Twice a year, in the spring and in the fall, kiteboarders arrive from all over the world to take advantage of the winds and waters of our island.  When they arrive, the number of kitesurfers grows exponentially. 
 
These visitors, who hail from all over the world, bring renewed life to our economy and our culture. We love the extended dinners and familiar faces of all who arrive, ready to play on our sandbar paradise.
 
Many of the visitors go to Kite Point (KP) as it is shallow and a great place to kite in all wind directions.
 
Kite Point is a small spit of sand that juts out into the Pamlico Sound.  It was chosen by kiters, Trip Foreman and others, in a meeting with the Park Service years ago as a launching and landing sight for kiteboarding because it is farthest from the power lines. Looking around the area, one can see how close the power lines are, and just beyond it is Highway 12, where drivers are traveling at 55 mph between the villages of Buxton and Avon. 
 
This tiny point, usually the kiting spot of a few diehard locals, becomes the kiting spot of hundreds.  I have counted 60 kiters landing and launching from this spot at one time during the season.  Although there have been no accidents at KP because of kiting interaction that I am aware of, the following rules can help to keep everyone safe and happy to kite another day.
 
Of interest, there are no signs giving kiteboarders information on safety issues, parking organization, keeping distances from power lines, or rules of the road for kiting in crowded areas.  This land belongs to the National Park Service, and at a meeting that I attended last year, we were told the goal was to keep the beaches clear of signs that would inhibit the beauty of the area.  This puts responsibility on the shoulders of all of us to communicate and make recommendations so that we can keep this site and keep each other safe.
 
I've been up and riding for three years now.  I have made many of the following mistakes at one time or another and thus, from experience, I am offering the following “rules of the road” for anyone going out on the water at Kite Point.
 
 

1. Stay away from other kiters.  Try to give everyone space.  Give other kiters enough space so that if things go wrong, you have time move out of their way or they have time to move out of your way. 
 
2. The kiter upwind must raise his or her kite.  This sounds easy until things go wrong.  If the wind picks up, it may be difficult to lower a kite, so go the other way when you see another kiter approaching or make more room by going upwind or downwind.  Beginners can have a tendency to be skittish of lowering their kites.  Try to assess the ability levels of people on the water and give beginners greater leeway, just as others did for us when we were starting out.
 
3. Ask the locals where to launch a kite.  This will be different, depending on the wind direction.  At Kite Point, we always launch near or in the water.  The kiter is out on the water, the person launching is on the land.  Spend some time observing before you go out on the water.
 
4. All launching rules apply.  Do not let go of the kite until both the launcher and kiter have checked the lines and everything seems fine.  Take a long breath, get grounded, and launch.  Rushing can cause havoc.  The launcher does not have to launch if it doesn't feel right.  As well, the kiter can abort at any time.
 
5. If someone is launching your kite, or if you are launching someone's kite, ask them how long they have been kiting.  Get a clear sense of his or her ability level.  Get past the ego.  For a new kiter, you may need to give more instruction.
 
6. Stay clear of the power lines along the soundside of Highway 12.  People have gone under the power lines and across the highway before.  Be aware of weather and wind direction.  Last summer, a kiter was launching south of KP and hit the power lines with his kite causing a power outage to the island.  Local residents and businesses were affected for hours by the outage.  This incident could have been easily prevented had the kiter noticed the proximity of the power lines and stayed out on KP, the point farthest away from the power lines.
 
7.  Keep the launching area clear.  Don't hang out where others are trying to land or launch with your kite up in the air.  If your kite is up, move out onto the water.  If you want to rest, go somewhere away from other people.  Launchers have the right of way.  Let the people get out on the water before you come in.
 
8. Read and understand the right of way rules.  That being said, even if you are correct, stay away from other kiters -- not everyone knows or follows the rules of right of way.  Kites are so fast and the maneuvers people are doing are so fast that right of way can't always apply.  As well, once things go wrong does one really want to say, “Well, I had the right of way?”  Wouldn't it be better to be safe?  The following attachment has the right of way rules.  Please read it -- http://kitesurfingschool.org/safety.htm
 
9. If someone is falling, or down in the water, stay away from them.  No need to be redundant. It just happens that relaunching the kite can be spontaneous and unpredictable at times.
 
10. If someone is showing off, stay away from them.  I won't name names.
 
11. Don't do tricks and jumps upwind of the land.  You might land on the beach or drop your kite on someone or something.  At Kite Point, this could happen primarily on southwesterly winds.
 
12. If you are jumping, jump when no one is downwind of you or behind you.  Leave a lot of room.  You can go out far at KP and find a lot of space from other kiters.  It's shallow and if things go bad, lines tangle, or a valve releases or chicken loop breaks, it takes a half hour to walk back.  It's great aerobic exercise. Ask me how I know.
 
13. Check your lines three times before you launch -- check your chicken loop, check your safety.  
 
14. Self launch only when there are no people to help you out, as self launching has potential for things to go wrong.
 
15. There are no signs at KP because of the Park Service.  We were told that the Park Service does not like signs when we requested them in a meeting last fall.  Remember that we are guests of the Park Service.
 
16. If you are upset by someone who has made a mistake or does not know etiquette, go in to the beach and time yourself out.  Do not take revenge on the water to prove your point.  Take the time to talk to the person.  We need to use our words.  We all get frustrated.
 
17. Keep space for people to drive.  Kite Point’s road is also for fishermen.  Respect that and keep room for vehicles traveling through.
 
18. People will drive over your lines at KP, and it will not hurt your lines.  If people drive too fast on lines, they may get caught in the wheels.  I've only seen that happen once, and I have the scars around my ankles to prove it.  That being said, normally, 99.99 percent of the time when driving on the lines nothing adverse will happen.
 
19. Keep your lines organized and out of the way when you aren't kiting as best as you can.  This gives enough room for other people to rig and keeps the road open.
 
20. If you are observing, keep yourself, your children and your dogs, upwind of kites launching or landing.
 
It's scary when the circus comes into town for us local people at Kite Point.  We spend months alone out there.  We know each other as kiters and as people, our good points and our weak ones.  We don't know all these new faces.  We don't know whom to avoid, who has the huge ego, who is a beginner, or who is spacey.  It floors me how many people do not ask for any information or advice. We want everyone to have fun and be safe and, truthfully, we've got it wired.  Please ask us for help. We welcome it!  People hanging around will actually name the visiting kiters who did ask for help.  And it's awesome to make friends with locals.
 
As an example, the other day I was struggling to walk my lines out since there wasn't enough room because of the number of lines and kites all over the place. 
 
This guy was launching someone and the bridle lines, which are supposed to be inside the kite, were wrapped around the outside of the kite.
 
Three times I told the guy that the bridle was wrapped up around the outside of the kite.  He attempted to disentangle the kite three times unsuccessfully and then went to launch it. 
 
The launch would have been screwed up, but not necessarily dangerous.  I interceded as he would not listen to me.  I dropped my lines and grabbed the edge of the kite and disentangled the bridle. 
 
He then launched the kite three times, which were complete failures.
 
Maybe he was nervous.
 
I recommended he take the kite out over the water where the wind was cleaner, away from the cars which were creating a wind shadow because of the northeast wind. 
 
His response was that he was from "The Gorge," implying that he knew what he was doing (The Gorge is a very difficult place to launch and kite in Oregon, where many hot shot kiters kite.)
 
My response, in my “Yankee don't mess with tone,” was, “This is my home, and if I were at the Gorge, I would be asking locals for tips on safety, rigging, and launching.“
 
Later, he came up to me and told me that he had no idea the guy he was launching was so inexperienced.
 
This guy violated a lot of rules.  He's still here as I write.  I guess it's my karma coming back to bite me after some of my own spacey moments.
 
This is common sense and courtesy.  We all know how to kite and after lessons, we all know the basic rules. 
 
We're all out there at Kite Point.  Look for us, talk to us. We're there and we'll help you.  And most of all have fun.

(Pam Bailey kitesurfs, windsurfs, writes books, teaches yoga, creates jewelry, and for work does massage therapy, hypnotherapy, and cranio-sacral energy work. You can email her at pamlicobailey@earthlink.net)