California seeks to regulate kite-boarding

[Da Yoda]

Peter also told me that the bill, once amended, will be a public safety bill which will allow police officers to do breathalyzer tests on operators of sailboats WITHOUT motors. Apparently as the law stands now, they can only do breathalyzers on sailboats WITH motors.

So, there you have it for now. If, for some reason, what Peter told me was not accurate, and I have no reason to believe it wasn’t, y’all can mobilize.

Under CA HNC Section 655.1(b), it states the following:

A peace officer, having reasonable cause to believe that any person was operating a mechanically propelled vessel or manipulating any water skis, aquaplane, or similar device under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug, who lawfully arrests the person for any violation of subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) of Section 655, may request that person to submit to chemical testing of his or her blood, breath, or urine for the purpose of determining the drug or alcoholic content of the blood.

The only credence I will give to Peter's statement is with the language "operating a mechanically propelled vessel" may not be enforceable without the amendment to the definitions.

However I can assure you that both motorized and non-motorized vessels are subject to exact same laws of navigation on CA waterways. This includes the operation of any "vessel" while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. CA HNC Section 655

Under Title 14 CCR Section 6552 it defines that "machinery" includes an inboard or outboard engine and any other type of motor or mechanical device capable of propelling a vessel. By further defining the other "mechanical devices capable of propelling a vessel" it reinforces the existing laws under Section 655.

[fernmanus]

California likes to regulate EVERYTHING!

My father-in-law lives in SoCA. The beach near his home is only 10 minutes away, but I can only kite there between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Beach is closed to kiters all summer long. I wish he lived in the Bay Area where they get decent wind and plenty of access.

[Da Yoda]

At this point in time I don't see this amendment negatively impacting kiteboarding nor any other watersport activity.

Peter stated that the bill will not affect wind sport equipment or your use of the waterways.

Toby, maybe edit the title of this thread as the latest info doesn't seem to jive with the thread heading??

What do you suggest?

Looks like I called it! Toby, you can rename the title now.
I'd suggest something like this:
California seeks to regulate drunk kite-boarding

[purdyd]

Peter also told me that the bill, once amended, will be a public safety bill which will allow police officers to do breathalyzer tests on operators of sailboats WITHOUT motors.

Thanks for the info and callling Mr. Gaines office. It certainly appears that the intent was to address drunken sailing or paddling.

However, we’ve all seen well meaning legislation have unintended consequences because of the wording. I think defining a sup, kiteboard, kayak, windsurfer, as a motor boat which is what is proposed could be problematic.

At the very least the title is somewhat correct in that if you drink and kitesurf, there will be more regulations.

[purdyd]

California likes to regulate EVERYTHING!

My father-in-law lives in SoCA. The beach near his home is only 10 minutes away, but I can only kite there between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Beach is closed to kiters all summer long. I wish he lived in the Bay Area where they get decent wind and plenty of access.

Unfortunately many of the SoCal beaches are quite crowded in the summer. I believe you will find some similar issues with closures in other spots say south Florida.

That is why it is extremely important to be respectful of the access we have and to be vigilant and proactive. Glad to hear Senator Gaines staffer say the phones are blowing up.

[palmbeacher]

United States of America, land of the not so free...

[Greenturtle]

Pennsylvania did a similar thing requiring canoes/kayaks to have an annual $10 registration sticker if using public access rivers/lakes/streams. Also imposing stricter rules on alcohol. It continues to be a debacle with big groups of drunk paddlers harassing a single officer at boat launches.

The only issue we had was owning 15+ canoes and kayaks for various situations as we are serious paddlers.. There is no way we are buying (or even putting the sticker on) all of them.
So we carry the same sticker regardless of which boat we are in and hope the officer we encounter is understanding.

Luckily they dont even know what kiteboarding is yet in this state.

Unfortunately in metropolitan areas of California I assume these regulations are going to win out.
In less populated areas no officials are present (or generally care much) anyway, so hopefully statewide rules won’t really matter there aka FarNorCal.

[Da Yoda]

Pennsylvania did a similar thing requiring canoes/kayaks to have an annual $10 registration sticker if using public access rivers/lakes/streams.

I live near a river in CA where 23 miles of it are deemed as a "parkway" and requires all non-motorized vessels to buy and carry a permit. Cost is $30/yr or $3/day.
My one concern is this parkway is under the county park system which also controls the famous kiteboarding spot Sherman Island. I truly hope they never extend the permit requirements to there. However the influx of more $ funds may allow users to lobby for better park improvements and amenities (e.g. showers), so it might not be a bad thing to happen.

[TomW]

There's no " criminalising " and there's apparently a concerned public servant trying to give authority to regulate dangerous behaviour.

I'm happy to see it didn't work.

[purdyd]

Is this another case of a troller trying to whip up conflict and polarisation?

There's no " criminalising " and there's apparently a concerned public servant trying to give authority to regulate dangerous behaviour.

I'm happy to see it didn't work.

I agree a bit of hyperbole in the thread title. Still. I am a bit reluctantsnt to dismiss this completely and leave this in the hands of a concerned public srrvant.

I think there is some room between these two extremes of the sky is falling and forget about it.