Kiteboarding Etiquette
Kiteboarding Etiquette and Rules
There are some standard rules to learn that you will need to understand be safe to yourself and those around you when kiting. The sport has grown dramatically but with that comes that fact that many popular kite locations have become more crowded and therefore essential that you understand the local rules and follow them.
This is an important aspect of kiting that you will learn in your lessons and important to understand so no one gets hurts (especially in the water). Generally kiteboarding follows the rules of sailing in the water with regard to right of way,etc....
Most important when in the water are:
- Avoid collisions at all costs even if you have the right of away (realize that you will probably always have someone when you are riding that won't know the proper rules or follow the correct right of way rules so even if you have the right of way and the person doesn't seem to follow it, just stop or go in the opposite directions to avoid a crash. Wrapped lines in the water are very dangerous and the kite will no longer be controllable.)
- Downwind rider has right of way(because they can't see behind them) so the upwind rider should fly their kite high recognizing where the downwind riders kite is at all times.
- Generally the rider launching and heading out should have right of way and the person coming in should just wait(but can vary with your local launch site)
- Opposite Tack rule : A rider on port tack(left leg going forward) shall keep clear of the the rider on starboard tack(right leg going forward)
The best summary of rules I found was here
For rules on the beach talk to riders in your local area but also the video below does a good job for a quick summary.
Beginning Kiteboarding : Beach Etiquette for Kiteboarding
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