SCKA Forum
Categories » Kite Spots » South Bay Kitesurfing
Threads [ Previous | Next ]
South Bay Kitesurfing
South Bay Kitesurfing Samuel Mullin 4/17/08 1:13 PM
RE: South Bay Kitesurfing Samuel Mullin 4/17/08 5:09 PM
South Bay Kitesurfing | 4/17/08 1:13 PM
I'm still completely new to kitesurfing, and I wanted to learn more about the actual rules and regulations before I kept going.

Foremost, I wanted to know if I could kitesurf in the South Bay, where I live. The only place that's up on the site is Torrance, and I wanted to know about kiting further up the coast, at Hermosa, Manhattan, and Dockweiler Beaches. I know the wind is generally not good for kitesurfing (on-shore, generally), but it would be nice to have the option when I can upwind better.

I called the Lifeguards, and all they could really tell me at first was that you guys pretty much govern yourselves (ourselves). I'm not in a position to do anything stupid, and I fully embrace the need for mutual respect between the locals and kitesurfers. I just want to know what the rules are for kitesurfing in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Dockweiler Beach. If there aren't any (beyond safety and courtesy), how would one go about establishing them? I know that there's probably a lot of effort involved in communicating with the powers behind three locations, but I wouldn't mind helping out.

Thanks for the info!
RE: South Bay Kitesurfing | 4/17/08 5:09 PM as a reply to Samuel Mullin.
I just got some info from a very helpful person at the Lifeguard office. They told me that in all three places, kitesurfing is allowed, as long as one stays 100 feet away from any swimmers/beach goers. (Dockweiler is generally uncrowded, but the beach further up the coast sees more use)

Another interesting thing, which I didn't know and is really just common sense, is that one can pass through no-surf orange-flag zones only if you're beyond the break of the waves. This is good to know, given the on-shore wind will mean a lot of movement parallel to the shore.

Other than that, they told me that there weren't any local restrictions.

I'm not an admin, and this mere phone call doesn't seem like sufficient evidence to solidify any rules, and these don't appear to be very busy areas, but should these locations now be listed on the site? No big deal.