care about! And what about the global kiting brands based in Maui? What is their involvement? Time to start channeling some of that revenue into lobbying, to protect their local testing grounds...again, $ and votes, that's what makes this world go 'round.

Arghghghghghg.

[RichardM]

An update from the Ocean Safety Alliance

update - urgent action needed

Mr Ed Underwood from DLNR-DOBOR just confirmed that they are moving forward and preparing to install three sets of buoys at Kanaha Beach. These buoys will designate the expanded zones that will exclude all vessels and watercraft. This includes; kites, canoes, windsurfers, surfers, SUP etc. The expanded zone includes about three thousand five hundred (3500) feet of shoreline that will become an exclusive swim zone. This represents an huge increase over the currently used areas. Now any vessel or craft that attempts to enter or cross these expanded zones will be subject to increased enforcement which includes; fines and possible confiscation of equipment.
Mr Underwood also confirmed that this enforcement action is in direct response to the confrontations between the kiteboarder and the swimmers at Ka'a point.
He also stated that there are currently no plans to update or amend the old rules, that are about to be enforced.
The DLNR-DOBOR confirmed that they have already built the marker buoys and anchor systems, and plan to install them very soon.
We anticipate that once these buoys are installed and the old zones are enforced, that it will become an extremely difficult task trying to reverse this process at a later time.
Please don't let this catastrophic loss of access occur, everyone will be affected because all of the current users will be forced to crowd into a reduced area that is far smaller than the currently accesible area. This will create a domino effect of overlapping user groups that will be forced to move into each others areas.
Every concerned person should take immediate action to contact the authorities and try to persuede them to defer the installment of these buoys until a reasonable and updated management plan can be reached.

If the buoys are not excessively far out, perhaps drift launching and self-rescuing outside the swim zones will be feasible. I imagine that they wouldn't consider kite equipment to be vessels or crafts when not being able to function as such.

Richard M.
Malibu Kitesurfing - since 2002
(310) - 430 - KITE (5483)
http://www.MalibuKitesurfing.NET
kfRichard@MalibuKitesurfing.NET

[wedge]

If the buoys are not excessively far out, perhaps drift launching and self-rescuing outside the swim zones will be feasible. I imagine that they wouldn't consider kite equipment to be vessels or crafts when not being able to function as such.

Richard M.
Malibu Kitesurfing - since 2002
(310) - 430 - KITE (5483)
http://www.MalibuKitesurfing.NET
kfRichard@MalibuKitesurfing.NET

Wow. After shitting all over this effort, both here and on iKitesurf months ago, Richard M tries to be constructive. Drift launching through swimmers, through breaking waves, and over coral beds... Yes! Way safer than sharing the beach.

[Haole_Built]

If the buoys are not excessively far out, perhaps drift launching and self-rescuing outside the swim zones will be feasible. I imagine that they wouldn't consider kite equipment to be vessels or crafts when not being able to function as such.

Richard M.
Malibu Kitesurfing - since 2002
(310) - 430 - KITE (5483)
http://www.MalibuKitesurfing.NET
kfRichard@MalibuKitesurfing.NET

Wow. After shitting all over this effort, both here and on iKitesurf months ago, Richard M tries to be constructive. Drift launching through swimmers, through breaking waves, and over coral beds... Yes! Way safer than sharing the beach.

Listen... I know it is often irresistible to ignore this mouth-breathing troll and the drivel that he spews, but you are only encouraging him to respond. The only way to make this fucktard stop, is to just pretend he is not here.

[stephen1500]

In addition to the petition, I recommend contacting our legislators directly. Those of us who live here on Maui should definitely write these representatives. Let them know you live here and you want these swim zones revised.

Those of you who don't live here, but who travel here, spending your good money here, should also write and let the legislators know that you could choose to go elsewhere and spend your money elsewhere.

You should all encourage changing swim zones to recognize that kitesurfing (and windsurfing too) have become popular after these zones were established, and that Kanaha Beach Park has unique conditions that make it a world famous spot for these sports. You should encourage compromise, providing swim zones in some areas without impairing access. Please be polite.

Here are the email addresses of all of our Maui legislators. You can easily copy and paste this list:

senbaker@capitol.hawaii.gov; senenglish@capitol.hawaii.gov; senkeithagaran@capitol.hawaii.gov; repwoodson@capitol.hawaii.gov; repcarroll@capitol.hawaii.gov; reping@capitol.hawaii.gov; repmckelvey@capitol.hawaii.gov; repsouki@capitol.hawaii.gov; repyamashita@capitol.hawaii.gov

Also, please contact the governor too. I don't have his email address but here is his online contact page:

http://governor.hawaii.gov/forms/contact/